About CEREBRUM
Council Members

Our growing team of

Changemakers in the CEREBRUM Council

Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim

Chairman of CEREBRUM,
President & Chief Executive of Johor Corporation

Datuk Seri Utama Ir Hasni bin Mohammad

Johor State Economic & Investment Advisor, Chairman of Johor Sustainability Centre

Professor Dr Ong Kian Ming

Adjunct Professor, Taylor’s University

Professor Datuk Ir. Ts. Dr.Ahmad Fauzi bin Ismail

7th Vice Chancellor, University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai

Chairman, Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama)

Zaid bin Hamzah

AI & Data Strategist, National University of Singapore

Salim Ismail

Co-Founder & Chief Executive, OpenExo Inc, US

TPr. Ts Norliza Hashim

Chief Executive, Urbanice Malaysia

Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim

Chairman of Cerebrum,
President & Chief Executive of Johor Corporation

“To achieve exponential growth, we must stay hungry and curious. We will continue to generate new opportunities through our focus on innovation, agility and resilience. This is to ensure we create sustainable value for Johor and beyond, in line with our mission of Membina & Membela.”

A passionate and visionary leader with deep roots in Johor, Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim began his journey with the Johor State Economic and Development Corporation (JSEDC) from 1989 to 1992. With over 40 years of local and international experience in banking, real estate, and corporate management, Datuk Syed has built exceptional competency and capabilities. He thrives on challenges and has a keen intuition for building future-ready businesses.

In January 2020, Datuk Syed returned to JCorp as its President and Chief Executive, tasked with transforming the organisation and its investment portfolio to ensure long-term sustainability and value creation. Under his purpose-driven leadership, Datuk Syed anchored JCorp’s transformation efforts on its founding mission of “Membina & Membela” to create value and enable sustainable communities in Johor and beyond.

Today, JCorp is not only strong financially with net assets exceeding RM10.8 billion, but also a key catalyst of Johor’s socio-economic development.

With a clear mission of building an exponential organisation, Datuk Syed spearheaded a fundamental change in mindset, values, and culture at JCorp. This required massive restructuring and behavioural recalibration among its people.

Under his leadership, JCorp streamlined its business activities into four segments:

  • Real estate and infrastructure
  • Wellness and healthcare
  • Agribusiness
  • Food and restaurants


This made JCorp a more efficient, resilient, agile, and innovative organisation.

To remain relevant and future-ready, Datuk Syed believes one must continually reinvent. This principle drives JCorp’s innovation and adaptability, fostering a culture of perpetual learning and agility.