The inaugural ICDM International Directors Summit (IDS) is the first regional platform that will gather global corporate leaders and directors to network, collaborate, exchange insights and meet with the greatest minds in governance to take on the largest paper writing issues facing the boardrooms of today.
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Build & restore trust strategically using insights from the greatest minds in governance
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The Honourable Mr. Lim Guan Eng, Minister of Finance, Malaysia
Mr. Lim Guan Eng is the Minister of Finance of Malaysia. He assumed the position on 21st May 2018 following the victory of the Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition in Malaysia’s 14th General Elections on 9th May 2018.
Born in December 1960, Mr. Lim holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Accountacy from Monash University, Australia. He is married to Madam Betty Chew Gek Cheng, a former practising lawyer and former State assemblywoman in her own right. They have 4 children. He held a senior executive position in the banking industry prior to entering politics. Mr. Lim was elected as the Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka for three consecutive terms from 1986 until 1998.
In 1990, he was appointed as the Socialist Youth Chairman of Democratic Action Party (DAP) and elected to the same position in 1992. He became the DAP’s Deputy Secretary-General in 1995 and was elected as the DAP’s Secretary General in 2004. Mr. Lim was re-elected as DAP’s Secretary General in 2008, and 2017, a position he holds until today.
After the 12th General Elections in March 2008, he assumed Penang State’s top leadership as its Chief Minister, and following another victory in the 13th General Elections in May 2013 he was sworn in for a second term.
In his time as the 4th Chief Minister of Penang from March 2008- May 2018, Mr. Lim put clean leadership and good governance at the core of his administration. Based on the principle of Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT).
Penang has managed to reverse the gradual decline of the State and is now the leading state in Malaysia.
Under Mr. Lim’s leadership of not only doing things right but doing the right thing, Penang’s success stories grew across the board. From the economic perspective, the Penang State Government through strong emphasis on CAT, was able to achieve surpluses every year since 2008, reduced state debt by 95% and increased state assets by more than 100%. As the industrial state of Malaysia worth more than 95% in manufacturing and services, Penang recorded the highest FDI despite no assistance from the Federal Government.
Penang also became the No. 1 state in Malaysia in attracting investments and FDI in 2010 and 2011 as well as becoming the first state in Malaysian history to wipe out poverty in 2013. In its quest to be the first green state in Malaysia, the State Government is the first in Malaysia to launch green initiatives such as ‘no free plastic bags’ at supermarkets and banning of polystyrene boxes.
The Penang State Government is tremendously proud to have George Town listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Against the setting of Penang’s rich historical tapestry, the State is now a focal point for creative energy and artistic talents. The State is fast becoming a dynamic cultural capital with progressive advances in art, heritage and music.
Penang may have derived its roots from colonial days but today, the State breathes modernity in every facet of life. A combination of sustainable development, vibrant cultural and arts landscape, valued heritage, clean environment and healthy lifestyle gives Penang a renewed vigour to be the city everyone wants to live in. Penang welcomes everyone and prepares to win the future by investing in people, especially in fixing up the fiscal position of RM1 trillion debt caused by 1MDB scandal and freeing Malaysia from corruption and Malaysia’s image as a global kleptocracy.
Since assuming the position of the Minister of Finance of Malaysia in May 2018, Mr Lim has set about applying his vast experience in governance and economic management at the federal level in Putrajaya.
Tommy Thomas was educated at the University of Manchester and the London School of Economics. He is a Barrister (Middle Temple). He was called to the Malaysian Bar in 1976, and was in active and continuous practice until his appointment as the Attorney General of Malaysia on 4th June 2018.
As a barrister of more than 40 years standing, Thomas had the privilege of appearing as counsel in landmark cases in various branches of the law in all the courts of Malaysia, including the Privy Council in London, which was Malaysia’s highest court until 1985. Thomas has more than 150 reported cases and hundreds of unreported cases.
In the corporate field, he appeared in Company, Liquidation, Receivership and Insolvency matters. In the commercial sphere, he acted in Banking, Contract, Intellectual Property, Sale of Goods, Wills, Trusts and Land Law cases. Thomas appeared in complex litigation involving bonds and other sophisticated financial instruments. In Public Law, Thomas specialised in constitutional and administrative law cases. He was also very active in statutory interpretation disputes ranging from petroleum, asset management, securities law and local government.
Thomas acted in ground-breaking high profile litigation involving two State Governments in relation to their off shore oil and gas claims, and also acted for two other State Governments in constitutional and judicial review disputes. He has represented regulatory authorities as lead counsel in their complicated civil litigation matters at the apex court. Thomas was regularly consulted by other law firms and appointed senior counsel in their litigation. He often appeared as lead counsel for the Malaysian Bar in intricate and controversial cases.
He was involved in the largest litigation arising out of the ill-fated MH 370 disappearance in 2014, the trial of which will commence in the High Court at Kuala Lumpur.
He was a member of the Bar Council for over a decade. He was Editor of its publication, Insaf from 1984 to 1987 and Secretary in 1995-1997.
Thomas regards himself as a social scientist, having abiding interests in economics, politics and history. He has written extensively and presented papers on these subjects at various fora. He has published 2 books of essays on these subjects.
He has been singled out for over 20 years as one of Malaysia’s leading litigation lawyers by independent international publications such as The Asia Pacific Legal 500, Which Lawyer, Who’s Who Legal (The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers), Commercial Litigation Lawyers of Asia and Chambers Asia. Some of their descriptions follow.
“Widely regarded as one of the top lawyers in the country.”
Chambers Asia Pacific
“He will be the cream at the top, strategic, clever,” says a peer.
“We appear together often and I think highly of him.”
Benchmark Asia-Pacific
“Tommy Thomas has an excellent reputation
based on success in some of Malaysia’s most
significant court cases in recent years.”
The Legal 500
“Peers have frequently used the word ‘fantastic’
when describing his expertise.”
Benchmark Asia-Pacific
“Tommy Thomas has always been there. He is a
Strong advocate and counsel,” says one competitor”
AsiaLaw Profiles
“Tommy is the king. He has an unparalleled combination
of skills, knowledge and sense, which enables him
to remain a top dog,’ notes one competitor.”
Benchmark Asia-Pacific
Datuk Syed Zaid Albar is the Executive Chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). Prior to his appointment as the SC Chairman on 1 November 2018, he was the Managing Partner of Albar & Partners.
