The Colourful Personalities of the Brand Entrepreneurs Conference 2010

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I was recently privileged with the honourable task of organising of the Brand Entrepreneurs Conference for 2010. This incredible event attracted the participation of 600 CEOs and entrepreneurs, which was an overwhelming response indeed. A total of twelve colourful corporate personalities, including my humble self, selflessly shared with the audience their experiences and strategies in branding.

And while they talked, all of the 600 participants listened attentively and busily jotted down notes. In some sessions you could hear a pin drop with all the silence, whilst in other sessions, the audiences would burst into laughter every now and then.

Allow me give a brief introduction to each speaker, in the order that they appeared on stage. Each of them has a sparkling personality. They were invited to speak at this conference because they were either brand icons themselves or highly successful creators and managers of brands.


1. Adj. Prof. Dato' Syed Amin Aljeffri

Dato Syed Amin Aljeffri is a very knowledgeable man. The first time I met him was at a private dinner hosted by a mutual friend. Dato Syed Amin struck me as a guy who knew almost everything. If you talk about business, he will blurt out amazing statistical figures. Even if you wanted to verify these figures' accuracy, it would probably take you a great deal of research to confirm what this man says. If you ask him about health, he will give you excellent 'doctorly' advice - what to do and what not to. And should you even dare touch on the topic of politics, he'll spend the next three hours analysing the political situation of not just Malaysia, but all of the ASEAN region and the world.

He knows everything. Period!


2. Mr Cheong Chia Chieh

CC Cheong is a very old friend of mine. Our friendship dates back 15 years when we were both much younger. We shared many common interests and a strong desire to succeed; and therefore, we became very close friends.

Cheong is a genius businessman who has a typical corporate raider's killer instinct. He has quite a legendary entrepreneurial story. He founded a successful IT company when he was in his early twenties, sold that off after a few years, joined a dot com company and served as the general manager, transformed the business model of that company and led a management buy out, formed an international media conglomerate that became public listed in London - all of this he did within a few short years!

Pretty incredible stuff, eh?


3. Dato' Nancy Yeoh

She is nicknamed the 'PR Queen' of Malaysian high society . She is synonymous with brands - high end brands. Being the President of STYLO, she is always at the forefront of high fashion.

She is truly an iron lady. Stylish and sophisticated, she captures the imagination of both men and women. Whenever she is around, the first thing you will hear is her laughter. About the only thing that does not exist with her presence is boredom.

The day before the conference, Dato Nancy was trapped in the Philippines by Typhoon Conson. All flights were either cancelled or delayed. What really earned my absolute respect was that when she gave us a promise, she honored her word. She arrived in Malaysia that very morning at 3am, quickly set off to attend an important meeting in Putrajaya at 9am and still made it on time to the Palace of the Golden Horses by 11am. And despite all her troubles, she came looking energetic, sharp and like a million bucks. When she took the stage, she blew everybody away with her wit and oratory prowess.

For this reason, and more, I jokingly describe her as one of the most "sexy, spicy & 'actsy'" conference moderators I have ever seen. Her confidence radiates whenever she talks; and her communication skills and linguistic ability put many English teachers, including myself, to shame.


4. Dato' Haji Ameer Ali Mydin

This seemingly simple looking man is someone who helms an enterprise which grosses a whopping RM1.5billion a year!

Underlying his facade of simplicity, Dato Mydin possesses the razor sharp tentacles, the likes of which is equal to the world's best discount king, Mr Sam Walton. I found eerie similarities between these two volume discount giants. When Dato Mydin spoke, I felt like I was listening to the great Sam Walton. According to Mydin's philosophy, why buy something at RM88 when you can get the same thing for RM8.80 at Mydin? So, you want to buy something with a difficult-to-pronounce name just so it sounds more branded? Sure, he'll give that to you too, but still at RM8.80.

Despite all of this business savviness though, it was his great sense of humour that moved the crowd the most.


5. Mr Michael Lai

Michael is one of the most dynamic professional CEOs I have ever seen. He has a great personality; yet, this man who always wears a big smile on his face, is the one who devises so many grand schemes and plans.

The elder brother of a good friend of mine, KK Lai, Michael is constantly on the move. He is someone who could turn around failing companies or start a business from scratch and put it on the world map in a very short period of time.

I am very proud of this friend of mine.


6. Dato' Sri Mohammed Shazalli Bin Ramli

This man is a CEO with a rock star image. Long haired, spectacled, straight talking in a coarse voice, a great sense of humour and a superb oratory ability. These are just a few of the things that come to mind when the name of this great man is mentioned.

There are very few men more charismatic than Dato Sri Shazalli. When he speaks, he draws attention from a crowd, no matter how large the audience may be, and keeps that crowd enraptured.

This is a man who can sell combs to the bald, toothbrush to the toothless, eye glasses to the vision perfect, wine to the non-drinking. he can virtually sell anything with his magical charm.

Under his splendid leadership, Celcom's revenue has been on the rise year after year and this trend does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.


