Lal of Pakistani Training Industry; Phillips S. Lal

After teaching and writing, the desire to become a motivational speaker and trainer started to speak, so there was an opportunity to learn about the Pakistani training industry and trainers.

World-renowned self-help Gurudel Carnegie came to know about his book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” in 2005 during his college days.

Then Neville Penn Hill, Jim Rahn, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Zig Ziglar, Stephen Arcoy, John C. Massicoil, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Ken Blakencard, Les Brown, Edward De Bono, James Arthur Roy, Darren Hardy, Malcolm Gladwell, Victor Antonio. Victor (Antonio) Nick Vujicic (Nick Vujicic) and many other names got to know, had the opportunity to read their writings, watch videos and know their life situations.

But a question always arose in the mind that is there any Pakistani trainer and speaker of this quality and caliber who can be referred to? This search continued and several names came up, in which one name gave a slight hint to the mind, heart and soul. After continuing the search, at last the contact of Mutharam Philip S. Lal was found and we spoke to him.

He was staying in Lahore and I was staying in Karachi. It was my good fortune that I had the opportunity to visit Lahore and had the privilege of meeting him not once but thrice, discussing various topics in detail and interviewing him. After that I spoke to him several times on the phone, but I could not meet him even though I was in Lahore.

After his death in Lahore on 6th September 2021, it was realized that all the famous trainers in Pakistan at that time were his disciples and he was a real guru.

Of course, the lives and services of the various personalities I have written about are all unique because of their work and place.

I have not been in direct contact with many people but one person I have been in contact with is Philip S. Lal, whose personality, work and style I deeply admire. He was a real, true and genuine human being whose life and services I am very happy to share with the new generation.

I was trying to write something about him for several months but the words were not coming.

However, to write about personalities like Philip Lal, one has to not only collect words but infuse them with feelings, emotions and spirit. A man who was above the confines of words and stature, whose thought was much higher than social inequalities, prejudice and backwardness, who was only raising the flag of humanity.

It will be enough to say about them that I have found a diamond from a coal mine, I have found a human being from a human settlement.

Philip Lal is our pride, asset and capital whose services are remarkable. Philip Lal was a well-known and respected trainer in the top organizations of Pakistan’s corporate sector, especially in family-run companies, for his expertise in meeting the challenges of the global economy and his philosophy of change in organizations.

He has an extensive and unique experience of 50 years in marketing, consulting and education and training, including 24 years with the Pakistan Institute of Management, his last position as General Manager at PIM’s Lahore office. Philip Lal has been instrumental in developing programs like “General Manager Competence”, National Sales Conference on Management and Strategy, “Entrepreneurial Development Programme”, “Building Managerial Skills” and “Better Field Sales Management”. Played an important and central role.

In addition, his international assignments included EDI World Bank, Central Bank of Ghana, USAID AED, Netherlands Finance Company, SAARC, Swiss Government SDC as well as international training experience in Dubai, Lebanon, Singapore and Sri Lanka. He also attended many training courses from universities in Cambridge, Boston and the Netherlands.

A leading training guru of the Pakistan training industry, Kamran Zidrazvi, says that when he returned to Pakistan from abroad in the 1990s, before starting work in the training industry, he conducted a survey in which the names of the best and most respected trainers were included. In which the name of Philip S Lal was at the top.

Institutions appreciated their work and people said they were willing to train. He was a legend of Pakistani training industry. He had a unique identity of his own. He was truly a pure human being.

Born on November 18, 1940 in Lahore, Philip S Lal had a troubled early life. Due to his father’s separation from his mother, Philip S. Lal was deprived of his father’s compassion and love. His mother Esme Khanna supported Philip and his sister Reshmi alone. Philip Sunder was given the family name “Lal” by his mother.

Philip Sunderlal faced difficulties in his childhood. They tried to give their children a better future.

They got married on 24 April 1976. God gave them two daughters and one son. Philip S. Lal received his primary education from the Cathedral School, Lahore. Later he graduated from Forman Christian College, Lahore and did his MBA from IBA Karachi. Soon he started serving in Pakistan Institute of Management, Karachi.

