Cover Women of power: Meet Nurul A’in Abdul Latif, Natasha Alias and Lily Li Hong Sim, the Business Leadership nominees for the Front & Female Awards 2026
Women of power: Meet Nurul A’in Abdul Latif, Natasha Alias and Lily Li Hong Sim, the Business Leadership nominees for the Front & Female Awards 2026
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Meet the visionary leaders driving change, championing women’s empowerment, and shaping the future of business and corporate Malaysia
Now in its fourth edition, the Front & Female Awards continues to honour women who are shaping a more equitable future for women and girls. The initiative recognises individuals whose work and lives are advancing progress, whether through breaking barriers, championing rights and representation, narrowing gender gaps or serving as role models whose example empowers others to follow.
Nominations for the 2026 awards opened to the public in January and drew more than 120 submissions from across a wide range of sectors. In addition to public nominations, Tatler Malaysia also invited recommendations from its Front & Female Tribe, an expert voting committee comprising women who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields, alongside past recipients of the award. This year’s Tribe includes Dato’ Dr Hartini Zainudin, Professor Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Professor Dr Chong Pei Pei, Fiona Tan, Aida Zunaidi, Aisya Rahman, Suri Kempe and Dr Premitha Damodaran, as well as other respected professionals who were approached to contribute their nominations and insights.
Following the nomination period, submissions were reviewed internally to create a shortlist spanning six categories: Business Leadership, Innovation, Founders, Rising Champions, Social Impact and Wellbeing. The shortlisted nominees were then presented to the voting committee, and votes were tallied internally to determine the winners of the Front & Female Awards Malaysia 2026.
The winners will be revealed at a live ceremony on March 12 at Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur. The evening will feature a fireside chat and awards dinner presented in partnership with official car partner Chery, Sime Darby Property, Cartier and Lladro, and will centre on the theme “Unstoppable”, a reflection of the extraordinary women who continue to create positive change within their communities.
As women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things, and we’ll all be better off for it
This year’s discussion will explore what it truly means to be unstoppable, with a candid discussion on menopause as a universal experience connecting women across sectors and stages of life. Dr Premitha Damodaran, obstetrician-gynaecologist at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, and Dr Bharathi Vengadasalam, psychiatrist at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, will share insights on the challenges women face during perimenopause and menopause while balancing professional, family and leadership responsibilities. The chat will be moderated by Emma Chong, Managing Editor at Tatler Malaysia, highlighting a topic often overlooked in women’s health and professional lives.
The evening will culminate in a celebration of the award recipients, individuals whose work over the past 18 months has created meaningful impact. Their achievements not only advance opportunities for women and girls in Malaysia, but also demonstrate how redefining what is possible can spark enduring and transformative change.
This year’s Business Leader category recognises an individual driving inspiration, growth and opportunities for women in corporate, business, or professional spheres, with three nominees shortlisted for the award.
Nurul A’in Abdul Latif
Above Nurul A’in Abdul Latif is the executive chair at PwC Malaysia and chair of the 30% Club Malaysia (Photo: PwC Malaysia)
Nurul A’in Abdul Latif is the executive chair at PwC Malaysia and chair of the 30% Club Malaysia (Photo: PwC Malaysia)
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Nurul A’in Abdul Latif is Executive Chair of PwC Malaysia and Chair of the 30% Club Malaysia, where she leads initiatives to improve women’s representation in corporate leadership and governance. She believes gender-balanced leadership is not about representation alone, but about enabling better organisational decisions, stronger accountability and sustainable value creation.
Under her leadership, Malaysia has seen gradual improvement in board diversity, with female representation among the top 100 public-listed companies rising from approximately 30.9 per cent in early 2024 to over 32 per cent later that year. Through the 30% Club, she works with chairs, CEOs and board sponsors to encourage active advocacy for women’s leadership progression.
Recognised by Fortune Magazine as one of the Fortune 100 Most Powerful Women in Asia 2025, she champions diversity, equity and inclusion across corporate Malaysia. Over the long term, she hopes inclusive leadership will become a foundational principle of governance, where gender balance is viewed as essential to board effectiveness, organisational performance and national economic resilience.
Lily Li Hong Sim
Above Lily Li Hong Sim is the founder of Strive and co-founder of the Female Founders Malaysia and Southeast Asia (Photo: Stories for Business)
Lily Li Hong Sim is the founder of Strive and co-founder of the Female Founders Malaysia and Southeast Asia (Photo: Stories for Business)
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Lily Li Hong Sim co-founded Female Founders Malaysia and Southeast Asia (FFMYSEA). Inspired by her experiences as a female founder and working mother, the effort focuses on removing structural and social barriers that often limit women’s capacity to work, build businesses and maintain wellbeing. Through the community, she seeks to strengthen meaningful connections among female founders while creating spaces where women’s contributions are valued and supported, leading to growth over burnout. She believes that equal opportunities for women to live healthy and productive lives will positively influence families, communities and the economy. Her efforts are guided by the belief that work should support life, rather than consume it.
She also founded Strive, keenly intent on making women’s health more accessible and relevant to real life. The platform aims to translate specialist fitness and wellness knowledge into practical actions that women can sustain, particularly other working mothers, caregivers and women recovering from burnout or major life transitions.
Over the next five years, she hopes to help women move away from perfection-driven wellness culture by building communities and tools that integrate health, work and life with dignity, balance and sustainability.
Natasha Alias
Above Natasha Alias is the assistant vice president of Wanita MyWira at TalentCorp Malaysia
Natasha Alias is the assistant vice president of Wanita MyWira at TalentCorp Malaysia
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Natasha Alias has spent more than two decades working across communications, publishing, retail, education and social impact sectors before returning to the workforce in 2022 to lead women’s initiatives at TalentCorp Malaysia as the assistant vice president of Wanita MyWira. Through the Wanita MyWira portfolio, she has helped design programmes that support women’s career entry and re-entry, including the Career Comeback Programme and Women Industry Network, benefiting nearly 50,000 participants.
Her work is guided by data-informed policymaking combined with empathy-driven programme design, delivered through partnerships with government agencies, corporations and organisations such as UN Women and the World Economic Forum. She advocates for family-friendly workplaces, structured returnship opportunities and recognition of caregiving within economic policy frameworks.
As a caregiver herself, she believes women’s workforce participation is an economic and social priority. Over the next five years, she aims to strengthen Malaysia’s care economy ecosystem and support the national goal of achieving higher female labour force participation while normalising flexible, inclusive career pathways for women across life stages.
Be sure to check out the other nominees shortlisted for the Front & Female Awards 2026:
- Front & Female Awards 2026: Meet 3 changemakers driving impact in education, pay transparency and disability advocacy
- Front & Female Awards 2026: Meet 2 pioneers championing women’s health and empowerment in Malaysia
- Front & Female Awards 2026: Meet 3 young changemakers empowering women and girls across Malaysia
- Front & Female Awards 2026: Meet the trailblazing women redefining innovation from technology to healthcare
- Front & Female Awards 2026: Meet 3 women founders transforming communities through craft, opportunity and compassion
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