IWFCIM Investment Forum

Guest Of Honour

YB Dato’ Sri Nancy Shukri
Minister of Women, Family and Community Development

Salwana Ali

President, IWFCIM
Managing Director @Salwana and Rahim Associates Sdn Bhd

Salwana possesses 35 years multitude of work experience covering the corporate world, entrepreneurship, and civil society organization. She helps organizations improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and delight their customers. She has managed and directed key programs and projects, targeting multitude of segments of communities. Most recently, she established the benang.org, a social enterprise marketplace platform to procure tailoring services and ready-to-wear clothing sewn by a community of 60 B40 tailors in Malaysia – an initiative managed and operated by IWFCIM supported by Yayasan Hasanah. She also mentors and coaches middle managers and future leaders. Prior to her entrepreneurial ventures, she invested 20 years in the corporate world holding management and leadership positions in the information technology industry. Her last role in the corporate world was the Public Sector Director of Microsoft Malaysia. She has authored and published a couple of books – A Handbook for First Time Managers and Give Receive Improve.

Technology and Investment

Chong Chye Neo

Independent Director Bursa Malaysia Berhad. Former Managing Director IBM Malaysia.

Chong Chye Neo retired as MD/CEO of IBM Malaysia in Dec 2018 after 30 years at IBM.  She holds the distinction of being the first woman to helm the company in its then 55-year history in Malaysia. She currently serves as an Independent Director of Bursa Malaysia Bhd., Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd., KLCC Properties Holding Bhd. and QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd.  

Chye Neo is also an honorary member of American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), having served on the Board of Governors prior to her retirement from IBM and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia (ICDM).

She was part of the Information Technology (IT) industry for more than 30 years, starting with her career as a software engineer on the plant floor and subsequent systems engineering and leadership roles that spanned across multiple disciplines of technical, sales, Intellectual Property, business and strategy development. She led diverse teams to successfully drive businesses in markets across 15 countries in Asia Pacific and led in the turn-around of a number of businesses. 

She regularly speaks at forums on topics ranging from the impact of digital disruption, the future of work, developing women for leadership & board roles, and the future of women in a digital world.

In recent years, she mentored multiple cohorts of aspiring women directors via programs organized by LeadWomen, ICDM and 30% Club Malaysia, and was a judge for the national level UN Women Empowerment Principles 2021 & 2022 awards as well as Kincentric Best Employer 2021 & 2022 awards programs.

Moderator:

Azhar Mohd Zabidi

Director, Origination and Listing, Bursa Malaysia.

Azhar Mohd Zabidi was first appointed by Bursa Malaysia as Director of Securities Market Division in October 2020 and subsequently Director of Origination & Listing from March 2022. He is primarily responsible for developing primary & secondary markets, alternative markets including LFX, product and market development and Islamic markets & products. 

Prior to joining Bursa Malaysia, Azhar was Chief Executive Officer of Capital Markets Malaysia, the promotional arm of the Securities Commission Malaysia established to develop strategies to further advance existing and new market segments. These areas included developing overall retail participation, alternative funding solutions for small businesses and start-ups, promoting global demand for Sukuks, as well as promoting sustainable funding options for larger funding needs. 

Prior to Capital Markets Malaysia, Azhar was an investment banker from 1996 to 2015 and held senior positions in several Malaysian and global financial institutions. Azhar holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Finance from London South Bank University. 

Panel Speaker:

Ooi Lay Peng

Chief Executive Officer, L&P Global Bhd 

Ms. Ooi Lay Pheng is the Executive Director and Group CEO of L&P Global Berhad and CEO of Berjayapak Sdn. Bhd., a leading group of companies that create packaging solutions for multinational corporations across different industries.

She expanded the footprint of the group from one location to five locations, in Malaysia and Vietnam. The Group has been enjoying double-digit compounded growth rate for the top and bottom lines over the last 5 years. Her bold innovation in incorporating sustainability elements into the business model is what contributed to the exponential growth of the group. In January 2023, she successfully listed the Group on Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange ACE market.

