Tan Sri Tony
Fernandes
BIODATA
Name: Tan Sri
Anthony Francis Fernandes
Age: 51 years
Date of birth: 30 April 1964
Origin: Kuala Lumpur
Position: Founder and chairman of Air Asia
The reasons I choose this entrepreneur:
I choose Tan Sri because life story or
experience Tan Sri exciting. Tan Sri using RM 1 to fetch airlines owe a lot and
have a bad record. At the time, many experts consider the business plan Tan Sri
offering a low ticket price (low cost) is not successful business and income.
But, Tan Sri do not care assumptions given by experts and advanced the concept
Tan Sri who want to help those who cannot afford to buy an expensive plane
ticket. Finally, Tan Sri has fulfilled a dream that everyone can fly now (Now
everyone can fly).
About
Tan Sri Fernandes
Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes
(born 1964; also known as Tony Fernandes) is a Malaysian entrepreneur and the
founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., who introduced the first budget no-frills
airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline "Now everyone can
fly".
He
rose to prominence by turning AirAsia, a fledging government-linked commercial
airline, into a highly successful public-listed company. Fernandes was also
instrumental in lobbying the then-Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir
Mohamad in mid-2003, to propose the idea of open skies agreements with
neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, these nations
have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers
Born
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Fernandes, who is part Goan and part Malaccan
Portuguese, is the son of the late Dr. Stephen Edward Fernandes, and Ena
Dorothy Fernandez. When he was young, he used to follow his mother, a
businesswoman, to Tupperware dealer parties and conventions.
Educated
at Epsom College 1977-83 and then graduating from the London School of
Economics in 1987, he worked very briefly with Virgin Atlantic as an auditor,
subsequently becoming the financial controller for Richard Branson's Virgin
Records in London from 1987 to 1989.
Tony
was admitted as Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants (ACCA) in 1991 and became Fellow Member in 1996.
Upon
his return to Malaysia, he became the youngest-ever managing director of Warner
Music (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. Though an accountant, Fernandes is an amateur
guitarist and there lies his musical inclination. He was responsible for
revolutionising ethnic music, nasyid and dangdut, bringing them into the
mainstream of contemporary Malaysian music.
He
subsequently became the South East Asian regional vice-president for Warner
Music Group from 1992-2001. When Time Warner Inc announced its merger with
America Online Inc., Fernandes left to pursue his dream of starting a budget
no-frills airline. However, his application for a license from the Malaysian
government was rejected.
It
was through Datuk Pahamin A. Rejab, the former secretary-general of the
Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry that Fernandes got to
meet up with the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in October 2001.
The wily Malaysian prime minister had a cropper in his hand, which he had been
trying to unload for nearly two years.
AirAsia,
the heavily-indebted subsidiary of the Malaysian government-owned conglomerate,
DRB-Hicom, was losing money big-time. Instead of starting from scratch,
Mahathir advised Fernandes to buy an existing airline instead. Fernandes
mortgaged his home and sank his savings to acquire the company, comprising two
ageing Boeing 737-300 jets (9M-AAA and 9M-AAB) and USD$11 million (RM40
million) worth of debts, for 26 US cents (one ringgit), and transformed it into
an industry player. Coming just after the September 11, 2001, undoubtedly the
worst day in the history of commercial aviation when nobody wanted to fly,
everyone thought that Fernandes had gone "crazy", predicting that the
company would fail miserably. Yet, just one year after his takeover, AirAsia
had broken even and cleared all its debts. Its initial public offering (IPO) in
November 2004 was oversubscribed by 130 per cent.
Fernandes
says his timing was in fact perfect: Since September 11, 2001, aircraft leasing
costs were down 40%. Also, airline lay-offs mean experienced staff were readily
available. He believed Malaysian travellers would embrace a cut-rate air
service that will save them time and money, especially in a tight economy. That
was why he copied one of the world's most successful no-frills carriers,
Ryanair out of Ireland (which in turn is modelled after Southwest Airlines in
the United States). Fernandes reckons that about 50 per cent of the travellers
on Asia’s budget airlines are first-time flyers. Before AirAsia, he estimates
that only six per cent of Malaysians had ever travelled in a plane.
In
2007, Tony Fernandes has again created a "first" in Asia by starting
a hotel chain, Tune Hotels which is based on the no-frills concept. The first
Tune Hotel was opened at the intersection of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan
Tuanku Abdul Rahman in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Expansions are in the works
as more hotels will be opened up throughout Malaysia.