Currently, he chairs the Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF) and is a member of the Board of the Financial Reporting Foundation, as well as a member of the Debt Management Office, Ministry of Finance. Datuk Syed Zaid has been elected as the Vice Chairman of the Growth and Emerging Markets (GEM) Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the global body of capital market regulators. He is also a member of the governing Board of IOSCO.
Datuk Syed Zaid has a degree in law from the United Kingdom. He is a Barrister at Law of the Lincoln’s Inn, UK and an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. He has over 38 years’ experience in legal practice predominantly in the fields of corporate law, capital market, conventional banking and Islamic finance.
He has been recognised for his contribution and achievements in the legal practice through numerous domestic and international awards.
With his experience in finance and law, Datuk Syed Zaid has served on the Islamic Law Review Committee of Bank Negara Malaysia and the Appeals Committee of Bursa Malaysia Bhd. He has also served on the boards of several public-listed companies in Malaysia.
Datuk Shireen Ann Zaharah Muhiudeen has been appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bursa Malaysia effective 1 March 2019. She is the founder of Corston-Smith Asset Management Sdn. Bhd.
Prior to this, she serves as the Chief Executive Officer of AIG Investment Corporation (Malaysia) from 1992 to 2004. She has more than 31 years of focused fund management experience in emerging Asia equity markets. She was a member of the International Advisory Panel for Labuan International Business and Financial Center, IFC’s working group for the establishment of the Philippine Stock Exchange’s Maharlika Board, a distinct trading board for companies with world class corporate governance practices.
As an advocate for Gender Diversity, Datuk Shireen presented Corston-Smith’s research findings at the John Hopkins University Global Conference on Women in Boardroom (2012), and at the 2012 Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the IMF and World Bank Group. In recognition of her work in the industry, she was named one the 25 most influential women in the Asia Pacific region for asset management by Asian Investor in June 2011. In March 2014, she was honoured by Forbes Asia as one of the 50 Asia’s Power Businesswomen 2014.
Datuk Shireen currently holds Independent Directorships at the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) and a Member of Economic Action Council.
A world authority on competitiveness, founder of IMD Competitiveness Centre and a bestselling author Switzerland.
Stéphane Garelli is a world authority on competitiveness and has pioneered research in this field for over 25 years. Garelli is a Professor at IMD (Institute of Management Development) Lausanne, where he founded the World Competitiveness Centre, he is also professor at the University of Lausanne.
Garelli is closely connected to the world of business. He is, among others, Chairman of Le Temps, the leading French language Swiss newspaper. He was formerly Chairman of Sandoz Financial and Banking Holding, and member of the board of the Banque Edouard Constant.
Garelli was Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and of the Davos Annual meetings for many years. For twelve years he was also permanent senior adviser to Hewlett-Packard Europe.
Garelli is the author of numerous publications on competitiveness and global business. He has published several books including Top Class Competitors – How Nations, Firms and Individuals Succeed in the New World of Competitiveness. His latest book is “Are you a Tiger, a Cat or a Dinosaur?”.
Stéphane Garelli was a member of the Constitutional Assembly of his state – Vaud in Switzerland from 1999-2002.
Erik P.M. Vermeulen is a Senior Legal Counsel at Signify (f.k.a Philips Lighting), an Innovation Advisor at a law firm in the Hague and a board/advisory member of several organisations, including a healthcare provider in The Netherlands and several startups. He is also a Professor of Business and Financial Law at Tilburg University and teaches international business law regularly at universities in Europe, the United States, Colombia and Japan and has appeared at numerous conferences as a featured or keynote speaker. Erik is also a co-owner of a Michelin star restaurant.
The combination of ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ has proven to be very successful. His role as a practitioner has provided a lot of input for his research on the life cycle of companies as well as corporate governance and culture. The main lesson learned is that stakeholder engagement is crucial to the success of companies around the world.
Erik can best be described as an innovator and has a blog where he shares insights and ideas about how the digital world is changing the way we live, work and learn. He has a particular interest in how artificial intelligence, sensors, data analytics and blockchain are amplifying and accelerating each other, thereby creating new opportunities across all areas of the economy and society.
Erik’s thought-provoking and innovative views on business, leadership, governance, regulation and education have attracted international attention. He regularly serves as an expert advisor to international organisations, such as the European Commission, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations, the World Bank, and national and local governments around the world.
The story of the HBOS Whistleblower and the lessons learned
Paul Moore was the former Head of Group Regulatory Risk at HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland), the fifth largest bank in the UK with over 60,000 staff. He was the only senior risk & compliance executive in UK banking sector to blow the whistle publicly during the financial crisis about the regulatory failures he saw from one of the most senior executive positions of a major UK bank. He was “dubbed” in the press as “The HBOS Whistleblower”.
Paul reported that Sir James Crosby, when he was the CEO of HBOS, dismissed him for reporting that HBOS was in breach of its legal and regulatory requirements because the sales and marketing culture was not balanced by adequate risk and compliance systems. He advised the Board to reconsider its continued strategy for sales growth if it wished to avoid excessive risks to the organisation.
He maintained that failures in governance, risk management, compliance and corporate ethics were at the heart of the banking crisis. In particular, he pointed to strategies with an excessive focus on sales, cultures that facilitated “group think” and resisted challenge, as well as the lack of rigorous oversight and challenge by internal control functions, the non-executive, auditors and regulators.
His highly influential evidence to the UK Parliamentary Treasury Select Committee in February 2009 when he blew the whistle became a global news story and led to questions in the House of Commons and to the resignation of Sir James Crosby who was then the Deputy Chairman of the Financial Services Authority. In his evidence he wrote – “You can have the best governance and risk management processes in the world but if they are carried out in a culture of greed, unethical behaviour and an indisposition to challenge, they will always fail”.
In April 2013, following an in-depth investigation into HBOS, The UK Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards reported that “The HBOS story is one of catastrophic failures of management, governance and regulatory oversight.” The report described the failure of HBOS as “An accident waiting to happen”, “a colossal failure of management and the Board” and corporate governance which represented “… a model of self delusion, of triumph of process over purpose”. The report described the risk function at HBOS as “… a cardinal area of weakness…” and said it was “…a matter of design, not accident…” by Sir James Crosby and the Chairman, Lord Stevenson. As a direct result, Sir James Crosby gave up his Knighthood.
Paul will tell you “The HBOS story and the lessons learned” and the global media coverage it drew. He uses this educational and highly entertaining personal story to explain what happened at HBOS and the key lessons for all types of organisations to ensure they mitigate major risks. He summarises these lessons under what he calls “The five “C’s”; Culture; Competence and Capability of Control Functions; Corporate Governance (including auditing and accounting); Combining Control Functions to ensure Comprehensive assurance; Company Law and the need for its reform to ensure an adequate separation and balance of power in the Boardroom.
