Board of Directors & Management Team
Board of Directors
He was appointed Independent Non-Executive Director of Can-One on 1 December 2021. He is also the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee and the Nominating Committee.
He holds a Bachelor in Business Studies and a Masters in Business Administration from Western Illinois University, Illinois, USA. He has a Doctorate of Philosophy in Labour Relations from London, UK, and also a Doctorate in Business Administration from ASIAeUNIVERSITY. He has also attended the Senior Management Development Program at Harvard Business School, USA in 2002.
He is also currently serving as the President of Malaysian Employers Federation and a member of the Board of the Employees Provident Fund as an Employers’ representative. Dato’ Dr. Syed Hussain is also appointed to the Ahli Majlis Negara Bagi Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan, the Advisory Council of Malaysian Society for Occupational Health and Safety, National Wages Consultative Council, Ahli Majlis Penasihat Industri Jabatan Pendidikan Politeknik dan Kolej Komuniti, Ahli Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Eksekutif Majlis TVET Negara and Council Member of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency under the Ministry of Higher Education.
He was with Procter & Gamble, Malaysia/Singapore as Human Resources and External Affairs Director (1992 to 1997); Rothmans of Pall Mall (Malaysia) Berhad (1997 to 2000) and British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Berhad (2000 to 2004) as Director, Human Resources - Public Relations and Security Affairs. He joined Ramunia Holdings Bhd (2006 to 2008) as Group Director, Human Resources, Communications and Information Technology, and Petrofield (M) Sdn. Bhd. (2008 to 2010) as Group Director, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs and Government Affairs.
He is an Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of SVTT Resources Sdn. Bhd., and the Chairman and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of KIP REIT Management Sdn Bhd, the Manager of public listed KIP Real Estate Investment Trust.
He does not have any family relationship with any Director and/or major shareholder of Can-One.
Date of appointment : 18 December 2015
Professional Accreditation :
Capital Markets Services Representative’s License (“CMSL”) under the Capital Markets and Securities Act 2007.
Professional Experience
Dato’ Eric Ong’s experience in sales and marketing of properties, property investment and hospitality spans over two decades. He began his career in 1989 as a Sales Executive in MBf Property Services Sdn Bhd where he was involved in the Kepong Sentral project and Rawang Industrial Park development. He subsequently joined Tanco Properties Sdn Bhd in 1991 as a Sales Manager, where he was involved in the sales and marketing of a development of a 200-acre mixed development of retail and residential properties.
From 1993 to 1997, Dato’ Eric Ong was appointed as Executive Director of property development in Meda group of companies where he contributed towards the success in the completion of the Summit Square, Summit Parade, Summit City and Plaza Bukit Mertajam.
Dato’ Eric Ong is a co-founder and Executive Director of KIP Group of Companies, a position he has held since 1997. He is responsible for spearheading leasing, retail development conceptualisation and tenant mix strategy for all projects including the KIPMall portfolio. Under his leadership, KIP group of companies has successfully revived an abandoned mixed development project located in Sri Utara, Kuala Lumpur, namely Kipark Sri Utara, consisting of residences (Taman Seri Utara), offices (Menara KIP) and hotel (KIP Hotel), with a combined gross development value of more than RM500.0 million.
Date of appointment : 20 April 2016
Professional Accreditation :
Bachelor of Economics (Statistics) degree from the University of Malaya.
Professional Experience
Datuk Mohamed Arsad has an extensive working experience in banking at Bank Bumiputera Malaysia Behad and Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Behard (also known as Bank Rakyat). At Bank Rakyat he held various senior management positions including General Manager (Corporate Banking) and Division Head of Planning and Corporate Services. He also managed for seven years a private limited company dealing in the manufacture and supply of standby power systems as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer whilst on secondment from Bank Rakyat.
After retiring from Bank Rakyat, Datuk Mohamed Arsad spent 8 years as Managing Director and Executive Director of PureCircle Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of PureCircle Limited.
He holds directorships in two other public companies, one of which as Independent Non–Executive Director at SYF Resources Berhad since 2011 where he sits on the Audit Committee and chairs the Nomination Committee.
He is also a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and Chairman of Bertam Alliance Berhad since 2014 and serves as the Chairman of the Nomination Committee and member of the Audit Committee of the company.
