Zakri Bin Mohd Khir
Chairman of Yayasan Chow Kit
Encik Zakri was appointed to the Yayasan Chow Kit Board of Trustees on 15 February 2022 and currently serves as its Chairman. He has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry and is also the Chairman of Allianz Malaysia Berhad (“AMB”).
Encik Zakri joined Allianz Malaysia Berhad in 2000 as the Head of Industrial Business and was subsequently appointed as the Head of Technical Division in 2004. He later served as the Head of Operations Division of Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad (“Allianz General”) before assuming the roles of Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of Allianz General on 16 December 2010 and CEO of AMB on 3 September 2014.
He also served as the Executive Director of Allianz General from 3 September 2014 to 31 December 2021. He retired as the CEO of Allianz General on 30 June 2021 and as CEO of AMB on 31 December 2021. Following his retirement, from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2025, Encik Zakri provided consultancy and advisory services to the Allianz SE Singapore Branch (“AZAP”), focusing on Property & Casualty entities across the AZAP region.
YAM Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin
Trustee
YAM Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin, the Tunku Panglima Besar of Negeri Sembilan was appointed to the Yayasan Chow Kit Board of Trustees on 15 February 2022. He is the Founding President of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs and a Trustee for Yayasan Munarah, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, and the Genovasi Foundation.
His corporate governance roles include serving as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Allianz Malaysia Berhad, Independent Non-Executive Chairman of NWE Resources Group Berhad, and former director of Kian Joo Can Factory Berhad.
A Royal Fellow of the National University of Malaysia, he is a newspaper columnist and an advisor to numerous educational and musical organizations.
Tunku Zain was educated at the Alice Smith School, Marlborough College, and the London School of Economics, earning an MSc in Comparative Politics. His early career included roles at the UK Houses of Parliament, the World Bank, UNDP, KRA Group, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
Marlene Kaur
Trustee
Marlene Kaur was appointed to the Yayasan Chow Kit Board of Trustees on 15 February 2022. She is a senior corporate affairs and strategic communications leader with more than 25 years of experience spanning corporate reputation, public affairs, stakeholder engagement, brand, sustainability and crisis communications.
Her career spans financial services, FMCG, retail and technology, with senior leadership and advisory experience in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Switzerland. She has held leadership roles with leading multinational and Malaysian organisations, including HSBC, Philip Morris International and Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia, and has advised senior executives on reputation, transformation, strategic communications and stakeholder engagement.
Throughout her career, Marlene has worked closely with senior leadership, regulators, media and other key stakeholders, particularly in complex and rapidly evolving environments. She brings to Yayasan Chow Kit extensive corporate and communications experience, strategic counsel and a longstanding commitment to creating meaningful social impact.
Prof. Dr Melati Nungsari
Trustee
Dr. Melati Nungsari was appointed to the Yayasan Chow Kit Board of Trustees on 15 February 2022. She is an Associate Professor of Economics, the Deputy Dean of Research & Academics, and the Deputy CEO at the Asia School of Business (ASB) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She also serves as the Faculty Director of the ASEAN Research Center (ARC) at ASB and holds an appointment as a Research Affiliate at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
As an applied microeconomist, Dr. Melati focuses on labor economics, public economics, and industrial organization, with a particular specialization in economic informality and its consequences. Her diverse research portfolio spans topics including the labor integration of refugees in Southeast Asia, entrepreneurship for underprivileged youth, and sustainability.
She was a Chancellor’s Fellow with the Royster Society of Fellows at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned her PhD. Prior to joining ASB, she taught economics at Butler University and Davidson College in the United States.
Francesco Caruso
Trustee
Francesco Caruso was appointed to the Yayasan Chow Kit Board of Trustees on 24 June 2024. He has been deeply involved in philanthropy across Asia for the last 20 years.
Francesco is the Head of the Firetree Group, where he oversees its philanthropic giving and programs. Throughout his career, he has co-built and managed prominent non-profits, including M’Lop Tapang—a Cambodian organization supporting thousands of vulnerable children, youth, and families—and led the restructuring of Angkor Hospital for Children, a leading pediatric healthcare organization in Siem Reap.
In the Philippines, he co-founded and continues to manage the Tondo Community Initiative, a social work and child-protection organization operating in Tondo, Manila. Since relocating to Singapore in 2020, he co-founded the Asia Community Foundation and serves as a director for the South Central Community Family Service Centre.
His hands-on experience working alongside non-profits heavily informs his strategic approach. Previously, he worked in finance across North America and Europe.
Datin Shirieene Hajamaideen
Trustee
Datin Shirieene Binti Hajamaideen was appointed to the Yayasan Chow Kit Board of Trustees on 26 August 2019. A well-known businesswoman, she co-founded and headed Maizen Maison, a successful multi-brand boutique established for over a decade alongside Rekha Sen. She is also a passionate advocate and firm believer in traditional Ayurveda medicine and practices.
Datin Shirieene works closely with her mother-in law at the non-profit organization, The Ayur Centre. Balancing her corporate and philanthropic endeavors as a full-time mother, she also organizes parenting courses and workshops featuring certified parent educator Kim DeMarchi.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences from City, University of London, United Kingdom.
Bhavanash Sharma
Trustee
Bhavanash Sharma was appointed to the Yayasan Chow Kit Board of Trustees on 9 March 2026. He is an Advocate & Solicitor with over two decades of legal experience in Malaysia and the founder of Messrs Bhavanash Sharma. His practice spans civil and commercial litigation, employment disputes, corporate matters, and public-interest cases.
Beyond legal practice, Bhavanash is deeply committed to access to justice, education, and community empowerment. He established SAHA, a fully funded pro bono legal initiative dedicated to representing vulnerable and underserved communities who might otherwise struggle to access legal representation.
Bhavanash also serves on the Board of Directors of Ideas International, an educational institution founded on the principle that quality education should be accessible to all, regardless of background or financial circumstance. He believes that professional success carries a wider social responsibility to protect dignity, expand opportunity, and give a voice to those who may not have one.
His appointment to Yayasan Chow Kit reflects this same commitment: using law, education, and advocacy together to create meaningful, lasting social impact.