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ELF 2023
Pictures taken during ELF 2023 at Sunway University © 2023. LSESU Malaysia Club
ELF 2023: "EXpanding Horizons and Transcending EXpectations" was held at the Sunway University, Kuala Lumpur. The theme aims to take a step back and discuss how our economy has grown over the past decades, with the hopes of shedding light as to how we, as a nation, can chart our path forward.
The discussions we had dived deep into Malaysia’s growth, in doing so which covered a wide range of topics, including economic and technological developments, as well as vitality of education, patriotism and nation-building.
With 11 guest speakers and 18 student ambassadors, the two days event marked its successful completion on the 16th of July 2023.
ELF 2023 Theme
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Ong Kian Ming
Program Director,
Philosophy, Politics & Economics,
Taylor's University
Dr. Ong Kian-Ming is the Program Director of Philosophy Politics & Economics at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. He is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute from March 2023 to September 2023.
He is a former two-term Member of Parliament (MP) in Malaysia from 2013 to 2022, representing the Democratic Action Party (DAP). He was the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) from July 2018 to February 2020.
He was a former Fulbright Scholar and holds a PhD in Political Science from Duke University, an MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.
Before his political life, he was formerly a lecturer at UCSI University, a researcher at the Socio-Economic Development and Research (SEDAR) Institute and the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Studies (INSAP) and a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in the Kuala Lumpur office.
He was an ASEAN Scholar in Singapore and completed his “O” and “A” levels in Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College, respectively. He attended primary and secondary school in La Salle Petaling Jaya, Selangor
He also enjoys jogging, watching movies, and listening to podcasts in his spare time.
Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof
Chief Executive Officer, Northport (Malaysia) Bhd
President, London School of Economics Alumni Society of Malaysia (LSEASM)
Dato’ Azman is the CEO of Northport (Malaysia) Bhd, the oldest port operator in Port Klang. He is also Chairman of Port Klang Cruise Terminal. Dato’ Azman graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from London School of Economics, UK in 1992 and completed an Executive Program in “Macroeconomic Policy and Management” at Harvard University, USA in 1996.
He served the Government for more than 10 years, holding various senior positions before venturing into the private sector.
Under Dato’ Azman’s stewardship, Northport has won several awards and recognitions including the IAPH 2022 Sustainability Award under the Health Safety and Security category during the IAPH 2022 World Ports Conference held in Canada in May 2022. Northport also recorded a clean sweep of the National Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) 2020/2021 Awards by winning 3 awards in the Business Services Category, Mentor-Mentee Award and the CEO of the Year (Private Sector) Award.
Panel 1: The Evolution of Entrepreneurship
Aadrin Azly
PETRONAS Vice President,
Group Technology & Commercialisation
Aadrin Azly (46) was appointed Vice President of Group Technology & Commercialisation (GT&C) in April 2023.
As a PETRONAS scholar, Aadrin holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Commerce from the University of Adelaide, Australia. He then completed the Advanced Management Programme (AMP) at Harvard Business School in 2018.
Aadrin joined PETRONAS in 1999 and has held various senior management positions across the value chain from corporate offices, upstream, gas and downstream. These include Executive Assistant to the President & Group CEO, Head of Gas Strategy in Corporate Planning, Head (Gas, Strategy and Commercial) of Integrated Gas, Upstream, Head Upstream Business (Strategy and Portfolio), Head of Retail Business and Chief Operating Officer (COO) PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB).
Before his current role, he helmed the role of Chief Digital Officer (CDO), PETRONAS and was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PETRONAS Digital Sdn. Bhd. (PDSB).
Elain Lockman
CEO & Co-Founder, 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 and further at Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysia Debt Ventures, Digi Telecommunications and Packet One Networks until she co-founded Ata Plus 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 Women in Tech Malaysia Chapter, Independent Board Member of Reservoir Link Berhad, Propel Global Berhad, Leet Technology Inc (Nasdaq listed) and 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.
Chin Yen Lee
Partner, Ernst & Young PLT
Yen Lee is a Partner of Ernst & Young PLT. She has over 20 years of extensive experience in the areas of corporate advisory, creditor advisory, crisis stabilization and corporate insolvency work.
Yen Lee has advised a national regulatory agency responsible for insuring deposits as well as takaful and insurance benefits in the conceptualization, development and documentation of an intervention framework including several policies and procedures manuals for asset management company, assets carve-out and restructuring.
Yen Lee has led several complex trade-on receivership and liquidation assignments initiated by financial institutions involving companies engaged in manufacturing, shipbuilding, ship chartering, biotechnology, maritime infrastructure, property development and plantation.
She has optimized recovery for stakeholders including appearing as key witness of a secured financial institution in the High Court in Singapore and in Malaysia in their debt recovery effort and their actions against unsecured creditors.
Yen Lee also performed business viability reviews of companies and conducted investigations into the affairs of companies.
She has successfully led dispute resolution engagements to preserve assets and present equitable resolutions for disputing shareholders.
