Dato’ Sri Idris Jala is the CEO of PEMANDU and Managing Director of the BFR Institute, a unit in the Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia – the organisation tasked with spearheading Malaysia’s transition towards high income status by 2020. For 6 years, he also served as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia.
He is a renowned transformation guru in turning around companies’ performance through his big fast results methodology and transformational strategies that are innovative, rigorous and relevant to today’s demands. He has continuously delivered sustainable socio economic reforms which, in 2014, saw Bloomberg place Idris Jala among the top 10 most influential policy makers in the world.
Under his leadership, PEMANDU was also named by NESTA, UK and Bloomberg Philanthropies as one of the top 20 most innovative Government agencies in the world. Today, Idris Jala travels around the world assisting governments deliver their very own transformation journeys.
In addition, Idris Jala is an Expert Resource Speaker at the Harvard Health Leaders’ Ministerial Forum and a Visiting Fellow of Practice at the Oxford Blavatnik School of Government. He also served on the Advisory panel for the World Economic Forum (WEF) on New Economic Growth and also on the Advisory Panel of World Bank.
Prior to his Government stint, Idris Jala was Managing Director/CEO at Malaysia Airlines (MAS) for three years. He was brought on board to turn around the airline which was in crisis brought about by a prolonged bout of losses from operational inefficiencies.
Before MAS, he spent 23 years at Shell, rising up the ranks to hold senior positions including Vice President, Shell Retail International and Vice President Business Development Consultancy, based in UK. This included successful business turnarounds in Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
In view of his contribution to society, Idris Jala has received honorific titles from the King of Malaysia and various State Governments of Malaysia. He was conferred the “First Order” medal by the Italian Government. Idris Jala holds a Bachelor degree in Development Studies and Management from University Sains Malaysia and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Relations from Warwick University.