Datuk (Dr.) Hafsah Hashim was the Chief Executive Officer of the SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp. Malaysia) for 13 years 11 months. She holds a Bachelor in Applied Science from the Science University of Malaysia and Masters in Business Administration from Aston University, United Kingdom. Recognizing her expertise in SME development and entrepreneurship, she was awarded with Honorary Doctorate of Entrepreneurship by Universiti Tenaga Nasional in 2015.

Datuk (Dr.) Hafsah was also appointed as the ‘Professor of Practice’ of the Putra Business School, and Adjunct Professor at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP). During her tenure serving the Government of Malaysia for 36 years and 2 months, Datuk (Dr.) Hafsah accumulated a wealth of experience in public sector administration and policy development. She served in several Ministries including Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Primary Industries.