NBO CLASS Assessor & Executive Mentor

Zainal Arifin Khalid facilitates and advises on corporate strategy development and transformational leadership. He has more than 30 years of career experience across multinational and local corporations in education, fast-moving consumer goods, information technology, shared services and outsourcing, management consulting, and leadership development. A large part of Zainal Arifin’s career has been in senior IT leadership and general management roles for multinational organizations in the Asia Pacific region. He is also familiar with the people and works culture in the countries within South East Asia, having had executive leadership responsibilities and spending many years living and traveling across the region.

Zainal joined NBO Leadership Sdn Bhd, a strategic transformation and talent & leadership development organization, in 2009 and was appointed its Managing Director in 2012. His expertise and areas of interest include information technology as a value enabler, facilitation and development of corporate strategy, talent development, and transformational leadership. He is also currently a non-executive director of GFM Services Bhd, a company listed on Bursa Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange), where he chairs the Nominations and Remuneration Committee. Zainal Arifin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Chico, USA, and a Master of Science degree from the University of Kentucky, USA. He is a trained talent assessor and coach and has assessed and coached candidates for senior leadership roles globally.

Professional Learning Facilitator

Tengku Sri Indra Bin Tengku Ismail is a Certified Behavioural Consultant and has more than 40 years of experience in the corporate world and consulting practice. His career has spanned the airline industry, consumer and industrial products, and chemical industry in various regional HR positions and line operations. His biggest role is the Regional Director for Southern Asia, Monsanto Chemicals USA.

For almost 30 years, as a Certified Master Facilitator and Professional Coach, Tengku has coached senior-level executives and entrepreneurs across the Asia Pacific on leadership with an emphasis on commercial skills like Sales and Negotiation. In Malaysia, he was involved in the Khazanah Accelerated Development Project and Sime Darby Leadership Development Program for three years. Other clients Tengku has handled include MNCs such as Pfizer Indonesia, SABIC China, DuPont Singapore, Singapore Legal Service, Jeddah Municipality, Saudi Arabia, and Novovyzmes Biotechnology in the Middle East, India, China and Japan. In addition, Tengku was involved in various Leadership Development Programs for Brunei’s Ministry of Finance senior talent pool and acts as an advisor to the Brunei Investment Agency for their talent in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.  

Tengku Indra graduated from the University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree.

Goh Kek Seng is a writer, public speaker, trainer, and academic consultant. He holds a first-class B.A. (Hons) in Humanities from USM, Penang (1975) and a M.S. (Education Management) from the University of Rochester, NY (1983). He did postgraduate research on computers-in-English Language teaching, advanced consultancy skills, and project management in the U.K. (1986, 1991).

He has more than 30 years of professional experience as a trainer in the corporate and public sectors and as a director and CEO in higher education and education management. His national and regional contributions include leadership roles in the World Bank Loans for human resource development in Malaysia and in the UNESCO-APEID training programs for university academics in the Asia‐Pacific countries.

Mohd Nadzrin Wahab (BHSc Comm, IIUM) is a passionate communicator who helps people gain empathy to improve their professional relationships. He focuses on developing their leadership and professional potential in the workplace.

He has 20 years experience in learning and development, including 7 years as Project Delivery Lead at the Accenture Connected Learning Centre where he designed and delivered learning programs to employees from around the world.

He has delivered in Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Australia, The Philippines, India, and the USA for clients such as BHP Billiton, Barclays Bank, Henkel, PETRONAS (and her subsidiaries), Talisman Energy, Celcom, IIUM, FELCRA, and KEMAS.

He has helped clients increase the clarity of their inter-departmental communication, develop visionary and strategic leadership, create targeted, impactful presentations, and improve team collaboration.

For his efforts in L&D, he was conferred the Global Training & Development Leadership Award by the 4th World Training & Development Congress in Mumbai, India in 2017.

Carmen Gomez is a Master Trainer of NBO Indonesia. Carmen obtained her undergraduate degree from The College of Marketing and Design, Dublin, Ireland. Prior to NBO, Carmen was based in Malaysia, active mainly in the marketing of service-related industries, ranging from hospitality to financial industries.

