Dato’ Sri Vijay Eswaran
Founder
Vijay Eswaran is a Malaysian entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of the QI Group of Companies, a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur with operations in more than 30 countries.
Eswaran was born in in Penang, Malaysia, to a modest, well-educated family of Indian origin. He worked as a taxi driver to fund his higher education in accounting and management in London and Illinois. He then spent several years working as an information systems engineer for various companies in North America and South-East Asia, including IBM.
In 1998, following the Asian financial crisis, Eswaran established a direct selling network in the Philippines, using a revolutionary combination of direct selling and e-commerce, which would eventually become QNET. Within 12 months, the company became a leader in the Philippines and subsequently in several South-East Asian markets, supporting a growing network of entrepreneurs. By the mid-2000s QNET was the dominant direct selling network in the Middle East, and in recent years has led the industry’s expansion into Africa.
Whilst no longer involved in QNET’s operations, Eswaran hosts V-Convention, a motivational, training and networking event with up to 20,000 attending entrepreneurs, and leads QNET’s international partnerships including with Premier League Manchester City FC.
Eswaran diversified his business interests, and established the QI Group of Companies to oversee a wide variety of investments including real estate, education, retail and hospitality. A proponent of value-based leadership, Eswaran has committed 10% of group profits to philanthropy and instituted a company-wide vegetarian policy.
The group today employs 1500 people, and has trained and empowered over one million entrepreneurs across the world’s toughest and most prominent emerging markets.
Eswaran’s passion for mentoring entrepreneurs led him to establish and chair Quest International University Perak (QIUP) in partnership with local government in 2011. Mandated to provide quality, research-based, affordable education, the University is one of the fastest growing in Malaysia, with over 1600 students from 31 different countries as of 2017. QI is currently constructing Qi City, a $300m development which will serve as new headquarters for QIUP and includes a hospital, accommodation and retail space.
In 2005 and 2006, he founded the RYTHM and Vijayaratnam Foundations respectively, with a focus on community development and children with special needs in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Among its many projects, the Vijayaratnam Foundation established TAARANA, a Malaysian school for children with learning disabilities.
A prolific author, Eswaran has published three bestselling books on leadership and mindfulness, with In the Sphere of Silence selling half a million copies to date. He is a regular speaker at global events including the World Economic Forum, and has received numerous awards, amongst them the ASEAN Business Advisory Council and Lifetime Achievement Award for Global Entrepreneurship in 2016.
Eswaran lives in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong with Umayal, his wife of 28 years, his nephew and five nieces.
To learn more about Eswaran, please visit his website www.vijayeswaran.com
Datin Sri Umayal Eswaran
Chairperson, Executive Board Member
Datin Sri Umayal Eswaran spearheads the CSR initiatives of the QI Group through its two corporate foundations in Malaysia and Hong Kong. As the Chairperson of VF, she oversees the day-to-day activities of the Foundation and is part of the Executive Committee that evaluates proposals and oversees new projects. She also serves as the spokesperson for the various initiatives undertaken by the Foundation.
Under the aegis of the Foundation, she has realised her dream to help children with special needs through the establishment of Taarana, a school for children facing challenges with delayed development in academic, social and adaptive skills. Taarana is the first of its kind in Malaysia and Datin Sri Umayal is a prominent advocate of driving awareness for the cause through workshops and fundraisers.
Along with her husband, Dato’ Sri Vijay Eswaran, she has been deeply involved in the promotion of arts and culture for many years. Being a trained Indian Classical dancer herself, she went back to the stage after a 15-year break in 2011 for a fundraiser performance for Taarana in Malaysia that received critical acclaim.
Comprising of five distinguished persons from various professional backgrounds, the Board oversees the strategic direction of Vijayaratnam Foundation, determining policies that are harmonious with the core visions and values of the foundation. With their vast combined experience in education, finance and social work, and a shared passion for the preservation of arts and culture, and the environment, the board works under a doctrine of collective responsibility, guiding us forward with our activities and initiatives.
Tan Sri Dato Seri Megat Najmuddin Khas
Trustee
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Haji Megat Najmuddin Bin Datuk Seri Dr. Hj Megat Khas (Tan Sri Megat), has been President of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance since April 1998. He obtained his Honours Degree in Law from the University of Singapore in 1970.
