Carrying It Forward

Diana Nasimuddin carries the future of Naza Group on her shoulders, alongside her four siblings, but she reveals that being a mother herself has taught her the biggest lesson about legacy

- Lily Ong

Having just stepped out of a plane from the US a day before our scheduled photo shoot, Diana Nasimuddin caught a bug from her travels and lost her voice. Despite this, she assured our team that she was still game for the session. Described by her younger sister Nadia as ‘tough’ and ‘disciplined’, backing out of commitments isn’t an option for the director of Naza Group. “Diana gets things done. That’s the type of person she is,” says Nadia.

The middle child of Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin and Puan Sri Zaleha Ismail, Diana joined the family’s corporate entity by way of the company’s F&B division. She chose business management as a field of study, which suited her perfectly.

“My parents had always been a big advocate of education. They strove to provide the best foundation for us. I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to study abroad in the UK. Having spent my early adult years learning to cope with pressures of university has taught me that independence, discipline, accountability and hard work pay off,” she says.

Together with Nadia, Diana currently oversees strategy and management of the Naza Group’s fully-owned restaurant brands—Dotty’s and BLVD House. Dotty’s, which made its debut in January 2016, is known for its fanciful pastries like speculoos croissants and salted egg yolk cronuts. In the same year, her brother SM Faliq Nasimuddin came up with an idea for a dining place with a twist; which the siblings then named as BLVD House.