TENTATIVE AGENDA

This year, the Securities Commission embarked upon a comprehensive review of Malaysia’s corporate governance framework to strengthen practices and to drive behavioural shifts for sustainable value creation. At the same time, major markets have introduced significant updates to their Corporate Governance Codes to address emerging priorities such as sustainability governance, digital transformation, and stakeholder engagement—while also reinforcing the strategic importance of Company Secretaries serving as governance professionals.

The session will provide a holistic and comparative perspective, highlighting how Malaysia’s governance evolution aligns with global trends and where it can lead in shaping future-ready governance practices. It brings together local and international regulators, policymakers, and market practitioners to share insights, examine key innovations and discuss practical implications for companies, investors and other capital market participants.

Geopolitical risks pose considerable challenges to an organisation's resilience and ability to sustain long-term value creation. Wars, cyber-attacks, climate change impacts, trade tensions and more disrupt supply chains, energy and commodity prices, access to critical resources and overall business continuity.

• How do companies navigate these increasingly complex headwinds and reduce systemic risk exposure while enhancing organisational growth and sustainability?
• To what extent is uncertainty factored into risk management frameworks and mitigation strategies?
What reporting frameworks are most used by companies to communicate their approaches to
• managing uncertainty, risk, and resilience?

This session provides participants with a practical demonstration of how boards respond to unexpected threats such as a cyber breach, whistleblower allegation, or activist shareholder pressure. Through a simulated board meeting scenario, participants will observe or join in the decision-making process to navigate regulatory obligations, stakeholder expectations, and reputational risks under time pressure. The session highlights the critical role of the company secretary in facilitating proper governance oversight, and coordinating legal, governance, and communication strategies during a crisis.

Participants will gain practical insights into real-time boardroom dynamics, crisis management, and the importance of structured governance responses in protecting organisational integrity and stakeholder confidence.

This session provides participants with practical insights into how regulators assess corporate governance practices and what typically triggers regulatory scrutiny. Through a discussion with regulators and governance experts, the session will examine real-life examples to illustrate how companies succeeded—or failed—in meeting governance expectations. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of common governance weaknesses identified during reviews, key red flags often found in board papers and minutes, and how boards and company secretaries can better prepare for governance inspections.

The session will also highlight important lessons drawn from enforcement actions, offering valuable guidance on strengthening governance processes and avoiding regulatory penalties.

The session addresses a common governance challenge; ineffective board papers that fail to support strategic decision-making. The session will explore how high-performing boards receive and evaluate information, and how governance professionals, particularly company secretaries, can transform management reports into concise, decision-focused board packs. Participants will learn practical approaches to structuring board papers to facilitate strategic discussions, avoiding information overload, and presenting key insights clearly for directors, especially independent directors. The session will also highlight the use of dashboards and digital board portals to improve clarity, accessibility, and the overall effectiveness of board information.s.

In today’s increasingly complex business environment, the role of the Company Secretary has become more critical than ever in supporting long-term organisational success and resilience. As modern-day governance professionals, they play a pivotal role in enhancing board effectiveness, safeguarding good governance practices, and preserving stakeholder value.

Beyond their statutory responsibilities, Company Secretaries are increasingly required to navigate complex boardroom dynamics — including managing strong personalities, addressing board behaviour, and fostering constructive engagement among directors. They serve as trusted advisers to both the Chair and CEO, balancing the need to provide independent, objective guidance while effectively supporting management.

This session will explore the evolving responsibilities of Company Secretaries across different markets, the key competencies required to succeed in the role, and the critical reporting lines that shape their effectiveness in today’s governance landscape.

Panel Speakers:

• Chua Siew Chuan, Managing Director, Securities Services (Holdings) Sdn. Bhd, Malaysia
• Fernanda Marques Bayeux, Governance Officer, Alpargatas, Brazil
• Victoria Penrice, Group Company Secretary, W.A.G Group, United Kingdom

Moderator: Neill McWilliams, Programme Director, KCB Global, United Kingdom

This session examines the growing trend of shareholder activism globally, including within Asia, and its implications for boards and governance professionals. The session will explore how companies deal with activist pressure and prepare effective board response strategies to address potential campaigns.