Fernandes'
biggest achievement has been to turn AirAsia into an international carrier.
Before the creation of AirAsia, countries in the region did not have open-skies
agreements. In mid-2003, Fernandes' lobbying pushed Dr Mahathir to raise the
idea with the leaders of neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a
result, those nations have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount
carriers. Fernandes has indeed set in motion the advent of budget carriers in
the region. Now, South east Asia hosts a number of low-price carriers such as:
Singapore’s
Tiger Airways (owned by Singapore Airlines);
Singapore’s
Valuair, and Jetstar Asia (partly owned by Qantas Airways) (both airlines
merged in 2005)
Thailand's
Nok Air and
Indonesia's
Lion Air.
In
2004, AirAsia formed successful joint ventures in Thailand and Indonesia where AirAsia
holds 49% stake in both companies. Thai AirAsia, a joint venture with Shin
Corporation, Thailand’s largest telecommunication conglomerate, took to the
skies in Feb 2004 and has to date carried over 1 million guests in its first
year of operations. PT AWAIR, re-launched as a low fare airline on Dec 8th 2004
presently serves 5 domestic destinations in Indonesia.
Fernandes
has received several awards for his outstanding achievements:
International
Herald Tribune Award for the "Visionaries & Leadership Series",
for his outstanding work in AirAsia.
"Malaysian
CEO of the Year 2003" in December 2003 — a highly acclaimed recognition,
so far awarded to only nine other recipients in the country, by American
Express and Business Times. The award was an initiative to recognize
entrepreneurial and managerial expertise and performance among leaders of
Malaysian corporations.
Named
the joint winner of the CEO of the Year 2003 award by American Express
Corporate Services and Business Times .
"Emerging
Entrepreneur of the Year®" in the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur Of
The Year Awards" in 2003;
Made
the list of Business Week's "25 Stars of Asia" in 2005.
"Malaysian
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006"
Fernandes
has also been honoured by the Malaysian government with title Dato.
How
Asia’s biggest budget airline was built
Who
is 49-year-old Tan Sri Anthony Francis “Tony” Fernandes, who has built the
publicly listed AirAsia Group into Asia’s largest low-cost airline, with over
120 destinations servicing over 220 million passengers? AirAsia has been named
the “World’s Best Low Cost Airline” in the annual World Airline Survey by
Skytrax for five consecutive years from 2009 to 2013. What are his success
strategies? Here is our list based on interviews and some research, not in any
order:
A
good grasp of finance
Similar to Megaworld’s Andrew Tan, Fernandes
is an accountant by training and good at numbers. Educated at the London School
of Economics, from 1987 to 1989 he worked as the financial controller of
British tycoon Richard Branson’s Virgin Records in London. He is from
Malaysia’s ethnic Indian minority, with ancestral roots in India’s former
Portuguese colony of Goa, which explains his Portuguese-sounding surname. Fernandes was formerly Southeast Asian
regional vice president for Warner Music Group from 1992-2001. No need to
become accountants, but we all need a good understanding of accounting and
finance.
Do
not fear failure
“I
don’t care about failing because I do not want to sit down in my older years
and say, ‘How come I didn’t try?’ So we did and Malaysia is the country which
allowed four Malaysians to go out and make their dreams come true,” Fernandes
said.
Take
care of key assets, your people
One
of Fernandes’ strengths is his caring for and nurturing good employees. He sees
people as the “key asset” of any business and hopes to help develop their full
potential, passions and dreams. His business offices have no walls and he seeks
ideas from his staff. On Dec. 12, Fernandes gave 263 Chopard watches totaling
five million ringgit as gifts to 263 staff members who’ve been with the company
10 years. Chopard is a 153-year-old Swiss luxury watch brand. Also, after typhoon
Yolanda destroyed Tacloban City, Fernandes reportedly sought out one of his
employees whose home was wiped out and I heard the tycoon will help rebuild the
house.
Marketing
Tony
Fernandes invests in and excels in marketing. He said: “If you have a great
product but no one knows about it, it’s history.” Fernandes reminds me of his
former boss, Virgin Group’s colorful Richard Branson and America’s high-profile
realty developer Donald Trump. Like Trump, Fernandes this year hosted the Asian
version of the TV series The Apprentice Asia, with the winner being Filipino UP
Diliman economics graduate Jonathan Allen S. Yabut, who is now also chief
marketing officer of AirAsia Zest.
