Upon returning home to Malaysia at the end of 2019, Jenifer Thien decided to pursue a board career on top of her advisory work at Grit and Pace, an outfit she established to support organisations in their pursuit of growth. But for someone who had been abroad for 16 years, finding board opportunities here in Malaysia was not as easy. In this episode of the Sounding Board podcast, Jenifer Thien discusses her journey to securing her first board appointment and her thoughts on being a leader in today’s landscape. 

In this episode, ICDM member Jenifer Thien discusses what influenced her decision to pursue a board career, her journey to securing her first board appointment, and her thoughts on being a leader in today’s landscape.

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Jenifer has more than 30 years of leadership experience internationally, having worked in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, China and the United States. In her last role, Jenifer was the Global Chief Procurement Officer of Mars, the world's leading manufacturer of confectionery and food products. She was the first woman and first Asian to be appointed to this vital leadership position with a diverse team of more than 400 people based in 30 countries. Jenifer had also successfully led a number of complex business transformation, ESG and risk management initiatives during her executive career.

Upon returning home to Malaysia at the end of 2019, she decided to pursue a board career on top of her advisory work at Grit and Pace, an outfit she established to support organisations in their pursuit of growth. However, for someone who had been abroad for 16 years, finding board opportunities here in Malaysia was not as easy as most companies still prefer to look for candidates within their personal networks.

Following the launch of the Malaysian Board Practices Review 2020, an initiative by ICDM in collaboration with Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA) and Bursa Malaysia, we take a deep dive into some of the findings and explore what needs to change for boards to enhance effectiveness and build long-lasting stakeholder confidence and trust. Alvin Chiang, Board and CEO Advisory Consultant at Russell Reynolds Associates joins our president & CEO, Michele Kythe Lim, and Nadia S Hassan, producer and senior broadcast journalist at The Edge, to discuss how Malaysian boards identify independent director candidates, how they evaluate their performance and boards' overall approach towards leadership development.

In the past month, corporate governance (CG) issues have been making headlines at home and abroad, from the rising intensity of shareholder activism on ESG concerns to spotlight on board competency and independence in mitigating operational and reputational risks. In this episode, Pankaj C Kumar, an independent director, trainer, columnist, and corporate & economic analyst, joins our president & CEO, Michele Kythe Lim, and Nadia S Hassan to reflect on these CG concerns. They discuss some of the measures boards and companies can adopt to avoid such situations.

The arrival of Covid-19 vaccines may offer some semblance of order. However, for many companies, the chaos of transformation is far from over. In this episode, Datuk Mohd Radzif Yunus, Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) Chair of KPJ Healthcare Berhad, shares his thoughts with Michele Kythe Lim, President & CEO of ICDM, on the board’s role in delivering change. They discuss how the board can challenge itself to improve its capacity to capture opportunities, especially during these crucial transitional moments.

The arrival of Covid-19 vaccines may offer some semblance of order. However, for many companies, the chaos of transformation is far from over. In this episode, Datuk Mohd Radzif Yunus, Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) Chair of KPJ Healthcare Berhad, shares his thoughts with Michele Kythe Lim, President & CEO of ICDM, on the board’s role in delivering change. They discuss how the board can challenge itself to improve its capacity to capture opportunities, especially during these crucial transitional moments.