Reflection

As I embark on this next journey in my career, I can’t help but remember some individuals who have helped me move forward and upward along the way. For those of you just starting your journey, I truly believe it’s important to read this. So please bear with me, and here’s to all of you—I am forever grateful.

? First and foremost, my late Mom and Dad, who instilled in me great values, such as a strong work ethic, humility, and most importantly, a willingness to help others.

? In 1988, at Equatorial Hotel—my first and best job ever—as a part-time banquet waiter, I had wonderful supervisors who taught me the importance of time management and the joy of providing service to others.

? In 1993, my final year at Rutgers, Mr. John Pearson of the Rutgers Foundation gave me a job as a Research Assistant. I remember how he loved Sarawak so much that he played a recording of jungle sounds during dinner at his home in New Jersey. If not for John, I wouldn’t have signed up for a company tour to visit ExxonMobil in NJ and received a job offer.

? In 1993, Prof. John Schermerhorn, Dean of the School of Business at Ohio University/ITM, selected me as the only fresh graduate to join the MBA program among a group of highly experienced candidates.

? In 1994, I was accepted into the Securities Commission as an Investigations Officer—my first job in Malaysia. I was interviewed by Mohamad Ariff and Hasnah Omar, two very astute individuals whom I’ve always remembered. My apologies—it’s Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff now and, yes, the former Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat. I scraped through the interview by discussing the book Den of Thieves and recounting U.S. law enforcement strategies during the 1980s insider trading scandal.

? In 1994, I joined Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, which became the largest bank in the world after a merger. Seth Yahya, the Forex Manager, noticed my CV by chance and selected me among thousands of applicants because he remembered my brother from Maybank New York. Seth’s wife, Raja Noorma, then the Head of Corporate Finance at Telekom Malaysia, introduced me to Chok Kwee Bee, where my life in corporate finance investment banking began.

? In 1995, Stephen Wu of HELP University gave me an opportunity to be a part-time lecturer in Banking Operations.

? In 1997, AmMerchant was the top IPO house at the time, where I had the chance to work with some of the brightest minds. My immediate supervisor, Eugene Lee, encouraged me, inspiring me to later pursue my professional accountancy in Australia.

? In 1999, after getting married, I joined my father-in-law in Adelaide, where he owns Polyaire. He’s a tough man to please, which is probably why his business grew to be the largest air-conditioning components manufacturer and distributor in Australia. He taught me fearlessness. His son Aemel, key to this growth, was recently nominated as EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Australia. Polyaire is where I was trained and mentored as a chartered accountant under Alister Wilcox, Stephen Hay, and Chan Wee Keat, supported by the KPMG CA Training Program.

? In 2003, I returned to Malaysia as a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (now CA ANZ) and rejoined the same bank that trained me as an investment banker. Thank you, Tan Sri Azman Hashim, for providing so many of us with opportunities.

? In 2005, I got my first break as a CFO when Tan Sri Rozali Ismail selected me to join his group of companies, where I believe I was the first Malay CFO he trusted. This experience qualified me for something bigger: to be the CFO of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).

? In 2006, I was headhunted by Pauline Ng from Korn Ferry, which was led by Reza Ghazali at the time. Tan Sri Aris Othman (Chairman) and Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad (MD) selected me to help restructure and grow MAHB, along with the wonderful people there, for nearly a decade, supported by key stakeholders from MOT, MOF, and PMO. Wan Shihab, in particular, helped in ways no one can imagine. God bless. I was fortunate to learn best practices from the GLC Transformation Programme and its “coloured books,” thanks to KNB’s leadership.

? In 2015, after achieving so much at a GLC, I was eager to see if I could succeed in a non-GLC environment, so I joined Rohana Rozhan at Astro, where I was asked to make CNN out of Astro Awani and build Astro Productions. The power of media to shape minds and move the country forward was profound. Astro was a unique world with brilliant, talented individuals in sports, entertainment, and digital media technology.

? In 2019, I was headhunted by Qatar Airways and spent a few days in beautiful Doha, but before anything could happen, COVID struck. During that time, as my wife Nina puts it, we all came together as a family and enjoyed precious moments at home with my mother-in-law, our three kids, and two wonderful kakaks. My wife could have achieved so much in her career—helping run Polyaire’s marketing in Australia and later its manufacturing operations in Malaysia—but she chose to focus on raising our family. I’m deeply grateful to her and will do my best to support her in Airdroitech.

? In 2019, I joined Affin Hwang Asset Management as an INED. Thank you, Teng Chee Wai, for letting me be part of your achievements, having seen you grow the company from RM20 million to RM80 billion—perhaps it’s all those annual Durian Parties.

? In 2021, I joined Solution Group Berhad as an INED, thanks to Datuk Dr. Syed Muhamad, who recommended me to Barry for my first public-listed company board.

? In 2021, I joined the entrepreneurial world with Raj, Wong, and Warren at Vantage, working toward RM200-300 million order book in O&G with hopes for listing. It’s been challenging, but I wish you guys all the best.

? In 2023, I joined YTL Power International (YTLPI) as an INED—the biggest opportunity in my career. I owe my thanks to Datuk Seri Long See Wool, my former MAHB board member, for his recommendation to the MD, Dato’ Seri Yeoh Seok Hong, whom I knew from our partnership at MAHB bidding for the UK’s Stansted Airport. YTLPI has achieved so much internationally under his leadership. I greatly admire his dedication to still finding ways to contribute to our nation. Many thanks to Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, Chairman of YTLPI, and the Board for accepting my nomination. I’ll always remember Tan Sri Francis’s advice to master three languages: Human, Digital, and God.

Along the way, while seeking additional board positions, I wasn’t successful with AIA, Affin, Maybank, Sime Darby, Syarikat Takaful, and others. But I cherish all the moments and opportunities I was given. So many others helped me on this journey.

Finally, thank you, Dominic, for recommending me to DNex, where the shareholders, Chairman Tan Sri Syed Zainal, and the Board have now entrusted me to lead this organization into the future. I trust the team is behind me as we SPEED ahead.