Prior to HBOS, Paul was a Partner at KPMG in London advising banks, insurance companies and asset managers on risk, governance, regulatory compliance and ethics. Paul is a UK lawyer and has over 30 years of experience in the financial sector in these areas.
Our Leaders of today need the philosophy of the past, paired with the scientific knowledge and technology of tomorrow.”
Anders Indset is one of the world’s leading business philosophers and a trusted sparring partner to international CEOs and political leaders. Titled “Rock’n’Roll Plato” by media, he is currently one of the most sought-after keynote speakers in Europe with his approach to practical philosophy.
Thinkers50, the premier ranking of global business thinkers, regarded as the “Oscars of Management Thinking” by many, has recognised Anders on the Radar 2018 as one of 30 Global Thinkers “most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed and led”. Anders was also named “Thinker of the Month” in July and August 2018.
The native Norwegian, based in Frankfurt, is a guest lecturer at leading international business schools and is known for his unconventional way of thinking, his provocative theses and his rock star attitude.
His last book “WILD KNOWLEDGE – Outthink the Revolution” (www.wild-knowledge.com) was released in Europe in 2017 and has been translated into further languages in 2018. In 2019, his book Philosophy@Work (www.philosophyat.work) – a collection of philosophical concepts with contributions from some of the leading thinkers of modern times – will be published with the focus on how companies and executives can master the challenges of the 21st century.
His latest book “The Quantum Economy – What comes after Digital?” is also announced for 2019 and deals with a completely new system for the economy.
“If we want to understand society, we must rethink the economy”
Based on his 10 postulates of change, Anders explains how we can cope with our fast-moving world and change in general. He finds his drive for practical philosophy by claiming that there is too much bullshit in business today. If the bullshit can no longer be tolerated due to advances in technology and the continuous creation of transparency in the complexity of the world, he is convinced that philosophical contemplation is needed in every industry and in every organization. He states that in 10 years we will not be searching for more software engineers, but for people that can take philosophy into action and apply the wisdom usefully for the (business) world.
In his latest work, Anders describes what he calls “The Quantum Economy” building on the previous paradigms of the “Old-” and the “New-” Economy. He explains, that although the “new economy” has led to growth, prosperity and progress for humanity, the hyper-consumerism and the materialistic capitalistic model as we know it will not continue to work, thus we need to further improve the unfinished work of the neoclassical model of capitalism. Humanity is now confronted with two existential challenges: How do we avoid ecological collapse, and how do we cope with exponential technologies. We now live in a parallel-society of downfall and prosperity where we can only solve the upcoming challenges by re-thinking the economy.
Ha Thu Thanh is among the first Certified Public Accountants in Vietnam and has over 35 years of international experience in corporate governance, risk advisory, auditing and accounting.
As the chairperson, she has made significant contributions to Deloitte – one of the four largest professional services firm in the world. Her contribution in advisory and auditing profession of Vietnam are made through various key positions she holds in Vietnamese and international social and professional organisations.
Thanh’s work supports sustainable development, corporate governance, professional accountancy and advisory, leadership development, and women entrepreneurship. Madam Thanh was voted one of the “50 Most Influential Women in Vietnam” by Forbes in 2017 and 2019. She also received “Asia Pacific Entrepreneur Award” by Enterprise Asia organization in 2017.
She holds a Master of Business Administration from Hawai’s University, a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting, a Bachelor of Law, and a Certificate in Legal Practice. She
is a member of both CPA Vietnam and Australia. Thanh has been appointed as Chairperson of VIOD since August 2018.
Forty years of experience in risk management, insurance advisory and broking services have brought Halim “across the board” hands-on experience, giving him the leading-edge in insurance consultancy and transactional business.
Under Halim’s leadership, the Sterling Group has grown from strength to strength since its establishment in 2001. Today, the Sterling Group comprises of eight subsidiaries – a sustainable ecosystem built to deliver a set of comprehensive solutions with a competitive cost structure to selected and targeted industries.
With a wealth of experience, passion and in-depth knowledge, Halim sits on various private company boards, a public listed company board and Government of Malaysia’s National Water Services Commission.
Alex is a Partner with PwC Malaysia’s Consulting practice. He leads the Forensics team and the Risk Consulting team in Malaysia.
He specialises in the prevention, detection and response to financial crime particularly fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and money laundering.
Alex has over 30 years experience including nine years as an Inspectorate officer with the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and eight years with the New Zealand Serious Fraud Office.
Previously, Alex sat on the Board of Transparency International (New Zealand). He joined PwC New Zealand in March 2005 and transferred to PwC Malaysia in March 2012. He is currently part of PwC’s Global Anti Money Laundering and Anti-Bribery and Corruption working groups.
Allen Blewitt was global Chief Executive of ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) from 2003 until 2008, based in London and prior to that Deputy CEO of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. He is now a non-executive director and independent consultant advising professional associations and companies on governance, strategic planning and ethics.
He is currently on the boards of Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment (CBLA), Cambridge English (Australia) and Deputy Chair of the Australian Scholarships Group, a mutual based financial services organisation specialising in funding educational journeys for families and individuals. He has also been on the board of a community childcare national peak body.
As a consultant he has specialised in facilitating strategic planning retreats for boards and management, improving governance practices within the board, troubleshooting with dysfunctional boards and improving corporate reputation. His client list includes Cambridge University, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (UK), ASIC (for training on business ethics), Chartered Accountants ANZ, Universities Australia and a number of health sector professions. He currently undertakes a limited number of CEO mentoring roles, and is a voluntary mentor for senior female executives at the University of Sydney.
Chow has more than 30 years’ experience in business advisory, strategy and transformation, and is actively involved in making targeted acquisitions to bolster design, technology, innovation and analytics capabilities in Asean. He has a keen understanding of the
digital capabilities landscape and how these apply to his clients.
Chow’s passions are transformation and nation-building, and he is energised by the achievements of both clients and country. He enjoys bringing people together, having conversations, facilitating discussions and achieving actionable outcomes.
A key influencer in the Asean consulting industry, Chow works extensively with a range of clients, including government organisations and private enterprises across Asia-Pacific, on their corporate strategies and business models, as well as the implementation of their transformation.
