TRANSFORM 2021
TRANSFORM 2021 is a program for Brunei business owners, entrepreneurs and managers developed by Asia Inc Forum in partnership with Baiduri Bank.
What the Business Clinic is about:
A Forum for business owners, entrepreneurs and managers to exchange ideas on surviving, managing and prospering during the New Normal. Format will be interactive with opportunity for Q&A.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO BRAND YOUR BUSINESS
Thursday, 29th July 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
Effective branding provides businesses immense opportunities to secure loyal customers. If businesses create a powerful brand that people care about and are connected to, they move ahead of their competition.
Why is branding important? How is brand perception shaped? How are powerful brands built?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panellists:
Johan Johar is the Chief Corporate Strategy Officer of Progresif Sdn Bhd, a Bruneian telecommunications provider – well known for supporting entrepreneurship, arts & culture and environmental causes in Brunei. He is responsible for the long-term vision of the company to deliver an enhanced digital lifestyle for the Bruneians in line with the Brunei Government’s objectives. Previously, Johan was an Investment Manager responsible for the Logistics and Defense portfolio of Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd, a holding company which owns and manages Brunei Government linked companies.
Brenda Bence is global branding expert based in Singapore. After earning her MBA from Harvard Business School, Brenda spent 20 years building billion-dollar mega brands across four continents for Fortune 100 consumer giants like Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb. She then started her own business to help corporations, SMEs, and executives define and grow their own successful leadership brands. She is currently ranked by GlobalGurus as the #1 Branding Guru worldwide and the #8 Executive Coach worldwide. Brenda has authored 11 leadership, branding, and coaching books which have won 45 book awards including her latest book, The Forgotten Choice, which was released to critical acclaim.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO DEAL WITH CONFLICT
Thursday, 22nd July 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
Conflict is an inevitable part of business and life. Resolving conflict paves the way for constructive change, helps accomplish goals, and strengthens relationships. However, if handled ineffectively, conflict can lead to a breakdown of important relationships and breed negativity, stress, and distrust.
How do we resolve conflicts amicably? What are the costly mistakes to avoid?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panellists:
Allen Ang is a certified behavioural and career consultant and the Principal Consultant and Trainer of EPIPEOPLE. EPIPEOPLE helps organisations empower their people to communicate better and enhance soft skills, helping clients develop their talent, skills and energy in a resourceful and meaningful way. Through conceptualizing, designing and delivering a range of training, coaching and team-building programs, Allen and his team have achieved strategic outcomes for clients including increased collaboration among teams and individuals, higher talent retention, and greater productivity and profitability. Allen’s specialty areas include Team Dynamics, Conflict Management, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching.
Lailatul Zubaidah Hussain is the Founder and Principal of Damai Mediation, the first mediation practice in Brunei Darussalam offering mediation services as well as mediation training and accreditation. She is an Accredited Mediator and the Brunei Resident Representative of ADR-ODR International (AOI), the thought leader in progressive dispute resolution based in London, United Kingdom. Zubaidah started her career in the Attorney General’s Chambers of Brunei Darussalam in September 2001 as a Deputy Public Prosecutor. Since then, she has trained with the Singapore Mediation Centre and is trained to conduct Online Dispute Resolution as well as in person mediation.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO FIND NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Thursday, 8th July 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
Most of us are interested in finding new business opportunities. However, the process of identifying, evaluating and seizing new business opportunities is often not straightforward. Where do we start? How do we know it’s the right opportunity? Are there practical steps we can take to improve our alertness to new opportunities?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panellists:
Dr. Raj Kumar is the CEO of UCSI Consulting Group with wide ranging experience in setting up business operations, strategic planning, innovation, and project execution. He is a certified Consultant and Practitioner from the Blue Ocean Strategy Initiative Centre of Professors Kim and Mauborgne, co-creators of Blue Ocean Strategy. The companies he has helped to deploy and implement Blue Ocean Strategy include international firms, large conglomerates and government-lead companies. He has also conducted programs on Blue Ocean Strategy across North America, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific with participants from over 25 countries.
