Board of Directors

TAN SRI DATO’ SERI DR. JEFFREY CHEAH KBE AO

Founder and Chairman, Sunway Group

Tan Sri Dato' Sri Jeffrey Cheah

Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah is the visionary founder and chairman of Sunway Group, one of Southeast Asia’s leading conglomerates with core interests in property, construction, education, healthcare, hospitality, and leisure.

He is also the founding trustee of Malaysia’s largest education-focused social enterprise, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, which makes quality education accessible to as many deserving students as possible through scholarships. His lifelong dedication to sustainable development is evident in the host of thriving communities throughout Sunway’s integrated developments and townships totaling more than 5,000 hectares across Malaysia.

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Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria
Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria

Independent Non-Executive Director

Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria graduated from the University of Malaya in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature. She received a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration from the National Institute of Public Administration (“INTAN”), Malaysia in 1981. She also has a Master of Science (Counselling) from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now known as Universiti Putra Malaysia) in 1992. Subsequently, Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca obtained her PhD from the University of Georgia, Athens in 2000.

Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca began her career in the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service in 1981 and served in various capacities in the then Ministry of Trade and Industry.

She retired as the Secretary-General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (“MITI Sec-Gen”) on 2 July 2016. As MITI Sec-Gen, a post she was appointed to in December 2010, she provided oversight for the formulation and implementation of Malaysia’s international trade policies and positions. This involved Malaysia’s participation in bilateral, regional (ASEAN, APEC, OIC) and multilateral fora (World Trade Organisation), as well as bilateral and regional trade negotiations. On the regional front, she played a key role in ASEAN economic integration and chaired the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting in 2015 as well as the ASEAN High Level Task Force for Economic Integration from June 2011 to June 2016.

In the academic field, she was awarded the Malcolm Knowles Award for best PhD dissertation in the field of Human Resource Development by the American Academy of Human Resource Development in 2000. She was also awarded “Professional Achievement Awards” by School of Education, University of Georgia in 2013.

She was Chair for the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry till 31 December 2018.

Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the MyKasih Foundation, Director of IDEAS, and took office as an Executive Director of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) secretariat on 2 January 2019.

Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca was appointed to the Board of Sunway on 1 March 2018. She also serves as Chairman of the Remuneration Committee as well as Member of the Audit, Nomination and Risk Management Committees.

Her directorships in other public companies include Hartalega Holdings Berhad, Eco World International Berhad and Dialog Group Berhad.

 

Datuk Tong Poh Keow
Datuk Tong Poh Keow

Independent Non-Executive Director

Datuk Tong Poh Keow graduated from Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman with a Diploma in Commerce. She also has a qualification from the Institute of the Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, UK.

Datuk Tong began her career as secretarial assistant with Siva, Heng & Monteiro in 1978 and was promoted to manager of secretarial services and audit in 1980. She left the firm in 1981 to join Shapadu Holding Sdn Bhd as accountant and company secretary until March 1983.

In November 1983, she joined Highlands & Lowlands Berhad as accountant and assistant company secretary. In 1985, she joined Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad and held various senior positions within the organisation until her promotion as chief financial officer (CFO) in April 2003. In October 2007, following the completion of the merger of Sime Darby Berhad, she was appointed as CFO of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad. In June 2008, she assumed the position of Group CFO of Sime Darby Berhad. She held this position for about 9 years, until her appointment as Executive Director and Group CFO of Sime Darby Property Berhad in November 2017, after the completion of the demerger of Sime Darby Berhad. She retired as Group CFO of Sime Darby Property Berhad on 31 March 2019 and as Executive Director on 31 May 2019, respectively.

Currently, Datuk Tong is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and a Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Malaysian Advisory Committee since 1 January 2020, as well as a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

In addition, she was awarded Best CFO in Malaysia for 2014, 2015 and 2017 by the Institutional Investor Corporate Awards – Alpha Southeast Asia and Best CFO for Investor Relations (Large Cap) for 2013, 2014 and 2017 at the Malaysia Investor Relations Awards.

Datuk Tong was appointed to the Board of Sunway as the new Independent Non-Executive Director of Sunway Berhad on 21 September 2020. She also serves as Chairman and Member of the Audit Committee, and Member of the Risk Management and Nomination and Remuneration Committees, as well as Member of the Sustainability Committee.

 

Evan Cheah
Evan Cheah

Deputy President, Alternate Director to Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah KBE AO

Evan Cheah is currently the Group CEO for Digital and Strategic Investments at Sunway Group. He has more than 10 years of experience in general management, investments and technology across various businesses within Sunway Group.

Prior to his current role, he was the CEO of Sunway Group’s China operations responsible for its China Corporate Office. Concurrently, he was the executive vice president – President’s Office driving new business growth and synergies for Sunway Group. He was also a non-independent non-executive director of Elite Commercial REIT Management Pte Ltd, the Manager for Elite Commercial REIT, a real estate investment trust listed on Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited from the period from August 2019 to January 2024.

Evan sits on the board of Sunway Construction Group Berhad, a company listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, as a non-independent non-executive director. He currently also sits on the boards of various private operating companies including as Chairman of the Board for Credit Bureau Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Sunway Money Sdn Bhd, Multicare Health Pharmacy Sdn Bhd and Tianjin Eco-City Sunway Property Development Co. Ltd.

