Cover Women on a mission: Meet Natalie Loi Yoke Kei, Professor Dr Cheong Sok Ching and Amy Gan, the Innovation Award nominees for the Front & Female Awards 2026
Women on a mission: Meet Natalie Loi Yoke Kei, Professor Dr Cheong Sok Ching and Amy Gan, the Innovation Award nominees for the Front & Female Awards 2026
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Meet three women who are harnessing innovation across marketing, science and technology to expand opportunities, improve lives and drive meaningful progress for women and communities
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.
One individual cannot possibly make a difference, alone. It is individual efforts, collectively, that makes a noticeable difference—all the difference in the world!
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.
Three nominees were shortlisted for this year’s Innovation Award, which recognises individuals driving progress for women and girls or advancing the female agenda through particularly innovative approaches.
Natalie Loi Yoke Kei
Above Natalie Loi Yoke Kei is the co-founder and head of technology at UnBound Malaysia
Natalie Loi Yoke Kei is the co-founder and head of technology at UnBound Malaysia
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Natalie Loi is the co-founder and head of technology at UnBound Malaysia, an award-winning augmented reality education platform that has reached more than 150,000 students across ASEAN, Australia and other regions. Through digital learning initiatives, she has helped deliver free educational resources to students worldwide, addressing the digital divide that disproportionately affects girls and young women.
Loi believes opportunity should never depend on gender. Her work focuses on building technology and learning systems that expand access to knowledge, entrepreneurship and digital skills, particularly for women and communities with limited resources. As an educator and technologist, she has seen how girls thrive when they are encouraged to participate fully in technology and economic conversations.
Her academic research also explores the future of digital participation, including the study of gender and safety in virtual environments. In 2025, she won the Women of the Future Awards Southeast Asia for her contributions to digital innovation. Over the next five years, she hopes to help emerging economies move from digital adoption to digital authorship.
Professor Dr Cheong Sok Ching
Above Professor Dr Cheong Sok Ching is the chief scientific officer at Cancer Research Malaysia (Photo: Daniel Adams)
Professor Dr Cheong Sok Ching is the chief scientific officer at Cancer Research Malaysia (Photo: Daniel Adams)
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Cheong Sok Ching is Chief Scientific Officer of Cancer Research Malaysia, where she leads scientific discovery, translational research and innovation in cancer prevention and treatment. Her work focuses on accelerating early cancer detection, advancing precision medicine and strengthening cancer care systems across Southeast Asia while nurturing the next generation of women scientists and research leaders.
She is widely recognised for translating laboratory research into practical healthcare applications. One example is the development of AI-supported oral cancer screening initiatives deployed in rural communities, alongside clinical trial programmes that provide patients with access to emerging treatment options. For her, scientific success is measured by how research improves patient outcomes and changes medical practice.
As scientific lead of CRM’s NORA programme, Malaysia’s first nationwide patient navigation model, she has helped support more than 5,000 breast cancer patients and 20,000 families since 2015. The programme has been expanded to 18 public hospitals and has been recognised by the World Health Organization as a person-centred cancer care model that improves equity, access and survival outcomes. Over the next five years, she aims to strengthen Malaysia’s regional leadership in cancer research and innovation.
Amy Gan
Above Amy Gan is the vice president of marketing at Etika Sdn Bhd and head of marketing and ancillary business at ATLAS Vending (Photo: Fady Younis)
Amy Gan is the vice president of marketing at Etika Sdn Bhd and head of marketing and ancillary business at ATLAS Vending (Photo: Fady Younis)
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Amy Gan is vice president of marketing at Etika Sdn Bhd and a senior leader within ATLAS Vending, where she drives brand strategy, digitalisation and socially conscious commercial innovation across Malaysia and Singapore. With more than 13 years at Etika, she has led marketing, campaigns, trade engagement, events and public relations for brands including Revive, Tropicana, Goodday and Wonda Coffee, contributing to campaigns that have collectively earned over 70 industry awards.
Gan is widely recognised for combining commercial performance with social impact. She spearheaded initiatives such as the Hygiene Aid programme, deploying free sanitary product vending machines to address period poverty, a challenge that contributes to school absenteeism among girls. The programme prioritises privacy and dignity through card-based access systems. She also led innovation projects including Minit Mart, a fully automated self-service retail concept, and contactless sampling technology designed for post-pandemic consumer behaviour.
Through brand and business leadership, she aims to normalise women’s access to essential health resources while building commercial ecosystems that are inclusive, sustainable and future-ready.
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 3 women founders transforming communities through craft, opportunity and compassion
- Front & Female Awards 2026: Meet 3 powerhouse women championing leadership, equity and impact
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