Speaker’s Profile
Keynote Speaker – YAB. Dato’ Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Dr. Wan Ismail
Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is the first female Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia as well as Minister of Women, Family, and Community Development.
YAB was instrumental in establishing Parti Keadilan Rakyat in 1999 and was elected as the first party president, a post she is currently holding. In terms of education, YAB graduated as a qualified ophthalmologist at the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland, where she was awarded the prestigious gold medal in obstetrics and gynecology. After serving more than 14 years in government hospitals, she then moved to focus on volunteerism and was patron of MAKNA. As a political party leader and a cabinet minister, YAB is involved in many programmes locally and internationally. She gets invited to speak at UN-sponsored programmes on diverse issues. She is also the Vice-Chair of the Malaysian Parliamentary Caucus for Democracy in Myanmar.
Keynote Speaker – Cynthia Hwang Siew Peng
Executive Director, Suiwah Corp and CEO, Sunshine Wholesale Mart
Ms. Cynthia Hwang is the Executive Director of Suiwah Corporation Bhd (“SCB”) and also the Chief Executive Officer of Sunshine Wholesale Mart Sdn Bhd.
With over 20 years of experience in retail, she spearheads Sunshine as the core business segment of SCB; a public listed company on the mainboard of BURSA Malaysia.
Sunshine has been an established retailer for 58 years focusing on both offline and online retailing. Sunshine’s strong fundamentals also attributed by its close ties with affiliates based in India, China and Indonesia. The company actively participates in exhibitions and programs hunting for international partners and new products to expand its trading business and online store to international market.
Ms. Hwang is recently appointed as the Honorary Secretary and Chairman of Northern Region of Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA). In 2017, she has been appointed as the Social Events Chairman and contributed to the massive success of Asia Pacific Retailers Convention & Exhibition 2017 organized by FAPRA (Federation of Asia-Pacific Retailers Association).
Apart from her involvement in MRA, she is also a Corporate Member of Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPK) where she keeps abreast with the shopping malls development and growth not only in Malaysia but also the Asian region.
Ms. Hwang’s vast experience and active involvement in the retail industry brings altitude to her networking.
Goh Ai Ching, Co-founder & CEO, Piktochart.com
Ching is the co founder and CEO of Piktochart.com, a web tool that allows people to communicate visually – infographics, presentations, posters, reports and more. This app is used by more than 13 million users worldwide. Together with a semi-remote team of 58 (including her husband, Andrea), the team is bootstrapped out of Penang, Malaysia. Her background was in Experimental Psychology (University of Bristol, UK) and has also worked in P&G as an Associate Media Manager.
Sangeeta Kaur, Founder, Emerging Journey Asia (EJA)
Sangeeta has over 20 years of work experience and has conducted engaging workshops and seminars nationwide. Sangeeta works closely with various organisations from GLCs and MNCs to educational institutions, to conduct programs that promote self-esteem, effective communications, leadership, conflict management and many more. She is presently organising talks on Personal Security in Cyberspace and English Journey Awareness.
Apart from training, Sangeeta is regularly invited to speak at both local & international forums. Sangeeta also presents her research paper in international conferences.
She is a Secretary General of International Federation of Professional Trainer (IFPT) Malaysia and a member of The American Psychological Association (APA) and The Association of Psychological, Educational Counsellors of Asia Pacific (APECA). She is also a PSMB/HRDF Certified Train-the-Trainer and Licensed Counsellor with Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia.
A firm believer of continuous lifelong learning, Sangeeta is currently pursuing her PhD in Social Science from IIC University of Technology, Cambodia. She is also an advocate of giving back to society, hence her role as Vice President of Uniquevarsity of Hikers (UOH), an NGO that helps guides and porters of Mount Kinabalu and the people within the surrounding area.
YB. Dr. Hajah Norlela Ariffin, Penang State Assemblyperson, Penanti
Dr Hajah Norlela Ariffin earned her PhD from the University of Sussex, Brighton, England in 2001. Before becoming a politician, Dr Hajah Norlela served as Fellow, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, Manager of the Malaysian Industrial Consultative Services Consultancy (PRIMA) and Vice President of AIC Corporations.
