Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is the governing body which manages the affairs of the council and decides the overall policy and direction in carrying out MSPO activities.
In addition to the Chairman, the members of the Board comprise representatives from the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (MPC), Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), academia, research and development institutions, non-governmental organisations, oil palm industry associations, smallholder's organisation and civil society.
-
Chairman
Mohd Haris graduated from the University of Arizona, in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. In 2019, he attended the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts.
He began his career in 1995 as a trader with Cargill in Malaysia, where he was involved in the trading of palm oil and palm products and ensuring uninterrupted supply of feedstock to the refineries. He relocated to the Philippines in 1999 to join Cargill’s copra crushing operation where he was involved in sourcing of copra across the Philippines and merchandising coconut oil in Europe. In 2001, he moved to Nestle Malaysia and was subsequently transferred to London to join its global cocoa procurement and price risk management desk. In 2006, he was relocated to Singapore to establish Nestle’s Commodity Procurement Centre for Asia, Oceania and Africa Regions and was appointed General Manager & Head of Global Oils and Fats.
-
Timbalan Ketua Setiausaha (Perladangan dan Komoditi) Kementerian Perladangan dan Komoditi (KPK)
-
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)
Datuk Dr. Parveez is the Director General of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. He was involved in research related to genetic engineering of oil palm and its biosafety. His main focus is to change the fatty acid compostion and synthesizing novel metabolites such as biodegradable plastics. Datuk Dr. Parveez is also involved in screenhouse planting of transgenic oil palm.
He has also conducted biosafety related studies, such as effects on insect and environment, horizontal gene flow and pollen viability. Datuk Dr. Parveez was supervising a number of Research Officers and Postgraduate students on their research related to genetic engineering of oil palm or other species.
He was previously the first Chairman of Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC) Malaysia and has been very actively involved in the drafting of regulations and guidelines for the Malaysian Biosafety Act 2007.
-
National Association of Smallholders Malaysia (NASH)
Adzmi bin Hassan is the Secretary General (NASH) since 2016. Born in 5th October 1953, He was a graduate of Msc Agriculture Economics (Agribusiness) from the University Of Missouri, Colombia Missouri. He started his career with the government as an Assistant Development Officer of Lembaga Kemajuan Ternakan Negara (Maju Ternak).
In 1984, he served with the Malaysia Palm Oil Registration and Licensing Authority (PORLA) which is now known as Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) till October 2011. He was Director General of Registration and Licensing in MPOB before offered a position as a Senior Research Fellow in 2011. In September 2014, he was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Institute of Malaysian Plantation and Commodities (IMPAC-MPIC) till 6th April 2016.
-
Wild Asia
Reza Azmi is the Founder and Executive Director of Wild Asia, a Malaysian-based environmental and social enterprise focused on engaging business to improve their environmental and social performance. Reza has been instrumental in the development of the Wild Asia Group Scheme, a scheme specifically to support small producers in palm oil – initially to certification but really to help them self-organise, overcome their own challenges and yet, be supported by the industry. Reza’s has a deep interest in people and their environments; holds a doctorate in plant ecology and systematics; has over 20 years of experience advising private corporations, public institutions and NGOs on palm-related consultancies and biodiversity & conservation assessments.
-
Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA)
An alumnus of St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, Datuk Venkata Chellam began his career in the legal profession. He was admitted to Middle Temple and initially chambered at Skrine & Co. before joining Cheang & Ariff as a litigation lawyer focusing on civil and corporate litigation. He spent over a decade as a partner in law firm, Chellam Wong, Kuala Lumpur before putting his law career on the backburner to turn his focus back to the business his grandfather started, which by then had divested all but 1,000 acres of its plantations unit. Under his stewardship, the business is now a 40,000 acre medium-sized industry player with oil palm plantations and palm oil mills in Malaysia and Indonesia. The Group’s annual turnover has grown from RM 9 million in 2006 to RM245 million in 2014. The group contributes clinics and sporting facilities to the communities they work with, as well as running schools for the children of foreign labourers.
-
Sabah Land Development Board (SLDB)
-
Independent
Ms. Belvinder Kaur Sron brings 29 years of senior management experience. With a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Communications from the National University of Malaysia (UKM) and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde (UK), she is well-versed in global marketing, promotions, and communications. Her expertise includes lobbying, issue-management and leading campaigns to address crucial industry issues worldwide.