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MISA Judges

All MISA entries are judged by highly regarded, independent, expert individuals led by the Chief Judge – the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Malaysia.  

After shortlisting the top entries in each category, judges do one final round of assessment during the MISA Day Program where each shortlisted nominee gives a presentation on their submission.  Judges and audience members alike are allowed to ask questions of each nominee before category judges meet privately to confer and tally up the points.  

Winners in each category are announced at the MISA Awards Ceremony and Dinner.  This announcement is inclusive of a Judges Report on the winner’s submission highlighting the underlying core concept of MISA – the sharing of best practices which leads to an elevation in the understanding of Innovation & Sustainability.

CHIEF JUDGE – H.E. Jacques Werner
Ambassador, Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands

The Ambassador is acquainted with Malaysia and the region, having visited the country in 1988 and having been posted as Ambassador to Singapore from 2013 to 2017.  Having previously served in Iran, Singapore, Romania, Bulgaria, and India, he is keen to initiate and catalyze tangible partnerships in areas such as agro, water, business, entrepreneurship, and culture.  

Panel of Judges

Outstanding Dutch Investor in Malaysia (MNC)
Judge A: Aidil Azman
(Senior Manager of Investor Relations – EMEA, InvestKL)

Aidil brings a wealth of experience covering Fintech, Global Equities, Property Investment, Media Planning, and Country Advertorial Reports.  Prior to InvestKL, Aidil was part of Sime Darby Property’s Vision Valley Malaysia tasked with attracting global catalyst investments into various development components.  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic Society and Media Studies from Swinburne University, Melbourne.

Judge B: Datin Dr Vijayalakshmi Samuel
(Director, AGV Environment)

Datin Dr. Vijayalakshmi Samuel has more than 25 years of experience in environmental, health & safety (EHS) and sustainability / ESG consulting services; she also holds a PhD in Sustainability Studies.  Currently, she is the CEO and co – founder of AGV Sustainability & ESG Services Sdn. Bhd. and an Executive Director at AGV Environment Sdn. Bhd.  Prior to AGV, she held various senior positions at a US environmental consulting firm for more 18 years and was a Partner during the last 3 years.

Outstanding Dutch Investor in Malaysia (SME)

Judge A: Riduan Rahman
(Director – Green Technology Division, MIDA)

Riduan joined MIDA in 2003 and has served in various divisions with vast exposure in the international arena. He was the Director of MIDA Tokyo as well as Regional Director, covering Japan and South Korea.  Most recently, Riduan was the Deputy Director in the MIDA office based in Frankfurt, Germany.  His current responsibilities include the overall planning, implementation and co – ordination of investment promotion strategies to attract investments as well as promote the adoption of green technology with the objective to create ESG ecosystem, expand the green market, and generate new economic activities.

Judge B: Lim Lee Kuan
(Managing Director, TMF Group)

Lee Kuan joined the TMF Group in 2012 as Director – Corporate Secretarial, before being promoted to Managing Director of TMF Malaysia (KL and Penang) in 2021.  She has more than twenty five (25) years of experience in corporate management and administrative services and has served in various capacities which include, but are not limited to, corporate restructuring exercises, initial public offering, and applications to various regulatory authorities.

Judge C: Sashi Ambihaipahan
(Head of Corporate Communications & Sustainability, BMW Group Malaysia)

A marketing, media and corporate communications expert with over two decades of experience in the innovation, lifestyle, luxury, and automotive industry, Sashi is a subject matter expert on the topics of Future Mobility as well as Technology and Development in the premium automotive industry.

Outstanding Malaysian Investor in the Netherlands

Judge A: Supun Nigamuni
(Managing Director, Control Union (Malaysia))

Supun is an accomplished forestry and environmental specialist with experience in compliance auditing, training, certification, program management, and environmental assessments.  He serves as the Managing Director for Control Union Malaysia and is responsible for managing certifications for Control Union Malaysia. In addition to the local responsibilities Supun also chairs the global expert team overseeing certification activities related to Forestry, Palm, Sugar, Soy, Rubber, and Tourism.