Date of appointment : 15 April 2019
Professional Accreditation :
Professional Experience
Following his graduation in 1977, Mr Chiam Tau Meng started his career as a Corporate Accountant in Tolley Industries Ltd (New Zealand). Upon returning to Malaysia in 1979, he joined Malaysian Containers Bhd as a Finance Manager cum Company Secretary until 1984. In 1984, he joined Menang Corporation (M) Bhd as a General Manager of Corporate Services and left Menang Corporation (M) Bhd in 1989, and joined Bee Hin Holdings Sdn Bhd as a General Manager of Corporate Finance. In 1993, he joined BDO Binder Management Consultants Sdn Bhd as a Director until 1994. In the same year, he incorporated CTM Consulting as a Principal, a position he still holds until today.
Mr Chiam Tau Meng presently also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director in Menang Corporation (M) Berhad and Tri-Mode System (M) Berhad.
Date of appointment : 30 November 2018
Professional Accreditation :
Professional Experience
Valerie was appointed as the Executive Director to the Board of KIP REIT Management Sdn Bhd and the Manager for KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KIP REIT) on 17th August 2022. Her role is to develop and execute the Company’s business strategies in order to attain the goals of the Board of Directors, stakeholders and act in the best interest of KIP REIT’s unitholders.
To ensure KIP REIT’s continued performance and growth, Valerie oversees the implementation of comprehensive business plans prepared by the Executive Management (including budgeting approval and financial matters) so as to facilitate achievement by planning cost-effective operations and market development activities. In addition, she formulates the business and operation plan via proactive asset management including Asset Enhancement Initiatives (“AEI”) and tenancy mix to maximize valuation and rental income respectively.
Valerie is also the Deputy Chairman of the Investment Steering Committee and her duty and responsibilities includes reviewing and deliberating on any proposed acquisitions recommended by the management. She also has oversight of the due diligence process which upon completion, she escalates the proposal to the Board and Trustee of KIP REIT for final approval.
As an advocate of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) and also the Chairman of the Sustainability Steering Committee, Valerie is actively introducing and integrating sustainability efforts into day-to-day operations in the management of KIP REIT’s portfolio. To further comply with the new sustainability reporting requirements of Bursa Malaysia, she is working with the committee to formulate the ESG framework for KIPREIT to develop the sustainability report using guides from GRI Standards, Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (“TCFD”) Framework, United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (“UNSDG”), BURSA Reporting Guidelines 2022 and Enhanced Recommended Disclosures, FTSE4GOOD index ESG Framework. These initiatives allow the company to identify the ESG measures required as well as enabling structured tracking and monitoring on an annual basis. Observations and necessary adjustments are then made to improve performance on these measures.
KIP REIT MANAGEMENT SDN BHD (Non-Independent Non-Executive Director)
2018 – Aug 2022
Valerie was appointed as the Non-Independent Non-Executive Director to the Board of KIP REIT Management Sdn Bhd, the Manager for KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KIP REIT) on 30 November 2018. Her role is to ensure corporate accountability by providing unbiased and independent views as well as contributing her knowledge and experience towards the corporate decision making process.
KIP GROUP OF COMPANIES (Group Chief Executive Officer)
2012 – July 2022
Valerie joined the group in 2012 and was appointed as the Group Chief Executive Officer in 2017. She works closely with the Board of Directors, serving as the Director of Corporate Operations and as the bridge between the divisions within the company. KIP Group of companies comprises property development (residential, commercial, shopping malls), retail management at KIPMalls, as well as hospitality in the form of KIP Hotel. On the group level, Valerie directs the company’s goals and vision, partnering with high-level officers to grow and strengthen the company’s position in the industry and to ensure its sustainability. On the management level, Valerie works with all divisions’ heads and closely monitors the progress of development, operational and financial performance. She also liaises with the Chief Financial Officer in the preparation of annual budgets, complete risk analysis on potential investments, and advises the Board of Directors with regard to investment risk and return. Her role also requires her to collaborate with Human Resources Department regarding maintaining best hiring practices, payroll management, benefit disbursement, overseeing quality control and establishing goals for each department in partnership with division managers.
To date, she has developed more than 2.7 million square feet of properties with a gross development value (GDV) of RM1.3 billion. During her tenure, she has also built three shopping malls – namely KIPMall Kota Warisan (opened in 2017), KIPMall Desa Coalfields (opened in 2020) and KIP Kuantan master leased to Lotus’s (target to open in 1st June 2022). Under the wing, she has leased more than half a million square feet of retail space.
Date of appointment : 18 August 2022
Professional Accreditation :
Professional Experience
From 2003 to 2006, Michelle worked as Junior Accountant in Sydney, Australia undertaking accounting, bookkeeping, audit and tax services. In 2006, she returned to Malaysia and started her career with the Hextar group of companies holding various finance and management positions. She has more than 10 years of corporate management experiences including identifying, evaluating and developing investment opportunities as well as directing the set-up and expansion of various companies across many industries in South East Asia.