 

TAN SRI ABDUL WAHID BIN OMAR

Non-Executive Co-Chairman, Independent Non-Executive Director

Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar was appointed Non-Executive Co-Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director of the Board on 15 April 2026.

He completed a five-year tenure as Chairman of Bursa Malaysia Berhad in April 2025. Prior to that, he served as Group Chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), following his term as Senator and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Economic Planning.

Earlier in his career, Tan Sri Abdul Wahid was President and CEO of Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) and Group CEO of Telekom Malaysia Berhad until its demerger with Axiata Group Berhad in 2008.

He also served as Managing Director and CEO of UEM Group Berhad, becoming its first CEO at the age of 37 and leading the Group’s turnaround following its acquisition by Khazanah Nasional Berhad in 2001.

Tan Sri Abdul Wahid is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).

He currently serves as Chairman of WWF-Malaysia and the MySDG Foundation, Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and INCEIF University, Adjunct Professor at University Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM), and Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in the United Kingdom.

Datin Paduka Sarena Cheah
Datin Paduka Sarena Cheah

Executive Deputy Chairman, Non-Independent Executive Director

Datin Paduka Sarena Cheah started her career with Sunway Group since 1995 and served under various roles in the Corporate Finance, Internal Audit and Business Development departments. In 2006, she was made General Manager for Sales & Marketing of Sunway Group’s Property Development Division before assuming the position of Director of Strategy & Corporate Development in 2009, during which she oversaw the successful merger and integration of Sunway Holdings Berhad and Sunway City Berhad. In 2010 and 2011, Datin Paduka Sarena Cheah was instrumental with the listing of Sunway REIT on Bursa Malaysia as well as the establishment and launch of Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, the nation’s first and largest education-focused social enterprise. In May 2013, she was appointed as Joint Managing Director of Property Development Division, Malaysia/Singapore and thereafter, the position of Managing Director of Property Development Division of Sunway in May 2015. Datin Paduka Sarena Cheah is subsequently promoted to Executive Deputy Chairman with effect from 2 January 2025 to spearhead the Group’s international expansion, as well as identify and pursue new market opportunities.

She is a Board Member of Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd, the Manager for Sunway REIT, and a non-independent non-executive director of Elite UK REIT Management Pte Ltd, the Manager for Elite UK REIT, a real estate investment trust listed on Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited. She is also a board member of Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd. She is a Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants (ASCPA) and holds a Capital Markets Services Representative’s Licence (CMSRL).

She was previously a director of Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia and Bank of America Malaysia Berhad. She was also a member of the National Committee of Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia (REHDA).

 

Datuk Anuar Taib
Datuk Mohd Anuar bin Taib

President, Non-Independent Executive Director

Datuk Mohd Anuar bin Taib (“Datuk Anuar”) is an established oil and gas industry leader with more than 30 years’ experience in a multinational, national oil company and an integrated service company, in Malaysia with regional and international footprints, covering exploration and production, domestic regulatory function, liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as gas marketing and trading.

Prior to this assignment, Datuk Anuar was a Group Chief Executive Officer in a public listed oil and gas service company navigating through one of the largest corporate debt restructuring exercises in Malaysia, turning around its strategic, operational and capability building performance and streamlining its global footprint.

Datuk Anuar assumed the role of Deputy President on 2 January 2025, with oversight of six core business divisions of Sunway including Sunway Property, Sunway Healthcare Group, Sunway Malls, Sunway Building Materials Group, Sunway Quarry and Sunway Trading and Manufacturing. He was redesignated as President of the Group with effect from 1 January 2026.

 

Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan
Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan

Independent Non-Executive Director

Datuk Zaiton is a Fellow and Council Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), United Kingdom, and was the Deputy Chair of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group. Datuk Zaiton’s exposure at the international level in looking at the role of accountants in value creation and building sustainable businesses has led to her strong commitment to the sustainability agenda.

She is also a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

She started her career as an auditor in PricewaterhouseCoopers. She then moved into banking, including serving Malaysia’s largest bank, Maybank for 12 years in various senior positions in Treasury, International Operations and Group Strategic Planning.

She was selected by the Central Bank of Malaysia to set up the country’s second rating agency, Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad where she was president for eight years.

She was also chairman of the Board Risk and Audit Committees of Bank Islam and chairman of the Board Governance and Audit Committee of Tabung Haji (Malaysia’s pilgrim fund) from 2018 to 2020.

Datuk Zaiton had also served as the chairman of the Development Bank of Malaysia. She had led the Board and Management, assisted by the World Bank, to a new direction and strategic business model to assess projects applying for funding from the Bank using an Impact Assessment Framework, measuring impact to national development on one dimension and contribution to the achievement of the UNDP Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the other.

She was previously the chairman of the Board Governance and Audit Committee of public listed Sime Darby Plantation Berhad, the world’s largest producer of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil. She is also a member of the Sustainability Committee which oversees the formulation of strategic and implementation plans in various areas such as climate risk.

She is an active member in Malaysia’s accounting fraternity. She is currently the chief executive officer of a not-for-profit institution, the Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre (MyPAC), which focuses on giving the opportunity and funding for students from underprivileged B40 families to pursue professional accountancy qualifications.

 

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