Carmen is certified to conduct NBO’s Top Selling Programs, Maximum Impact Presentation Skills, Smart Negotiation Skills, Managing Interpersonal Relationship as well as other programs in Leadership, Communications and Management Excellence.

Carmen has trained major clients such as Citibank, Bank CIMB Niaga, Unilever, UOB Buana, Permata Bank, Lippo Bank, Maybank, Garuda Indonesia, PT Indosat, PT Acer Indonesia, and many other clients both MNCs and local companies.

Marianne Dupuis works with leaders managing teams that face critical points that require a transition in their leadership style and often some transformations in the organisation's culture as well. Both virtually and in person, she also works with teams to foster collaboration and greater alignment, to achieve sustainable results beyond expectations. She has coached 700+ leaders across the globe, over the past 10 years, contributing to sharpen their communication styles, stakeholder management, and emotional intelligence towards leading efficiently with humanity.

Marianne masters a wide range of coaching styles; Neurosciences, Emotional intelligence, NLP, strength-based coaching, transactional analysis, clean coaching, creativity, and art techniques. From there, she builds a tailored approach, picking the technique best suited for a specific leader to reach their objectives while growing themselves and building their resilience. Serving the leader’s best interests, she dares to challenge when needed, always in a caring way. Marianne was leading several multicultural teams in organizations in demanding environments, serving clients all over Europe while developing excellent critical and analytical skills. She also held banking roles with key responsibilities in project management, audit, financial and operational risk management, even involved in large-scale crisis prevention for the whole banking industry. Marianne has experienced the delights and struggles of leadership across cultures, both with and without authority, in public and private sectors as well as in SME and multinationals.

Kok Pooi Chen is a trained executive coach, program facilitator, assessment centre assessor, and HR consultant with over 25 years of experience in people management and development. Her career spans many different industries and leadership positions in HR.

Pooi Chen has both experience as an internal coach (in the organizations she worked in) and as an external coach. She has coached clients from executive to Senior Management level. Among some of the clients, she has coached are from organizations like EPF, LHDN, TM, G4S Safeguards, Baskin Robbins, SMIS Corporation Bhd, Bank Rakyat and YYC Group of Companies. Pooi Chen facilitates leadership and coaching programs, performance management, interpersonal skills, communication, interviewing skills and problem-solving skills programs. In her consulting roles, she has worked with clients on HR Transformation assignments, develop Blueprints for Change Management and Leadership Development, and Competency Development.

Pooi Chen has a Masters's degree in Human Resource Management and holds a Diploma in Management from the Malaysian Institute of Management. She is a certified NLP coach and practitioner, certified facilitator for DDI Interaction Management Programs (1994) and a PSMB certified trainer as well. She is also NBO’s CLASS assessor and a trained user of psychometric tools such as Thomas PPA , HPTI, and PAPI. More recently, she was certified as an OCAI Consultant for organizational culture change and development

Her HR experience spans fast moving consumer goods manufacturing and marketing, financial services and shared service center. Having worked in some ASEAN countries for years, she understands different cultures and different cultural behaviors at work of the different nationalities.

Kim has a strong core HR foundation where the other HR strategic initiatives underpin. She is a firm believer in people analytics, talent management, succession planning and employee engagement as these are the differentiators for people effectiveness.

Faizah Bazid holds a Law degree from Brunel University, West London, United Kingdom. She has been a practicing lawyer immediately after she was called to the Bar in 1997 in the High Court of Malaya until to date. Her vast and extensive experience in handling litigation cases for almost 17 years has earned her the strength in advocacy skills not to mention managing and advising clients from different types of backgrounds. She is a Partner at Faizah Bazid & Partners. Faizah is a Certified Coach with International Coach Federation (ICF) and is an Exco member for ICF Malaysia Chapter. She is very active within the Coaching circle and also a passionate Coach and is now pursuing her accreditation.

