Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cities and Community Well-being

As CEO, Norliza Hashim leads the organisation in the implementation of sustainable urbanisation policies for Malaysian cities and regions through shared knowledge platforms, community-based programs, innovative urban solutions, research development and collaborative partnerships. Norliza has had an illustrious career in planning that spans three decades and that covers a wide spectrum of the discipline, both locally and internationally. Her expertise has been instrumental in the development of blueprints contributing towards Malaysia’s nation-building including the National Physical Plan 3, Putrajaya Master Plan, Iskandar Malaysia Comprehensive Development Plan, Low Carbon Cities Assessment Framework and the Kuala Lumpur City Plan policy.

Dr. Azmizam Abdul Rashid was appointed as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Urbanice Malaysia in 2017. He currently leads the Knowledge Platform and Management department which is responsible for the implementation of Malaysian SDG Cities initiative, involving the localisation of Sustainable Development Goals at city level. Dr. Azmizam has a professional background in urban and regional planning and held the position of  Principal Assistant Director at the Federal Department of Town and Country Planning (PLANMalaysia), to which he was attached for 13 years. He has a Masters in Land Resource Management from University Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Cambridge University, and holds a doctorate (PhD) in Development Science from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

As Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Rizal oversees the management and operations of Urbanice. He currently leads the Urban Innovation Hub department and is responsible for the implementation of smart and innovative solutions with local urban partners, through the Sustainable Urban Micromobility (SUMm) and Komuniti Hab initiatives. He obtained his PhD from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom in 2014. Through his thesis he explored 'Combining Multi-Source Satellite Sensor Imagery to Monitor and Forecast Land Use Change in Malaysia'.

Johan Sammy is leading the charge for Private-Public Partnership to realize high impact SDG programs at Urbanice Malaysia. He has 15 years of management, business development and operations experience in the private sector and GLC. In 2018, Johan was one of the pioneers in a Series-B funded startup in Singapore. This has led him to work with various city governments across the Southeast Asia to understand urbanites behavior in various cities, and how to use technology as a platform to improve people's lives in urban settings. Johan is passionate about affordable urban living, he is constantly on a look out for potential partners that can provide solutions to affordable housing, accessibility to public transport and social mobility.

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