Future of Leadership: Diving into Uncharted Waters

Tan Sri Dr. Syed Hamid began his career in the Judicial and Legal Service as a magistrate in 1970 and was appointed President of the Sessions Court in 1971. He then pursued a career in the financial and banking sector locally and internationally from 1972 to 1986. In the years 1986 to 1990, he became a partner in the law firm of Albar, Zulkifly and Yap. He was a Member of Parliament from 1990 to 2013, during which time he held various ministerial positions including Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Minister of Justice, Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and most notably, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Tan Sri Dr. Syed Hamid’s last held position was Chairman of the Land Public Transport Commission of Malaysia (SPAD), from 2010 to 2017. Tan Sri Dr. Syed Hamid holds a Barrister-at-Law degree from the Middle Temple, U.K. and was called to the Malaysian Bar in 1974. He also holds a Masters Degree in Human Sciences (Political Science) from International Islamic University Malaysia and a PhD in International Relations from Asia e University, Kuala Lumpur.

Ebrahim Patel is the Managing Director of TransAfrix Holdings and serves on various company boards. He is a South African entrepreneur with a passion for business who started a number of successful ventures. He’s the current National President of the Minara Chamber of Commerce, Deputy Chairperson of Business Forum South Africa, International Advisory Member of the World Islamic Economic Forum, Chairman of the WIEF Young Leaders Network, trustee of the eThekweni Community Foundation and Advisory Board Member of the University of KwaZulu Natal ELC.

Ebrahim serves on the KwaZulu Natal Economic Council which advises the provincial government on economic strategy and is a lead member of the KZN Halaal Hub Task Team. He is passionate about youth and entrepreneurship and is regularly asked to speak on various platforms locally as well as internationally.

Ganesh Kumar Bangah is known as a serial entrepreneur, startup investor and tech industry leader. He is founder and Executive Chairman of Commerce.Asia Group Malaysia, Executive Chairman of ASX-listed Netccentric Limited and Honorary Chairman of National Tech Association of Malaysia and advisor to its think-tank arm, Future Digital.

Ganesh served as board member of Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MAGIC). In his early 20s, Ganesh founded his first internet business, MOL Global Inc., an online payment gateway and Southeast Asia’s first internet company to be listed on the NASDAQ market. He served as its CEO for 15 years.

Ganesh has received numerous accolades for his technopreneurial achievements including being named Ernst & Young Technology Entrepreneur of the year in 2002, certified by Malaysia Book of Records as the youngest CEO of a Malaysian public listed company at the age of 23, recognised as one of Southeast Asia’s Top 30 Tech Founders by Tech In Asia and an inspiring Malaysian tech entrepreneur by Top 10 of Malaysia. He is regarded as ‘Malaysia’s Bill Gates’ by Malaysian media such as New Straits Times and Business FM.

Keith Tan founded Crown Digital, a robotics and coffee startup aimed at solving challenges in the F&B industry. He worked in the wealth management industry before becoming an entrepreneur. In 2016, he opened Crown Coffee’s first outlet. Having to solve workforce and cost problems, he explored ways to infuse science and technology to develop his own robotic barista named Ella.

Ella led to unmanned retail solutions that digitally transform F&B businesses, allowing them to scale and engage consumers through innovative digital touchpoints. Today, Ella has grown beyond Singapore to include Japan and soon to North America, GCC as well as Europe. Keith aims to make Crown Digital the largest coffee beverages operator powered by AI and robotics.

Pat Dwyer is an international sustainability expert. She has accumulated over 20 years’ leadership experience and in helping enterprises in Asia activate purpose, address ESG impacts and grow responsibly to future-proof their business. Before founding The Purpose Business in 2015, she led teams at Shangri-La Hotels and Ayala Land, setting standards in corporate sustainability with firsts, such as a shark’s fin ban, DJSI listing, impact measurements and LEED developments.

Pat has an MA in globalisation and governance and certificates in transformational leadership from University of Oxford and global leadership and public policy for the 21st Century from Harvard Kennedy School. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a fellow of Asia Society and Royal Society of Arts and sits on the Global Steering Committee of Prince of Wales’s Business and Sustainability Programme.

Sofiah Jamil has over a decade of research and advocacy experience in human security, sustainable development and regional governance. She is an editor at Welchman Keen, a global tech advisory firm. She served as co-director at Young Digital Media Professionals Initiative, Experiential Professional Development programme, East-West Center in Honolulu.

Sofiah was Associate Research Fellow at the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies in Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and co-founded a communications consultancy, Hornbills: Concepts and Communications. She helped co-design Singapore’s Young Association of Muslim Professionals’ Corporate Leadership Series and WIEF’s Young Fellows Programme. She was also a Rising Fempreneur mentor.

Sofiah holds an MSc in international relations from NTU and a BA in political science from the University of Western Australia. She has conducted post-graduate research on Islamic environmentalism at Australian National University.