Chin Lai Heng specializes in facilitating sustainable change across cultures globally. She has more than 30 plus years of work experience in global multinationals and local companies as a Banker, Management Consultant, and HR Professional. She has worked across industries such as Financial Services, Change Consulting, Greenfield Start-ups, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, FMCGs, Pharmaceuticals, and Engineering. She has worked in the USA, UK, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia and has been responsible for regions across the world. She is a Coach & Talent Management Expert with deep experience in Succession Planning, Leadership Development, and Embedding a Coaching Culture.

She is passionate about transforming individuals, teams, and organizations in a sustainable manner. Lai Heng has proven the ability to drive change by influencing at all levels in the organization. She has deep expertise in Succession Planning, Talent Management, and Leadership Development. She is also an experienced Executive Coach with experience in Individual/Team/Group and Transition Coaching. Leveraging on her skills as a Coach, she is able to make change stick. A large part of Lai Heng’s career had been to influence change at all levels and to make change stick.

Lai Heng holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bates College (USA), a General Course Diploma from the London School of Economics, a Professional Certified Coach, ICF, and a Hogan Assessor Certification.

Murugesh Rao is a strategic thinking and senior IT consultant, offering over 28 years of enriched skills and extensive experience, in multiple disciplines of IT functions like Operations Management, Digital Transformation of Business, Cloud Computing Management, and Service Delivery delivering robust and cost-effective service solutions on a global basis.

He is an innovative approach to enabling solutions and with a successful prior career experience delivering service solutions to global end-users. Competent in IT Operations, involving interaction with senior stakeholders, he is a detail-oriented Digital Transformation Expert. He has been involved in transforming IT Services, to improve end-user experience, thus improving the efficiency of business operations. His forte includes driving teams to performance excellence, creating a collaborative environment, and providing leadership, motivation, and mentoring teams.

Rao has a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Portsmouth University, UK. He holds multiple certifications in Cloud related technologies, IT operations framework, and Agile project management.

Dr. Sashee holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from the University of Newcastle, a Masters in Marketing from RMIT University, and a Bachelor of Management from University Science Malaysia (USM). Dr. Sashee has effectively helped organizations improve performance through consultancy, coaching and training in the areas of leadership, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and sales. He has conducted numerous workshops with management teams in Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, and the Middle East. Dr. Sashee also conducts various coaching and mentoring interventions with managers and leaders in corporate organizations. His expertise includes focusing on strengthening individual leaders Emotional Intelligence towards improved people leadership and developing comprehensive cognitive leadership thinking via Critical Thinking application tools.

Dr. Sashee has also extensive leadership and sales experience, whereas Marketing Head of a leading MNC, he successfully managed over 12 different products, and a team of 20 branch heads and over 100 salespeople, grossing an annual turnover of USD30 million, for sales and distribution to both domestic and international markets.

Mamunur Rahman was a Global / Regional IT Director / CIO with 24 years of international experience gained in a FTSE100 multinational corporations which include Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Logistics and Fast Moving Consumer Goods Companies(FMCG).

He has experience in leading business-driven complex IT transformational programs, including setting up global technology shared services using off-shore and on-shore models.

Having taken on the role of ASEAN IT Director he is familiar with ASEAN countries (Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia) and associated IT Challenges like People, Cost, and Infrastructure.

Mamunur has deep experience in digitalization and development of agile-based Digital and Cloud-based CRM, ERP, eCommerce as well as B2B and B2C solutions.

Mamunur is a motivational leader with a proven ability to lead and develop high-performing global and regional teams, add value and deliver outstanding results aligned to both strategic and operational needs.

Baven Chin Kwok Yat has had senior commercial leadership and general management roles across diverse industries, geographies, and cultures in the Asia Pacific. He started off primarily in Trade Marketing and Distribution roles in FMCG’s where he helmed successful stints in Trade Marketing and Distribution, Training and Development, and Key Account Management before taking on the more senior roles. Baven has led corporate P&L turnarounds in the past - resuscitating decaying businesses and injecting and implementing new strategies, engaging new ‘ways of working’ culture, attracting new relevant talent, and developing high-performance teams.