Currently, Chow is the Malaysia Advisory Managing Partner of Ernst & Young Advisory Services Sdn. Bhd. He is also the EY Asean Advisory Managing Partner, overseeing nearly 100 partners and 3,600 personnel in 10 Asean countries
Chris Sturgess is an Information and Cyber Security specialist. He is currently a Director in Clearwater Digital. He specialises in providing premium security services in penetration testing and cyber security assessments.
With over 15 years of experience in the industry, he has worked with the UK Civil Service and Government, holding key positions such as the Technical Director and Senior Information Security Consultant. His extensive expertise in uncovering vulnerabilities of IT security and secure design consultancy has helped him to be one of the leading cyber security specialists in the UK.
Currently at Clearwater Digital, he employs custom in-house tools to provide advanced data processing and digital exploitation capabilities as well as independent tailored technical assessments of cyber security products to esteemed organisations.
His professional qualifications include the internationally accredited CREST Certified Infrastructure Tester (CCT INF), the Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) and the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). He graduated from University of Exeter in Computer Science.
Craig Connolly assumed his current position as Chief Financial Officer on 1 February 2019. He started his career with Nestlé Oceania in 1986, taking on various Accounting roles, including Key Customer Service Manager, National Credit Manager and Finance Shared Service Manager.
In 2007, he was promoted to Head of Nestlé Business Services (NBS) in the Philippines, where he spearheaded the creation and successful development of both the Manila and Cairo NBS Centres, providing services to Asia, Oceania and Africa markets, as well as North America.
In 2014, he was appointed CFO of Nestlé Vietnam, where he played a key role in accelerating strong double-digit growth and profitability, improving margins, and reducing working capital and investment in portfolio expansion. Connolly graduated from Macquarie University, Australia. He also attended the Executive Development programme at IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland and Leadership Training at London Business School.
Ami Moris was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Maybank Kim Eng group on 1 October 2018.
She is responsible for overseeing all of the investment banking, brokerage and derivatives businesses in Malaysia and across MKE’s regional platform.
Ami joined Maybank IB in 2009 as Head, Equity Markets responsible for both the institutional and retail businesses. Ami played a leading role in the successful acquisition, integration, and subsequent management of Singapore-based Kim Eng Holdings, which transformed Maybank IB from a single-market entity into one of ASEAN’s leading investment banks.
Under her leadership, MKE became ASEAN’s largest equities franchise and was voted Best Broker in Southeast Asia for the last five consecutive years. In Malaysia, Ami guided the business from a Bottom 10 position to Top 3, while being consistently voted Best Brokerage in Malaysia.
Prior to her appointment as CEO, Maybank Kim Eng Group, Ami served as its Chief Operating Officer from 2015, overseeing the functions of the office of the Chief Executive Officer, MKE driving business strategy and management of the 10-country operating platform, covering ASEAN-6, Hong Kong, India, United Kingdom and USA. Before joining Maybank IB, Ami was with Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd which she joined in 2001.
Ami holds a Masters in History and Philosophy of Social and Political Science as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics & Politics, both from University of Essex, UK
Dato’ Dr Zaha Rina was a Consultant to Financial Technologies Middle East based in Bahrain for the set up of Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) launched in January 2009. Prior to this, she was with Royal Bank of Scotland Group in Singapore from August 2007 to May 2008. She has more than 25 years experience in the financial, commodities and securities industry and the development of the Malaysian Capital Market, which includes managing a futures broking company, and was Chief Executive Officer of RHB Securities Sdn Bhd from 2004 to 2006. She has previous Board appointments at the Commodity and Monetary Exchange of Malaysia (“COMMEX”) from 1993 to 1996, then as the Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) of Kuala Lumpur Options and Financial Futures Exchange (“KLOFFE”) in 2001, which merged to become Malaysian Derivatives Exchange (MDEX) in June 2001.
She was then appointed head of Exchanges, managing the operations of Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE), MESDAQ, MDEX and Labuan International Financial Exchanges (LFX) in September 2003 prior to KLSE’s (now known as Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad) demutualisation. She is also a regular speaker at many international conference and forums.
She was a director of Zurich Insurance Malaysia Bhd from 2007 to 2013 prior to being appointed Chairman of Manulife Holdings Bhd in December 2013 and is also the Group Nominating/ Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors of Manulife Holdings Berhad. She sits on the Board of Hong Leong Industries Bhd since 2012 and Tanah Makmur Berhad since 2014 besides holding directorship in several private limited companies. She is also a member of Market Participants Committee (MPC) of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad since July 2014.
She is a Vice-President of Persatuan Chopin Malaysia and Divemaster with National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI). She was a member of Global Board of Advisers for XBRL until 2009 and was also on the Board of Trustee for Malaysia AIDS Foundation until May 2010.
Dato’ Dr Zaha Rina received her BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance from Leeds UK and Doctorate in Business Administration from Hull UK focusing on capital markets research and specialising in derivatives.
Dato’ Seri Johan has over 35 years’ experience in auditing, accounting, business advisory and corporate governance.
He is a former Executive Chairman of PwC Malaysia. He worked in auditing and advisory for 10 years in London, and for 20 years in Kuala Lumpur. He retired from PwC in 2012.
Dato’ Seri Johan holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) degree in Economics and Accountancy from the University of Hull, United Kingdom. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW), a member of the Malaysian Association of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA). He is also an Eisenhower Fellow.
In the past, Dato’ Seri Johan has been a board member of a Bursa Malaysia-listed Malaysian banking group, a statutory body, a government pension fund, and a charity. He was the President of Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants from 2011 to 2012.
Dato’ Seri Johan is currently a director of two listed multinational companies in Malaysia: Sime Darby Properties Berhad and Eco World International Berhad, as well as one large unlisted company in Singapore.
Dato’ Seri Johan is an advocate of gender diversity in the boardroom. He has been involved in Corporate Governance issues since 2000, when he assisted the Securities Commission with the roll-out of the first Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance.
Datuk Seri Dr Nik is the Executive Chairman of Zaid Ibrahim & Co. (a member of ZICO Law). He advises clients on a wide range of legal matters incorporating Islamic finance, banking, offshore finance, debt restructuring, international, corporate and commercial law. He is also an expert advisor on debt and corporate restructuring transactions, the issuance of private debt securities including Islamic financial instruments, both domestic and international. He has been legal counsel for several mergers and acquisitions and advises generally on regulatory and compliance issues.
Datuk Seri Dr Nik is the chairman of Malaysia Singapore Business Council, and chairman of various organisations. He was a visiting Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Law School and a Chevening Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford University. He was also formerly the Acting Dean/Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia.
