Idris Jala has a global reputation for rescuing ailing ventures or confronting difficult scenarios to turn around.  He is steadfast in his belief that all organisations can lift themselves out of even the worst situations.  During his tenure as CEO of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU), he was tasked with spearheading the Malaysian Government’s transition towards high income status by 2020.  

Bloomberg placed Jala among the top 10 most influential policy makers in the world.  Under his leadership, PEMANDU was also named by NESTA in the UK as one of the top 20 most innovative Government agencies in the world. 

Prior to his role in Government, Jala was CEO at Malaysia Airlines (MAS) for three years.  He was brought on board to turn around the airline which was in crisis brought about by a prolonged bout of losses from operational inefficiencies. Before MAS, he spent 23 years at Shell, rising up to hold senior positions including Vice President, Shell Retail International. This included successful business turnarounds in Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

In addition, Jala served on the Advisory panel for the World Economic Forum (WEF) on New Economic Growth and also on the Advisory Panel of  World Bank.