Tehmina Kaoosji (Moderator)
Tehmina Kaoosji is a Communications Consultant, Broadcast Journalist and Gender Equality Activist currently based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A familiar and in-demand broadcast face, Tehmina has more than a decade of LIVE breaking news and current affairs programming experience.
She currently anchors ‘Wacana English’, Sinar Harian’s flagship current affairs talk show. She previously anchored ‘Money Matters’, TV3 Malaysia’s flagship financial talk show. She was with the Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA), from 2014-2020, anchoring and producing special projects and annual highlights like the National Budget and Election coverage. She also anchored and produced the feminist talkshow ‘Tea with Tehmina’, and ‘Bernama Today’ & ‘The Nation’, focusing on topics of national and regional current affairs.
Tehmina is a Thomson Reuters Foundation Fellow and TedX Malaysia alumni. She has spoken at Malaysian Parliament on Online Hate Speech & Disinformation as part of the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
She participated in the German Federal Foreign Office’s Disinformation & Media Freedom workshop in Berlin. She has participated in the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Journalism & Media Ethics Training in Tallinn, Estonia.
Tehmina combines solid news judgement with an engaging broadcast personality. She is a versatile and highly experienced moderator of high-level debates and conferences on a wide range of subjects- from business, economy and technology, to politics and women’s rights, sustainable development, public interest issues and media freedom.
Her expertise in deftly presenting and steering debate and conversations around Malaysian-centric news while keeping a broader lens on Asia and the global arena, assures non-partisan, solutions journalism outcomes.
Audiences and clients applaud Tehmina’s ability for humanising stories and contextualising broad based economic, political and social justice issues with grassroots realities.
In addition to her work with Malaysian media organisations, Tehmina also runs a boutique communications consultancy, The Big Picture, which specialises in advocacy and policy based outcomes for international organisations such as the United Nations Population Fund. Her work also focuses on collaboration and strategising with civil society and in particular, women’s rights organisations.
Ramesh Pillai
Chairman, Board of Governors, Institute of Enterprise Risk Practitioners
Ramesh Pillai is the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Institute of Enterprise Risk Practitioners (IERP) as well as being the Group Managing Director of Friday Concepts, an International ERM boutique consultancy, and TriasGRC (a tech startup developing GRC solutions). His local and international Board experience includes a number of leading Financial Institutions, a leading Private Education Provider, as well as Developmental Financial Institutions and other non-Financial Institutions. Hehas experience chairing Board Risk Management Committees, Investment Committees and Board Audit Committees, and being a member of the Board Collaboration Committee, Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee. He is a former nominee Director for a Regional Central Bank. Ramesh is also the former Risk Management Adviser to the Public Trustee and one of the largest fund managers in the Region as well as to one of the largest Islamic fund managers in the Region. His main areas of expertise encompass Risk Management, Technology, Sustainability (ESG), Governance, Compliance and Finance and accounting.
With over 30 years of Risk Management experience, he is also a recognized Global Pioneer in ERM and in the implementation of ISO 31000, ISO 31004 and 31010 practices. Ramesh holds a Bachelor of Economics with Accountancy (Honours) degree from Loughborough University, UK. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) as well as the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), a Certified Risk Professional (CRP), a certified Enterprise Risk Manager (ERM), a certified Islamic Enterprise Risk Manager (ERMi), a Qualified Risk Director (QRD), a Qualified Risk Auditor (QRA), and a certified Sustainability Risk Manager (SRM), Ramesh is also an Islamic and Conventional Risk Management resource for the Qatar Investment Authority and is listed in their Q-Finance Directory. Ramesh is an adjunct professor in Risk Management and a member of the MBA (ERM) Studies Committee in a leading International Private University.
Anne Abraham
Chairperson, LeadWomen
Anne Abraham currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of Metrod Holdings Berhad.
Founded LeadWomen in 2011 to focus on developing and advancing women leaders in line with the Malaysian government’s aspirational target of 30% women on boards.
Recognised thought leader in diversity, equity and inclusion both locally and regionally.
A faculty member of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia (ICDM)
Has over 20 years of corporate experience in several leadership positions in the fields of sales, marketing, alliances and operations in global technology companies, previous roles include Country Manager of SAP Malaysia and Managing Director Cisco Malaysia.
Plays a key role as Executive Co - Founder of the Malaysian Chapter of the 30% Club, a global business campaign lobbying for increased women representation on the boards of Malaysian PLCs.
Anne holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Essex University, UK and obtained her Higher National Diploma of Computer Studies from Plymouth Polytechnic, UK.