Under her leadership the Group has won many industry accolades such as the following:

• Sustainability Business Awards by Global Initiatives – Winner in Supply Chain Management (2021)
• Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability – Asia Leading SMEs (2020)
• Golden Bull Award – Outstanding SME (2018)

In 2022, her achievement was recognised by Ernst and Young where she was awarded Malaysian EY Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, 2021.

She is an active participant and contributor in the global wood packaging industry forum, both USA and Europe.

Lay Pheng holds a Master of Arts in Economics from Wichita State University, USA. As a firm believer in lifelong learning, She has completed executive courses in “Competing on Business Analytics and Big Data” organized by Harvard Business School and “Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies” organized by Cambridge Business School.

Moderator:

Shareen Shariza Dato’ Abdul Ghani

VP – Special Envoy IWFCIM
Co-Founder and Managing Director, Sorga Innovation Sdn Bhd

Shareen is MD & Co-Founder and Director of Sorga Innovation, a boutique advisory firm specialising in Sustainable Development, ESG and human capital/talent strategies and solutions. She co-designed and co-created digital solutions around talent in particular to enable an ecosystem for the future of work, connecting organisations with experts and professional talent.

In Sustainable Development/ESG, Shareen’s area of specialisation is in development of sustainability policies and strategies, advocating the adoption of strategies around ESG and transition to a low-carbon economy. Central to her work was in spearheading the design of a sustainability-adjusted valuation model for socially responsible investments and value creation for Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

Prior to founding Sorga Innovation, Shareen was CEO of Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad, a talent and human capital government agency under the Economic Planning Unit of Malaysia under the Prime Minister’s Office. Between 2007-2016, Shareen was Director of Corporate Responsibility/Sustainability at Khaza-Nah Nasional. Prior to joining Khazanah she was the Chief Operating Officer of Mercy Malaysia, a medical humanitarian organisation with a global footprint.

Shareen is a Member of the Sustainable Development Committee of Bursa Malaysia, a Board Member of MTT Shipping Berhad, Accelerate Global Sdn Bhd (A Malaysian start-up) and a Board of Trustee of Yayasan UEM. She is also Vice President of the International Women Federation of Commerce and Industry (IWFCIM) Malaysia and was recently appointed as the Adjunct Professor at UNITAR International University.

Shareen holds a Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership from University of Cambridge. She also has a Master in Public Policy, from University Malaya and a Bachelor (Hons) in Mass Communications from University Sains Malaysia.

Panel Speaker:

Amy Baum

Consultant
Women Economic Empowerment, UN Women Regional Office for Asia Pacific 

Amy is a Consultant supporting the Women’s Economic Empowerment portfolio at the Regional Office. Since joining the team in 2020, she has conducted research and developed briefs to guide gender-responsive private sector response strategies to COVID-19, provided technical guidance on private sector engagement for gender equality to UN Women Country Office teams around the region, and supported the development and implementation of programming and research on innovative, market-based approaches to transform the care economy. As the regional focal point for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), Amy also leads the region-wide UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards process and oversees programme coordination for initiatives in Malaysia. Amy holds a BA in Socio-cultural Anthropology from the University of Virginia and was the recipient of a Rotary Foundation Global Grant Scholarship to complete an MA in Development Studies from the #1 ranked Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at Sussex University in the UK, where her studies focused on gender and participatory action research methods. 

Panel Speaker:

Andrew Chan

SE Asia Sustainability and Climate Change Leader, Asia Pacific ESG Strategy and Transformation, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Andrew is PwC’s South East Asia Consulting Services Sustainability & Climate Change Leader. He leads a team that provides a range of sustainability services, including green growth, strategy & economics, risk assessment, assurance and greenhouse gas accounting.

