Sponsor & Chairman of the Board of Directors
Larry Gan Nyap Liou is a visionary whose well-rounded and extensive experiences have made him one of Malaysia’s prominent business leaders in recent decades.
A Certified Chartered Accountant by way of the Association of Chartered Accountants UK, his experiences span across technology, media, IT, financial services, and real estate, leading to numerous corporate governance roles in various boards over the last three decades. His business acumen and accounting background has also led to Larry leading several public offerings and listings on international exchanges throughout the time.
Larry’s career saw him building his profile with Arthur Andersen and later Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) from 1978 to 2004. During this time, he also served on several external industry organisations, national consultative bodies, advisory boards of universities, and professional associations, such as PIKOM (The National Association of Malaysia) and MIMOS (Malaysia’s national Applied Research and Development Centre) Berhad.
Since his retirement from Accenture in 2004, Larry has been an active and strategic investor in eCommerce and digital enterprises over the last two decades, advocating disruptive business models, mentoring start-ups, and operating an extensive business network of entrepreneurs, incubators, consulting professionals, and investment funds.
In the technology and media, Larry served in various Board roles, including Redtone International Berhad iProperty Ltd Australia, Ambank Group, Hong Leong Insurance and Maybank Investment Bank Berhad, Tanjong PLC UK and Tropicana Corporation Berhad.
Larry’s leadership and wisdom has been recognized within the industry – he ran a leadership column in The Edge Malaysia for over two years and has been featured on various leading local and international TV programmes such as Asian Business News, Bloomberg News, Money Matters and Astro In Person.
Sponsor
Andrew Lim Tatt Keong is the principled visionary behind the current success of award-winning KL SOGO, a fully Malaysian owned and operated over 1 million square feet retail space facilities.
Called to the Malaysian Bar in 1982 after earning his Barrister-At-Law degree from Middle Temple, UK. Andrew progressed to become the Managing Partner in Messrs Lim Cheng Poh, Lim & Rahim (1992-2002), specialising in Banking, Corporate, Commercial and International Business Contracts.
Andrew then made his way into retail by serving as a lawyer for SOGO Japan and then Legal Advisor as well as Board Member of KL SOGO, before subsequently organising the management buyout in 2002 to take over the business and become its Managing Director. As MD, Andrew successfully built on the retail traditions and legacy of the pioneering retail store to become one of the leading retailers and the largest single freestanding department store in Malaysia.
Advisor
James Yap Wee Chun is an entrepreneur and steward of a diverse family business comprising interests in property development and commercial real estate.
A Business Administration and Economics graduate from University of Richmond in 1990, James began his career as a corporate finance officer with D&C Sakura Merchant Bankers Berhad (now known as RHB Investment Bank Berhad) in 1994 before being appointed as Director in Duta Group in 1996.
Throughout his tenure, James was actively involved in conceptualising, developing, steering and monetizing various businesses such as plantations, granite mining and commercial real estate to become commercial successes. Among his most notable accomplishments were the 650-room Novotel & Straits Hotel in 2015 and revamping the Avenue K Shopping Mall – a family asset.
