Datuk (Dr.) Hafsah binti Hashim
Introduction
Datuk (Dr.) Hafsah binti Hashim, a Malaysian female aged 68, is our Independent Non- Executive Director. She was appointed to our Board on 5 November 2024. She is the Chairperson of our Nominating Committee and a member of our Audit and Risk Management Committee as well as Remuneration Committee.
She obtained her Bachelor in Applied Science from the Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1982. She subsequently obtained her Master of Business Administration (“MBA”) from Aston University, UK in 1995. In 2015, she obtained her Honorary Doctorate in Management and Entrepreneurship from Universiti Tenaga Nasional. She was admitted as a Fellow of the Institute of Marketing Malaysia from 2016 until 2018.
Upon graduation in 1982, she joined Ministry of Primary Industries (now known as Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities), Malaysia as Assistant Secretary where she was primarily involved in overseeing the research institute of the palm oil industry in Malaysia. In 1987, she was transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture, Malaysia to hold the position of Assistant Secretary where she oversaw the strategic planning division of the agriculture sector and was involved in the formulation and implementation of the first National Agricultural Policy (NAP1). In 1993, she took a break to pursue her MBA.
After obtaining her MBA in 1995, she joined Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now known as MITI) as Assistant Director where she oversaw the strategic planning of the bilateral trade between Malaysia and the United States of America. She was also one of the contributors for the Second Industrial Master Plan (1996-2005).
In 1996, she was transferred to Small and Medium Industry Development Corporation (SMIDEC) (now known as SME Corporation Malaysia) as Director of Policy and Planning where she oversaw the formulation of policies and strategic plannings for SMEs in Malaysia, playing a key role in developing initiatives to support SME growth, competitiveness, and sustainability, and ensuring alignment with national economic goals. In 2004, she was promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer where she oversaw the formulation of policies and programmes for SME development in Malaysia. Under her almost 14 years of leadership until her retirement in 2018, SME Corporation Malaysia formulated the globally renowned SME Masterplan, which charts the direction of SME development until 2020.
In 2018, she was appointed to the position of Independent Non-Executive Director for SIRIM Berhad, a position she held until 2023. From 2019 to 2021, she served as Independent Non-Executive Chairperson of Pharmaniaga Berhad (listed on Main Market of Bursa Securities). In 2019 and 2022, she was appointed as Independent Non- Executive Director of Zurich Takaful Malaysia Berhad and Zurich Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad respectively (both of which are subsidiaries of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd, a company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange), positions she currently still holds. In 2023, she was appointed as Vice President of the Malaysia-Bosnia and Herzegovina Business Council, a position she currently holds.