He has authored and co-authored in many written chapter including “Development and Impact of Islamic Finance on Southeast Asia”, “The Effectiveness of the Legal Framework for the Islamic Financial Services”, “Insolvency in relation to Islamic Finance: Malaysian Law and Shariah Perspective”, and “Islamic Securities Exchanges: Principles and International Developments”.
Dzameer began his career in 2007 as a consultant at PwC, where he grew his experience in human capital development, process improvements, and project management in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Dzameer co-founded Teach For Malaysia in 2010. Working in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the private sector, Teach for Malaysia empowers young people growing up in low-income B40 communities to be leaders in the classroom and beyond. They won Best Graduate Programme at the Graduate Recruitment Awards 2015 and is currently the only non-profit organisation in GradMalaysia’s Top 100 Graduate Employer list.
Recently, Dzameer has also been appointed as the Chief Executive of Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman that is chaired by the Minister of Education and set up as an Act of Parliament in 1966 in honour of Malaysia’s founding Prime Minister. Dzameer hopes to lead Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman in providing greater educational opportunities for high potential students in low-income communities. Dzameer received the Pingat Ahli Negeri Sembilan in 2015 and is constantly curious about the intersection of emotional intelligence, mindfulness, leadership and the sense of possibility.
Håkon is a senior corporate and public affairs professional with extensive experience from the telecom and digital industries in Europe and Asia.
He is currently Head of Partner and External Relations Asia for the Telenor Group, one of the region’s largest mobile network operators. Prior to this, Håkon served as Telenor’s Acting Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Senior Vice President and Head of Group Public & Regulatory Affairs.
Håkon serves on the Board of Directors of several Telenor Group companies in Singapore, Telenor Myanmar, Telenor Pakistan, Dtac in Thailand, Grameenphone in Bangladesh and Digi in Malaysia where he serves as the Chair of the Board.
He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, where he also studied public relations. Håkon resides in Singapore – a city he has called home for the last 20 years.
Datin Sunita Rajakumar is a professional independent director and a strong advocate of the importance of governance in general and risk management in particular. She recently founded the Malaysia Chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative, the first in Asia and second in the world, and was appointed to the Global Advisory Board of Nottingham University’s School of Business. She is currently Chairperson of Bursa-listed Caring Pharmacy and independent director of Dutch Lady Milk Industries, MCIS Insurance (a member of the Sanlam group) and Zurich General Insurance. In addition, she sits on the board of trustees of various charitable foundations.
Her legal degree from the University of Bristol and professional qualification as a Chartered Accountant (England & Wales), led on to a career in investment banking. After 6 years in investment banking, she was invited by the Ministry of Finance to manage the first government-owned foreign technology venture capital fund. She has also advised on national innovation ecosystems.
Yoon Hoong has more than 25 years of professional experience in assurance and advisory services. As the EY Asean Assurance Digital Leader, Yoon Hoong drives large-scale connectivity and digital innovation across the Asean Assurance practice with game-changing technologies and practices. This includes driving significant innovation through data analytics, automation and clientfacing digital project management tools.
Yoon Hoong has managed attest audits of companies, comprising large government-linked corporations, multinationals, and public listed companies in Malaysia, with principal activities in construction and property development, plantation operations, highway concessionaire, software development and implementation, telecommunications, manufacturing, packaging and retail, oil and gas, focusing amongst others on the design and development of audit procedures.
Other than statutory audits, Yoon Hoong has also been involved in MFRS 9, 15 and 139 implementation projects, JSox reviews, financial due diligence, reviews of financial projections, special purpose audits and reviews, Reporting Accountants’ work relating to Initial Public Offerings involving both local and foreign markets, fund-raising exercises and a range of other financial advisory engagements.
Kulvech has led CAC (Collective Action Coalition Against Corruption) under the supervision of the IOD. CAC is a private sector platform that addresses corruption issues in Thailand.
He is currently a director at The Financial Institutions Policy Committee (FIPC), one of the main committees in the Bank of Thailand. The FIPC is responsible for setting prudential policies, regulations, and supervisory practices to ensure the safety and stability of Thailand’s financial institutions. Kulvech is also currently a member of the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s Sustainability Award Committee.
Before he was working at the IOD, Kulvech was a partner at PwC, helping clients integrate sustainable development into their business operations. His team assisted several leading Asian multinational businesses in developing sustainability strategies to adapt to the ever‐changing global business landscape.
Kulvech holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance and International Business from Sasin GIBA, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Mechanical Engineering, Chulalongkorn University.
Liz is the only Malaysian to be named one of the ‘Top 500 Most Influential PR Professionals’ in the PRWeek Power Book for 2014 and 2015 by PRWeek magazine, ‘Power List 2014 – Top 50 Most Influential People in PR’ by PRWeek Asia and ‘The Internationalist of the Year 2014’ by Internationalist New York.
She is known as the ‘turn-around’ communications expert, constructing out-of-the box solutions and advising senior leaders in managing organizational reputation inside-out to safeguard and enhance business and reputational value.
Liz specialises in various industries including energy, banking and finance, aviation, telecommunications and hospitality.
Before joining FTI Consulting, Liz was the Global Head of Strategic Communications at PETRONAS and prior to that she was the Malaysia Country Head of Corporate Affairs at Standard Chartered.
Michael is a qualified Environmental Scientist with over 20 years international experience in public and private sector organisations and is currently the Regional Head of Sustainability, Asia for Lendlease.
Michael has performed corporate and consulting roles across a broad range of sectors in Australia and UK including defence, utilities, infrastructure, construction, development and investment management.
In his role, Michael provides strategic advice on sustainability aspects on major development projects across Lendlease’s global portfolio ranging Barangaroo in Sydney to Paya Lebar Quarter in Singapore and TRX in Malaysia.
Working in regional and global roles has given Michael with the opportunity to apply his expertise across areas ranging climate resilience and carbon management to responsible investment and community development.
More recently, Michael is focused on working with Lendlease’s investors, strategic partners, governments and supply chain in driving opportunities that push the boundaries of sustainability on Lendlease’s investment management portfolio and major developments currently underway in Singapore, Malaysia and China.
Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia
Michele brings with her leadership and advisory experience on a wide spectrum of corporate governance and boardroom matters that includes board, committees and director effectiveness evaluation, competency development needs, remuneration and succession planning, legal and compliance, and corporate performance. Her passion in developing high-performing people has been the driving force in making her a forward-looking leader in the corporate sector.