As the Assemblyperson for Penanti, she strives to fight for the people and to ensure that their voices are heard by the Penang State Government. Dr Hajah Norlela organises training programme, STEM Robotics class and free Football Clinic (DNA Penanti) every Sunday for villagers under 12 years old.
She has also organized the Penang International Paddy Festival, Women and Youth Entrepreneur Programme, Penanti River Run and Homestay Carnival Penanti. Recently, she conducted a forum, “Hang Pi Mana” that brought together Yabang (Caliph) and Chinese associations and temples.
Dr Hajah Norlela had served in MIGHT (Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology) in the Department of Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003. From 2008-2011, she served as a consultant in EU Biomass in MOSTI. She was a pioneer and the Head of Programme in SMIDEX that developed the 1-Innocert and Audit innovation for the SME annual award, “SME Innovation Award”
Elizabeth Hor, Founder & CEO, Elizabeth Image Branding
Founder and CEO at Elizabeth Image Branding , Elizabeth comes from an illustrious career history from medical background to sales and strategic marketing almost for two decades. Since starting her own image consulting firm in 1994, she has left a trail ablaze. With her flair for style and passion for change, she went forth to help millions change mindset and change lives. Living by her motto “You can be….when you can see”, Elizabeth has helped many to discover their true authentic self and empowered them to influence the community from the inside out using her proven system the ‘Image-Lab’. She is best known for her signature program – “Your Image Speaks” where she illustrates the nine non-verbal cues that speaks on your behalf. She is constantly working with many renowned organisations both locally and internationally. Besides training and coaching, Elizabeth is also a much sought after Personal Stylist for many corporate leaders and organisations.
With her natural talent in styling and an eye for details, she has helped countless individuals and organisations to look empowered and ready for their special events.
Elizabeth lives with her witty 19 year old son in the beautiful island of Penang. The are both passionate for the helpless strays on the street. When she is not in the corporate scene, she’ll be on her hands and knees advocating and rehabilitating the countless stray animals in Malaysia.
Maresa Ng, CEO & President, ActionCOACH Malaysia
Maresa Ng is a passionate entrepreneur, speaker, and business adviser who helps business owners grow their business to a stage where it is commercial, profitable, and can continue to work without them. Her experience as a corporate and investment banker has set a foundation for her in working with both SMEs and large businesses. As the leading business growth specialist and business adviser in Southeast Asia, she dedicates herself to working with entrepreneurs all over the region to build Great Businesses and Great Lives.
Maresa has also authored 2 books, her latest being ‘Great Business, Great Life.’ This book concentrates on offering support to business owners or entrepreneurs who sometimes struggle with work/life balance.
The Maresa Ng Official YouTube Channel is another achievement in her portfolio. It brings about the largest war chest of videos focused on family businesses, sales, marketing, leadership, team building, human resource, personal development and systematization!
Nurul-Huda Mohamed Afandi, Founder & CEO, Thrift Solutions & Thrift Consulting
Nurul is a Chartered Accountant (Australia) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). A graduate from University of Melbourne, she started her career in KPMG Information Risk Management, before moving to PETRONAS Group Internal Audit. She also served as Audit Committee of Malaysian Government Officers Cooperative in 2013-2014.
She is currently the Founder CEO of Thrift Solutions and Thrift Consulting, providing training and consultancy for government agencies, SMEs and Start-Ups, specializing in IT projects, digital marketing and homestay/holiday rentals business. Her journey in digital marketing and holiday rentals business began in year 2008. She is also a HRDF Certified Trainer and eUsahawan Certified Trainer.
She actively serves in NGOs as the current National Immediate Past President of JCI Malaysia; 2017-2018 Supreme Council member of Malaysia Youth Council; and Chartered Accountant Australia and New Zealand – Malaysia Committee Member. In recognition of her years of voluntary service, she was awarded the prestigious National Premier Youth Award (Anugerah Perdana Belia Negara) 2015 by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, presented by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. She has also won numerous awards such as Most Outstanding Local President of JCI Malaysia in 2013, Most Outstanding Member at JCI Asia Pacific level in 2013, Most Outstanding Member of JCI PJ and JCI Malaysia in 2012 and Most Outstanding Board of Director of JCI PJ in 2011.
