WHEN a woman decides to make a mark in her profession, she does it with guts and glory.
Twelve high-flying Malaysian women from diverse fields are proving this theory right.
They are among the finalists of the inaugural Women of the Future Awards, Southeast Asia, in Singapore on March 20. The event is to honour outstanding women in Asean who have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities in their areas of expertise. The 12 women have been nominated across five of the nine categories.
Founded in the United Kingdom in 2006 by Pinky Lila-ni, Women of the Future was conceived to celebrate, support and inspire the next generation of female leaders.
This community of influential British women grew exponentially, with networks that expanded beyond British shores.
Southeast Asia was the obvious region to formally connect with the programme, and with the support of British high commissioner to Malay-sia Vicki Treadell, it is the next step in building a global network of business leadership talent.
Treadell, who will chair of the judging panel, said: “All the Ma-laysian finalists are winners in their own right. Their success stories, leadership qualities and values make them great role models.
“I am working with some of them in various projects as part of our advocacy work this year in conjunction with Malaysia’s Wo-men Empowerment Year.
“I look forward to doing more with our Malaysian finalists as part of our work to deepen and strengthen the UK-Malaysia engagement. I am a supporter of the Women of the Future programme and network, and am proud to have played a part in bringing it to the Asean region.
“We soft-launched our plans in November 2016 and delivered on our promise.”
For Lilani, the phenomenal response in just its first year highlights the importance of these awards to create a platform to showcase the region’s incredible local talent and strengthen the pipeline of female talent.
“These young women have worked hard to forge new paths and create a positive impact on the world and those around them,” she said.
The Malaysian finalists are Hannan Azlan, a comedian-singer-writer-actor, who, in her first year of performing stand-up comedy, became the youngest person to win the Hong Kong International Comedy Competition.
She has toured Asia, Australia, Europe and Great Britain, and has featured at the Melbourne International Comedy Competition, Edinburgh Festival Fringe on MTV Asia and Comedy Central Asia.
Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor, founder and managing director of NH Prima International Sdn Bhd, is also in the line-up. She has starred in television shows, films and produced her own reality TV series.
She started her business empire with Lofa Shoes, then moved to BellaVita in 2012 before setting up Naelofar Hijab in 2014. She has been listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List.
Under the Media & Communications category is Lee Yen Nee, a correspondent for CNBC International, who informs a global audience about developments in technology and geopolitics.
Another finalist in the category is Juanita Ramayah, presenter of Hitz FM Malaysia at Astro Radio.
She is a VJ on the English radio station, and, in just five years, has gone from station voice-over to establishing herself as a core and popular member of the team.
She is respected for the way she mentors young women who aspire to join the radio and TV industries.
Next is Gladys Chun, general counsel of Lazada Malaysia, who is recognised for leading her team in the historic acquisition by Ali-baba of majority shareholding in Lazada. She is a trailblazer in e-commerce.
Dr Jeyanthi Ramasamy, a technical solutions manager at oceaneering and an independent director of Rohas Tecnic Bhd, is another finalist with impressive credentials.
She is the youngest female board member of a Malaysian public-listed company, Rohas Tecnic Bhd, and was subsea lead for the Gumusut-Kakap deepwater gas field development.
The other finalists are Kamila Hamid, a material and corrosion engineer of Wood PLC; Yuet Kim Lim, chief executive officer and co-founder of The Picha Project; Dr Nur Adlyka Ainul Annuar, a Physics lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; Chern Ein Oon, a senior lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia; Dr Louisa Ponnampalam, chairperson and co-founder of MareCet Research Organisation; and Nadia Rajaram, a research associate of Cancer Research Malaysia.