Michele was Group Head, Corporate Secretarial and General Counsel for the last five years with IHH Healthcare Berhad, one of the largest listed healthcare providers globally. She oversaw legal, corporate secretarial and governance functions across several jurisdictions such as Singapore, Turkey, India, Asia Pacific, North Asia and the CEEMENA region while keeping watch on local matters.
Some of the key areas she was instrumental on includes mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, joint ventures, corporate schemes, and operational matters. She was also on the Board of Directors on a subsidiary board and Chief Sustainability Officer in charge of sustainability reporting and practices for the Group.
Prior to IHH, Michele spent six years from 2006 to 2012 at Malaysia’s national car manufacturer Proton Holdings Bhd where she held various positions in the Group Legal division, including Chief Legal Counsel. She was also board member of several Proton Holdings Berhad local and foreign subsidiaries and associated companies, member of the Group Management Committee, Management Audit Committee, Group Risk Management Committee, various project steering committees and task forces.
Upon leaving legal practice at Shook Lin & Bok where she specialised in the areas of banking, commercial/corporate, land and tort, Michele joined Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd in 1998 until 2005 as Assistant General Manager in its Legal Affairs and Risk Division. Here she oversaw negotiations in project conception, acquisitions of syndicated/bilateral domestic and foreign loans, club deals, share sale agreements, and risk participation agreements.
Michele holds a LLB Hons degree from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK (1991) and is a Barrister-at-Law at Middle Temple, London, England. She has been an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya since October 1993. She completed the Senior Management Development Programme of Harvard Business School in 2009, Professionalism in Directorship Programme by Malaysian Alliance of Corporate Directors (MACD) in 2012 and the NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW) Women Directors’ Training Programme in 2014. Michele is also a licensed company secretary.
Melisa is the Assistant Vice President, Editor, at Malaysia’s 24-hour news and current affairs channel, Astro Awani. Prior to her foray into television, Melisa was the host of ‘The Morning Run’, the morning drive-time show for BFM89.9, Malaysia’s only independent radio station. As a host, she facilitates discussion and debate about issues in finance, the economy, and governance.
Her fascination with news media began when she was attached to the Media & Foreign Newswires Division in the Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA).
Her passion for socio-economic affairs eventually brought her to BFM’s doorstep, and in 2011 she joined the station, sharing a common goal of building a better Malaysia by championing rational, evidence-based discourse as a key element of good policy decisions.
In her current role, she now spends her time speaking to newsmakers and tackling tough issues from across the country and around the globe.
Monsy graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University in the United States. She began her career in Southern Bank Berhad in its credit card division before moving to BP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd to spearhead its loyalty card programme. In BP, she was exposed to various aspects of the business, including advertising, sales and market research before joining the human resource team.
Monsy took a different route by entering the professional services industry as the Client Relationship HR Manager and eventually heading PwC’s HR team where she was also involved in ethics and business conduct, talent management and onboarding.
Armed with more than a decade of experiences in various HR roles, she is now the Executive Director for the People, Performance and Culture team for KPMG in Malaysia. Her unique blend of marketing and HR experience has put her in good stead to champion the People agenda and help support the leadership team in driving their overall agenda and strategic priorities in talent acquisition and branding, engagement and communication, performance and reward and mobility.
Nadhir Ashafiq is the Co-Founder & Executive Director of TheLorry – a regional digital logistics platform that connects customers to lorry, truck, van and 4×4 pickup truck drivers in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. He previously co-founded Glokalise, a social networking app and has experience working in air freight logistics and investment banking.
A degree holder in Accounting and Master’s degree holder in Finance from Curtin University, Nadhir is passionate in creating impact in all of his endeavours. He spearheads Product, Marketing initiatives as well as growth strategy in Thailand and Indonesia at TheLorry.
He currently sits in the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) and Malaysia Innovation Policy Council (MIPC) – looking at issues relating to digital economy, entrepreneurship and youth. He is also the Vice President of Persatuan Usahawan & Industry ICT Bumiputera Malaysia (NEF). Nadhir is a recipient of Forbes Asia’s 2017 30 Under 30.
Nadiah Wan, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara in 2017 and Group Chief Executive Officer of TMC Life Sciences Bhd in 2019.
She started her career at The Boston Consulting Group as an Associate Consultant, before joining Sunway Group as Manager, Strategy and Corporate Development.
Nadiah holds an MSc in Public Health (Nutrition) from the London School of Hygiene and Medicine, UK and was awarded the Hecht Bequest for Best Student in Public Health (Nutrition) upon graduation. She pursued her undergraduate studies in Biochemical Sciences at Harvard College (AB cum Laude, ’07) while conducting research at Boston Children’s Hospital with grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
She is currently an Interviewer for Harvard College admissions and the Vice President of the Harvard Club of Malaysia.
Nick Wood is an experienced senior global communications and public affairs leader skilled at developing strategy and plans for international businesses to enhance reputation, engage critical stakeholders, manage crisis and issues, and sustainable development.
A 30-year career living and working throughout the world has given Nick unique insights and understanding of the strategic political, cultural and social diversity that international business must navigate to be successful.
He has a global role for FTI Consulting based in Singapore. Previously, he was Vice President Communications of Shell’s global Upstream business, managing a 200-strong team across the world. He led communications and public affairs in China, Nigeria, Brunei, Kazakhstan and Oman, supporting complex multibillion projects and operations involving issues such as human rights, social conflict and environment impact.
He has links with Malaysia going back 30 years and has supported major Malaysian companies from the energy, transport, construction/development, insurance and telecoms sectors.
Yeen Seen is the Founder and CEO of the Centre for Research, Advisory and Technology (CREATE) and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2016. She has been recently appointed to the Entrepreneurial Development Council of the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. She sits on the UNESCO Steering Committee for Youth Leading Change for Peace in ASEAN and is a Board Member at the Global Institute for Women Empowerment.
Yeen Seen is also the Founder of #OpsHarapan, a grassroots movement when the worst flood hit the East-Coast of Peninsular Malaysia in 2014. Today, the movement continues their work in nation building by bringing opportunities and hope to local communities.
In 2015, she was invited to be a mentor of the US President Obama’s Young South East Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). She was also appointed to serve on the Technical Committee for the National Wage Council, established by the Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia. Yeen Seen recently completed an academic course at the Oxford Said Business School on Transformational Leadership.
An Accounting graduate of Cardiff University, UK; she holds a postgraduate degree in Education Policy from Warwick University, UK.
