HRH Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz

HRH Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz

Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin is Founding President of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), a think tank that pursues market based solutions to public policy challenges; a Trustee of Yayasan Chow Kit, Yayasan Munarah, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation and the Genovasi Foundation; Chairman of Akademi General Assembly, an Independent Non-Executive Director of Allianz Malaysia Berhad, Allianz General Insurance Company Malaysia Berhad and Omesti Berhad; an advisor or patron to numerous educational and musical organisations; a committee member of several societies; a columnist in three newspapers and a Fellow at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).

He was educated at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he obtained his MSc in Comparative Politics, and has worked in the UK Houses of Parliament, the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, KRA Group and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy before permanently returning to Malaysia. An Eisenhower Fellow, he has been selected for various leadership programmes and speaking tours by the governments of Australia, France, the European Union, Singapore, Canada and Cuba and has received awards for integrity and impact among young leaders.

Future of Schools

Future of Work

Future of Money

Future of Skills

Future of Sustainability

Ben Sowter

Choose your own adventure: Why university remains the best path to a purposeful destiny in an uncertain future

Ben joined QS in 2002 and now leads the QS Intelligence Unit, of which he led the establishment in 2008 following the early success of the QS World University Rankings®. The division, now consisting of over 70 team members in 4 principal international locations, is responsible for the operational management of all major QS research projects, as well as a widely adopted university rating system - QS Stars - and a range of commissioned business intelligence services.

Nadeem Nathoo

Education 3.0: What everyone is missing

Nadeem is the co-founder of The Knowledge Society (TKS), a World Economic Forum School of the Future. TKS is a human accelerator which focuses on exponential technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual & augmented realities, nanotechnology, and the Internet of Things. His mission is to develop young people towards pioneering new industries through emerging technologies and sciences. In his spare time, he is also an angel investor.

Dr Michael Crawford

Michael is the co-founder of EdSpace, the social learning network for teachers. A researcher by training, with passion at the intersection of human development, social impact, and entrepreneurship, Michael drives all things product and community. Prior to EdSpace, he worked at Real World Scholars and the Kauffman Foundation, and recently earned his PhD in educational psychology, focusing on adolescent development and non-formal learning environments.

Dr Helen Maffini

The compassionate classroom: How to lead a new generation of kids with empathy and kindness to conquer the world's biggest problems

Helen is the Director of MindBE Education. She works to improve the lives of children, teachers, parents and heart-based business owners by working in the areas of social and emotional learning, mindfulness and wellbeing. A former school principal and teacher, she is also a NLP practitioner, a certified emotional intelligence coach, and a positive psychology coach. She recently completed her Ed.D in international educational research and mindfulness in preschools.

Tanya Sheckley

Reimagining special education

Tanya is the Founder and President of UP Academy, an elementary school where learners with special education needs and those who don’t, learn together in the same classrooms. UP Academy values innovation, empathy and strength, incorporating a unique neuro-development programme which teaches communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills to prepare children for a future we can’t imagine.

Karen Ardley

Developing leaders who develop people

Deborah Olatunji

Why you should create your own access 

(Unleashing your innovative genius: High school redesigned)

Deborah is a 17-year-old education activist, award-winning poet, and author of Unleashing Your Innovative Genius: High School Redesigned. She is intensely passionate about being an igniter and catalytic force in the education system. As the founder of the Student Leadership Initiative Programme, she and her peers help other high school students to navigate their interests and passions through this mentorship-fueled social venture.

Evo Hannan

The story of Day 1

Evo is passionate about design and innovation in education. His Innovation X model curriculum helps institutions develop a sustainable culture of innovation, and is often referred to during conference talks and mentoring sessions. He is also working with over 150 teachers around the world to promote student agency, and promotes wellbeing for teachers through his global network, Teacher Society.

Jeremy Blain

How your workplace and workforce will transform within the next 5 years

Jeremy is the Founder and CEO of PerformanceWorks International, which helps organisations succeed in the digital climate, amidst disruption, opportunity and uncertainty. He commands extensive experience as a transformation leader and advisor at board-level globally, having launched successful businesses and turned underperformance into excellence. With close to 30 years of experience, he is proven at all stages of the business lifecycle.