Ann Wong, Co-founder, Penan Women Project
Ann Wong has been working in the design field for the past 20 years. She has a Diploma in Graphic Design from Saito Art Academy, Malaysia and B.A in New Media from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. She has a passion for art, craft and design since young. She lived in San Francisco for about 10 years before returning to Sarawak in the mid-2000s. She worked in various design companies and her clients include Sony Pictures, Universal Studio and Yahoo! Vietnam. With her background in design and overseas experience, she understands what it takes to create design that appeals to urbanites.
This complements her work as the co-founder and current coordinator of the Penan Women Project, a project that helps Penan women economically as well as to ensure that the art of weaving is kept alive. The Penan Women Project started as a passion and a platform to create quality local handicraft of Penan weavers from Sarawak. Through the project, Ann gets to meet a lot of Penan ladies who are talented in weaving. She shares her experience and empower the tribal women to see their potential and also help them to grow in terms of daily life and their skills.
Hajjah Fatihah Anis Ibrahim, Founder, Fatihah Frozen Food
Puan Hajjah Fatihah Anis Ibrahim was born in 1962 and had worked in the banking industry for 2 years with Malayan Banking Berhad in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. She resigned from her post to pursue her passion in cooking and had planned to make it a renowned family business.
Puan Hajjah Fatihah has over 34 years of experience in making traditional delicacies. She started with small scale business and expanded it into industrial scale by having a state-of-the-art factory. With great fighting spirit, she had successfully weathered many challenges in the business world.
She is the first Malaysian women to be involved in frozen food industry and uses sophisticated machines in food manufacturing. Her business and successful life story has inspired many Malaysian women, especially single mothers to succeed in their lives. With commitment and great effort to become better, the brand “Fatihah” is now well known as the main industry leader in Malay traditional food and delicacies in Malaysia.
Surinder Kaur, Founder, CEO and MD, SG Sales Services
Surinder Kaur is the Founder, CEO and Managing Director of SG Sales Service Sdn Bhd since 2013.
She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a major in Marketing from USA and she is a Certified Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). She had worked in many industries from legal firm to banking and MNC. She was holding a Director position in an MNC before she moved on to start her own company.
In 2013, she opened up a trading company under SGN Sales Service, where she traded wellness and organic product as a distribution company. In 2015 she had invented her own product, Tender Coconut Water Powder Drink, a collaboration with Government Biotech Company in Malaysia. She started to manufacture, market and sell since 2016 under SG Sales Service Sdn Bhd. Her company is also the first company to introduce such product in Malaysia.
Currently, this product is being sold to local wholesalers, retailers and F&B manufacturers. This product has been exported to South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and is currently in the process to be exported to more countries such as China and UAE. She is also an active member of NAWEM and WomenBizSENSE and has contributed her part in participating and supporting in their programs.
Gina Koay, Founder, Director and Chief Pharmacist, City Wellness Pharmacy
Gina Koay is the Founder, Director and Chief Pharmacist at City Wellness Pharmacy . She is the Chairman for the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society, Penang Area for 2017-2020; and Vice Chairman of WomenBizSENSE, a registered women entrepreneur organization in Penang. Gina is also a certified PSMB/HRDF Trainer (Certificate No. TTT/18880).
She started City Wellness Pharmacy in 2007, with one mission in mind, which is to “Help People Smile Again”. City Wellness Pharmacy is a community-based pharmacy with the focus to provide the best healthcare service in Penang, Malaysia.
For the past 17 years, Gina has been in the community and pharmaceutical services industry both in Malaysia and Australia. She is effective in working cross culturally in both the Western and Asian geographies. This has given Gina vast exposure in managing diverse health situations for health solutions and medicinal advice. Gina wants to help clients to solve their health-related problems so that they are able to feel happy and satisfied when they go home.
Gina Koay is also a frequent public speaker in various schools, corporate settings and public events. She desires to give health and wellness solutions by creating awareness in primary care, nutrition and evidence-based complementary medicines.
Tong Bee Yoke, Co-founder, QQ Holistic Education Programme
Tong Bee Yoke is a food technologist by training. She graduated from USM in 1994 and worked in a Japanese food factory as R&D Executive. She was granted her Master in Business Administration from University Herriot Watt in 1999 and had been promoted to Business Development Manager. In 2002, she joined another furniture company as Marketing Manager before resigned in 2003 to start her preschool center because of her son. She received her Diploma in Child Psychology in 2009 and has slowly developed her passion in changing the traditional way of teaching that only emphasizes on academic achievements.