Patrick Pearson is Director of Communications Planning at Black Sun, an international communications agency that brings corporate stories to life across all stakeholder audiences and engagement channels. He advises clients in a number of sectors – including financial services, industrial & manufacturing and luxury goods – and advocates an integrated approach for building trust with investors, customers, employees and local communities.
For most of his career, Patrick has held in-house roles in Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs. His experience includes reputation management, employee engagement, investor relations, sustainability and marketing. Working alongside legal, risk and compliance functions, he has led Responsible Business change programmes relating to culture & values, codes of conduct and bribery prevention. He has worked in publicly listed companies, including The BOC Group plc and Spectris plc, and in large private companies, including ED&F Man and Stemcor.
Pedro is a senior analytics and marketing leader with over 15 years of global experience in data analytics, AI, product marketing and P&L management, spanning across technology, telecom, and financial services. As the head of Axiata Analytics, Pedro leads advanced analytics and AI across the operational companies of Axiata Group, a telecom and digital conglomerate in 11 Asian countries, focusing on marketing analytics, digital growth hacking as well as new revenue streams.
Earlier roles include Axiata Head of Business Transformation and Engagement Manager at McKinsey, focusing on marketing and strategy. Pedro also worked for McGraw-Hill / Standard & Poor’s in New York and for Orange in Paris as well as in IT architecture in Veolia Water in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and in Research & Development in France Telecom in Paris.
Pedro holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is a certified machine-learning professional with a tracked record of bridging the gap between business objectives and technology. A high-impact leader and enthusiast about coaching people, Pedro is a committed technology author and an international keynote speaker.
With over 20 years in international relations and business facilitation, general management, marketing and business development in various sectors, Benetello’s work experience ranges from providing consultancy in strategic business planning, marketing, international business development and start-ups, to online strategy and event planning.
Benetello started his career with the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUMCCI) in April 2016, when he joined the Board of the Chamber. He was later appointed the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The valuable contributions he made during his chairmanship prompted the Chamber to appoint him as EUMCCI’s first CEO to further leverage on his capability and expertise in operations.
Benetello holds a Masters Degree in Marketing from Lincoln University, UK, and a Master in Business Administration from SDA Bocconi School of Management, Bocconi University, Italy. Benetello is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Malaya’s Asia-Europe Institute, Malaysia, working on a research project on business sustainability.
Benetello’s vision is to make EUMCCI the go-to platform for members, other EU Bilateral Chambers, and the EU business community in Malaysia, where business-critical issues are aggregated into recommendations for relevant stakeholders, to make Malaysia a friendly business environment for EU companies and investors, to the benefit of all parties involved.
Sarena’s professional milestones span across internal audit, corporate finance, sales & marketing, and strategy & business development since 1995 in one of Malaysia’s largest public listed conglomerate – the Sunway Group.
She is the Managing Director of the Property Development Division of Sunway Group since 2015. She also serves as a member of the Employees’ Share Option Scheme Committee. Sarena is also a member of the REIT manager for Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust.
A strong advocate for human capital development and diversity in the workplace, Sarena led the charge to modernise Sunway’s work culture, introducing best practices to encourage a more diverse, flexible and enriched workforce.
Sarena currently sits on the board at Sunway Berhad and Sunway REIT. Her directorships in other public companies include SunREIT Capital Berhad, SunREIT Unrated Bond Berhad and Sunway Lagoon Club Berhad. She is also a trustee on Yayasan Raja Muda Selangor.
Sarena was one of two CEOs awarded The Edge Malaysia Outstanding Property CEO Award in 2017, and has continued to lead Sunway Property to be amongst Malaysia’s Top Property Developer ranked by The Edge since 2014. She is a member of CPA Australia and also a holder of the Capital Markets Services Representative’s Licence (CMSRL).
Shai Ganu leads the Rewards business in Asia Pacific for Willis Towers Watson – covering Board Advisory, Management Consulting, and Data Services portfolios. He also heads the Talent & Rewards business segment across ASEAN and South Asia
Shai leads a team of 450 exceptional consultants providing human capital advisory, data, and software solutions to organizations across the region. This includes advising companies on their executive compensation, board effectiveness, performance management, talent management, sales effectiveness, and Diversity & Inclusion strategies.
Shai is a member and faculty at ICDM, SID, and Philippines ICD. He is an associate lecturer at Singapore Management University (SMU) and conducts training courses for Directors on Remuneration and Talent Management matters for the SID-SMU diploma.
Shai frequently contributes his views and opinion to Harvard Business Review, Business Times and other publications on Executive Pay and Corporate Governance. He was the lead author for the Remuneration Committee Guidebook for SID, and has also written chapters for HR textbook for MBA courses. Shai serves on the Boards and HR Committees of leading companies and not-for-profit organizations in the region.
Sridharan Nair (or Sri as he is commonly known) is PwC Malaysia’s Managing Partner and the Territory Senior Partner of the PwC Malaysia-Vietnam firm. He is also a member of PwC’s Asia Pacific Executive Board, Chairman of the Board of its South East Asia (SEA) Consulting practice and the Board member representing SEA at the broader ASEANZ regional consulting practice.
Sri is an alumnus of Universiti Malaya and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with a Big 4 firm in London where he specialised in the financial services sector. He has 30 years’ experience in audit and business advisory services, having worked with financial services clients in the UK initially and a wide range of clients across various sectors in Malaysia thereafter. He has been the lead engagement partner responsible for the audits of large listed companies in the banking, insurance, telco and airlines sectors in Malaysia. He has also led a number of cross border financial due diligence assignments in the financial services sector.
Sri was a regular speaker at forums related to the insurance sector in the past. In his current leadership role, he has been a regular speaker, panellist and moderator at conferences and forums in Malaysia on topics such as leadership, corporate governance, current economic issues and human capital.
Chairman, appointed on 28 March 2018
Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia
Tan Sri Zarinah brings with her legal, corporate, and regulatory experience from the many years spent in the corporate sector and public service.
She is the former Chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), a position she held for six years until her retirement in March 2012. She was before this, the SC’s Deputy Chief Executive from December 2001.
During her tenure at the SC, Tan Sri Zarinah had focussed efforts to establish a sound corporate governance culture amongst public listed companies, closing gaps and elevating standards by encouraging the integration of principles, ethics & values into the decision-making process as well as ensuring board diversity to promote inclusive growth. She served as Vice Chairman of the Emerging Markets Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions and was a member of the Monitoring Board of the IFRS Foundation, established to enhance the public accountability of the Foundation. She also served two terms as Chairman of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum, a network of capital market regulators established under the auspices of the ASEAN Finance Ministers Forum to promote the development of ASEAN capital markets. She was a member of the Board of Directors of Institut Integriti Malaysia from 2004 to 2012.