Use
digital technology
Fernandes believes in using digital technology
for his businesses. Much of his business comes from AirAsia.com. In fact, one
unique thing about AirAsia flights is its inflight magazine Travel 3Sixty,
which has this reminder: “Touch me, feel me and flip me over, but you can’t
take me home. Read me online.” I think Fernandes isn’t scrimping on publishing
costs, it is part of his clever marketing strategy to make passengers discover
and enjoy his website.
Generosity
Fernandes
is legendary for his personal and corporate generosity. He gives people big
gifts, not only to generate loyalty to the business, but he is also generous in
philanthropy, for example, his relief assistance to typhoon Yolanda victims
here in the Philippines. His AirAsia Foundation also recently supported the
social enterprise Rags2Riches led by Reese Fernandez-Ruiz of the Philippines.
Rags2Riches is a genuine NGO helping underprivileged Filipino artisans
transform their lives and turn scrap into high-fashion bags and other items.
Passion
Passion seems to be a common denominator among
achievers in business, the arts, sports and other fields. Tony Fernandes hires
people with passion. He is exceptionally passionate, not only about his firms,
charities and employees, but also about sports. He owns a football team in
England, an F1 car racing team and is a major supporter of Asia’s biggest mixed
martial arts sport, the OneFC.
Bold
vision
Tony
Fernandes has a bold, global and long-range vision for his various companies.
As a child, he dreamt of three things: running an airline, owning an English
football club and owning a Formula One racing team.
Dynamic
corporate culture
Fernandes said: “In AirAsia we consider
ourselves basically a dream factory. We deliberately decided that we wanted a
company where people can pursue their passion and we wanted to make use of all
the talent that we have in-house. The
culture that we have stems from the fact that we want openness and we want
people to be creative and passionate about what they do. In order to do that,
we’ve got to inspire them.”
Faiza Ahmad Sayed Bawumi
BIODATA
Name: Faiza Ahmad Sayed Bawumi.
Age: 69 Years
Origin: Egypt
Position: Managing Director Company Faiza Sdn. Bhd
Education: Diploma Stitches
The reasons I choose this entrepreneur
I choose
this entrepreneur because she is an entrepreneur who largely contributed in
helping poor people. Faiza is synonymous with the television program entitled
'Bersamamu' that aired on television. What makes me interested in this
entrepreneur is she said that the purpose of our business is not for myself but
to help others, especially the poor and single mothers so that they can enjoy a
good life. She also intends to set up a Yayasan Faiza to help the poor people.
In 1964, a young Egyptian,
Faiza Bawumi Sayed Ahmad, married a Malaysian and followed him back to Johor.
Looking to fill her time with profitable activities, Faiza started sewing for
her neighbours’ children and sold kitchenware. She was always looking for
different business opportunities.
Faiza was interested in
producing different spice blends for the curries and other Malaysian dishes.
She experimented with her own blend of spices and curry powder. With each new
blend, she sold a small quantity to relatives and friends and asked for their
feedback. Over time, Faiza perfected her recipes and sold them to shops. A few
years later, she bought bigger equipment for her spice blending work and opened
her own sundry shop.
In the 1990s, there was a
growing awareness to eat healthily. Faiza did some research and imported the
‘Ponni’ rice which is said to be good for diabetic patients. Now, Syarikat
Faiza Sdn. Bhd. markets a variety of high quality rice all over Malaysia.
Similarly, Faiza Marketing Sdn. Bhd. handles her spice business.
Despite her success, Faiza
does not forget the poor and needy. Having a soft spot for single mothers, her
companies sponsor the TV3 charity programme ‘Bersamamu’ that highlights the
plight of the poor and needy. She is also planning to set up a foundation,
Yayasan Faiza to reach more people.
Over the years, Faiza’s
business success as well as her social work has earned her numerous
recognition. Among them the 2010 Tokoh Maulidur Rasul award and the 2011 SME
Bank’s Top Entrepreneur award.
Company
Details
Syarikat FAIZA was established in 1982, doing
retail activities as its core business. In 1992, Syarikat FAIZA officially
being incorporated under Syarikat FAIZA Sdn. Bhd. (SFSB), and went into venture
capital with Padiberas Nasional (BERNAS) in 1997.
In the late 90s shoppers
began assessing more closely the processing and other properties of edible
products. It was at this time that the company was introduce to a unique
category of herbal quality rice from the state of Kartanaka, South India. It
was the Herbal "Ponni" rice.
Looking to blow a million,
SFSB immediately recognized the intrinsic benefits rice consumers would derive
with "Ponni" rice in their diet. Today under the brand name Taj
Mahal, Ponni rice has been distributed throughout Malaysia.