In 2006, together with 2 partners, she started up QQ Holistic Education Programme Sdn Bhd with 3 branches; Kulim, Sungai Petani and Penang which now has expended to a total of 16 kindergartens and nurseries. Bee Yoke has won numerous awards between 2014 to 2016. She conduct training for teachers as well as giving seminars/talks on parenting. She is the author for the book “Mummy , Am I Ready for Pre-school?”
Bee Yoke believes that education can change the future of a person hence she continues to further improve herself in NLP, youth and child counselling and career consultation. She is now a qualified NLP practitioner and career consultant. Currently, she is the R&D and Training Director of QQ Holistic Education Programme Sdn Bhd. She is also the education advisor for Grace Covenant Community Center, Assistant Secretary of Penang Women Chamber of Commerce (PWCC) and Committee Member for 4U Charity for Love Charity Trust.
Hare Krishnan, MD, Sri Ananda Bahwan
Hare Krishnan, a son of Radhaby Naidoo, a single mother who first established Restaurant Sri Ananda Bahwan in 1991 as an enterprise at Jalan Bagan Luar, Butterworth is today the proud owner of 15 family-owned Sri Ananda Bahwan restaurants in Butterworth, Penang and Sungai Petani. Their restaurant’s business grew after 1991 as word of mouth spread like wildfire, with people from all walks of life came to try their mouth watering dishes.
The story of Sri Ananda Bahwan started when the single mother and her eight children moved to old town Butterworth and lived above a restaurant in a pre-war shophouse back in 1980. Radhabay, who was from Taiping, rented the shophouse and sublet the ground-floor shop to a restaurant. In 1990, she decided to take over the restaurant with the help of her children, all of whom had by then grown up and were already working.
Hare Krishnan, who is the youngest of the eight, had just turned 22. He and his family members were not highly educated, but the unity between them kept the business alive. Their hard work and sacrifices had ensured the the success of Sri Ananda Bahwan which is well-known for their banana leaf rice. After expanding their restaurant business, the family diversified to different fields of businesses like food catering and hotel operation.
Chan Kee Siak, Founder, Exabytes Network
Chan Kee Siak is the founder of Exabytes Network, known earlier as hostkaki.com in 2001. Chan is a small-town boy from a hawker family and has always have an entrepreneurial frame of mind. Since his teenage years, Chan has tried to establish his own business in technology; selling PCs and developing web design. However, he felt uncertain and challenged when he realized that the part-time business he was running at that time was not promising and with many limitations. Naturally, webhosting came into mind and the idea fits the business criteria he was looking for. Luckily, there was only a handful of webhosting providers in Malaysia back then. The business became even more appealing once he studied more about webhosting industry and got himself awestruck at the power of web and the possibilities that could arise from it. Chan started his business by selling for other web hosting companies in 2000 before he founded Exabytes Network in 2001. Chan has led Exabytes Network to become the biggest web hosting provider in 2005, a position it still holds firmly until today. By 2015, Exabytes Network has served over 75,000 clients with over 100,000 websites and more than 1 million email accounts worldwide from 121 countries.
Norliza Othman, MD and Principle Consultant, TES Consultancy
Norliza Othman(Liz) is the Managing Director and Principal Consultant at TES Consultancy based in Penang. She has been involved in the wellness industry for 20 years and she runs her own spa franchise under a brand name, Teratak Spa® with a total of 5 outlets throughout Malaysia currently.
Liz has recently been certified as a Master Trainer for Urutan Malaysia, a new product of MOTAC. She has CIBTAC Diplomas in Anatomy & Physiology, Swedish Massage, Spa Therapy and Salon Management. In addition, she also has a certificate in Malay Post Natal Therapy and Holistic Therapy from CEPP-UTM, Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (Spa Therapy and Beautician) from Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran (JPK) and Diplomas in Professional Aesthetician and Corrective Make-up from Stella-In International. She is also a Certified Professional Image Consultant (CPIC).
