THE GLC TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME PART I
Making The Impossible Probable (2006 - 2008)
It was because I had started an education-related company for PETRONAS.
Mohd Ridzwan (Reez) Nordin, a former colleague in the e-Learning Project Team at iPerintis, contacted me to inquire about the possibility of replicating a similar initiative at Khazanah Nasional Berhad to establish a Directors Academy. After submitting a proposal under SE Consulting and a screening process with Senior Vice President Aini Jamaludin, I joined the Transformation Management Office (TMO), which was responsible for managing the Government-Linked Companies Transformation Programme (GLCTP).
Apart from Reez, Affan Nawi was another familiar face from the iPerintis days, which helped me acclimatise to the new team. I had been with Gyro Venture Partners, a small Venture Capital start-up, and therefore, joining Khazanah resumed my corporate journey. I was again amazed at the talent within TMO, including a black belt Six Sigma practitioner from Motorola focusing on Operational Efficiency, a PhD in Physics and former McKinsey & Company consultant taking care of Corporate Governance, a former EY consultant looking at Performance Management and Capital Management practices, and Affan of PETRONAS and Kearney lineage specialising in Procurement practices. The GLCTP was launched in late 2005, and the TMO is now looking to launch all 10 Initiatives to be implemented with a chosen group of 20 GLCs (henceforth called G20). It was designed as a 10 Year Programme to transform GLCs, which at that time comprised approximately 54% of the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) listed companies, as the platform to move the needle in Malaysia’s own Transformation.
The challenging task at the outset was to get the GLCs on board with the Programme. They varied in their journeys too; some were Malaysianised Companies like Sime Darby and Boustead, some were Corporatised like Tenaga and Telekom Malaysia, and Restructured Companies like Malaysia Airlines and UEM. Two initiatives finally got the ball rolling. The first was to get all G20 Companies to announce their Headline Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), part of Initiative 9: Intensifying Performance Management (Blue Book). They soon found out that announcing was easy, but reporting actual results proved daunting. Closer to the announcement of the results of their KPI, the TMO Team saw much more serious action taken in meeting them. That action was also a result of another aspect of the Blue Book: many CEO changes were implemented to ensure the right leaders were in place for the implementation of the transformation programme.
Thus, we get Transformation Golden Nugget #8: Once the Company Feels the Heat, then you will get Action (Dato’ Seri Idris Jala calls this “Putting the Feet to Fire”)
And Transformation Golden Nugget #9: Put the Right Leaders for the Right Job at the Right Time
The setting up of the Directors Academy was closely linked to Initiative 1: Enhance Board Performance (Green Book). There were already institutions that dealt primarily with Corporate Governance Compliance, namely Bursatra for Bursa Malaysia and Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC) for the Securities Commission. Enhancing Board Performance must extend beyond mere compliance to foster the right mentality and behaviour, ultimately intending to improve the performance required for a successful transformation. The approach, therefore, needed to be carefully designed and implemented. Getting the right partner for the Academy was key; after speaking to many business schools and universities, we chose IMD over all others as they fully understood our objectives and intentions, and could design a programme with us on the spot. The fantastic combination of Dr Ulrich Steger and Dr George Kohlrieser resulted in many well-received programmes to kick-start MINDA’s offerings.
My entry into the Directors Academy Team resulted in a re-shuffling of resources. Finally, we were a team of three, together with Saadiah Aziz and Angela Chong, and later joined by Hafiz Mahmood. Within the first six months, we obtained approval for the Project Plan, selected the name Malaysian Directors Academy (MINDA), and established it as a Company Limited By Guarantee (CLGB). After months of engaging with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and high-level stakeholder management between our Managing Director and the Minister, we secured a RM10 million grant from MoF and proceeded with our plans. Once operations stabilised, a full-time Management Team and the Board of Directors with Ahmad Pardas Senin as Chairman were appointed and took the organisation forward. The Team was pleased to witness MINDA’s evolution into its intended form: the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia (ICDM).
There is an abundance of lessons to be had from the GLCTP. After launching all 10 initiatives and establishing the right leadership in the GLCs, we saw the traction snowballing into real action and outcomes, which ultimately led to the programme’s successful closure in 2015. I will be sharing them in much more detail in the Substack of this Newsletter, which contains all the LinkedIn Newsletter contents, but will also feature much more detailed learnings, as well as practical How-To Workbooks on implementing the initiatives yourselves. The extra content would be accessible through a paid subscription of USD10 a month or USD90 per year. When the first batch of content is ready, an announcement will be made in this Newsletter.
In addition to those mentioned above, I would like to acknowledge the various people who contributed to my journey above, including teammates Zurianty Sudin, Johan Abdul Razak, Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah, Adilah Junid, partners Sang Hoe Chow, Conrad Fernandez, Bahariah Bahadom, Ahmad Qadri, Li-Kai Chen, Seelan Singham, Diaan-Yi Lin, supportive colleagues Idham Ismail, Hisham Mokhtar, CFA, Mohd Fuad Ahmad, Ahmad Farouk Mohamed, and too many more to name. You all have my sincerest appreciation.
See you in the next part of my Khazanah journey in a week, inshaaAllah.
Wan Ahmad Saifuddin
