Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Anuwar Ali is one of the leading figures in Malaysian academia. He was the President/Vice-Chancellor of Open University Malaysia (OUM) and Chief Executive Officer of Multimedia Technology Enhancement Operations Sdn Bhd (METEOR), the holding company of OUM. Prior to joining OUM, he was the Director of the Higher Education Department at the Ministry of Higher Education (1995-1998) and later, moved on to become the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Anuwar began his career as an Assistant Director at the then Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1970. Three years later, he joined UKM as a tutor at the Faculty of Economics. His career with UKM spanned over 30 years where he held various posts including the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Deputy Vice-Chancellor before his appointment as the Director of Higher Education. Currently, he is also the Chairman of the Advisory Panel of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER); Chairman of the Critical Agenda Projects (CAPS), National Higher Education Strategic Plan (NHESP), Ministry of Higher Education and Board Member of the Research Institute of Investment Analysts Malaysia. His previous experience include being the Chairman of the Southeast Asian Open Learning Centre (SEAMOLEC) based in Jakarta; Member of the Griffith Asia Pacific Council (GAPC) Griffith University, Australia; Board Member of the Association of Southeast Asian Institute of Higher Education Learning (ASAIHL); Chairman of the Malaysian Examinations Council; Board Member of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia (Malaysia Development Bank); Member of the Securities Commission Malaysia; Board Member of INTI University College; Board Member of SIRIM Training Services Sdn. Bhd. and Visiting Fellow, Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia. He was appointed as Economic Consultant to a number of national and international projects such as UNIDO Consultant to the Industrial Master Plan, Malaysia (1986 – 1995); UNIDO Consultant to the Industrial Development of Bhutan, 1990 – 1991; Consultant to the Action Plan for Technology Development, Malaysia and the Action Plan for Small and Medium Scale Industries, Malaysia.

Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Anuwar graduated with a BSc (Economics) degree from the Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1970. During his early years as a tutor and lecturer at UKM, he furthered his studies and obtained his masters and PhD from the University of Leicester and University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.

Datuk Prof. Dr. Mohd Faiz Abdullah is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, a leading national think tank. He plays a key role in policy development and regional diplomacy, including ASEAN-ISIS and PECC.

He serves as Malaysia’s representative to the ASEAN Regional Forum Experts and Eminent Persons (ARF EEP), Co-Chair of CSCAP, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Good Governance.

Prof. Faiz is also a Distinguished Adjunct Professor at IIUM and holds academic roles at the University of Malaya and Universiti Selangor. His career spans law, education, media, and strategic advisory, with over three decades of legal and policy experience.

He is the author of several books on geopolitics, governance, and reform, including Strategic Shift: Preparing Malaysia for a Turbulent Future.

Tengku Mohd Azzman Shariffadeen graduated from the University of Manchester with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, and masters and doctoral degrees in control systems. He first served as an academic at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, for eleven years. For the next twenty-one years he was the founding Director General and CEO of the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS).

He led significant strategic national efforts in R&D and capacity building focused on ICT and microelectronics. As CEO of MIMOS he also served for nine years as the ex-officio Secretary of the National Information Technology Council, chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. In this capacity he was instrumental in the formulation and implementation of national ICT policies and strategies, in particular, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and the National IT Agenda (NITA).

He is currently active in sharing his experience in knowledge and innovation for development, particularly in his home country Malaysia and in projects in the Middle-East and the Asia Pacific Region. He is a Senior Fellow and Vice President, Academy of Sciences, Malaysia; Adjunct Professor, International Islamic University, Malaysia; and Member, New Club of Paris. He is a member of the Board of Directors, Pernec Corporation Berhad, a Malaysian IT company.