Panel Speaker:

Roy Heong Beng Wai

Head, Strategic Partnership
Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad 

Mr Roy Heong is the Head of Strategic Partnerships for Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad (ABMB).

His focus is to work with external partnerships to deliver value both to them and the clients of the bank. Via this role, Alliance Bank has launched the Sustainability Assistance Program that enables businesses in Malaysia to improve their sustainability capabilities, making them more competitive globally and saving costs. 

The department also manages the most comprehensive B2B site that is BizSmart Solution Portal. The portal contains both banking and non-banking solutions that help SMEs succeed in 7 key areas. These are in reaching new customers, digitizing business, sustainability, managing operational cost, selling globally and upskill employees whilst enjoying preferential rates from solution providers and financial offerings.

He has over 20 years of banking industry experience covering the areas of digital, innovation and strategic partnerships. During this time, he has spearheaded change and transformation within the industry. Prior to this, he held digital roles in OCBC and Citibank.

He seeks to collaborate with businesses and ecosystems to develop new ways towards achieving new customers, revenue and cost efficiency. 

 “Be Curious, Solve Needs, Help People”

Panel Speaker:

Tan Yet Mee

Founder and CEO
Maypreen Sdn Bhd 

Tan Yet Mee holds an MBA (Heriot Watt University) and a Degree in Economics from the National University of Malaysia. (UKM). Her passion in life is to help create opportunities for women to empower themselves through education and entrepreneurship.  Her motto in “…home is where the heart is, not where you come from”.  

An undercover introvert, she sees life as a series of  happy coincidences but believes nothing is achieved without true commitment to excellence and integrity. She is featured in “The Women Lead in The Digital Economy- The Integration of Technology into Women’s Businesses in Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar published by Woomentum Cambodia and Embassy of France Cambodia.”

Yet Mee’s passion lies in creating a safe world and with safe products. In 2018, her company Maypreen Sdn Bhd,  launched Minim^tm, an ecofriendly range of household detergent safe for people sensitive skin after 8 years of research. 

Maypreen Sdn Bhd has received the MyHijau mark a an internationally recognized mark for green products in 2022 by the Malaysia Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC) under the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change. 

Maypreen Sdn Bhd is Finalist in MOSTI MC

Maypreen was also awarded Sustainability Leadership Award 2021 by Malaysia GPM in 2021

As current President of Wencheng Gongzhu Malaysia (in support to coordinate fund raising for Mahasiddha Universal Peace Sanctuary, Lumbini, Nepal). 

She is a Master Practitioner of NLP. 

She has also co-authored an anthology of short stories entitled “Faultlines“, published by Silverfish Books 2015. 

She also founded and created the now defunct www.emmagem.com (online lifestyle e-magazine) from 2009 to 2015 to empower women through ecommerce and entrepreneurship.

Dzuleira Abu Bakar

CEO, Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI)

Dzuleira Abu Bakar is currently the Group Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI).

Formerly, she was the CEO of Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC). Prior to MAGIC, Dzuleira was the CEO of Cradle Seed Ventures (CSV), a growth-stage venture capital fund which is part of Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s premier early-stage funding agency and influencer. She is also an appointed Council Member of the National ICT Association of Malaysia (PIKOM).

Dzuleira is no stranger to the entrepreneurship ecosystem both in the country and the region. She brings with her years of experience in the tech ecosystem, nurturing and growing promising tech startups. Dzuleira has served in various roles across government agencies, GLCs as well as the private sector with deep experience across multiple industries in particular technology and innovation, honing skills in venture capital & private equity, corporate finance, legal & governance, deal structuring and stakeholder management among others.

Dzuleira holds a master’s degree in management from Universiti Malaya (UM) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

Moderator:

Jazilah Mohsin

Host lalaTV, IWFCIM
Community Director, RFOX Malaysia

Jazilah Mohsin, the Community Lead for RFOX, a cutting-edge metaverse company revolutionizing the market with its innovative ecosystem. With over 12 years of experience in marketing and community management, Jazilah has a proven track record of driving growth for both corporate and start-up companies.