Foong Chee Mun
Co-founder and ex-CTO, Moneylion
Unlike other top global fintech firms, Malaysia's innovations and world-leading technologies are developed in-house.
Leading this charge is Chee Mun, a Malaysian professional who studied at Purdue University and devoted his career to AI research.
Together with a group of friends, he co-founded Moneylion with the aim of revolutionizing consumer finance with cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence.
In Kuala Lumpur, he successfully built a team of 300 data scientists and software engineers, fostering a strong foundation for the company's growth.
Chee Mun's exceptional accomplishments include his consecutive selection as one of the top 25 CTOs in the fintech industry, making him the sole Malaysian recipient of this esteemed recognition.
Panel 2: Malaysia's Global Mark
Arinah Najwa
Director, BowerGroupAsia
Arinah is a public policy practitioner and is passionate about gender equality. She is currently a Director at BowerGroupAsia, a US-based strategic advisory firm.
Previously, she was the Special Functions Officer to the Minister of Youth and Sports, focusing on youth and gender initiatives. She was also a consultant who provided advisory and project management services across different sectors, from GLCs to Forbes 500 corporations. Arinah is active in nonprofit and voluntary work via the Lean In Malaysia community, a women empowerment platform.
She completed her Master’s in International Development at King’s College London as a Chevening scholar and obtained a B.A (Hons) in Economics from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM).
Arshad Ismail
President and Chief Executive Officer,
EXIM Bank of Malaysia
Arshad Mohamed Ismail is the President and Chief Executive Officer of EXIM Bank of Malaysia, after his three-year stint at Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (the Development Bank of Malaysia) – as its President / Group Chief Executive Officer. Arshad is an experienced multi-jurisdictional banking and finance professional with expertise in corporate banking, debt capital markets, Islamic finance, asset management, and development finance.
A lawyer by qualification, Arshad found his calling in the field of banking and Islamic finance early on when he became a pioneering member of CIMB Islamic in Malaysia in 2003, with an initial business focus on Sukuk transactions, earning the bank a name for ground-breaking Islamic finance deals. Arshad is a certified Chartered Banker with the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers and the Chartered Banker Institute. He was elected to the SC-OCIS Fellowship in Islamic Finance at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in 2015.
He holds a degree in law from the International Islamic University, Malaysia and a Master of Business Administration from the London Business School.
Gurdip Singh Sidhu
Group Chief Operating & People Officer,
CIMB Group
Gurdip has over 26 years of experience in financial services and management consulting and has been with CIMB Group for over 17 years. He was recently appointed as the Group Chief Operating and People Officer and works alongside the Group CEO in driving transformation priorities and being a focal point in managing stakeholders.
Gurdip held several key roles prior to his current position. These include the Group Chief People Officer and the Group Chief Strategy and Design Officer. Before joining CIMB Group, he spent a decade advising banks, telecommunications companies, and governments across ASEAN, India, South Korea, and Spain as a management consultant.
Gurdip graduated with honors from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) with a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics, majoring in Accounting and Finance. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and has completed the CIMB-INSEAD Leadership Program.
Shamsul Bahar
Chief Executive Officer, MGTC
Tan Sri (TS) Shamsul Bahar has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He has played a vital role in developing and implementing strategies to integrate sustainable practices into business operations.
As the CEO of MGTC, he has spearheaded numerous initiatives that have helped the company become a leader in the green technology space. Known for his inspirational leadership style, he works hard to foster a culture of collaboration, creativity, and inclusivity. He believes that with a collective commitment to change, we can create a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable world for generations to come.
He is an Adjunct Professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Council Member for Professional Alliance for Circular Economy at Universiti Teknologi Petronas, and Country Representative in the ALP Steering Committee at the Asia LEDS Partnership. TS Shamsul Bahar has held prominent leadership positions in organisations such as the Sustainable Business Network Association Malaysia, Green Growth Asia Foundation, and Planters Industrial Cooperative and was also a HRD Corp Industry Expert Committee member.
Mark Disney
Deputy Head of the Sixth Form,
Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar
Mark Disney is originally from Nottingham in the UK. He became a school teacher late in life and now serves as Deputy Head of the Sixth Form at Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar where he also teaches English Literature.
He left Oxford in 1985 with a degree in Language and Literature before working for Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC) as a tax consultant. He moved to Malaysia in 1992 and has worked for the past 30 years in the education sector as a senior lecturer at a Private University, as a magazine publisher and educational consultant, and as the regional COO of an international examination syndicate.
He was a regular book reviewer for The Edge, focusing on Malaysian politics and history, and has interviewed a number of Malaysian politicians (not all of them in prison) as a journalist and as the past President of the Oxford & Cambridge Society of Malaysia. During a recent illness he authored 'Mat Salleh Writers on Malaysia - Pirates, Planters, and Pedagogues' available at both good bookstores nationwide. He has a Malaysian wife (from the LSE), three children (one from the LSE), and a dog called Cyril (from Penang).
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