Khairuddin Yahya, Legal Director and Company Secretary
Avon Cosmetics (M) Sdn Bhd

Khairuddin has more than 24 years of experience as an in-house counsel in public listed and multinational companies. He is currently the Legal Director & Corporate Affairs for Avon Cosmetics (M) Sdn Bhd, Company Secretary for a subsidiary and Board Member of Avon Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.

His responsibilities include legal counsel for Avon offices in Brunei, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

He was previously was the Counsel for Avon Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. 

He is active in Non-Governmental Organisational activities and at one time or the other his involvements includes: EXCO - Malaysia Franchise Association, Honorary Secretary/ Board Member - Direct Selling Association of Malaysia, Ex-Chairman/ Board Member - Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia and Ex EXCO and life member - Malaysian Corporate Counsel Association.

Kelvin Kho, Partner
Chrisopher & Lee Ong

Kelvin is a partner in Christopher & Lee Ong. He specialises in Mergers & Acquisitions,  Foreign Investment, Property Development, Labour and Corporate & Commercial Law. He is recognised in Asialaw Profiles (2018) and Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2017 as a key member of the Corporate and M&A (Tier – 1) practice of Christopher & Lee Ong. 

He has advised many companies in a wide array of sectors on acquisitions and disposals of shares and assets, particularly those with a cross border element. He also advises on their investments and operations including on shareholders’ participation and joint ventures, corporate restructuring, regulatory application and licensing, fintech, compliance matters (including data protection, money laundering and anti-corruption law), hotel management, exchange control, supply of utility and services, agency and distribution arrangement, franchises, loan financing, corporate governance and corporate and commercial advisory. 

He regularly acts for property developers on real estate and property development matters including on land and property acquisition and lease (including leaseback arrangements). He also advises the development and management of real estate including residential, commercial and industrial properties. 

He also maintains a significant labour law practice and currently serves as co-head of this practice group. He advises on labour contracts, handbooks, policies and regulatory compliance with labour laws. He also advises on trade union matters and collective agreement, employment of expatriate and blue collar foreign workers, restructuring of workforce, structuring of sale of businesses, retrenchments and termination of employment, statutory contributions, relocation and transfers, recruitment agencies, outsourcing, labour investigations and inquiry. He also conducts compliance training sessions for both employers and employees on regulatory matters.

Peter Godwin, Managing Partner
Herbert Smith Freehills 

Peter is the Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills' Kuala Lumpur office and head of the firms' disputes practice across Asia with extensive experience in litigation, arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution. He has practiced in Asia for 20 years.

He advises Asian and international companies on complex disputes in a number of sectors, including construction and infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, media & technology, pharmaceuticals, international trade and banking. His practice in these sectors includes all manner of contractual and other disputes including insolvency, fraud and employment issues.

He has represented clients in arbitral centres in Bankok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London, Mumbai, New York, Oslo, Paris, Singapore, Stockholm and Tokyo in relation to disputes under English and numerous other common and civil law systems.

He has acted in arbitrations under ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, SIAC, Thai Arbitration Institute, JCAA rules and before both pure and ad hoc and UNCITRAL tribunals. He also sits as an arbitrator, is a panel member of KLRCA, SIAC, HKIAC and JCAA and also has recent experience under ICC and LCIA rules. 

Ranked by Asia Pacific Legal 500 and Chambers Asia Pacific as a "leadingindividual" in dispute resolution for more than a decade, he is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales, and Hong Kong, and is licensed to advise on foreign law in Malaysia.

Glynn Cooper, Partner
Herbert Smitt Freehills

Glynn is an experienced corporate and projects lawyer based in our Kuala Lumpur office. His practice covers acquisitions, disposals, project developments, joint ventures and restructurings. He has particular experience in relation to infrastructure and related sectors (including transport, energy, water, resources and real estate).

He previously practiced in London and Australia. In addition, he has spent extended periods advising clients on transactions in Continental Europe (including the Netherlands, Spain and Germany), the United States, South America and the Middle East. In 2007 to 2008, undertook a secondment as European General Counsel of Citadel Group, a global asset management and securities group based in Chicago.

He is qualified in England & Wales in 2003. He is also qualified in Australia and is a registered foreign lawyer in Malaysia.

Dr. Jasmine Begum, Director, Legal, Corporate and Government Affairs
Microsoft Malaysia and New Markets

Jasmine Begum, Director of Legal, Corporate & Government Affairs for Malaysia and New Markets. Based in Kuala Lumpur, she has held this role since 2010, where she oversees corporate affairs, government relations and  policy engagement as well as philanthropies for Microsoft businesses in Malaysia and the emerging markets.

She joined Microsoft with over 25 years of award-winning experience that uniquely straddles both legal/policy engagement and communications, that included leadership and regional stints at companies such as Dell Malaysia, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations headquarters in New York and Chambers of Commerce, as well as having been a corporate litigator. 

She has broad educational qualifications having completed a double law degree at the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur. She then pursued post-graduate studies in both Law and Communications, in the UK, and earned her PhD in business and human rights.

Nick Edmondes, Partner
Trowers & Hamlins LLP

Nick Edmondes is a Partner based in Trowers & Hamlins LLP's office in Kuala Lumpur. The firm is the first foreign law firm to be granted a qualified foreign law firm licence in Malaysia.

His experience includes project development and finance, privatisation, corporate structuring and inward investment into the UK and Europe.