In her current role, she leads the planning and execution of community engagement initiatives for RFOX, including events and community management. As a seasoned professional in the field, Jazilah is poised to provide valuable insights and perspectives on the future of the metaverse and its impact on retail, media, gaming, and rewards.

Speaker:

Sharmaine XinHui Kaur

Co-Founder | Education and Solutions Director @ EcoGarage Sdn. Bhd. 

Sharmaine is passionate in environmental preservation, wildlife conservation and sustainability. 

She co-founded EcoGarage with a goal to facilitate climate awareness and action nationwide especially amongst the younger generation. She designs and develops projects that encourage sustainable living within a community by providing capacity building for environmental preservation alongside the adoption of simple green technologies. 

She provides consultancy and seminars to corporate clients to encourage a workforce of sustainable thinkers. 

Prior to setting up EcoGarage, she worked in a blockchain company as a business development manager that focuses on community empowerment and sustainability in the video streaming industry. 

She had also worked as a wildlife ranger and a reptile handler expert. She graduated First Class, Bsc Hons in Environmental Science. 

Speaker:

Sofea Farida Mohd Shukri

Director of Planning and Development, EcoGarage

Sofea is the Co-Founder of EcoGarage and is a Business Economics and Finance graduate. Her passion for business management finds deeper meaning through EcoGarage, where she strategises the company’s ventures to maintain positive ROIs whilst contributing to long-term community development. She designs monetization strategies to capture market value through marketing and partnerships. She believes businesses require support and further understanding of sustainability to slowly solve their dilemma between economic benefit and environmental preservation. Her experiences in events and e-commerce management helped her understand the many challenges businesses face to be environmentally sound. 

Moderator:

Shenola Gonzales

Investment and Fundraising, IWFCIM

Shenola Gonzales is a Fellow Chartered Accountant (ICAEW, UK). She started her career with Ernst & Young, UK and has over 20 years of experience in the financial industry, ranging from managerial finance and accounting, business consulting, business development and fundraising. 

Shenola embarked on her entrepreneurial journey in 2011 and founded numerous businesses, successfully exiting one in 2018. 

Previously the Head of Investments at pitchIN, Malaysia’s leading alternative investments platform, Shenola has extensive experience in delivering results focused on the alignment and achievement of mutual strategic goals with the clients in their fundraising efforts. 

Shenola most recently was the CEO at Alevate Solutions, a business providing end-to-end solutions for SMEs who were embarking on their fundraising journey. 

Shenola sees her ability to adapt to any industry as her biggest asset. She believes that communicating finance in a non-finance way, enables everyone to understand 

the story behind a business empowering anyone with sound, accurate information to gain relevant insights. 

Panel Speaker:

Jamaludin Bujang

Managing Partner, Gobi Partners Malaysia

A supporter of Gobi’s efforts to expand in ASEAN since 2014, Jamal joined the firm in 2019 and is overseeing operations and investment activities at Gobi’s Kuala Lumpur office. He has 15 years of experience in equity research, investment evaluation, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and an additional 14 years of experience in Venture Capital. 

Prior to Gobi, he was the CEO of MAVCAP, Malaysia’s largest venture capital firm, which has directly and indirectly invested in over 1,100 startups since 2001. While at MAVCAP, Jamal shifted the company’s strategic direction to focus on raising funds from the private sector and managing funds with local and international VC partners, including 500 Startups, Elixir Capital, Gobi Partners, Vynn Capital and Intres Capital. He also attracted a number of local corporates and sovereign funds to invest in VC funds, including Axiata, Johor Corporation and Khazanah Nasional. In total, Jamal helped MAVCAP to create, manage, and participate in nine funds, with a combined size of over US$500 million. 

