YBhg. Dato’ Romli Ishak graduated from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in 1988 with a Diploma in Agricultural Science. He later obtained a Bachelor of Human Sciences (Hons) from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in 1999. Dato’ Romli further pursued advanced studies in entrepreneurship, earning an Advanced Certificate in Entrepreneurship from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in 2012 and a QB3 Bio-Entrepreneurship Advanced Certificate from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) between 2008 and 2012. He is also a Certified Professional Intellectual Property Manager (CPIPM) from the Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM).
Dato’ Romli began his professional career as a Research Officer at the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) in 1989. After completing his studies at IIUM, he joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) as Executive Secretary before venturing into the biomedical technology and manufacturing sector in 2005. He founded GranuLab (M) Sdn Bhd, a Johor Corporation (JCorp) subsidiary, where he served as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer until 2014.
He later founded LaDIY Healthcare Sdn Bhd and MyIOL Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s sole intraocular lens (IOL) manufacturer. With over 15 years of experience as a technology entrepreneur and seven years in corporate governance under JCorp and its subsidiaries, Dato’ Romli has made significant contributions to Malaysia’s biotech and healthcare industries.
In 2017, he returned to public service as Political Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister. In 2020, he was appointed Investment Advisor to MBI Negeri Sembilan and co-founded NS Capital Advance Sdn Bhd, a factoring company supporting SMEs.
Currently, Dato’ Romli serves as Chairman of Cyberview Sdn Bhd, a company under the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc.), and Senior Political Secretary to the President of the People’s Justice Party (PKR). He is also Permanent Chairman of Dewan Perdagangan Islam Malaysia (DPIM) and an active mentor in several national entrepreneurship and innovation programs under MTDC and TPM.
For his outstanding service and leadership, Dato’ Romli was conferred the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) by the State of Penang and the Johan Mahkota Wilayah (JMW) by the Federal Territory in 2019.