At Trowers & Hamlins for over 30 years, he has worked in London and overseas, including as the resident managing partner of the firm's Oman office between 1994 and 2000. He is now a lead and integral member of team dealing with the firm's work for Malaysian and ASEAN clients

He is the co-head of the firm's well regarded Islamic finance group which acts for Islamic institutions from across the Middle East and Asia in relation to a wide range of activities. He also heads up the firm's inward investment group that specialises in advising foreign investors into the UK and Europe.

He is recognised as a Notable Practitioner in Islamic Finance in Chambers & Partners Legal Directory 2014. He is also Legal Expert in the field of Project Energy and Natural Resources (including PFI) in the Legal Business: Legal Experts directory 2010 and has been a member of the UK government sponsored focus groups supporting the UK's transport and financial services industries.

He was until 2013, UKTI's Special Representative for financial services to the Sultanate of Oman and GCC Chairman of the UKTI special representatives. Until 2013 he also chaired The City UK's GSS focus group.

He has written many articles and has spoken regularly on a variety of topics in the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran and Dubai, on diverse subjects from inward investment to the UK, to private sector financing for public sector through port reform, project structures, projects and project finance to Islamic finance.

Cassandra Lim, Solicitor
Trowers & Hamlins LLP

Cassandra is a lawyer in Trowers & Hamlins' Malaysia office. She specialises in corporate work.

Her experience includes advising on domestic and cross-border acquisitions, joint ventures, public-private partnerships, capital markets, corporate governance and compliance, corporate restructuring, commercial lease, limited liability partnerships and all other legal aspects of corporate and commercial transactions, spanning a number of industries - chief among them, healthcare, energy, real estate, aviation, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, information technology and marketing.

She is also a civil and commercial mediator - accredited by the ADR Group (UK).

Thavakumar Kandiahpillai, President, Malaysia Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA)
Head of Legal and Contracts, Sapura Exploration & Production Inc.

Thavakumar obtained his LLB (Honours) from University of London in 1989 and was admitted to the English Bar at Middle Temple.  He went on to obtain his LLM from University Of London and was admitted to the Malaysian Bar, and became a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

He practised in Kuala Lumpur as an Advocate & Solicitior becoming a partner in 1998. 

He joined Shell Malaysia in KL in 2000 and served 12 years during which time he held various positions including General Counsel of Shell Malaysia, leading a team of up to 26 lawyers supporting Shell’s regional business.

He was elected President of the Malaysian Corporate Counsel Association in 2011.   In 2012, he joined SapuraKencana Petroleum Berhad as VP Legal Affairs and in 2015, he also took on responsibilities as the Head of Group Legal, and in 2017, become Head of Legal and Contracts at Sapura Exploration & Production.

Dato' Mohamed Nasri Sallehuddin, Executive Director, Corporate & Support Services, Company Secretary and Head, Legal
Khazanah National Berhad

Dato’ Mohamed Nasri Sallehuddin is currently Executive Director, Corporate & Support Services, Company Secretary and Head of Legal at Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the strategic investment fund for the Government of Malaysia.

He holds an LLB (Hons) degree from Aberystwyth University (Wales) and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde Business School. He was called to the degree of an Utter Barrister by the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn in 1995 and admitted to the High Court of Malaya as an advocate and solicitor in 1996. In 2014, he was named In-House Lawyer of the Year at the inaugural Asian Legal Business Malaysia Law Awards. Prior to joining Khazanah in 2009, he was a partner with a leading law firm in Malaysia, advising clients on corporate law and the legal aspects of corporate restructuring, take-overs and mergers. Currently, he is the Non-Independent Non-Executive Director of Cement Industries of Malaysia Berhad (CIMA) and UEM Group Berhad.

Nik Azli Abu Zahar, Group Chief Legal & Corporate Governance Officer
Malaysia Airlines Berhad

Nik is currently the Group Chief Legal & Corporate Governance Officer at Malaysia Airlines Berhad. He is part of the EXCO and management rep for MAB & MAG at Board Audit Committee, Board Risk Management Committee and Board governance & Ethics Committee. He sits as a director on the board of various subsidiary companies and associate companies of MAG. He manages 7 departments at Malaysia Airlines Berhad. Prior joining Malaysia Airlines Berhad, he was with SapuraKencana Petroleum Berhad, Sime Darby and Petronas. 

Jasbender Kaur, Chief Counsel & Corporate Services Officer
Manulife Holdings Berhad

Jasbender is the Chief Counsel Corporate Services Officer of Manulife Holdings Berhad responsible for Group Legal, Corporate Secretariat and Project Management. Manulife is a progressive financial services provider in Malaysia and a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, an international financial services group operating as John Hancock in the United States and Manulife elsewhere in the world, with principal operations in Asia and North America.

She is an LL.B (Hons) graduate from the University of London and was called to the Malaysian Bar in 1996. With almost 18 years’ experience in the life insurance industry in Malaysia, she joined Manulife in 2005 and was appointed group head of Legal, Compliance and Corporate Secretariat in 2011. In addition to her role as General Counsel, she has, and still does from time to time head up and several different senior roles within Manulife including HR, Operations and Project Management. 

Aisah Bevi Abdul Rahman, Chief Legal & Claim Officer
AXA Affin General Insurance

Aisah has over 25 years’ extensive experience in overseeing full spectrum of legal, business governance, compliance and control across corporate as well as the general insurance domains. She is skilled in conceiving risk management and fraud management strategies to mitigate leakages coupled proven track record in driving operational transformation as well as process automation. She is recognised as a tactful and determined organizational leader with sound succession planning acumen.