The Breakfast Grille

Before sustainability became the mainstay for cosmetic and toiletry brands, the Body Shop was already ahead of the pack with their focus on fair trade, women's issues and animal rights. However with the plethora of competition, can this edge be maintained. We speak to Qas Qayyum, Body Shop's Managing Director and Global head of franchise to discuss global trends and the importance of staying relev...

With crypto bellwethers like Bitcoin and Ethereum falling below critical price levels amidst the entire industry facing a maelstrom of regulatory, reputational and sentiment-driven headwinds, there has never been a more existential reckoning for the fledgling cryptocurrency landscape. Hong Qi Yu, Founder and CEO of Tokenize Xchange, addresses key industry and company issues. See omnystudio.com/lis...

Sandy Tan, CEO, Optimax Holdings walks us through how the vision care business has evolved over the past 20 years and how it has been able to leverage the pandemic to drive its expansion in Malaysia and beyond. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cathay Pacific Airways has been one of the worst impacted airlines during the Covid-19 pandemic due to China’s zero Covid policy. It started the year USD5.5 billion in the red and its fleet remained grounded for most of the first half amid the Omicron wave. With Hong Kong finally easing international travel restrictions in April, can Cathay’s recovery plan take off? We discuss the business prospec...

As the Look East Policy turns 40 years old, what should the new areas of focus be as the relationship between Malaysia and Japan matures especially in an era of heightened geopolitical tensions. H.E. Takahashi Katsuhiko, Japan Ambassador to Malaysia gives us his views and how we can also improve trade relations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a cost conscious environment, Rimini Street which has been listed on Nasdaq since 2017, has seen double digit growth due to its unique business model. However, is this sustainable and aren't software vendors aggressively finding ways to lock them out? We ask Seth Ravin, their CEO and Chairman those questions and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AirCarbon AirCarbon Exchange ("ACX") is a global exchange involving the voluntary carbon market by tokenizing carbon offsets into 3 fungible carbon asset classes. Managing Director and Co-Founder, William Pazos explains the mechanisms of carbon trading and it's leveraging on the green aspirations of countries and businesses for future growth. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/liste...

Pre-pandemic, supply chains were invisible - but the disruptions over the past two years have put these mysterious networks into the spotlight. We discuss how supply chains have been impacted by the three Cs - Covid-19, conflict and climate change - as well as how businesses need to adapt to the challenges with Associate Professor Dr. Shardul Phadnis of the Asia School of Business. See omnystudio....

Global logistics giant DHL is injecting some €690 million worth of investments into its Asia Pacific operations over a two year period, with Malaysia being one of the key beneficiaries in Southeast Asia. Why is DHL investing so much into the country and how does it feature in the company’s broader plans? We discuss logistics trends and strategic growth plans with Julian Neo, Managing Director for...

Anna Teo, Founder and Group CEO of Hernan Corporation shares how Malaysia's largest durian exporter has grown from strength to strength as it expands across the value chain and solidifies its presence in China. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cloud computing is a popular strategy these days amongst corporations as we see more adoption of public and private cloud services in favour of efficiency, security and innovation. Sandeep Bhargava, Managing Director of Asia Pacific and Japan at Nasdaq listed Rackspace Technology shares with us his vision, as the company embraces growing demand in multi cloud services, positive impact from the pan...

Beno Technologies in a Malaysian start up that manufactures the world’s first commercially available hubless e-bike and has sold it to over 70 countries.  The bikes are built and manufactured in Bayan Lepas, Penang, but the company’s main market isn’t in Malaysia, they mainly sell to the US and Europe. In conjunction with World Bicycle Day, Philip See will ask Alec Lim the behind-the-scenes i...

With supply chains unhinging all over the world thanks to a perfect storm of geopolitical, financial and climate-related factors, will industry-specific EP software offer a plausible solution? Vincent Tang, Asia Regional Vice President of supply chain software firm Epicor, discusses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Penang-based electronic manufacturing solutions provider CNergenz raised RM58 million in its IPO on the ACE market this month. What is its growth strategy following this cash injection? We discuss CNergenz's smart factory ambitions and views on the prospects for the Malaysian semiconductor industry with CEO Lye Yhin Choy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Funding Societies as one of the leading peer to peer lender (P2P) in this region tries to solve the funding requirements of businesses by connecting them with investors who would lend capital through their online platforms, but, how did they fare during the pandemic and what is next since they did not advance further in the digital banking license application? Funding Societies Malaysia’s Co-Found...

GSK will split into two new companies in 2022, they are GSK and Haleon. So what does this spin-off mean for Malaysia and the healthcare industry? Philip See speaks to Dr. Jonathan Pan, Vice President and GM of Malaysia and Brunei at GSK about their top-selling drugs, their role in the Covid-19 pandemic, and can Malaysia be a vaccine manufacturing hub?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Santharuban Thurai Sundaram, the CEO of halal beverage company Etika Group, discusses the choice of Malaysia as its ASEAN springboard and its premiumization strategy as global inflation rages. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost every industry uses industrial brushes for a variety of purposes and it is an often overlooked but crucial element in all businesses. Ang Poh Yee, Executive Director of Yew Lee Pacific Group, who is one of the key players in the manufacturing of industrial brushes in Malaysia and is also seeking a listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Securities, talks to us about their intention with IPO proc...

The pandemic sparked a surge in sales of kitchen appliances, coffee, garment and home care categories.  We speak to Nicholas Lee, the Vice President & Market Leader of Asia Pacific for Philips Domestic Appliances on the impact of the sale of its business to Asian private equity group Hillhouse Capital, what is its e-commerce strategy and the change of consumer trends in Malaysia. See omny...

Naysan Munusamy, the co-founder of transfers and remittances fintech MoneyMatch, discusses being in a winning consortium for one of Malaysia's five digital bank licence winners along with RinggitPlus, CarSome and KAF. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chosen as one of six researchers from around the world to receive this year’s Pew Marine Fellowship, Dr. Jillian Ooi, Seagrass Ecologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya is on the Breakfast Grille to share the key ecological roles of seagrass meadows.  To mark International Day for Biological Diversity on the 22nd of May, we ask her about Malaysia's biodiversity, the education...

CUCKOO has made itself a household name when it comes to water purifier but they aspire for the brand to represent more than that. However, with CUCKOO Korea owning 86% stake in Cuckoo International (M) Sdn Bhd, how does the Malaysian operation plans to achieve that and is an IPO brewing under the radar? Hoe Kian Choon, CEO of Cuckoo International tells us all. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

The pandemic has changed higher education permanently but have institutions been able to pivot? How does it manage to remain profitable yet offer world-class education? And are universities even relevant today? Questions we ask Datuk Parmjit Singh, CEO of Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michele Ferrario, CEO and Co-Founder of StashAway shares with us his strategies to navigate market volatility, how investors should react during this time and also on their plans for geographical expansion and AUM growth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia’s health white paper is due soon. Will it however be able to address the plethora of issues that existed even before the pandemic in a sustainable manner? Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh, President, Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) & Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO, Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy give us their views on what the priorities should be. Image credit: Shutterstoc...