A highlight of the evening was a panel discussion on what makes female leadership thrive in Malaysia, featuring panel speakers Prof. Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, chairman of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation; Dato' Hamidah Naziadin, independent director at Sime Darby Property and Maxis; Datuk Yvonne Chia, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad independent non-executive chairman; with Willis Towers Watson managing director and country head Chin Han Lim as moderator.

See also: Cover Story: Suriani Kempe and Rekha Sen on fighting for equal citizenship

The panel talk speakers were chauffeured directly to the hotel lobby in sleek BMW i7s. The hotel's main entrance was also marked by the powerful presence of a BMW i7 display set up in conjunction with the awards. The panel talk concluded with a short Q&A portion with the audience, followed by a photo session with the four speakers as each was presented with a special gift from Lancome’s premium Absolue franchise.  

Next was a brief video introducing the shortlisted 20 nominees for the Front & Female Awards, out of whom the six winners were eventually announced, namely Girls 4 Girls International global president Izzana Salleh, The Asli Co co-founder Xin Yu Lim, Rose Foundation founder Dr. Yin Ling Woo, Women in Blockchain Asia co-founder Ida Mok, Spot Community Project founder Siti Aishah Hassan Hasri, and Family Frontiers president Suriani Kempe. 

To several rounds of applause from the crowd, the winners were invited on stage to receive their customised Front & Female Awards trophies from Royal Selangor, presented by Geraldine Beh and BMW Group Malaysia managing director and CEO Hans de Visser, who later shared a word of encouragement to the audience to continue empowering women towards a better, more equitable future.

The evening closed with final song by Elvira, followed by a three-course meal prepared by Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur executive chef Scott Brands and his team. Over dinner, guests mingled before leaving with a special gift bag with Lancome's Advanced Génifique Youth Activating concentrate serum.     

The Front & Female Awards 2023 in Malaysia is presented in partnership with BMW Malaysia, Sime Darby Property, Lancome, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Whispering Angel, Royal Selangor, and Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur. 

NOW READ

Meet the nominees for the inaugural Front & Female Awards Malaysia 2023

Iman Fandi proves that she is more than her name

Meet the woman leading Truefitt & Hill, the oldest barbershop in the world