Bruno Chaintron

Role crafting: Uncovering potential by optimising roles in organisations

Bruno is the founder of Role Crafting® and the author of Coaching to Make Change a Pleasure. He has over three decades of experience in HR and management positions across banking, finance, technology and distribution. Because Bruno believes that it is not enough to simply rethink the organisation chart to deal with today’s complexity, he founded Role Crafting® to help executives reinvent roles and responsibilities.

Anne Caron

Think you have a big idea? Starting a startup 101

Anne is an author, professional speaker and consultant. Drawing on her 10 years’ experience as a senior HR executive at Google, she set up her consulting practice in 2015 to support founders in building high-performing and positive organisations. She has been working with companies like Gojek, Zilingo and Grain on topics such as company culture, recruitment strategies, performance management and organisational design.

Leonor Stjepic

The role of women in the new digital age

Leonor is an award-winning social entrepreneur, whose career has spanned both the private and NGO sectors. She is currently CEO of the Montessori Group. Previously, she was CEO of the medical research institute, RAFT, where she spun out a commercial company called Smart Matrix Ltd, from RAFT raising US$ 8 mil in social investment. This endeavour won universal praise and has been widely used as a case study in how to avoid risk in social investment.

Dr Kamel Hothi OBE

Inclusion as a driver of authentic sustainability at work

Kamel has been breaking glass ceilings in the banking world for over four decades, pioneering initiatives including a new blueprint for corporate charity partnerships and volunteering. She has achieved these despite the struggles, discrimination and gender imbalance faced throughout her career. Now ranked in the top 100 most influential black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) leaders in the UK, she was awarded an OBE for services to promoting diversity in banking.

George Bohlender & Hanie Razaif-Bohlender

The story of Day 2

Dickson Tang

Employability: What it means in the IR 4.0 era

Dickson is a keynote speaker, facilitator, and author of Leadership for future of work: 9 ways to build career edge over robots with human creativity. He helps people and organisations get creative towards the future. Dickson has worked with leaders and executives from the likes of Cartier, Mannheim Business School, Novartis and Rakuten, and has also been featured in media including Forbes and Irish Tech News.

Dorjee Sun

Dorjee is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and the CEO of Perlin.net, an international trade-based blockchain supported by the International Chamber of Commerce and the Government of Singapore. He has co-founded over 20 successful social enterprises. He is also passionate about environmental conservation, and has been named by TIME Magazine as a Hero of the Environment. 

Mallika Paulraj

How the best invest: Make confident decisions like the investing superstars

Caroline Ong

Caroline has more than 20 years of experience in people-centric engagements. She is currently the General Manager (Malaysia) for Leaderonomics, where she helps stakeholders achieve business results through leadership and human capital interventions. She has also led facilitations to align the strategic direction, succession planning, and competencies frameworks at numerous organisations.

Laurence Lien

Philanthropy as a catalyst for change

Laurence is Co-Chair and CEO of the Asia Philanthropy Circle, a membership-based platform for exchange, learning and collaboration. He is also the Chairman of Lien Foundation, a family foundation that is well-regarded for its forward-thinking and radical approach in the fields of education, eldercare and the environment. This includes the humanitarian arm of the Foundation, Lien AID, which supports sustainable access to clean water and sanitation for Asia’s rural poor.

Lin Nah Tan

Talent evolution in an age of machines

Lin Nah is presently the CEO of INTI International University & Colleges. She currently oversees the strategy and operations of its six campuses, and passionately champions transformation by guiding the institution towards its vision to reinvent education, in order to deliver superior student outcomes in the new IR 4.0 world. She is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, with over 20 years of global experience.

Robin Boot

The power of mindset: Finding purpose through passion

Robin is a prominent leadership and business advisor and coach. He has made a significant difference for various organisations to excel in the last few decades. An engaged visionary who represents opportunities and possibilities, he is driven by self-development and stimulating others through continued positivism. He believes in a world of those who want to change, make a difference, and take control over their own lives.

