Bank Negara Malaysia wishes to announce the establishment of the Financial Services Talent Council (the Council). The Council held its inaugural meeting today.

The establishment of the Council is one of the initiatives identified under the Financial Sector Blueprint to support a strong and competitive financial sector through a strategic focus on talent. The Council brings together prominent individuals with significant experience and collective insights to provide strategic thinking and advice on research aimed at ensuring that the financial sector has a sustainable pool of high quality talent to meet its future needs.

A key focus of the Council will be to identify the future talent demands of the Malaysian financial sector and recommend strategies to develop, attract, retain and deploy domestic and international talent to meet the demand.

The Council will engage extensively with the financial services industry, the private sector and education and training institutes in forming its views and recommendations. It will have an important role in shaping policies affecting talent in the financial industry and in building support with relevant authorities for coordinated strategies that are aligned with the talent requirements of the industry. The Council will also serve as a platform to encourage best talent management practices in the industry through ongoing dialogue and the sharing of information with industry practitioners.

The Council members are:

1. Tan Sri Amirsham Abdul Aziz (Chairman);
2. Tan Sri Dato' Dr. Mohd  Munir Abdul Majid;
3. Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli  Abdul Razak;
4. Dato' Dr. Syed Ahmad Hussien;
5. Dato' Ooi Sang Kuang;
6. Professor David Colyn Gardner; and
7. Encik Johan Mahmood Merican

Bank Negara Malaysia
3 July 2014

Profiles of Council Financial Services Talent Members

Tan Sri Amirsham Abdul Aziz (Chairman)
Tan Sri Amirsham has extensive experience and knowledge in the financial sector through his 14 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Malayan Banking Berhad. He also has in-depth understanding of the financial and economic landscape of the country through his involvement as Chairman of the National Economic Advisory Council, tasked with drawing up the New Economic Model for the country. He currently serves as Chairman of Malaysian Investment Development Authority. These diverse roles puts him in a good position to contribute towards the development of the talent agenda in the financial sector, within the context of the country's overall growth and development plans.

Tan Sri Dato' Dr Mohd Munir Abdul Majid
Tan Sri Dato' Dr Mohd Munir has extensive experience in the financial sector as current Chairman of Bank Muamalat, and Founding Executive Chairman of the Securities Commission. He also brings with him industry perspectives though his roles as Chairman of Malaysia Airlines Berhad, Independent Director of Telekom Malaysia Berhad and Chairman of its mobile subsidiary Celcom (Malaysia) Berhad. Additionally, he takes on research roles as Chairman of CIMB Asean Research Institute and also continues to serve as a Visiting Senior at the London School of Economics and Political Science IDEAS (Centre for the Study of International Affairs, diplomacy and Strategy) where he heads the Southeast Asia International Affairs Programme. This diverse background would enable him to bring varied perspectives on talent development and the skills sets required to meet the increasing demands of the industry.

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli brings a wealth of knowledge of the tertiary education system through his career as an academician in his capacity as the President of the International Association of Universities and the Chair of the Independent Review Panel on Education for Malaysia, from 2011 to 2013. He would be able to provide both domestic and global perspectives on the role of educational and training institutes and the teaching programmes towards meeting the future talent needs and skills sets.

Dato' Dr. Syed Ahmad Hussien
Dr Syed Ahmad has more than 30 years of active teaching, research and consultancy experience. As Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency, he will be able to provide insights on the strategies to continuously develop talent towards elevating the quality, professionalism and ethics of talent in the sector.

Dato' Ooi Sang Kuang
Dato' Ooi can lend both regulatory and private sector perspectives on financial sector development through his previous role as Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia and his current role as the Chairman of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad and Cagamas Berhad.

Professor David Colyn Gardner
Professor Gardner provides both an international as well as private higher education standpoints through his past capacity as the Chief Executive of the Management Centre at Bangor Business School, United Kingdom and current role as Pro-Vice Chancellor, Enterprise and Dean of Sunway University Business School.

Encik Johan Mahmood Merican                           
Encik Johan has 19 years of experience in policy development, corporate finance and accountancy in both the public and private sectors in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. As Chief Executive Officer of Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp), he will be able to provide the perspectives of talent development in various sectors and also provide the linkages with Government initiatives on furthering the talent agenda.