Lili Yong is a Brunei entrepreneur and Founder of Lilli Lingerie which was established in Brunei in the year 2000. In 2007, she was the first Asian certified as a Professional Bra Fitter by the London Eveden School of Fitting. She is extremely passionate in helping women boost their confidence and comfort by providing the right inner garment selection. During the pandemic in April 2020, she started a new company called Just Pure Drops, a business focusing on the highest quality pure essential oils from the USA at an affordable price. She is currently undergoing certification to be an aromatherapist through an online school in the USA and aims to help more people use essential oils.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO MOTIVATE YOUR TEAM
Thursday, 1st July 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
For all businesses, teamwork is the way to getting important work done. By combining the energy, knowledge, and skills of our employees, even the most ambitious goals can be achieved. How do we motivate our employees and keep them focused? How do we promote teamwork? What are the mistakes to avoid?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panellists:
Rizan Latif is the youngest and first local Chief Executive of Bureau Veritas (BV) in Brunei since its inception in 1989. His role is to provide leadership to about 100 employees, drive the profitability of BV’s Brunei businesses including commodities (inspectorate), Industry, Building and Infrastructure, Certification, and Government Services and International Trade. He is also the Founder and the President of Beach Bunch, a beach clean-up organization founded in 2010. He has inspired over 12,000 volunteers to collect 28.2 tonnes of litter from the beaches in the country.
Miriam Wolber is the General Manager of Radisson Hotel Brunei. She has over 25 years’ experience in the hospitality industry and has for international hotel chains like Hilton, Marriott and Radisson Hotel Group. She has worked in Germany, UAE, Singapore, China and the Philippines before coming to Brunei. Being a hotelier is her passion, and it combines perfectly with her love to travel the world, get to know different people and learn about their cultures.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO PRESENT WITH CONFIDENCE
Thursday, 24th June 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
In business as in life, the ability to present your views and ideas with confidence is a crucial skill. What you say and how you say it can spell the difference between success and failure. What are the principles of presenting confidently? How can we learn to be better presenters?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panellists:
Steve Lai is the News Anchor for Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia (CNA). He fronts CNA’s nightly flagship news bulletins and is the regular first choice for the Channel’s special broadcasts. His passion for sport and versatility in front of the camera enabled him to co-present Mediacorp’s production of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Prior to joining CNA in 2012, he worked at ESPN Star Sports as a presenter for Sportscenter Asia and as a broadcast journalist for the 24hr channel ESPNews. He also worked as a pundit for Astro Malaysia’s coverage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in his capacity as the former Captain of the Brunei National Rugby team. He first stepped in front of the camera in 2009, as a presenter for News at 10 and World News on Radio Television Brunei.
Dr Sophiana Chua is the Founder and Training Consultant of AVisionADay. She is also a Strategic Planning Consultant at EPIPeople Consultants and an Adjunct Senior Assistant Professor at UBD where she trains executives in Foresight & Strategic Planning. She is a member of the Toastmasters Brunei Speakers Club and has represented Brunei at a regional level where she won first place in a Humorous Speech Contest (2009) and an International Speech Contest (2019).
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO THINK CREATIVELY
Thursday, 17th June 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
Creative thinking is a quality which inspires new approaches to meeting challenges. How is creative thinking relevant to business? How can we be more creative in the way we solve problems?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panelists:
Sumardi Hedus is the founder of Relentless Entertainment and Creative Director of Relentless Academy of Performing Arts in Brunei. He is devoted to helping youngsters achieve their potential in the Arts. Over the last 6 years, Relentless has organized 9 large-scale professional musical theatre productions including Hairspray The musical, Musical Mania 3, Cinderella The Musical and Shrek The Musical.
Zarah Juan is a designer and creator of a world class fashion brand collection that brings out the creativity of Filipino artisans. Her creations of one of a kind shoes, bags and accessories are expertly weaved with traditional Filipino craftsmanship featuring contemporary designs. Her efforts in this regard have helped the Philippines gain regional and international acclaim in community development through the honours she received.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO BUILD INFLUENCE ONLINE
Thursday, 10th June 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
How does one build influence in a world where social interactions are increasingly digital? What does it mean to be a social influencer? What are the opportunities and the challenges?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panelists:
Rano Iskandar is the Founder of RanoAdidas.com which has been established since 2002. He is a Key Opinion Leader for Brunei in social media scene with 79k followers on Instagram. Besides creating content, he is still learning the ropes as a businessman and always open to new challenges. He was educated in Australia and loves traveling, tech stuff and the cinema world.
Bash Harry is the Co-Founder of The Brunei Writers, an NGO that aims to feature upcoming writers and bring visibility to the literary arts. She herself is an established writer with literary works including ‘The Bungsu Story’ and ‘I Want to Be Femes’. Her debut collection ‘Oh My Darling: Words in Books I’ll Never Write’ was released early this year. She works full time as a legal officer in one of the telcos here in Brunei. At the same time, she is also a social media Influencer, Lifestyle Youtuber, a media broadcaster, Radio DJ and a TV Host.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO NEGOTIATE SUCCESSFULLY
Thursday, 3rd June 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
What is successful negotiation? How can one learn to be a better negotiator?
