Dato’ Sri Idris Jala graduated from University Sains Malaysia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies and Management in 1982. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Industrial Relations from Warwick University in 1986.
Dato’ Sri Idris is the President and Chairman of PEMANDU Associates. Previously, he was Advisor to the Prime Minister, National Transformation Programme and the Managing Director of Big Fast Results (BFR) Institute and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PEMANDU, a unit in the Prime Minister’s Department tasked with spearheading Malaysia’s transition towards high income status by 2020. He also served as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for six years from 2009 to 2015.
He is a renowned transformation guru, having turned around companies’ performance through his big fast results methodology and transformational strategies that are innovative, rigorous and relevant to today’s constantly changing demands. He has continuously delivered sustainable socio-economic reforms which sees him ranked by Bloomberg as one of 2014’s top 10 most influential policy makers in the world.
Dato’ Sri Idris is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of the Global Transformation Forum, the world’s singular platform for influential, global leaders to engage and share experiences, as well as best practices on how to drive transformation.
In addition, Dato’ Sri Idris is an Expert Resource Speaker at the Harvard Health Leaders’ Ministerial Forum and a Visiting Fellow of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. He also served on the Advisory Panel for the World Economic Forum on New Economic Growth, as well as the Advisory Panel of World Bank.
Prior to his stint with the Malaysian Government, Dato’ Sri Idris Jala was Managing Director/CEO at Malaysia Airlines (MAS) for three years. He was brought on board to turn around the airline whose performance was affected by a prolonged bout of losses due to operational inefficiencies.
Before MAS, he spent 23 years at Shell, rising through the ranks to hold senior positions including Vice President of Shell Retail International and Vice President of Business Development Consultancy, based in the UK. His other accomplishments include successful turnarounds for various businesses in Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Dato’ Sri Idris was appointed to the Board of Sunway on 11 August 2017. He also serves as a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees.
His directorships in other public companies include Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad, Big Fast Results Institute, Heineken Malaysia Berhad, and Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.