Naseem Zafar Iqbal, Pakistan’s renowned trainer and his long-time partner, paid tribute to him in these powerful words on his death.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my mentor, coach, dear friend, and father figure, Philip S. Lal. Philip Lal, Chairman, BOD, Training Impact Limited was also present.

He was one of the founders and gurus of the training industry in Pakistan, introducing many new initiatives and training trends from the platform of Pakistan Institute of Management and later from the platform of Training Impact Limited.

I have seen very few people with such deep love and faith in Pakistan and its ideology.

He often told me stories of coming to Pakistan with his mother during Partition, and how he and his family were looked after and protected by their Muslim neighbours. In various trying situations in Pakistan’s political scene, he always reiterated his faith and commitment to Pakistan and never wanted to leave his beloved country.

During the last eight months he became very ill. They needed support and help and had no choice but to move to America to be with their daughters and son.

I often visited him and he often shared his grief about the prospect of leaving Pakistan, but eventually, he breathed his last in the country he loved so much.

I have had the honor and pleasure of being closely associated with this great man, a consummate professional and a patriotic Pakistani.

The last two decades of my association with Philip Lal Sahib played an important role in shaping my thoughts and ideas about life, religion, politics and leadership.”

Qaiser Abbas, another world famous trainer and coach of Pakistan, says that Philip S. Lal Sahib was the true and real guru of the training industry in Pakistan who made his mark globally and introduced many important and new trends in Pakistan.

He was a one-of-a-kind trainer, truly like no other. He played a key role in my personal and professional life and I respect him from the bottom of my heart.

He and his close friend and colleague, Father Arnold Heredia, say that Philip Lal was a man with a great personality, he had an impeccable mind and a very strict professional. Even though I was a religious leader, he gave me and my staff many trainings and guided them towards professionalism.

Philip Lal’s role and position in the training industry in Pakistan is extremely high. He was a visionary who loved only humanity.

His wife Dr. Priscilla Philip says that he was an excellent human being, a kind husband and a kind father, as well as a sincere, true and practical Christian person, who throughout his life did his work with full responsibility, honesty and 100 percent honesty. Done from

Of course Philip Lal has left me alone in this world but he has given me three precious rare diamonds to take care of me after him.

His elder daughter Sandhya said that she and papa had a special relationship. He was more than a father a friend and a guide, who always gave me confidence and encouragement as a daughter. He was quite a unique but very different person at home. He preferred imitation rather than exhortation.

His son Timhran says that he is more than a father role model for me. He introduced me to professional life very early. Contacting and meeting senior people, how to talk to people and how to deal with people in professional life, he taught me all this very early.

He was a very gentle and kind father. I am proud to be his son. The way people told us about him after his death was a new revelation to us. His younger daughter Ratna says that she followed her father’s footsteps and did MBA in Human Resource Management and followed the training and consultancy department. Retna says that her father always gave her confidence and trust.

More than a father, he encouraged me to understand the difficulties in my life and to face the situations as a friend. Sometimes I just wanted to talk to my father on the phone, then my heart would get peace. It was a great feeling to spend some time with him at last.

Philip Lal’s three children were in good places abroad. He wanted his parents to stay with him, but Philip S. Lal’s heart beat for Pakistan, his soul filled with the scent of soil and the spirit of patriotism.

Therefore, they preferred to blend into the soil of their land. Philip Lal was truly a man like a diamond whose value can only be appreciated by an appreciator.

When I interviewed him, he asked me Ayaz Sahib! Why do you do all this? I replied, Sir! As you work for the love of country, I also try to help people in the same spirit.

This time passing by his house in the evening of Lahore Model Town, it felt like Philip S. Lal was helping a client lost in his files in his office with his characteristic smile.

I don’t know why I feel that Philip Lal Sahib has not separated from us, but he is still around us thanks to his thoughts, thoughts and services, just looking at us with new eyes.

There is a need for us to value such rare and rare people and highlight their services in the society, so that the new generation can be enlightened about their work.