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Board of Directors
Manulife Holdings Berhad

Dato’ Dr Zaha Rina Binti Zahari

Chairman/Independent Non-Executive Director

Dato’ Dr Zaha Rina binti Zahari was appointed to the Board on 12 December 2013.  Dato’ Dr Zaha Rina received her BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance from Leeds UK and Doctorate in Business Administration from Hull UK focusing on capital markets research and specialising in derivatives.

She was a Consultant to Financial Technologies Middle East based in Bahrain for the set up of Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) launched in January 2009.  Prior to this, she was with Royal Bank of Scotland Group in Singapore from August 2007 to May 2008.  She has more than 25 years experience in the financial, commodities and securities industry and the development of the Malaysian Capital Market, which includes managing a futures broking company, and was Chief Executive Officer of RHB Securities Sdn Bhd from 2004 to 2006.  She has previous Board appointments at the Commodity and Monetary Exchange of Malaysia (“COMMEX”) from 1993 to 1996, then as the Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) of Kuala Lumpur Options and Financial Futures Exchange (“KLOFFE”) in 2001, which merged to become Malaysian Derivatives Exchange (MDEX) in June 2001.

She was then appointed head of Exchanges, managing the operations of Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE), MESDAQ, MDEX and Labuan International Financial Exchanges (LFX) in September 2003 prior to KLSE’s (now known as Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad) demutualisation.  She is also a regular speaker at many international conference and forums.

She was a director of Zurich Insurance Malaysia Bhd from 2007 to 2013 prior to being appointed Chairman of Manulife Holdings Bhd in December 2013.  She sits on the Board of Hong Leong Industries Bhd since 2012 and Tanah Makmur Berhad since 2014 besides holding directorship in several private limited companies.  She is also a member of Market Participants Committee (MPC) of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad since July 2014.

She is a Vice-President of Persatuan Chopin Malaysia and Divemaster with National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI).  She was a member of Global Board of Advisers for XBRL until 2009 and was also on the Board of Trustee for Malaysia AIDS Foundation until May 2010.

Dato’ Dr Zaha Rina is Chairman of the Executive Committee and Group Nominating/Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors

Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Annuar Bin Zaini

Independent Non-Executive Director

Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Annuar bin Zaini was appointed to the Board on 5 July 2011.  He holds a Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Laws & Diplomacy, Tufts University, USA and a Bachelor of Arts with honours in Economics from University Kebangsaan Malaysia.

He began his career as an Administrative and Diplomatic Officer in 1977.  He served the Malaysian Government at various ministries and departments and also the Perak State Government until he chose to take an optional retirement from the government service in 1999.

In February 2004, HRH The Sultan of Perak consented his appointment as Member of the Council of Elders to HRH Sultan of Perak. He is currently a Member of the Perak Council of Islamic Religion and Malay Customs and Board Member to the PKEINPK Sdn Bhd, He is also a Board Member of the University of Malaya, Chairman of University of Malaya Specialist Centre, Chairman of International University of Malaya Wales, a Distinguished Fellow to Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, Fellow Institute of Public Security of Malaysia, Adjunct Professor of Northern Corridor Economic Region Research Centre, Universiti Utara Malaysia.

He was Executive Director of Berjaya Corporation Berhad from 2001 to 2004, Chairman of Malaysian National News Agency (BERNAMA) from February 2004 to January 2010, Advisor and Chief Executive of Northern Corridor Implementation Authority from 2007 to 2009, a Board Member of the Royal Perak Medical College from 2005 to 2011, a Board Member of the Malaysia Airlines System Berhad from 2005 to 2011, a Board Member of the PLUS Expressway Berhad from 2007 to 2012 and Tropicana Corporation Berhad from 2010 to 2015.

Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Annuar is a member of the Group Audit Committee, Group Risk Management Committee and Group Nominating/Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors.  He is also a Director and member of the Audit Committee of the Board of Manulife Insurance Berhad and a director on the Board of Manulife Asset Management Services Berhad.

Lim Hun Soon @ David Lim

Independent Non-Executive Director

Mr. Lim Hun Soon @ David Lim, a Malaysian, was appointed to the Board on 17 July 2012.  He graduated from the University of Leeds with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in July 1978 and subsequently joined KPMG (formerly known as Peat Marwick Mitchell) in the United Kingdom in 1978. 

He qualified as a member of the Institute of Taxation, United Kingdom in 1981 and as a member of The Institute of Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) in England and Wales in 1982. He then returned to Malaysia in 1982 to continue his service with KPMG where he was admitted in 1984 as a member of the Malaysian Association of Certified Public Accountants.  Mr. David Lim was admitted as a Partner of the Firm in 1990. Mr. David Lim has had an extensive career serving as an auditor under KPMG spanning 33 years.  During his career with KPMG, he served in the Management Committee of the firm from 1997 to 2001 as well as KPMG's Partnership Supervisory Council from 2002 to 2010. He was also the Asian Anchor Practice representative for Marketing in 2000 to 2001 in which he gained extensive and insightful knowledge from KPMG Global counterparts worldwide.  

In 2006, he was assigned by KPMG to start up the Malaysian Audit Committee Institute (“ACI Malaysia”), which was a virtual worldwide initiative sponsored by KPMG to assist Independent Directors in enhancing their awareness and ability to implement effective board processes. After five (5) years of relentless groundwork, the ACI Malaysia is now a source of information for which Non-Executive Directors can turn to if they require information to help them in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities.