Liz has also been appointed as a Malaysian Qualitative Agency Panel, JPK Pakar Pengajar, JPK NOSS Development Panel, Training Consultant/Facilitator for a number of government agencies and training institutions. She has been selected as a member for the International & ASEAN Spa Standards Committee and the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism & Culture (MOTAC) Spa Rating Inspection Committee. She was the Chairman of Penang Spa Association (PenSpA) from 2011 to 2017 and the President of Association of Malaysian Spa (AMSPA) from 2013 to 2017 and later retained as their Advisor.
Sangeet Weissenberger,Co-founder, Klein&Fine
Sangeet Weissenberger is an engineer by profession. She graduated in 2005 from University Sains Malaysia. She started her career as a Sourcing Engineer for BenQ Techonolgy a MNC based in Seberang Jaya before moving to a local tooling company based in Bayan Lepas in 2009. In 2011, she decided to put her career on hold to focus on married life.
In 2015, she founded Mantraband Malaysia after love at first sight with the American based jewelry brand. Mantrabands are a true representation of her and her principles; she is on a mission to inspire and empower women with a lifestyle of optimism, positivity, and mindfulness.
Always so full of life and bubbly energy, in 2016, Sangeet with her husband’s support and motivation was again ready to start a new project and founded Klein&Fine then with a partner. She now fully owns and runs the quaint boutique in Hillside, Tanjung Bunga.
Growing up in a small town near Ipoh, raised by grandparents who migrated from Punjab India, Sangeet sees her label as a platform for her to share her rich heritage and culture. She uses her platform to proudly showcase beautifully handmade products by Women Organizations from India, Afghanistan, Borneo, Cambodia, Africa, Indonesia and many more. Always grateful for being surrounded by inspiring women, she believes in paying it forward.
Dr Tan Cheng Wooi, Founder, Nukleuswear
Dr. Tan brings with him many years of corporate and business experience. He has played varied roles in his career, ranging from Entrepreneur, Business Owner, Director, Consultant, Coach, Trainer and Researcher. He began his career with Citibank Malaysia and was Assistant Vice President when he left.
Since leaving the banking industry, he has started his own business venture and has since grown a successful brand development and brand management company supported by a strong domestic and global distribution network. He believes in serving the community and being a responsible corporate citizen. His life mission is to harness the power of commerce to benefit people and the environment.
Dr. Tan enjoys being a part of the consulting and coaching practice. He is conversant in Business and Leadership Coaching, Human Performance Improvement and Strategic Enterprise Risk Management Projects.
Dr. Tan Cheng Woi has an Honours Degree in Laws from Leeds University in England; a Masters of Art in International Economics from the International University of Japan in Niigata, Japan and a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of South Australia. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Coaching and Mentoring Professional (CCMP).
Peggy Tan, Co-founder, CG Computers
Peggy Tan is an entrepreneur and a social media enthusiast who strives in taking ideas to a whole new level.
In 1995, she co-founded CG Computers, a technology retailer and now is serving at the company as the Head of Marketing.
CG Computers currently owns five (5) brand names including Switch, Urban Republic, Urban Coffee, Erafone Malaysia and Techero.
In 2014, CG Computers has successfully merged with Indonesia’s retail giant, PT Erajaya Swasembada (Erajaya).
Currently with a total of 55 locations across Malaysia, CG Computers is looking to expand into even bigger territory.
Patrina Tang, Co-owner, Tedboy Bakery
Since 2012, Patrina Tang had taken the plunge from being a pharmacist by qualification working as a Product Manager (Marketing) in Pharmaceuticals to being an entrepreneur in the challenging world of F&B. Together with her husband Edward, she started a bakery café concept in 2012 with the birth of their 1st child and they named the business after him. This is how Tedboy Bakery was started.
They are both not professional bakers but that did not deter them from going into the industry as there is more to running a business than just baking.
The entire ecosystem encompasses people management, supply chain management, procurement, R&D, marketing & finance. Juggling with multiple variables in F&B is their day to day challenge. From their humble 1st shop in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur over the last 6 years, they have now opened 6 outlets (latest outlet on 31 July) and closed 1 small café restaurant due to low traffic. They are proud of this journey as it did not come from a franchise model but instead, they basically figured out the path through lots of trials and tribulation.
Currently Patrina Tang is heavily involved in day-to-day operations of their Central Kitchen, Outlets and Procurement meanwhile Edward is more involved in Finance and Strategic Planning.