 The goal of FIDE was literally to lay out the role of the board of directors, define the stakeholders, define the responsibilities to each group of stakeholders, and importantly, learn and discuss and mature our judgment about what to do when the interest of the various stakeholders are not aligned. Welcome to Asia School of Business and welcome to Eclipse Executive Education Center. Fantastic. Always good to be with you. Thank you. So we would like to ask you to tell us a little bit about yourself and what do you do at ASB Eclipse? So the best way I would describe my background is it's a mix of practitioner background and academic training. I had the great pleasure of starting my career in the investments business and have served as a chief financial officer of two listed companies. I've been a chief executive of a private equity-backed company and perhaps most relevant to this discussion, Loregana, is that I've served on upwards of 20 boards of directors. I've literally been on boards of startups all the way up to 50 billion dollar companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. So the reason I think that's all very relevant to what we're talking about is that when I'm doing an executive training program for Eclipse, when I'm talking about corporate governance, I can really bring a blend of very practical experience as well as the academic credentials to the classroom. I suppose I should mention that I had the great privilege of teaching corporate finance and corporate governance at Harvard Business School for nearly a decade. So I guess I almost overlooked that. Very impressive background. And let me just say I sat in your classroom and together with all the ASB students that sat in your classroom, I think you're ranking probably top two. And I'm just saying top two because you are actually number one, but I don't want the other guy to feel bad. So I'm teaching corporate governance and that Eclipse, you teach this exciting program that you've talked for a long time now, right? We call it FIDE. Can you tell us a little bit about the the program and in a way, what are you teaching and who is this program for? Thank you. Yes, FIDE stands for Financial Institution's Directors Education Program. It is a program that was initially launched specifically for directors of financial institutions in Malaysia. And that includes, as you know, commercial banks, investment banks, as well as insurance companies. And the program was specifically targeted to members of the boards, of these financial institutions. And the goal was very simply to make them more literate, if you will, in the area of corporate governance. The reality is senior people of our society get on to boards because they've accomplished great things in life. But often when they got on a board of directors, they don't really know exactly what is expected of them, who their stakeholders are, what responsibilities they have to these stakeholders, and most importantly, how do we fulfill these responsibilities? So the goal of FIDE was literally to lay out the role of the board of directors, define the stakeholders, define the responsibilities to each group of stakeholders, and importantly, learn and discuss and mature our judgment about what to do when the interest of the various stakeholders are not aligned. If all of our stakeholders always wanted the same thing, life would be relatively easy. You'd do that and you'd go home and have peace of mind. But the reality is very often what your shareholders want from you in a particular time is not exactly what your customers would like you to do for them. And sometimes what your customers want you to do for them is not exactly aligned with what your staff would like to see you do. And of course underlying all the stakeholders is the regulator. The regulator's job is to make sure that the boards in fact do fulfill their responsibilities to the stakeholders and very simply we talk about all that in this course. So it's a very well, in my humble opinion, a very well organized course that starts with defining the stakeholders and our responsibilities to them. Then we zero in with a little bit more detail on the role of the various committees of the board. We spend about a day, a day and a half on risk oversight. We talk about the role of the board in developing corporate strategy. So I don't know if my passion comes through, but I honestly think it's a great course that's really well targeted for boards of directors. And actually as you were speaking, Professor Nabil, I was thinking being on a board is actually a very complicated task. The responsibility is high, but not just the responsibility, but as you were talking I realized the need for being educated about what is your role as a board member is very important. Understanding consequences, understanding risks, understanding how to balance multiple perspectives and multiple stakeholders. And since you are speaking about passion, I can tell you're very passionate about this this course as one of our final questions. Can you tell us a little bit about why you're passionate about this? Why is this important to you? Why did you spend so much time researching this topic? That's a great question. It really is and I hope it doesn't sound self-serving, but I am passionate about honesty and integrity. In my private life, in my business life, I cannot stand dishonest people. And the first and most important obligation of a board of directors is what we call the duty of candor. And candor means always telling the truth, telling the truth to your shareholders, communicating with your shareholders and your stakeholders, the good, the bad and the ugly. Another equally important duty is the duty of care, which means not just you have to care, of course you have to care, but it really means doing your homework. It means being informed. It means you don't close your eyes and hope for the best. It means you have to be engaged. You have to understand the affairs of the corporation. And the third duty is the duty of loyalty, which means we always must put the interest of the company ahead of our own. And I am genuinely passionate about these principles. Candor, honesty, telling the truth, loyalty, subordinating my personal interest through the interest of my stakeholders. And care means being informed. I cannot stand people who go into meetings and just hope for the best. So these are all principles that I really care about in my personal life and in my professional life. And sadly, I've been on too many boards where the directors just really didn't even think in those terms. So it's my small way of trying to change the world for the better. And I think you do. I think you do. And like I said, your passion is very tangible. It's actually contagious as you're talking about it. I'm like, can't wait to be on a board and sit in your class and learn again. Like I said, there's a strong reason why you are such an amazing faculty, why all the English students love you. So I just want to ask you if you have any final words of advice or encouragement for people who are interested in this course. You know, just join us whether the course is required from your board or not. It really is a course that nearly every participant has gone through, has said to us, wow, this is amazing. Can I do more? Can you offer this course in my company outside of Malaysia? So even though it was initially designed for FIs in Malaysia, we've had clients literally throughout Southeast Asia. We've had clients in the USA. We've had clients in Australia, New Zealand that have no requirement for this course. But they do it because one of their board members sat through the course and thought, wow, we need this. So join us.