Tan Sri Zarinah began her career in the Malaysian legal and judicial service, where she served as a Magistrate, Senior Assistant Registrar of the Penang High Court, solicitor in the Public Trustee Department and in the Attorney General’s Chambers. She joined Shell Malaysia in 1979, where she spent 22 years in various capacities across the company’s business interests in Malaysia. She headed the legal, human resources, corporate affairs and HSE functions of Shell Malaysia and was an integral member of its business re-engineering team and oversaw Shell Malaysia’s organisational effectiveness function. Tan Sri Zarinah was also a member of the boards of directors of several Shell entities in Malaysia as well as the Group’s Global Diversity Council. She retired as Deputy Chairman of Shell Malaysia in 2001 to join the SC.
Tan Sri Zarinah is currently a member of the Boards of Trustees of the Razak School of Government, Amanah Warisan Negara and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation. She served on the board of trustees of Yayasan Hasanah from 2015 to 2022.
She is also a Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi MARA, Chairman of Universiti Malaya and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, United Kingdom.
She had also served as Chairman of Malaysia Debt Ventures Berhad, a director of PETRONAS and Permodalan Nasional Berhad, a member of the Academic Advisory Council of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS and a member of the Advisory Board of the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority.
An advocate of gender diversity, Tan Sri Zarinah is a Founding Chairman and Chairman of the Advisory Council of the 30% Club Malaysia Chapter, a business campaign to help drive higher women representation in leadership positions and on corporate boards.
Tan Sri Zarinah holds an LLB (Hons.) from Universiti Malaya.
In 2002, YM Tengku Farith was selected as one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum, Davos of Switzerland. In 2004, he was the first recipient of the Young Entrepreneur award by the Malay Chamber of Commerce, Malaysia and in 2006 was awarded the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship for 2007 by the Eisenhower Foundation, USA. In 2008 he was awarded Most Outstanding Entrepreneur for 2008 by the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurs Award (APEA) Organization. In March 2012, YM Tengku Farith was awarded the BMW Stifung Herbert Quandt – Young Leaders. His latest recognition was a nomination by Top 10 of Malaysia Magazine for Top 10 Inspiring Technopreneurs in Malaysia.
His career began with Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB) in the corporate finance division. He was a key team member in the Corporate Finance and Capital Market divisions. He has in-depth knowledge about corporate restructuring, corporate financing and financial re-engineering.
He then moved on to Road Builder (M) Holdings Berhad and was responsible for its business development in property and infrastructure projects. At Road Builder, he was instrumental in securing numerous privatisation projects relating to property and infrastructure.
YM Tunku Afwida has held senior roles in investment banks. From 2006 until 2008, she was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Director (ED) of Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad. Prior to that, from 2003 to 2006, she was CEO and ED of MIMB Investment Bank Berhad (now known as Hong Leong Investment Bank Berhad) and from 1995 to 2003, she was ED/Chief Investment Officer of Commerce Asset Fund Managers Sdn Bhd.
She is currently a Director and shareholder of Asia Equity Research Sdn Bhd, a company licensed by the Securities Commission of Malaysia to provide advisory services in corporate finance including compliance and funding advisory related services. She is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of Telekom Malaysia Berhad and Gamuda Berhad.
A chartered accountant, YM Tunku Afwida possesses vast financial, analytical and risk management experience, enabling her to provide invaluable input to the Board and Audit Committee. YM Tunku Afwida holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Economics and Accountancy from City University London, UK; qualified as a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and is a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.
YM Tunku Mahmood received his BA (Hons) Business Studies from the Polytechnic of Central London, Masters in Business Administration from the University of Warwick, and the Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia, Malaysian Institute of Management, and Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance.
YM Tunku Mahmood is currently the Chairman of Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad and Hong Leong MSIG Takaful Berhad. He is also a member of the board of Hong Leong Assurance Berhad, and Hong Leong Asset Management Berhad. He was previously the Senior Independent Director of Telekom Malaysia Berhad, Chairman of VADS Berhad, a member of the board of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad, Pos Malaysia Berhad, Sapura Kencana Petroleum Berhad / Kencana Petroleum Berhad, Ethos Capital One Sdn Berhad, Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia, Energy Africa Limited, and Engen Limited in South Africa.
YM Tunku Mahmood draws on a wealth of experience around strategy, governance, risk management, and cross border activity in telecommunications, investment management and private equity activity, oil and gas, marine and aviation logistics, corporate advisory, banking and financial services, across several international locations including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia.
Yoon Li is the Executive Director of Royal Selangor International, a homeware brand that spans four generations. He ensures that Royal Selangor continues to design and produce beautiful and relevant products for today’s discerning consumers.
His other experiences lie in the motorsports and automotive industry. He worked as a design engineer with Formula One with Team Lotus International and Nissan Motorsports in the UK.
He currently sits on the board of the Malaysia Chapter of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and Malaysia country committee for Family Business Network International. He previously served on the global board of Entrepreneurs’ Organization and had been a board member of Family Business Network Asia. He has also sat on various committees at the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Yoon Li graduated with a Masters in Engineering from the Manufacturing Engineering School at the University of Birmingham, UK. He also holds an MBA from IMD, Lausanne Switzerland.
Zaiton binti Jamaluddin is an Independent, Non Executive Director of Duopharma Biotech Berhad. She is a graduate in Pharmacy from Western Australia Institute of Technology (now Curtin University) and has an MBA from Keele University, UK.
Zaiton has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, majority of it spent at Novo Nordisk A/S subsidiary in Malaysia as its Head. She had a regional role for South East Asia before that. Zaiton helped to establish and grow Novo Nordisk’s business, mainly in insulin and oral diabetes care, haematology and women’s therapy. She held roles in the areas of general management, sales and marketing, business development and training. In addition, she was involved in lobbying and making presentations to the government.
An expert in her field, Zaiton has been a regular speaker on scientific as well as motivational topics. She was a member of the MARA Council from 2000 to 2002, a director of Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd from 2006 to 2008, and a former President of the Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia from 2005 to 2007.
She likes to travel especially by road and is inspired by nature and people. She writes in her spare time and believes that life is what one makes it to be, whatever the challenges. She is also an Art collector.
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