Alumni news
Graduation 2026: “Sussex was a great place to study and to develop critical thinking skills”
By: Jacqui Bealing
Last updated: Thursday, 22 January 2026
Dato' Rohana Tan Sri Mahmood
Malaysian business leader Dato’ Rohana Tan Sri Mahmood will be conferred Honorary Doctor of Laws at Winter Graduation 2026.
Dato’ Rohana Tan Sri Mahmood is one of Malaysia’s most distinguished business leaders, whose influence extends across geopolitics, finance, public policy, and international collaboration.
She has served in the Malaysian government, founded the hugely influential Kuala Lumpur Business Club (KLBC), and has played key roles in her country in hosting world leaders and driving innovation and policy change.
But she acknowledges the role that Sussex has played in shaping her career and her interest in the world.
“I came to Sussex to do a Masters in International Relations in 1980,” she says. “It was a great place to study and to develop critical thinking skills.”
She recalls loving her walks across the South Downs while listening to music on her Sony Walkman, and being inspired by her tutors, including the historian, Professor Christopher Thorne. “He was my favourite, and I like to think I was his! He had this wonderful ability of conveying meaning through telling stories. We were a small class - only eighteen students, I think. They were mostly American. I was the only Malaysian.”
The daughter of an ambassador, Rohana developed an early fascination for global affairs, foreign cultures, and the importance of international understanding.
“From as young as I can remember, I was always interested in meeting people from other countries.”
Her professional life began in Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Planning Division, where she learned the importance of long-term thinking and international partnership. That experience would later inform her leadership across business, diplomacy, and global economic policy.
Her move into the private sector marked the beginning of a trailblazing career. She founded and chairs RM Capital Partners & Associates, a private equity firm in Kuala Lumpur, and co‑founded Ethos Capital, a pioneering investment fund that has played a key role in advancing Malaysian entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Business is not easy, especially when you don’t understand numbers,” she says. “That’s why I love private equity—you transform a company by putting in systems, processes, and controls.”
Her credentials span some of Malaysia’s most significant corporate and strategic institutions. She has served as an independent non‑executive director of Sime Darby Property Berhad, as a director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, and as an adviser to the Pacific Basin Economic Council. She sits on the boards of both the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia and the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia‑Pacific—two of the region’s most influential policy organisations.
Yet despite her accomplishments, Rohana maintains a deep commitment to integrity, fairness, and responsibility. As Chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in 2020, during one of the most turbulent periods in modern history, she advocated for “Integration, Innovation, and Inclusion,” urging economies not only to recover but to reform global trade rules toward greater equity and transparency.
Rohana’s global connections reflect both her charisma and her expertise. She worked closely with the US diplomat Henry Kissinger and his consulting firm, Kissinger Associates — an experience that remains one of her personal highlights.
Her career has brought her alongside world leaders, including New Zealand’s prime ministers Jacinda Ardern and then Christopher Luxon. She has moderated high-level dialogues with presidents and prime ministers and recalls chairing a session in Papua New Guinea with the leaders of Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico, and Japan.
One of the most remarkable moments of her career came when the Chinese government asked her to introduce President Xi Jinping at APEC 2020.
In 2003, Rohana founded the KLBC, now one of Malaysia’s most influential business networks. Under her leadership, the club has become a platform for Malaysian business leaders to engage with regional and global counterparts, forging partnerships across the UAE, Thailand, Indonesia, the United States the United Kingdom and Europe.
By fostering investment in Malaysia—particularly in high‑value sectors like data centres and technology— she says KLBC contributes to national growth, leveraging Malaysia’s strengths: English‑speaking talent, political stability, and a strong trading tradition.
Rohana’s life is guided by principles learned early: hard work, self‑belief, and intellectual curiosity. “There are no shortcuts to hard work,” she says. “People will respect you if you know what you are doing. And you must set your own private goals.”
Although she has never married or had children of her own, she values her large extended family. “I love it when they say I am their role model,” she says of her 17 nieces and nephews.
Her relationship with the University of Sussex remains strong. As a member of the Sussex Asia Advisory Board, she continues to support the University’s global mission.
Receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws from Sussex is, for her, deeply meaningful: “I am profoundly honoured to accept this recognition from an institution known for its commitment to critical thinking, social justice, international relations and global engagement.
"In many ways, the University exemplifies a strong belief I have held throughout my career: that real progress—whether economic, social or geopolitical—begins with human connection, and the University of Sussex is well placed to nurture the next generation of global thinkers, especially among its vibrant community of students, including the international students.”