BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 28. The establishment of the IE Leadership and Innovation Center in Baku has profound significance for PASHA Holding, Jalal Gasimov, CEO of PASHA Holding, said at the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Spanish IE University on the establishment of the IE Leadership and Innovation Center in Baku, Trend reports.
"The establishment of the IE Center for Leadership and Innovation, together with SOCAR, IE University, and with the generous support of the Ministry of Science and Education and the Ministry of Economy, is a moment I am genuinely proud of. Not because of what it represents on paper, but because of what it can mean in practice — for the people who will walk through its doors, and for the region they will go on to shape," he emphasized.
According to him, for PASHA Holding, this initiative is deeply personal on three levels.
"It is an expression of our purpose — to strengthen human capital in Azerbaijan and across the Caucasus and Central Asia. This is a region of nearly 100 million people at a pivotal moment in its story, and we feel a real responsibility to contribute to that future, not just observe it. It reflects our belief in leadership — not as a title, but as a practice. Over the past year, we have been embedding our Leadership DNA across the Group: a framework built around how our leaders think, act, and show up for the people around them. This Center is a living extension of that commitment.
And it speaks to who we are — a company that is deeply international in its partnerships and deeply Azerbaijani in its roots. From correspondent account partnership with BNY and Raiffeisen to affiliation with WEF to hotel managemet partnerships with Four Seasons, Marriott Group and One&Only and equity partnership with Kerzner Group and NRI for real estate development in NY state, we have always believed that global connection and local commitment are not in tension. They strengthen each other. Our partnership with IE University is exactly that. I want to express my sincere gratitude to our partners at SOCAR and IE University — and to the government institutions whose support made this possible. It takes real trust to build something together, and I do not take that lightly. I believe what we are creating here will matter. Not in an abstract way — but in the careers shaped, the decisions made better, the leaders developed who will in turn develop others," Gasimov concluded.