Dato’ Sri Idris Jala is the Advisor to the Prime Minister on the National Transformation Programme and CEO of PEMANDU, an organization tasked with spearheading Malaysia’s transition towards high income status by 2020. For six years, he also served as Minister in the Malaysia Prime Minister's Department.
In 2014, Bloomberg placed Idris Jala among the top 10 most influential policy makers in the world. Under his leadership, PEMANDU was also named by NESTA, UK and Bloomberg Philanthropies as one of the top 20 most innovative Government agencies in the world. Idris Jala has served on the Advisory panel for the World Economic Forum (WEF) on New Economic Growth and also on the Advisory Panel of World Bank. Prior to his Government stint, Idris Jala was Managing Director/CEO at Malaysia Airlines (MAS) for three years. Before MAS, he spent 23 years at Shell, rising up the ranks to hold senior positions including Vice President, Shell Retail International and Vice President Business Development Consultancy. He holds a Bachelor degree in Development Studies and Management from University Sains Malaysia and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Relations from Warwick University.