As a passage of benefit,
Taj Mahal has created a tremendous impact in consumer demand of other SFSB rice
products, such as Basmathi, Fragrant rice, Thai Super Special and Local rice.
The strength of SFSB, lies
within our energetic and professional driving force with extensive knowledge
and experience in respective fields, which will make us more than ready to
compete in rice business scenario. This is because at SFSB, we never ever
compromised on quality. We always look ahead for better techniques, better way
to produce, to deliver, to communicate, to promote, to service, to sell. We
firmly believe that excellent is achieved from what we do passionately.
"To be the leader in
the food industries in Malaysia which specializes in the production and
distribution of specialty and high-end rice."
SFSB has a solid
infrastructure of rice productions and distributions. The production plant is
built on a total land area of 300,000 sq. feet, comprise of high-tech equipment
for rice processing and packaging, which can have a total production capacity
of 12,000 metric tons per month, that is integrated with De-stoners, Polishers,
Graders, and finally through Color-Sorters and Packaging. At once the warehouse
storage capacity is about 10,000 metric tons.
On the other hand, SFSB
also has it own fleet of trucks and cars to handle distributions and sales
services. With 40 units of lorries of multiple capacity and 20 units of sales
cars, SFSB is ready to provide quality delivering and services to the customers
all over Malaysia. We have set a goal, that the delivery must reach the
customers within 3 days from order date for Johor perimeter and not exceeding 5
days for other territory. The maximum capacity of delivering is about 12,000
metric tons per month.
Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza
BIODATA
Name: Dato 'Siti Nurhaliza Bt Tarudin
Age: 36
Company: Simply Siti sdn.bhd
Date of Birth: 11 Januari 1979
Favourites Colour: Green and pastels
Food: Spicy and
mom’s dishes
Likes: Shopping,
playing with nieces, resting at home
Dislikes: Being forced, judging people without prior
investigation
Dreams: Bringing
recognition for Malaysian music industry to the world
The reasons I choose this entrepreneur
I choose
because she was a business woman who was always humble and not feel embarrassed
by the situation itself in the past.
Dato’
Siti likes to tell the story of when she was a small child, she helped her
mother sell Malay traditional cakes and snacks (or kueh) in town. She was shy
and embarrassed initially but later found selling the kueh to be exciting and
fun. (She didn’t say it, but it must be fun when she felt the cash in hand and
the people she met - fans of the future). It was definitely her first foray
into the business world and the experience must have had stood her in good
stead when she entered the adult world of real commerce. And now, besides
having her own products, she receives substantial income through commissions
and royalties for her endorsements and as ambassadress of products.
The company has come out with a motto
of “It Used To Be My Secret, Now It’s Your”. Siti Nurhaliza, who is the
president of SimplySiti Sdn. Bhd has come out with SimplySiti Skin Care and
Make-up products that scientifically-designed and clinically-proven by the
international cosmeticians. The latest creation from SimplySiti Sdn. Bhd is a
fragrance. The SimplySiti line of beauty products is the results of two-year
research with a Korean cosmetician. Korea is one of the advance nations and
using a very high-technology for cosmetics industry. The cosmetics are being
produced with the incorporation of the nanotechnology. Nanotechnology may be
able to create many new materials and devices with a vast range of applications
such as in medicine, electronics and biomaterials as well as energy production.
Now, this beauty product is becoming
one of the most demand products in global market especially among the Asian
woman irrespective of aged. Human behaviors are influenced by many variables.
They are intellectual people whose nature demands are unlimited. Consumers are
searching for quality beauty products in the market as they need to be
attractive and fresh during their public appearance. SimplySiti cosmetic
products are using the most natural and organic ingredients in their cosmetics
in order to prevent scars and cancer. These healthy beauty products are
environment friendly, non animal testing as well as a mineral make up. The
choices of ingredients in the beauty products are very important. The products
come with special formulation that contains Plant Endorphin which gives
exhilarating effect and promote stress-free skin conditions. The combination of
Korean Plant Stem Cells Technology and Advanced Hydra Collagen will not only
can delay pre-mature aging but also gives the flawless and youthful complexion
skin.
SimplySiti has also come out with a
creative and innovative idea with the information of a new fragrance known as
SimplySiti Eau de Parfum. The fragrance is designed in cooperation with French
perfumer, Joelle Lerioux-Patris of Mane. The famous perfumer has been creating
the fragrances and is the leading creator of the fragrances ingredients for a few
decades. The innovation of perfume by SimplySiti that combines science and art
from France is specially formulated with Betaphroline that will help in keeping
human figure in shape and enhance mood. The fragrance motto is “Smell Good,
Look Good & Feel Good”.