At Gobi, he successfully created and launched a US$20 million venture fund in Pakistan, in collaboration with the Fatima Group, one of the country’s largest conglomerates. 

Panel Speaker:

Elaine Lockman

CEO, ATA Plus

Elain holds a BSc. in Actuarial Science and MSc. in Operational Research from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She began her career in PETRONAS. She was involved with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysia Debt Ventures, Digi Telecommunications and Packet One Networks until she co-founded Ata Plus Sdn Bhd in 2015. She is currently a Council Member for the Malaysian Business Angel Network (MBAN), the President of the Registered Digital Markets Association Malaysia, Advisor to the Women in Tech Malaysia Chapter, Board Member of Reservoir Link Berhad, Propel Global Berhad, Leet Technology Inc (Nasdaq listed) and also one of the Board Directors of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). Elain is also on the Board of Trustees for Khazanah Foundation, Prosperity Development Foundation and KRU Foundation. She was awarded the BERG 2019 Women Icons Malaysia and also the 2020/2021 Batch of Digerati50 for her exceptional contributions to Malaysia’s Digital Economy.

Panel Speaker:

Victor Bong

CEO and Founder, VCORP Capital Sdn. Bhd.

Victor has more than 10 years of investment and business experience in private equity. 

He focuses on Pre- IPO investment and consulting, business valuation, acceleration and strategy. He has managed over RM40 million in assets and assisted more than 50 companies in transformation. He is also a private equity investment mentor and has attended more than 150 speeches on business investment and pre-IPO. 

Panel Speaker:

Kong Ming Enn

Director, YYC Mekong Tax Services

Kong Ming Enn is a Malaysian company’s business advisor and SME corporate finance advisor. He has more than 23 years of experience in helping SMEs and public listed companies in many industries such as manufacturing, construction, multimedia, wholesale, trade and retail. 

He is an equity planning expert as well as a “share motivation” expert with extensive practical experience. He firmly believes that every SME has a potential to get listed! 

He is a Member of Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia. 

Panel Speaker:

Charlene Chai Kar Lee

Assistant Manager, RHB Investment Bank

Charlene joined RHB Investment Bank since 2015 and has been in the financial industry for about 7 years. She has an extensive experience in Equities and Futures market. And during her years in the industry she has been one of the Top Qualifier in the bank for 6 years consecutively. She strongly believes that financial literacy is important for everyone as it empowers one to build wealth and achieve financial freedom at the early stage of their life. She is also one of the RHB talents who graduated from RHB Leadership Signature Program conducted by Melbourne Business School in 2019. 

She is eloquent, passionate and capable. With her knowledge and skills, she has helped her clients to generate a reasonable return from their investment which eventually lead her to be appointed as one the emcee and leader for the team. She may be petite in size but she is great in skill by turning an adversity into an opportunity. Her motto is “Never Try Never Know.” So let’s hear her out and join her on this exciting journey to kick start your investing journey.

Panel Speaker:

Eltricia Foong

Senior Analyst, Public Investment Bank

Eltricia has 22 years of investment, broking and equity capital market experience. Currently, she is a senior analyst in Public Investment Bank, where she is responsible to provide regular investment ideas and recommendations via extensive fundamental research on listed companies in the telco, gaming and media industry. Prior to this, she was attached to numerous foreign and local investment banks namely Deutche Bank, Nomura Malaysia, HwangDBS Vickers and AmInvestment Bank covering the soft commodities, automotive and construction industries. She has also held the position of the Investor Relation Manager of Asia’s leading agribusiness group, Wilmar International, in Singapore.

She was voted in the Institutional Investor’s 2009, 2011 & 2012 All-Asia Research Team, ranked #2 in 2008 The Edge-Lipper Malaysia Overall Top Stock Picking category and rated in the Asiamoney’s 2001 & 2007 Brokers Poll.
Eltricia graduated with a bachelor degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Technology, Sydney and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.