Participants will gain insights into key governance and disclosure considerations, as well as the importance of managing investor relations and stakeholder communication during activist situations. The discussion will also highlight the critical advisory role of Company Secretaries as governance professionals in supporting the board, ensuring preparedness, and helping organisations navigate shareholder activism while protecting long-term corporate value.

Independent Board Directors play a vital role in ensuring objectivity and oversight within a Board’s decision-making. They provide valuable managerial scrutiny and strategic advice, helping to balance power on the board and protect the interests of both shareholders and stakeholders.

• What qualities define a good Independent Director?
• How does this position differ across global markets?
• In what ways are conflicts addressed and disclosed?
• What is the optimal approach to assessing board quality and performance aligned with an organisation’s risk profile, culture, and long-term strategy?

This session will examine the role of the board in shaping and overseeing a corporate culture that aligns with the organisation’s purpose, values, and strategic objectives. The discussion will address the connections between corporate culture, risk management, and remuneration policy, as well as the implementation of Codes of Ethics to encourage lawful, responsible, and ethical conduct across the workforce. Independent and confidential whistleblowing mechanisms will be explored, along with critical issues such as anti-bribery and anti-corruption. The panel will also consider audit committee responsibilities regarding oversight, reporting breaches, and initiating corrective measures.

This session explores how artificial intelligence is transforming governance practices and the work of governance professionals. The session will demonstrate practical ways AI tools can support tasks such as preparing board papers and minutes, conducting governance research, and improving efficiency in board support functions. At the same time, it will address key considerations in managing confidentiality, legal risks, and ethical use of AI in governance processes. Participants will also gain insights into appropriate risk controls, confidentiality safeguards, and the role of boards in overseeing the responsible AI adoption, supported by governance policy perspectives, including insights from the OECD.

In today’s enforcement-driven environment, the boardroom is no longer insulated from AMLA risks—it is increasingly the focal point of accountability. Under Malaysia’s Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLA), regulators are scrutinising not just operational lapses, but decisions, oversight failures, and governance blind spots at the highest level.

This session cuts through legal theory to focus on what boards and senior management must actually do. Through real enforcement trends, case insights, and boardroom scenarios, the panel will unpack how seemingly routine decisions—approving clients, overlooking red flags, weak challenge culture—can escalate into personal liability, reputational damage, and regulatory sanctions.

The session will equip participants with practical strategies to protect themselves and their organisations, including: How to embed AML accountability into board structures and charters What “effective oversight” really looks like in practice (beyond paper compliance) How to ask the right questions at board level to surface hidden risks Building a defensible governance framework that stands up to regulatory scrutiny

This panel discussion explores the unique governance dynamics within founder-led and family-controlled companies, which play a significant role in Asian and global capital markets. The session will examine how governance frameworks evolve as companies transition from entrepreneurial leadership to more institutionalised governance structures while founders continue to retain substantial influence. Panelists will discuss key challenges such as balancing founder influence with board independence, managing succession planning, and navigating boardroom dynamics in family-controlled firms. The discussion will also highlight the critical role of governance professionals in supporting effective governance practices, facilitating board processes, and ensuring long-term sustainability in founder-led organisations.

The OECD 2025 Corporate Governance Factbook clarified that sustainability disclosure is required by law or regulation in 79% of OECD jurisdictions; and 60% have established requirements for assurance. Standards have greatly improved comparability and consistency in reporting across jurisdictions, but questions remain around interoperability (the compatibility and alignment of multiple sustainability reporting frameworks to enable seamless cross-border application), practical applications and assurances.

• How do multi-national companies cope with reporting standards, whether they be ISSB, ESRS or GRI?
• What are the synergies and divergences between these frameworks?
• How is accountability for “sustainability” managed within organisations and considered in decisions around strategy, major transactions, risk management and remuneration?

21st century boards must develop and oversee an organisation’s digital technology strategy to drive innovation, growth, and competitive advantage. This extends to management’s approach to ethical and responsible deployment and the relevance, risk, proportionality and impact of AI and digital usage on an entity’s culture, operations, and strategy.

• How do boards assess the performance of digital assets against measures such as return on investment, revenue, and productivity?
• How are workforce impacts managed including AI transition, health and safety, training, integrity?
• How are risks assessed and what is best practice around quality control and assurance in technology related design, internal controls, and verification?