SimplySiti offers more than 97
products including skincare products, cosmetics products and fragrance
products. These all beauty products are available over 200 Watsons, Guardian
and Jusco outlets throughout Malaysia. There are also plans for promoting the
products to Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Middle East countries. As the
products becoming an established cosmetic brand, the company is planning to
sell the products abroad soon. SimplySiti is a customer orientation due to the
nature of its product. SimplySiti offers product variation to appeal different
market segments of mass market. An example for Indonesia market, SimplySiti
will export all variations for sales to mass market. It is necessary in order
to gain sufficient economies of scales in production and distribution.
SimplySiti Sdn. Bhd. also having many events and promotions for their consumers
from time to time. In 2010 as a new consumer in the beauty products has
achieved a high sales in the first three months, the president Dato’ Siti
Nurhaliza and co-president, Datuk Seri Mohammad Khalid (husband) were busy
having a road show throughout nationwide. The motives of having road shows are
to make brand awareness and to know to the world as well as making a good
relationship among the consumers. Moreover, the SimplySiti are also having a
beauty workshops and press conference of the new products. Recently on 31 July
2012, Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza is having a smart partnership with popular local
jewels company, Habib Jewels as the SimplySiti has come out a new SimplySiti
products “Bejeweled”.
The company has achieved many awards
because of its successful achievements within 2 years. In my opinion, I would
like to stress here that Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza is a fabulous young entrepreneur.
She ventures herself in this cosmetics business industry instead of being a
professional singer. She did two jobs at the same time. As a successful young
woman, she has open up my eyes and mind that anyone can be a successful
entrepreneur as long as we put all of our efforts into it. Nothing is
impossible. She is not just being a professional singer but also a great
entrepreneur at the beginning of 30’s. She inspired me in a way that we should
be passionate on whatever we are doing and we should not easily give up. Her
ideas come out in producing the beauty products is brilliant as the woman
nowadays are very concern about internal and external beauty.
Datuk Yusuf Taiyoob
BIODATA
Name: Datuk Joseph Taiyoob
Position: Managing Director Joseph Taiyoob Sdn Bhd
Origin: Georgetown, Pulau Pinang
Age: 52 years
Wife: Datin Yusnita Ramli
Children: Waseem (9), Safiya (6) and Safina (3)
Siblings: eldest of four siblings
Type of business: Dates, canned food, spices, dried foods
and fruit juices
The
reasons I choose this entrepreneur
I choose this because I am interested
entrepreneurs with the main principles of his life. The main principle in the
life of Yusuf Taiyoob is that he does not like working with other people or
workers but prefers the title of being the boss even had to go through many
difficulties and bitter experiences.
Datuk Yusuf Taiyoob, the Managing
Director of Yusuf Taiyoob SDN BHD. A food and spice trader who has been in
business since the 1980s, has seen the commercial landscape change over the
years. One of the most famous product of the company are dates. The name Yusuf
Taiyoob is not foreign to the country anymore as its name is always mentioned
together with dates. The man himself, was given the name the king of dates. He
started his business in 1979, selling perfumes at his grandfather's shop near
the Bayan Lepas airport in Penang.
As the business did not turned out
well, Yusuf said he decided to turn to selling consumer goods such as spices,
beans, cashew nuts, almonds and raisins. Soon as the business grew larger and
older, there is a need to increase the products of the company. There is where
the picture of dates came in. The company started supplying dates on a small
scale and as people started to recognise and trust their products over the
years, then they decided too come out with their own brand. Some of their
products are also named after the Datuk Yusuf Taiyoob's children like Wasem,
Safiya (or Safia), and Safina.
Yusuf Taiyoob Sdn. Bhd. was
established in the year 1988 and is a privately owned company based in Penang,
Malaysia.
Yusuf Taiyoob Sdn. Bhd. is well known
internationally and locally as a leading importer and distributor of dried
fruitis and nuts, dates, bakery ingredients, spices, beans and pulses, herbal
soaps and many other food ingredients and consumer products.
Yusuf Taiyoob Sdn. Bhd. today has a
modern storage and distribution facility located on the mainland at Bukit
Minyak, Penang which accomodates 7,000 metric tonnes in cold storage and 2,000
metric in ambient storage for all types of food and non food products. This
facility serves as the distribution network for Malaysia and the neighbouring
ASEAN countries.
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