What are common mistakes to avoid making?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panelists:
Tengku Indra is one of Asia’s leading mentors and a Master Coach in Business Negotiation Behavioural Skills. He has mentored and coached managers, professionals and business owners over the past 25 years, including at large organizations such as Pfizer, Maybank, the Brunei Investment Agency and the Ministry of Finance, Brunei Darussalam to name a few. Tengku Indra is also the Founder of the International Negotiation Institution, a non-profit organization aimed at developing a pool of talented International Negotiation Trainers.
Dilys Chai is a Brunei based entrepreneur in the F&B business running various establishments she set up: Roots, Rack & Brew and Graze by Lemonpopps. Dilys has been at the forefront in exploring different settings and spaces where people can gather to dine and socialise.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO COMMUNICATE CLEARLY
Thursday, 27th May 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
What is the key to communicating clearly? Why is communicating clearly so important in business? How can we learn to be better communicators?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panelists:
Stuart Lee is the Principal Trainer of Articulation, a training and consultancy company specializing in communication programs for government ministries and corporations in Brunei Darussalam. To-date, Articulation has conducted over 100 training programs with over 2000 participants for key government agencies including the BIA, DA, DARe, MOFE, PMO, RB and all the Brunei telcos.
Jenny Malai Ali has been in the Media and Communications space for close to thirty years, namely in the field of Radio – both in presenting and management roles, as well as an experienced TV Presenter and Emcee. She recently left corporate life to set up her own company Jenny M Communications, and is currently undergoing certification to offer training, development and coaching programmes in the areas of “Growth Mindset” and “Directive Communication Psychology”.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO SELL
Thursday, 20th May 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
Selling and sales are the key to any successful business.
What is the key to successful selling? Is selling something that can be learned?
Learn more by joining our conversation with:
About Our Guest Panelists:
Wong Kim Guan is a Brunei entrepreneur who is the Managing Director of Cuckoo International (B) Sdn Bhd, a highly successful distributor of water purifiers and home appliances in Brunei.
Keeran Janin is a Brunei entrepreneur who is the Founder of the Swiss luxury watch brand, Avantist and the Co-Founder of DART, Brunei’s ride sharing App. He is a board member of DARe, a Brunei statutory body which supports Brunei entrepreneurs, start-ups and businesses.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON STARTING A NEW BUSINESS
Thursday, 6th May 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
What does it take to start a business? What are the key considerations for any new entrepreneur? Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
Join us for a stimulating Conversation with:
About Our Guest Speakers:
Azri Jumat is a Brunei entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Rotuku Group which helps MSMEs grow and meet ISO standards for local and international supply. Under Azri’s leadership, the Group recently launched ONZ, Brunei’s first parcel delivery mobila app. The company aims to operate its own warehouse fuflfillment centre and online marketplace for vendors by year end and shorten the deleivery times of ONZ’s 180 drivers or “runners” across Brunei.
Dayu Dara Permata is an Indonesian entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Pinhome, Indonesia. An emerging property tech (proptech) start-up with the mission to revolutionize the real sector in SEA. Dara was previously Senior Vice President at PT. GO-JEK Indonesia responsible for the Lifestyle & Commerce Product Group consistinh GO-LIFE, GO-SHOP & GO-MART. Before GO-JEK, Dayu was a consultant with McKinsey & Company.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON HOW TO DEAL WITH STRESS DURING CHALLENGING TIMES
Thursday, 29th April 2021 at 11:00am GMT+8 via Zoom Webinar
Managing the expectations of customers, employees and bankers in the face of mounting financial pressures can be very stressful. And yet staying calm and thinking positively is critical during challenging times.
Join us for a stimulating Conversation on dealing with stress with:
About Our Guest Speakers:
Prof Dato’ Dr. Ghazali is one of the most powerful speakers on developing a positive mindset and has a fascinating and moving real-life story on personal and business resilience to back it up. He is a Malaysian intellectual and entrepreneur with more than 50 years of experience in various industries, ranging from banking, manufacturing, and academia. One of his remarkable accomplishments is surviving a long bankruptcy of 17 years, and emerging as a highly respected voice in Malaysia. He sits on numerous boards of directors, advisory councils, and associations.
