Dr. Wei-nee Chen

Dr Wei-nee began her career in the IT industry which spanned nearly 18 years; more than half of this tenure was in New Zealand and the remaining in Malaysia.

In December 2005, she made a career switch from the IT industry to environmental sustainability by focusing on the sustainable energy sector. She served the Ministry of Energy, Putrajaya for nearly 15 years of which the first 5 years were under a UNDP-GEF project (Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaic) and the remaining tenure in the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA).

Dr Wei-nee is a climate change advocator who is passionate about energy transition. Over the years, she has shared in many local and international platforms including the World Government Summit (Dubai), various UN roundtables, IEA workshops, and supported the Asian Development Bank in their Asia Clean Energy Forums.

Although much focus on energy transition has been in the electricity sector in the past decade, and the electricity sector has come a long way in achieving sustainable energy growth in the electricity mix, the O&G sector remains a neglected sector in the energy transition. In Sep 2020, Dr Wei-nee shifted her focus on energy transition for the O&G sector, by accepting the role of VP of New Energy Ventures in Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.

Dr Wei-nee is a doting mum to her 2 daughters. Aside from advocating for a sustainable environment for future generations, her doctoral thesis was dedicated to increase women participation in top management by understanding how these women developed and managed their personal brand towards achieving career success. Today, she also serves as an advisor to the Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation, Malaysian PV Industry Association, and Sunway University’s PhD programme.