Kasturi Nathan
Head of Board Advisory Services, KPMG Malaysia
Kasturi is the Partner and Head of Board Advisory at KPMG in Malaysia as well as the program leader for KPMG Board Leadership Center in Malaysia.
Her tenure of over two and a half decades at KPMG in Malaysia has resulted in the spawning of new consulting practice areas, straddling across the domains of board advisory, corporate governance and sustainability.
Armed with her leadership, the team at KPMG in Malaysia has assisted clients across a cross-section of industries and backgrounds in driving ethics and purpose within their organisational fabric. Notably, her team was commissioned by Bursa Malaysia Berhad to formulate the development of Corporate Governance Guide (revised across several editions), as well as the Sustainability Reporting Guide and Toolkits which serve to facilitate the understanding of listed issuers on the implementation of corporate governance and sustainability practices.
Premised on the notion of inculcating accountability and promoting fairness in reward mechanisms, Kasturi has led engagements on remuneration analyses, benchmarking and policy formulation for the cohorts of board of directors, C-suite and other key senior management personnel. She has also authored multiple thought leadership publications and opinion pieces on current issues with regards to remuneration.
She is a regular speaker on corporate governance and a trainer of boards in programmes that are organised under the auspices of regulators and professional bodies. In terms of professional credentials, Kasturi is a Fellow Member of CPA (Aust), a Chartered Accountant (MIA), a Professional Member of Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting.
Dr. Surina Ismail
Group Head of Sustainability, IOI Corporation Bhd
Dr. Surina Ismail currently holds the position of Group Head of Sustainability, IOI Corporation Bhd. In this capacity, she is responsible for corporate sustainability which includes aligning the strategy and sustainability policies together with their implementation for the whole IOI Group (Plantation & Manufacturing Divisions).
Prior to this, she was the Global Director for Intellectual Property (IP) Management at Emery Oleochemicals where her main responsibilities include IP Strategy, Valuation & Portfolio Management. At the same time, she was also a Business Development and Operations Director for Emery Advance Material, a subsidiary company of Emery which specialises in the dispersion of Nanocarbon in Materials (she holds several patents in this field) and where she was responsible for developing the business strategy for their patented technology as well as oversee the operation’s side of this technology.
She holds a BSc. (Hon) Chemistry from Indiana University, MSc. (Polymer Organic) from University of Massachusetts and PhD. (Bio-organic Polymer) from University Akron, USA with past experiences in the academia working as a Research Fellow, Visiting Scientist & Assistant Professor in the USA before returning to Malaysia and entering the Industrial Sector. She joined Sime Darby Technology Center, a technical center focused in the field of rubber and tires, as Materials Testing & Analysis Manager cum Quality Manager. Later on, she moved on to UCB Asia Pacific, a leading multinational company in UV Coatings, as Technical Development Manager for Asia. She then joined KLK Oleo as R&D Director at KLK Oleomas, a major manufacturing company in the oleochemicals industry.
In Regulatory and Sustainability Matters, she has been involved in activities such as the Supply Chain Certification for RSPO, RSPO’s Trade & Traceability Committee as well as in the sub-working group in Oleo Derivatives, LCA as well as in REACH, GHS, etc.
Tony Chin
Advisory Board Member, Kanzun Ventures
Tony Chin is the Immediate Past Chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, Malaysia, and is currently the Advisory Board Member of Kanzun Ventures. He has many years of experience in the Audit, Banking and Finance industry across Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. He is a Corporate Turnaround Specialist and also a professional Independent Non-Executive Director at both public listed and unlisted companies. He graduated from the University of Melbourne and has attended the Investment Banking Residential Program at Chicago’s Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management.
Tony is a Fellow Member at Chartered Accountant Australia New Zealand (CAANZ) and the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia (ICDM). He is a very passionate Mentor to students, working adults, entrepreneurs and aspiring Board Directors. Tony is a strong business development professional who is skilled in Negotiation, Strategic Business Planning and Implementation, Operations Management and International Business.
Datin Dorph Peng Weng Yin
National Deputy President, SME Association of Malaysia
Datin Dorph Peng is the Founder and Managing Director of Green Wellness Malaysia since 2012 although her business venture and experience started back in 1999 when she was also a software programmer during the dot com boom. As a MBA holder and multi-award winner, Datin Dorph is also a dedicated mother and social volunteers in many NGO and Societies with her latest role as the Deputy National President of SME Association of Malaysia and Chairman of Sunway Geo Avenue 1 JMC 2022.
Datin Dorph also frequently contributes as conference panelist and judge for business awards.