Mr. David Lim actively served as an examiner for Company Law examinations in the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“MICPA”) for over a period of ten (10) years. He was also the Chairman of the MICPA Code of Ethics Committee and a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants Code of Ethics Committee from 2002 to 2004. He had also developed an expertise from undertaking the role of Reporting Accountants in initial public offerings (“IPO”) and was the audit partner in charge of over 30 IPOs whilst at KPMG. He retired from KPMG in 2011.

In July 2013, David Lim was appointed as a Council Member of the ICAEW representing South East Asia (Malaysia).  His appointment represents a huge accolade for Malaysia, as it’s the first time in ICAEW’s sterling 130 years history, a Malaysian is represented on ICAEW’s Council.  In 2015, his appointment was extended for another term of two years till 2017.

Mr. David Lim sits on the Board of Affin Investment Bank Berhad, Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd, Ann Joo Resources Berhad, Rockwills Trustee Bhd, Sasbadi Holdings Bhd, Kawan Food Bhd and Ranhill Holdings Bhd as an Independent Non-Executive Director and a few private limited companies

Mr. David Lim is a Chairman of the Group Audit Committee and Group Risk Management Committee and is a member of the Group Nominating/Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors.  He is also a director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board of Manulife Insurance Berhad.

Lee Sang Hui

Group Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: 1 November 2018

Mr Lee Sang Hui, a citizen of the United States of America, holds a MBA from Thunderbird School of International Management and a Bachelor degree from the University of Colorado in Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology.

Mr Lee has 27 years of experience in the Life Insurance and Asset Management industries. Prior to his appointment as Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Lee held various senior management roles in American Life Insurance in Japan before joining AIG/AIA where he had a noteworthy career across Investments, Finance, Marketing and Distribution. Mr Lee is a seasoned international executive with a proven track record of delivering consistent, high quality results across Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.

Mr Lee also sits on the Boards of Manulife Holdings Berhad and Manulife Asset Management Services Berhad.

Kenneth Joseph Rappold JR

Non-Independent Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: 1 October 2018

Mr. Kenneth Joseph Rappold JR holds a Master’s Degree in Professional Accounting and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), CFA Charterholder, Certified FRM and a Fellow of the Life Management Institute.

Mr. Rappold is our Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) for the Asia Division and a member of the Asia Executive Leadership Team of Manulife. He has been in the position of CFO since March 2018. In this role, he provides leadership for all aspects of financial management for Manulife’s Asia division.

Mr. Rappold has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry; he has worked in Asia for at least 21 years. Prior to joining Manulife, Mr. Rappold served as a regional CFO for Aviva Asia. He focused on providing financial and strategic leadership to their businesses in Asia.

Prior to joining Aviva Asia, Mr. Rappold held senior roles at AIA, including CFO of AIA Korea, CFO of AIA Thailand, and Vice President of Finance and Accounting Compliance for the AIA Group in Hong Kong. Mr. Rappold’s earlier career also included roles at New York Life International (in Hong Kong), Allianz AG (at its head office in Munich, Germany) and KPMG (in both the US and Europe).

Mr. Rappold is a member of the Group Audit Committee, Group Risk Management Committee and Group Nominating/Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors.

Vijayam Nadarajah

Independent Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board: 19 April 2019

Mrs. Vijayam Nadarajah holds a Master’s in Business Administration as well as a Bachelor’s in Economics (with a major in accounting) from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She has also acquired an L.L.B. from London University, United Kingdom. In terms of professional memberships, she is a Fellow Member of CPA Australia, a Chartered Accountant under the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, and a Fellow Member of the Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia.

She was the president of Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia (IIAM) from 1996 to 1997, and was then reappointed as a governor to the Board of Governors of IIAM in 2016. Mrs. Nadarajah co-chaired the taskforce on Guidance for Effective Internal Audit Function.

Mrs. Nadarajah currently holds the position of Independent Non-Executive Director for ScotiaBank Berhad effective 28 June 2018. She is a consultant and trainer in topics such as risk management, compliance, internal audit and board governance.

Prior to her appointment to the board of ScotiaBank Berhad, she was a consultant for China Construction Bank Malaysia Berhad. Mrs. Nadarajah was in charge of overseeing the incorporation of a public company to set up the bank in Malaysia, and application for a bank license. During this process, she liaised with Bank Negara Malaysia on matters related to application of license and operational readiness audit. Furthermore, she advised on the structure and nomination of independent directors for the Board, and also drafted the board charter and terms of reference of board committees, on top of other governance policies.

From 2013 to 2016, Mrs. Nadarajah served as a Specialist for the Research and Development/Corporate Program of the Financial Accreditation Agency (“FAA”), which is an initiative supported by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia. She also served as Financial Controller at CIMB Aviva Assurance Berhad and CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad, Assistant General Manager of Finance at Oriental Capital Assurance Berhad, as well as senior roles in RHB Bank Berhad and Sime Bank Berhad/UMBC Bank Berhad.

Mrs. Vijayam Nadarajah is a member of the Group Audit Committee, Group Risk Management Committee and Group Nominating/Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors. She is also a Director and Member of the Audit Committee, Risk Management Committee and Nominating/Remuneration Committee of the Board of Manulife Insurance Berhad.