7. Dato' Meer Sadik Habib

Habib is a household name. Who can live in Malaysia and not know this name, which is synonymous with fine jewellery? Dato Meer Habib is the gentleman who carries this famous last name.

Dato Habib is one of the humblest multi-millionaires I have ever met. There is always a bright smile on his face. He makes it impossible for people not to like him as a friend.

One of the reasons why Meer is so successful is his commitment to serving in his industry and his ability of staying focused. They say perfection is as a result of repeated successes, done one after another. As a result of such intense focus, Dato Habib has become a world class 'fortune teller' in jewellery.

I remember he once told me that gold prices would go up and so he encouraged me to buy gold. At the time, I thought he was merely promoting his products. But what he said was true - gold prices just kept climbing higher and higher and higher. Now I know I must listen to Dato Habib very carefully, especially when he gives tips on gold, diamonds or any other precious metals and stones.


8. Dato' Nelson Kwok
This incredible man, dubbed 'God Father of JCI Malaysia' and the 'International Corn Man', is the man who broke the following myths:

- The kacang puteh business will forever remain kacang puteh size.
- Malaysian small & medium businesses are never going to be good enough to gain international respect.

Dato Nelson started a small corn stall 25 years ago and grew it 'one kernel at a time'. Today, Nelson's is a truly international concern with more than 800 stalls all over the world.

As the Deputy President of MRCA, this straight talking and stern looking man is a role model for all aspiring entrepreneurs who think they are too small and powerless.

When confronted with questions like 'How much do you make with 800 stalls?', 'Wow! If you make just ten Ringgit a day per stall you are making eight thousand per day!' etc, Dato Nelson will just smile a mysterious smile and sometimes winks, which seems to mean: 'Sorry, I'm not going to tell you that.'


9. Ms Winnie Loo

When you talk about hair - no, let me be more specific - when you talk about the latest hairstyling trends or the glamour and celebrities of the hair fashion industry, Winnie Loo is the name you will hear. People call her the Big Sister (or Tai Che Tai in Cantonese) of her industry. I simply call her the First Lady of Hair Fashion.

This not tall but determined-looking lady is constantly full of energy. When she talks about success in entrepreneurship, her eyes glow and she speaks passionately. In these moments, it's as if she is not the hairstylist genius, but a skilled motivational speaker.

Despite the iconic status she has achieved in her industry, Winnie is hands-on and continues to give personalised service to her VIP clients. Getting a haircut from Winnie means you need to do it her way - you make your appointment and you wait patiently for your turn.


10. Datuk Sheikh Muszaphar

This name is a household name; a Malaysian hero who got selected to go into space from a pool of thousands of applicants. The first time I met him, I said to myself, "Gosh! This is the most handsome astronaut I have ever seen in my life."

The Malaysian youth need role models. I fervently believe that Dato Muszaphar will be a positive influence for all young Malaysians. I believe he can inspire young Malaysians to dare to think big and think far. I hope he will use his success story to inspire young people to pursue greatness in whatever they do in life. Who says it is not possible for Malaysia to, someday, really get involved in creating space technology?

What was a small step for Datuk Sheikh Muszaphar when he stepped into the cabin of the rocket was a big step for Malaysia. I know it sounds old and over-used, but I still feel like saying: Malaysia Boleh!


11. Dato Lewre Lew

Dato Lew is the President of Branding Association of Malaysia and a very good friend of mine. He is a highly sociable person who knows almost half of all notable personalities in this large town.

Starting from nothing nearly 20 years ago, today Dato Lew is the proud founder of a shoe brand that is synonymous with quality and style - the Lewre brand. This brand has been going places all over the world, gaining international fame and recognition.

I have had the privilege of working alongside him as the Deputy President of Branding Association for a few years now, and together, we have been doing our level best to move the Branding Association of Malaysia up an ante.

I must confess it has not always been an easy journey and we have gone through many ups and downs and weathered many storms together. However, we firmly believe that what we are doing is of great social value and will help move Malaysia towards a brighter future. Therefore, no matter how busy we are with our own work, we always make sure that we spend time keeping the association on the right track.


12. The Humble Me - Eric Chong or Erican Chong

Though I was the Organizing Chairman of the conference, I also served as the Moderator for the first session and had the privilege of introducing Dato Syed Amin Aljefferi and Mr Cheong Chia Chieh.

Both of them spoke candidly about what they felt about branding and how it could be done better and more effectively. I wanted to allow the audiences to ask more questions but unfortunately, we ran out of time.

Well, as the old saying goes, “Good things always end too soon.” This was a great session, so it’s no surprise many of the participants felt this saying to be sadly all too true.


Conclusion

There is much that we all can learn from these highly successful people. I hope that those lucky 600 who attended the Brand Entrepreneurs Conference 2010 have benefited from the stories shared by these speakers. If they left feeling so, then the months of hard work in organising the event was more than well worth the effort.

"Life is about constantly going beyond limits!"
- Erican Chong