He started his working life in 1970 with First National City Bank (now Citibank) for 2 years and went into law practice with a leading law firm in Kuala Lumpur for another two years, after which he started his own law firm which flourished. In 1986 he retired from law practice and went headlong into politics, ultimately becoming UMNO Chief of Petaling Jaya. He was State Assemblyman for Kelana Jaya for two terms (1986 till 1995). He was also a Municipal Councilor in Majlis Perbandaran Petaling Jaya and Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya for 20 years. He had a stint as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of The Selangor State Assembly and a director of PKPS (Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation) and SIC (Selangor Industrial Corporation). He left active politics in 1995.
In the late 90s, he was appointed a member of the National Economic Consultative Council 2 (NECC 2) by the then Prime Minister, where he was involved in Human Resource Development.
In September 1999, he was appointed to the Capital Market Strategic Committee by the then Finance Minister and in August 2001 was appointed as a member of the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee (CDRC) of Bank Negara.
He was elected Executive Committee Member of the Federation of Public Listed Companies Berhad (FPLC) in August 1994 and was elected as its President in October 1997. He represented this organization to the High Level Finance Committee of the Ministry of Finance until 2000.
Presently he is senior member of the UMNO Malaysia’s Disciplinary Committee and board member of the Advisory Board of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
In 2007, he was conferred the honour of Adjunct Professor at Faculty of Law, University Utara Malaysia. He sits on Bank Negara Malaysia’s Financial Directors’ Education Steering Committee (FIDE).
Currently, Tan Sri Megat is also the Chairman of Tradewinds Corporation Berhad, Asian Pac Holdings Berhad, Formis Resources Berhad, SEG International Bhd and MajuPerak Holdings Berhad. He also serves as a Non-Executive Independent Director of PETRONAS.
He is current President of the Malay College Old Boys’ Association (MCOBA), as well as Persatuan Darul Ridzuan in Wilayah Persekutuan and Selangor (a welfare organization). He is active in several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including Tan Sri Muhyiddin Charity Golf as a trustee. He is also a trustee of MyKasih (Charity) Foundation and the Vijayaratnam Foundation.
Sportswise, during his days in University of Singapore, Tan Sri Megat was its Rugby Captain for 2 years. He also played for the Singapore state team. In the 70s, he played for COBRA Club, Selangor state and the Malaysian team. Tan Sri Megat was President of the Combined Old Boys’ Rugby Association (COBRA) for 5 years. He also served as President of Selangor Rugby Union for 4 years. Additionally, he was a one time Deputy President of Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU). He retired from playing rugby in 1976. A passionate sailor in the 80s, his sailing team won the first King of Thailand Cup in the Royal Phuket Regatta 1987 on “Impiana”.
Datin Wira Azizah Binti Abu Samah
Trustee
During her early years, Datin Azizah worked with the Pejabat Pesuruhjaya in Alor Setar and the Land Office in Jitra, Kedah. Her passion for community service is evinced by her involvement with various organisations that help women, orphans and teachers. Since 2011, she has been part of the working committee of the Yayasan Anak-Anak Yatim Sultanah Aminah. Datin Azizah has also served as Chairperson for Persatuan Wanita Kedah Di Kuala Lumpur Dan Selangor since 2008. She has served as Chairperson for Persatuan Bekas Penuntut dan Guru-Guru Sultanah Bahiyah since 1994.
Mr Magandran Rajadurai
Trustee
Mr Magandran Rajadurai is the Director of Finance & Administration of the QI Group of Companies. Based in Malaysia, Mr Magandran is a qualified chartered accountant and a registered member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountancy since 1983. Having overseen six companies in Malaysia, in the capacity as a Senior General Manager in Finance and Administration, he brings to the board 18 years of commercial experience.
Mr Nicholas Goh Kaw Chin
Trustee
Mr Nicholas Goh Kaw Chin is a graduate in the field of Computer Science, and holds an MBA. He is the former Managing Director of GKT Enterprise Sdn Bhd, and he currently holds the position of Managing Director for Megacorp Media Marketing Sdn Bhd. Mr Nicholas is also the Deputy Youth Chairman of the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Teochew Association and is actively involved in social outreach projects and community work.