Istaq Nadzril
Chief Executive Officer
His first love is the pursuit of knowledge and education. Second is business and entrepreneurship.
After finishing his degree in Political Science from the International Islamic University in Malaysia, he joined an education company for young adults designing program and training syllabus materials where he steadily rose up the ranks to become one of the senior executives of the organization. Istaq was instrumental in the implementation of major changes in the way his past company conceptualized and ultimately marketed the programs to cater to the changing demands of the demographic segment. Afterwards, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia and was assigned as one of the country’s representative to the ASEAN office in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Istaq is often quoted as saying that forming Zanerva has been a “fulfillment of a goal,” because it combined both his passion for education and business. Creating an organization that was different, innovative and with a firm set of values is something that he strives to continue under his leadership. His favorite past times are challenging people in the company to a mean game of squash as well as tinkering with his collection of renovated vintage cars.
Maria Ervina Samilin
Director of New Ideas and Social Media
maria@zanerva.com
She has a decade of experience in analyzing corporate training needs, designing programs, sales, marketing and event management.
Maria started her career in delegate sales and was quickly recognized as one of the top sales person in her previous organization. She was the youngest manager after which was given a promotion straight to being a director handling the entire Southeast Asian operation of her previous employer. Maria has set up branch offices all over Southeast Asia and researched and designing training programs - all while simultaneously leading a sales team on the side and exploring new markets in the Middle East. Due to her success in accurately predicting the human development and training needs of clients, Maria was then assigned to be the Director of Research and Development where she overhauled procedures and created many unique and trailblazing programs. She developed programs on topics such as Nanotechnology, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, Alternative Marketing Strategies and Exchange Traded Funds.
Maria joined Zanerva because she knows that she has “finally found a company who understands that organization charts should be flatter, operations should be quick to innovate and embrace technology, and that employees should be allowed to be mobile and flexible.” She splits her time between the Malaysian head office and her family home in the United States where she also coordinates Zanerva’s North American and European business relationships. She completed a Masters Degree in Management from the International Islamic University where she is also a debate trainer for the English Debating Club.
Zuliana Supian
Director of Coordination and Planning
zuliana@zanerva.com
She has a background in sales and marketing for the Southeast Asian region particularly for the countries of Brunei and Indonesia. She started her career in marketing with a large wholesale distribution company before venturing straight into event and program management and never looked back. Throughout her eight year stint in the event management industry she had experience working in both the front end and the back end of the business before she joined Zanerva to lead the operations, coordination and support function.
She was instrumental in drafting the key personnel policies of Zanerva as she believes that it should be an organization that “recognizes that in order for a company to be a success, there are those that are visible and those that are not so visible – but important nevertheless.”
Zuliana finished a degree in Applied Sciences from the University Science of Malaysia. Outside the office, she is an avid reader and movie collector and does a lot of volunteer work for her local community.
Barack Ali Ahmed
Senior Manager for Customer Advocacy
barack.ali@zanerva.com
In his previous organization, Barack was put in charge of technical and niche programs that were designed to open new markets and reach out to new target clients. He has deep knowledge and vast experiences in the Middle East market that stretches from the oil and gas sector, governments, banking and financial institutions as well as telecommunications. In his tenure in the executive education and event management delegate sales, he has sold programs ranging from oil and gas, nanotechnology, marketing, corporate finance, Exchange Traded Funds, supply chain and product development.
He is often quoted as saying that Zanerva “offers the change that this industry needs because it returns to the classic values of customer service, honesty, integrity, pride in its programs and people -- but at the same time unafraid to try out new things.” He finished his first degree at the International Islamic University on Management Information Systems and is currently working on his MBA.
Mohamed started his career in the hospitality and travel industry where he worked in sales and marketing catering to Middle Eastern business and elite leisure clients who travel to Malaysia. His success in generating business and good word of mouth made him rise up the ranks in his past organization. He was then asked to join a construction company in Saudi Araiba as part of its business development team where he was involved in several notable projects involving government and large scale property developments in The Kingdom.
Mohamed joined Zanerva because he is “a lifelong student and the exchange of ideas is what drives me to meet people and continue on my journey in life.” He graduated with a degree in Business Administration from the International Islamic University. When not traveling around The Kingdom he writes essays and personal reflections about politics, home and family.