His repertoire includes a notable stint in the F&B industry in a consultative capacity where he crafted and directed the market entry strategy of an exciting brand into a new ASEAN growth market with exceptional success. Baven has also been instrumental in opening key markets for a major US Food manufacturer in the key Chinese and SE Asia markets. He has expertise in identifying, opening, and revamping routes to market. Furthermore, he has identified and assessed portfolio gaps and opportunities in the past as a conduit for aggressive growth. Having lived across numerous APAC countries, Baven truly lives in the region, speaks a variety of languages, and is quick to grasp all situations, issues, opportunities, and the pulse of businesses. He has facilitated and advised on corporate strategy, market entry, and talent development initiatives.

Baven is an Engineering graduate from the University of Sydney, Australia.

Jeff Cheah has over 35 years of experience in corporations and leading entrepreneur businesses. He has over 600 hours of experience in executive coaching and he has conducted over 70 Coaching & Mentoring workshops. He is active in the local chapter of the International Coach Federation (ICF) having served as a Committee member and now as Vice-President for the last 4 years. Besides that, he serves as a Leadership Trainer in Lions Clubs District 308B1 where there are 120 clubs with over 4,000 members

Jeff makes the most of his 35 years of Leadership, Management, and Executive Coaching experience to help leaders succeed. He started his career in NCR Corporation and IBM in Sales and Marketing positions and eventually started his own business in Software Solutions for Enterprise Resource Planning & Financial/Treasury Solutions. Over the last 35 years, he has held various Senior Management positions including Sales Director, Senior Manager, General Manager, Director, Executive Director, and Managing Director.

Khoo Sim Choo is a passionate talent mentor, ICF Professional Certified Coach, Coach Supervisor & Project Management Professional Consultant empowering change and transformation for clients and global organizations. Led the strategic transformation of airlines and banking clients as she transitioned and coached the staff to embrace a growth mindset. As a facilitator, she evokes reflection & stimulates ideas.

Over 30 years, as an Asia Pacific Business Service leader in IBM, Texas Instruments, and British American Tobacco, her high performance in engaging with C-suite and Salesforce is reflected in significant recognitions. Much sought for her professional drive and strategic perspective whilst building trust. Has a Masters's in Engineering Science.

Facilitates Leading Change, Project Conflict Management, Coaching for Performance, Performance Driven Leadership, Project Management Excellence, Leading & Empowering Sales teams (Millennials) workshops for Leaders/HODs. Clients include OCBC, Citibank, YTL, GEL, IMU, EPF, MIDA, Telekom. International Consultant Executive Coach in Business & Leadership Effectiveness programs. Her clients describe her coaching as impactful, enabling a shift in perspectives to develop creative solutions.

Builds leaders leveraging on strengths and positivity. Proficient in DISC Profiling. Lean In Asia Mentor & Women Leadership Advocate.

Strategic Planning and Execution MasterClass

Anwar Jumabhoy is co-author of 9 Entrepreneurism’s: Management Practice for a VUCA World. He coaches corporate executives and entrepreneurs on strategy, building the right “business frame” and value proposition. He is an experienced facilitator for strategy, operational excellence, and business acumen workshops. His articles have appeared in the Malaysian Institute of Management, Edge Weekly, DigitalNewsAsia.com, and Leaderonomics.com. Anwar started his career as a Naval Architect in the United Kingdom. His most recent executive position was as Director of Operations at Tune Hotel Group and prior to that, he was Senior Vice President of Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad.

Anwar has been a coach and mentor to several CEO’s and Founders that were funded by Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd. This included 3 Founder CEOs, who listed their companies on SGX (Singapore) and MESDAQ (Malaysia). At MAVCAP, Anwar backed over 30 technology startups and worked as a mentor to the founders. He has also recently worked with founders from PurelyB and Smartbite on equity crowdfunding initiatives. Prior to that, he has raised funding from private and VC firms for his own startups. Anwar has also been a Mentor at the Malaysia Global Innovation and Creativity Centre, for 4 cohorts. He also serves on the Industry Advisory Board of Taylor’s University – Schools of Hospitality and Business.