We’ve just been given direction to interview a business leader. Hence, starts our Leadership Dynamics coursework by Dr Leo Ann-Mean. Business leaders: these are truly groups of people who are extremely busy and have their schedules pretty tight, especially under short notice. I have 3 choices.
The 1st is Kelly Perdew, who is himself a CEO, a speaker and author on Leadership, amongst many more roles. One particular role he is famous for was as the Season 2 winner of Donald Trump’s Apprentice. I met him online at LinkedIn where we share a common group in “Global Entrepreneurship Institute”. A request has been sent out, and he said “Yes”. Not only is he a leader, but he is also an authority on Leadership. His book title says it all, “Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles I Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump”.
The 2nd is Raja Manickam, who is himself the Founder and CEO of Tessolve that he started in 2003 with a dream of creating a productization company from physical silicon to high volume manufacturing; his work experience in product companies, fabless companies in Silicon Valley and high volume factories in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan is a unique combination to succeed in New Product Introduction cycle. I’m truly honored to have worked within his organization both in Penang and USA when he was still working of National Semiconductor in the early nineties. He is indeed a leader you would easily pledge your loyalties to. Even after all these year, I would do so still without any hesitation. I’m glad he has said “Yes” as I’m looking forward to interviewing him.
The 3rd is an extremely busy man; none other than Malaysia’s own – Julian Candiah, Deputy General Manager I at Penang Development Corporation (PDC). Between 2000 and 2006, Julian was managing director at BNP Paribas. Prior to that he worked in London, Hong Kong and Singapore at various international investment banks such as Credit Suisse Financial Products, Bear Stearns, J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. I’ve not decided whether to send him a personal note for requesting for interview since the dateline our lecturer had given us is quite a rush under short notice. Instead, I might consult on him when I start doing the International Business course during the coming terms. There might be a requirement again for a “case study” interview.
Indeed, the above 3 people are exceptional leaders I’ve seen thus far in my lifetime. My dream is that I’ll be able to attain the same leadership qualities as they have, and encourage someone else as they have for me.
Bridge to Success 