BASIS names M Rashidul Hasan as its new president

The Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) has appointed M Rashidul Hasan, managing director and CEO of Systech Digital Ltd, as its new president. This decision was made during an emergency executive committee meeting on October 30, following the resignation of the previous president, Russell T Ahmed. Before this appointment, Hasan served as the senior vice president, a role now taken over by Md Mostafizur Rahaman Sohel.

Additionally, M Asif Rahman has been named the new vice president for finance, succeeding Iqbal Ahmed Fakhrul Hasan, who also resigned alongside Russell T Ahmed. These new appointments were made from the current executive members for the 2024-26 term.

BASIS has chosen to proceed without co-opting any external members to the executive board.

On October 20, BASIS conducted an automated poll to gather member opinions on two key issues: completing constitutional reforms and holding mid-term elections for a leadership transfer or the resignation of the entire executive committee. Among the 594 voting members, 77.27 percent supported the idea of reforms in collaboration with members and the holding of elections, while 22.72 percent favored the immediate resignation of the current executive committee, according to BASIS.

Following the vote, BASIS committed to implementing necessary reforms to protect member interests and ensure organizational functionality. The current executive committee has pledged to finalize these reforms and conduct elections within the next six months.

A roadmap has been established for constitutional amendments, membership audits, and member protection, with plans to present these proposals at the annual general meeting or an extraordinary general meeting by January 2025 and to hold elections by April 2025.