Dr Sue McNamara

The "Why" of emotional intelligence

V S Ravi

Foresight leadership: Skills for leaders in the age of pandemic, crisis, uncertainty and digital disruption

The human brain is a fascinating place, and there are two areas which interest Ravi - thinking, and the mind at work. As an Invictus Leader founder, teacher, mentor, coach, leadership mechanic, disruptor, entrepreneur and futurist-in-residence, he combines futures thinking, chaos, foresight leadership and provoking your intellect in his practice. With over 30 years of experience, he is also a sought after speaker when the subject of conversation is uncomfortable for many.

Amanda Brock

Opening the door to the future with open technology

Natalie Turner

The human side of innovation

Natalie radiates joy and inspires courageous action. As a catalyst for transformational change, she enables individuals and organisations to create and bring to life innovations that will change themselves, and the world, for the better. She is the inventor of The Six ‘I’s®, a model that helps people measure their innovation strengths so that they can harness diversity and have a greater impact from new ideas. She is also the author of the award-winning book Yes, You Can Innovate.

Harnessing your network and relationship currency to thrive in a world of busy

John has been a teacher and guidance counsellor for 25 years. He is passionate about the transformative power of education to disrupt poverty, and to help young people do all that they can, with all that they have, within the time and space that they are in. He is also a TED speaker, in addition to being the author of The Ways to Well-Being, which is taught in over 140 schools. He also designed and delivers the Stress Management and Resilience Training (SMART) programme.

Sas Huntwood

The story of Day 4

Sas is passionate about storytelling. She believes everyone has a story to tell and the world deserves to hear that story. An international speaker and published children's author, she has a wealth of experience in bringing stories to life. Having worked for 18 years in leadership and sales roles, she now helps companies tell their unique stories. She also founded The Storytellers to help families preserve their memories by creating digital books and videos to be cherished forever.

Dr Saleh Bazead

Investing in capacity building of civil society for a sustainable future

A philanthropist, strategist and analyst who embraces the principles of exemplary leaders, Saleh models behaviour to inspire others. He is currently the CEO of NAMA Foundation. He is also a contributor to social development and changemaking, especially in youth empowerment. Besides being a true believer in influencing positive change through social entrepreneurship and sustainable development, he enjoys supporting his team in continuous learning and growth.

Gaëlle Mogli

Living a life on purpose and reinventing solidarity on a global scale: How we can all prepare for "the day after" COVID-19 and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals

Caitlin Graaf

People, power & the environment

Andy Andrea

Building stronger bridges: Partnerships for sustainability

Andy is Director of Alliance4Impact, Founder & CEO of Impact17, and President of the Sustainable Impact Association, all dedicated to supporting and building partnerships for a better world. He has 25 years of multi-sector collaboration experience on armed conflict mediation, humanitarian emergencies and sustainable development with the United Nations, the World Economic Forum and other non-profit organisations. He is also a Council Member of Meaningful Business.

Dipti Kumar

Hand-in-hand with a common agenda: The collective impact model for systemic change

Dipti is a sustainability consultant and change advocate who is passionate about the empowerment of underprivileged communities, with a focus towards issues pertaining to education equity. She currently serves as CEO of the Malaysian Collective Impact Initiative, a NGO which promotes collective synergies across multiple stakeholders as a sustainable method of impactful change. She also advised the British Royal Family on social impact investment.

Deborah Leipziger

100 words that define the future

Deborah advises companies and organizations around the world on social and environmental issues. She has been a force for change in fields as diverse as mining, technology, fashion, and food. She played a key role in the development of standards including Social Accountability 8000 and the Ethical Trading Initiative and has consulted to the UN. She is the author of several leading books in the fields of sustainability and corporate responsibility.

Elmarié Potgieter

The story of Day 5

Elmarié is the Founder and Managing Director of RITE International Inc and RITE Education. She has extensive international experience in leading the development, implementation and impact assessment of large-scale capacity building programmes in education transformation and beyond. RITE has collaborated with government agencies, foundations and CSR programmes across 3 continents, demonstrating validated impact towards over 16,000 educators and 150,000 learners.

Kenneth Kwok

Closing keynote address

Kenneth is the Founder and CEO of Global Citizen Capital, an impact-oriented venture focused on healthcare, biotech, logistics, technology and education. As Founder and President of Better Together Foundation, he is passionate about social impact work which supports minority communities, youth entrepreneurship, as well as health and wellbeing. He is also a UNDP Accelerator Labs mentor, and Young SDG Leaders program curator.