BIOGRAPHY

Nang Lang Kham is one of the preeminent young entrepreneurs in Myanmar, and she is rapidly becoming a significant influence at the forefront of the country’s evolving business culture. Since 2011, as executive director at KBZ Group, Nang’s primary responsibilities have covered the aviation and financial sectors. She is also a director of KBZ Bank, a member of the KBZ Aviation Committee, and a key player in the establishment of the KBZ Group Office.

Nang’s passions include philanthropy and community initiatives. She has been a driving force in establishing an entrenched philosophy and culture within the KBZ Group, including the recent introduction of a new code of conduct and a compliance program to ensure KBZ Group is meeting or surpassing international expectations. She is the cofounder and chairman of the Brighter Future Foundation Myanmar, which is engaged with youth development, health and education programs, and disaster relief. She has also introduced a Green Movement Program at Air KBZ to raise awareness of environmental issues in local communities. Nang champions equal opportunity within the KBZ Group and is an active advocate for the empowerment of women in Myanmar.

Nang was nominated and selected to join the prestigious Fortune/U.S. State Department Mentoring Program in 2014 as a mentee of Walmart. She holds a bachelor of business administration from the National University of Singapore. Her other interests include travel and the study of different cultures.

KBZ Group

The KBZ Group is one of the largest and most diverse conglomerates in Myanmar, with businesses in banking, aviation, insurance, agriculture, manufacturing, and trading. It continues to be a family-run business and holdsonto the strong ethical business principles that have helped it establish a reputation as Myanmar’s leading responsible corporate entity.

Kanbawza Bank (KBZ Bank) was established in July 1994 in Taunggyi, the capital city of Shan state, the largest of Myanmar’s fourteen administrative divisions. Its name refers to a traditional term for the state and one of its main ethnic groups; in its first years of existence, the bank operated only regionally.

In 2000,KBZ Bankmoved its headquarters to Yangon, the country’s business capital, and as of November 2013, it had 130 branches nationwide, making it Myanmar’s largest private retail financial institution. In 2011, KBZ Bank received authorization from the Central Bank of Myanmar to offer accounts in foreign currency, taking a first step toward operating a foreign banking business.

Recently, KBZ Bank has made moves to diversify. It now wholly own two airlines—Air KBZ and Myanmar Airways—and the IKBZ Insurance Public Company, one of twelve such institutions licensed to operate in 2012, marking the return of private insurance to Myanmar after an absence of more than fifty years.