Lisa Ibrahim is a Business and Life Coach. She is an experienced Executive leader with a demonstrated history of working in multiple industries over 20 years. Her expertise is in Business & Life Coaching, Negotiation, Business Planning, Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning, and Business Development. She has regional experience with extensive Business Management & Coaching Success.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON MANAGING CASH FLOW DURING DIFFICULT TIMES
Thursday, 22nd April 2021 at 11:00am via Zoom Webinar
As a small business entrepreneur, the survival and growth of your enterprise depends largely on the way money moves in and out. Understanding how cash flows through the business puts you in a position to thrive. However, if cash dries up, digging yourself out of the hole will inevitably impact all other aspects of your business.
To help you avoid common missteps and better understand how to keep a healthy cash flow, join us for a stimulating Conversation with:
About Our Guest Panelists:
Albert Lau is the CEO of the QAF Group, a major Brunei conglomerate with wide ranging interests including in supermarkets, media, real estate development, poultry farming, luxury car distribution and industrial gas. A Chartered Accountant, he has extensive experience in public accounting practice, corporate and investment banking and real estate asset management.
Reese Fernandez-Ruiz is the President and Founding Partner of Rags2Riches, a social enterprise in the Philippines dedicated to working with women from poor communities to increase their levels of income. She was recognized in 2014 as one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 social entrepreneurs.
Her expertise includes enterprise development, strategic management, sustainable design and product development.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON RAISING MONEY FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Thursday, 15th April 2021 at 11:00am via Zoom Webinar
Businesses with significant growth plans for the future may need additional funding. This might apply for something as simple as improving cash flow or something more ambitious such as boosting production or expanding the business footprint. Whatever the goal, there are various ways to raise money, each with its own pros and cons.
Join us for a stimulating Conversation with:
About Our Guest Speakers:
Shazali Sulaiman has been in the accounting profession for over 35 years. His expertise is in auditing, taxation and business advisory in the banking and finance, energy and manufacturing sector, including consulting work with Governments and State-Owned Enterprises. He retired as a Partner of KPMG Brunei in 2019 and is the Chairman of the Brunei Darussalam International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Hj Aidil Salleh is the Founder and Managing Director of Jana Kapital, a pioneering online Peer-to-Peer Islamic crowdfunding platform targeting the MSMEs in Brunei Darussalam. He is a seasoned financial services and broad industry professional of over 25 years including in private equity, and he last served as Executive Director responsible for the Financial Sector Development Department at the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD).
ASK ME ANYTHING ON WHAT’S NEXT IN TECHNOLOGY
Thursday, 8th April 2021 at 11:00am via Zoom Webinar
There will be some major tech changes that could influence the small business landscape in 2021. Developments in 5G networks, artificial intelligence and tech-assisted purchasing or e-commerce will continue to increase in importance in 2021.
What do these mean for small businesses in Brunei?
Join us for a stimulating Conversation with:
About Our Guest Speakers:
Hiro Tien is the Co-Founder and CEO of Viralspace.ai, a Silicon Valley startup that uses AI to help digital marketers make data-driven decisions about their ad creative. He is also a co-founder and a General Partner of The MBA Fund, a U.S. based venture capital fund. He has raised millions of dollars for his companies and has investment experience at Google’s AI Fund.
Stephanie Sy is the Founder and Lead Data Scientist at Thinking Machines, a data science startup that helps companies build AI systems. Their projects span data strategy, data engineering, machine learning, and data visualization. She was recognized on Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 list for her work on enterprise technology.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON MANAGING RISK IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Thursday, 1st April 2021 at 11:00am via Zoom Webinar
The future is always uncertain, more especially so in a pandemic. But the key is figuring out just how uncertain it is. In other words, what matters most is accurately assessing all possible risks coming at you from all angles.
A Conversation with:
About Our Guest Speakers:
Leonard Lee has been the Head of Group Risk Department since joining Baiduri Bank in 2018. Prior to joining the bank, he held key risk positions at the Bank of China and HSBC. He has over 12 years of banking experience.
Ambrose Nathan is the Managing Director of BizAdvize, a business advisory consultancy. He is a chartered accountant and has worked in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia. He has held directorships in a number of companies in Brunei and regionally.
ASK ME ANYTHING ON THE FUTURE OF WORK
Thursday, 25th March 2021 at 11:00 am via Zoom Webinar
A Conversation with:
About Our Guest Speakers:
Sourav Rout is a subject matter expert on digital innovation, emerging technologies and strategic capability building, helping organizations develop sustainable innovation capabilities. He is based in Belgium.
Aimi Ramlee is the Co-Founder and Director of Digital Innovation & Growth of Tyne Solutions, an award-winning local tech consultancy specializing in bridging gaps in organizations.