Judge B: Dato’ Dr. Yazid Manap
(Associated with the Embassy of Malaysia to the Netherlands)

Dato’ Dr. Yazid Manap is a Mechanical Engineer and Food Technologist by qualification and a Researcher / Academician by profession.  He graduated from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and the University of Glasgow, Scotland.  Dato’ spent many years as a professor at the University Putra Malaysia (UPM), as the Dean of Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnology (UPM), and as the Director of the Halal Research Institute. 

Promising (new) Dutch SME to Malaysia

Judge A: Lise Hordijk
(International Business Manager, NLinBusiness)

An experienced Project Manager, Lise has been with NLinBusiness for five years.  Prior to this she gained a wide variety of experience working with companies such as SuperFlora BV, Stichting De Instap, Colgate Palmolive, MeetIn B.V., and the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China.

Judge B: Matthijs van Leeuwen
(Chief Innovation Officer, Sunway Group)

In addition to being the CIO of Sunway Group, Matt is also the Founding Director of Sunway iLabs.  Previously, he was a commercialisation specialist in PlaTCOM Ventures and gained significant entrepreneurial experience through three start – ups he co – founded in the UK, Singapore, and Malaysia. Before that he was a consultant at the Cambridge – MIT Institute and Library House in Cambridge (UK) and an Analyst at Imperial Innovations in London (UK), one of Europe’s leading Tech Transfer Offices and Venture Capital firms.

Outstanding Dutch – Malaysian Partnership

Judge A: Prof. Dr. Rob van Tulder
(Professor of International Business, RSM Erasmus University)

Professor van Tulder has published extensively on the topics of European business, multinationals, high – tech industries, corporate social responsibility, issues management, skills, network strategies, smaller industrial countries (welfare states) and European Community / Union policies. He is co – founder of RSM’s Department of Business – Society Management, a world – leading department on the issues surrounding sustainability.  He is the Academic Director of The Partnerships Resource Centre and the founder of Scope, an expert centre at Erasmus University in International Business and Sustainable Development. Together with UNCTAD, Scope compiles the widely – published lists of the largest Transnational Corporations worldwide from developed and developing countries, published annually in the World Investment Report.

Judge B: Prof. Sibrandes Poppema
(President, Sunway University)

Professor Sibrandes Poppema has been the President and Vice – Chancellor of Sunway University in Malaysia since January 2021. He is a Dutch Canadian Citizen and studied Medicine at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He trained as a pathologist and holds a doctorate in Immunopathology from the University of Groningen. He held postdoc positions at the University of Kiel in Germany and Harvard University in the USA. He has widely published on subjects in immunology, haematology, oncology, and transplantation and is among the top 2% cited authors in immunology. He held several leadership positions in healthcare and in education institutions, including as Director of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Alberta and later at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands. He was Dean of UMCG for nine years and next President of the University of Groningen for 10 years. He was awarded a knighthood in the Order of the Netherlands Lion by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and an Officers Cross in the Order of Merit by Frank – Walter Steinmeier, the President of Germany.

Best Flexible Work Arrangements Program

Judge A: Puan Mahuran
(Vice President Group Research, Development & Policy, and Malaysian Professional Talent, TalentCorp)

Mahuran has more than 20 years of experience in human resources management, having started out at the Ministry of Human Resources.  She also has a wide knowledge and experience in human capital strategy & development, as well as industrial relation management.  In her current capacity, she works closely with stakeholders from federal and state government / agencies, industry players, employer federations, labour unions, and international agencies in conducting research studies on human capital requirement, including demand and supply talent / skills.

Judge B: Dato’ Nathan K. Suppiah
(Vice President, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM))

Dato’ Nathan Suppiah graduated from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth with a Bachelor of Laws LLB (Hons) degree.  He has had an illustrious career spanning more than 30 years in the manufacturing and retail industries.  In July 2022, he was elected into the General Council of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCIM) as Vice President.