Malaysia’s Inspirational Leaders

Wong Heang Tuck was officially appointed CEO of U Mobile in April, 2014.

Since he joined U Mobile as COO in 2013, his leadership and strategic vision has helped steer U Mobile’s revenue growth and market growth to outperform the industry average. He holds an MBA from Imperial College, London and a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester. He has more than two decades of experience in finance, business and corporate development. Prior to joining U Mobile, Heang Tuck was CFO of WBL Corporation Limited, a multinational conglomerate listed on the Stock Exchange of Singapore. He was also CFO of KS Energy Limited in Singapore and of telco PT Indosat in Indonesia. Before that, he held senior positions in various companies in the 10 years he was attached to Keppel Corporation of Singapore. Heang Tuck has an engineer’s mind with a knack for numbers but always charts the course for his team in practical and holistic ways. Outside the boardroom, he seeks bold fashion and great food.

Johor Corporation appointed Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim as its President and Chief Executive effective January 10, 2020. Syed Mohamed has over 34 years of experience and expertise in banking, corporate, real estate development, technology and business strategy. Prior to being appointed to the Johor state conglomerate, Syed Mohamed was Felda Investment Corporation chairman, Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd predaident and executive director, Encorp Bhd chairman and Iskandar Investment Bhd president and CEO.

Besides that, he also served TH Properties Sdn Bhd as CEO and DRB-Hicom Bhd as group director. Syed Mohamed began his career at Bank Bumiputera (M) Bhd and Bank Rakyat before joining the Johor State Economic Development Corporation (now JCorp) from 1989 to 1993. He is also Prasarana Integrated Development Sdn Bhd chairman and a board member of the Sultan Ibrahim Johor Foundation and the Tunku Laksamana Johor Cancer Foundation.

Li Chunrong was appointed as the CEO of Proton in 2017. He graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology with a Bachelor of Electrical Automation, followed by a Master in Industrial Engineering and Management. He pursued a second master’s degree in business at the world-class Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. After MIT, Dr Li returned to Huazhong Unveristy to earn a PhD in Management Engineering.

Dr Li started his career with Dongfeng Motor Corporation in 1987, where he was involved in Dongfeng’s joint ventures with Peugeot, Honda, Nissan, Kia and Cummins. In 2007, he set up Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle Company. His efforts in establishing the firm’s design, branding and production systems led to the company’s success. When Dr Li was serving as executive vice-president of Dongfeng Honda Engine Company, he was handpicked by Geely to spearhead Proton’s transformation. Dr Li is optimistic about Proton after months of planning, revamp, problem-solving and practising leadership by example.

Jeffrey Cheah Fook Ling is the founder and current chairman of the Sunway Group, a Malaysian conglomerate operating in 12 industries with core businesses in property and construction. Jeffrey Cheah is Foundation Chancellor of Sunway University in Malaysia. He is also a Founding Trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.

Cheah is the recipient of 10 honorary doctorates, most of which in recognition of his outstanding contribution towards education.

Jeffrey Cheah moved to Australia to pursue a business degree at Victoria University (then Footscray Institute of Technology) in Melbourne and after graduating, returned to Malaysia to take a job as an accountant in a motor assembly plant. He soon left this employment, and in 1974, he started his own company, a small tin-mining company with a startup capital of RM100,000. Today, Sunway Group is one of Malaysia’s most formidable property-construction conglomerate.

Through his eponymous foundation, Cheah has donated almost US$39 million to fund scholarships and educational causes since 2018.

Presently, Imri Mokhtar is Group Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director at Telekom Malaysia Bhd. He is also on the board of Webe Digital Sdn. Bhd.

In the past he occupied the position of Chief Operating Officer for Telekom Malaysia Bhd. and Chief Executive Officer for Telekom Sales & Services Sdn. Bhd.

Imri Mokhtar received an undergraduate degree from University College London.

Sazali Hamzah joined Malaysia’s national oil and gas company, PETRONAS, in 1990 as an engineer. He progressed through roles involving process and planning, advancing to various management positions within refineries. His vast exposure to day-to-day plant operations, plant turnarounds and project implementation over 27 years provided the perfect foundation of technical, operational and project management knowledge when he took over as CEO of PETRONAS’s petrochemical entity PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG) in 2014.

His on-the-job training has been supplemented by attending a senior management program at London Business School in 2006 and the Advanced Management Program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 2013. But his real inspiration came from home.

Dato’ Sulaiman is the Group Chief Executive Officer of AMMB Holdings Berhad and Chief Executive Officer of AmBank (M) Berhad (“AmBank”), the commercial banking arm of AmBank Group, positions he has held since November 2015. He has a wealth of experience backed by 31 years of managing and spearheading growth in consumer banking, as well as in commercial and corporate banking in Malaysia.

Dato’ Sulaiman holds a Bachelor of Business in Accountancy from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) in Australia. Prior to joining AmBank Group, he has held many prominent positions at one of the largest banks in Malaysia before his appointment as Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director of AmBank.

Chu Jenn Weng is managing director, president and CEO of ViTrox. The company is a maker of automated vision inspection equipment for the semiconductor and electronic packaging industries. Chu co-founded the company in 2000 with his university mate Steven Siaw Kok Tong. ViTrox is expanding in China, Taiwan and Philippines in Asia as well as in Mexico, the U.S.and Europe.

ViTrox featured in Forbes Asia’s list of Best Under a Billion companies in 2019. It previously appeared on the list in 2011, 2015 and 2018.

Datuk Abdul Farid Alias was appointed as President and CEO and Executive Director of Maybank on 2 August 2013. He serves as Chairman of the Group Executive Committee and as a member of the Credit Review Committee of the Board.

Farid has over 20 years of experience in investment banking and capital markets, having served with various merchant and investment banks such Aseambankers Malaysia Berhad from 1992 to 1994, Schroders from 1994 to 1995, Malaysia International Merchant Bankers Berhad from 1996 to 1997, and JPMorgan from 1997 to 2005. He was attached to Khazanah Nasional Berhad from 2005 to 2008 as Director of Investments. In Khazanah, he sat on the Board of Commissioners/Directors of several publicly listed companies.

His areas of responsibility comprise of corporate banking, investment banking, transaction banking, client coverage, and global markets, which form the businesses under Global Banking. In addition to that he is also responsible for international business.