By Dian Pasquinal Kaur
In an industry where leadership at the highest levels still tends to skew male, Dato’ Prof. Mandy Chew Siok Cheng is a breath of fresh air. What makes the President of Lexis Hotel Group even more remarkable is the way she has steered the home-grown hospitality brand through growth, disruption and reinvention alongside her daughters, Samantha Lee, Vice President of Marketing & Innovation, and Sarah Lee, Head of Digital Optimisation & Media Relations.
To Mandy, uncertainty is nothing new in hospitality but the past few years have tested even the most seasoned hoteliers, from pandemic shutdowns to rising operational costs and geopolitical instability.
Yet, she approaches turbulence with the same measured clarity that has guided her through more than three decades in the industry. “In times of uncertainty, leadership must be steady, pragmatic and forward-looking,” she says. “It is important to remain focused on fundamentals — operational efficiency, financial discipline and delivering consistent value to our guests.”
That very principle has shaped the Group’s recent focus on the domestic market. With properties across Penang, Port Dickson and Kuala Lumpur, Lexis has leaned into local travel at a time when Malaysians are rediscovering destinations closer to home. At the recent MATTA Fair, the Group drew one of the event’s busiest crowds with a surprisingly simple proposition: no surcharges on stays purchased during the fair, valid for an entire year.
BUILDING BLOCK
Therein lies the essence of Lexis — a brand that embraces its Malaysian identity with confidence. From hibiscus-inspired architecture to locally crafted amenities and flavours rooted in local tradition, the Group has built its reputation on celebrating the country’s warmth, diversity and generosity of spirit. It is this unmistakable sense of place that continues to draw guests back from around the world.
And nowhere is that ambition more visible than at Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson, the record-breaking resort that earned two Guinness World Records and firmly placed Malaysian hospitality on the global map.
“From the very beginning, we focused on crafting unique experiences, such as private pool villas that offered both exclusivity and a sense of indulgence. However, innovation, to me, is not about novelty alone. It is about continuously improving and staying relevant. It requires passion, curiosity and a strong team culture that is willing to challenge boundaries while remaining grounded in what guests truly value,” she elaborates.
“The world is constantly changing, and success comes from being able to embrace those changes with confidence and resilience” – Dato’ Prof. Mandy Chew Siok Cheng
Long before Lexis became synonymous with overwater villas and record-breaking resorts, Mandy’s early years at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and Sunway Group shaped the leadership philosophy she still carries today.
“At Shangri-La, I developed a deep appreciation for service excellence and the level of detail required to deliver it consistently. At Sunway, I gained valuable insight into building integrated hospitality experiences and managing large-scale operations,” she reflects.
Those experiences taught her something the best hoteliers understand instinctively: hospitality is never just about buildings or luxury, but it is by and large about people. And perhaps that is what makes Mandy’s leadership style notable. Beneath the scale of the business is still the sensibility of someone who believes in looking after both guests and the people behind the scenes who make those experiences possible.
MOTHER LEADS BEST
Having a mother who is both a seasoned hotelier and one of the country’s most respected hospitality leaders comes with a rare front-row view into the realities of building a business. For Samantha and Sarah, growing up around the business meant witnessing firsthand the discipline, sacrifice and perseverance required to build a brand that endures.
For Samantha, joining Lexis Hotel Group transformed her understanding of leadership entirely. “Seeing the level of discipline required to sustain a brand over time gave me a much deeper appreciation for what true leadership entails. And as a new mother myself, I truly appreciate all that our mother has done and sacrificed for us,” she shares.
“Seeing the level of discipline required to sustain a brand over time gave me a much deeper appreciation for what true leadership entails” – Samantha Lee
Beyond vision and creativity, she came to realise that leadership is ultimately about execution, consistency and accountability — knowing when to trust experience and intuition, while remaining humble enough to acknowledge mistakes and recalibrate when necessary.
Sarah concurs, admitting that her perception of leadership changed dramatically once she stepped into the business herself. “I used to think leadership was all about confidence and decisiveness in the spotlight. After joining the business, I realised it’s really about the behind-the-scenes work… all the planning, problem-solving and making tough calls under pressure,” she reflects. Watching their mother navigate challenge after challenge taught them that true leadership lies in staying composed and clear-headed when it matters most.
RISING TO THE OCCASION
“Under our mother’s stewardship, the Group has grown from a home-grown hospitality player into an award-winning brand that has welcomed over 3.6 million international guests and generated more than RM3.6 billion in tourism receipts for Malaysia. Her leadership has also earned her numerous accolades, including ‘Most Admired CEO of the Year’ by The BrandLaureate and the ‘Women Lifetime Achievement Award’ from the World Women Leadership Congress,” chimes in Samantha with palpable pride.
Mandy listens quietly, taking in her daughter’s words and as if reflecting on her journey so far. Not on the accolades themselves but the years behind them, all being the result of showing up day after day, making difficult decisions and staying the course even when the path was uncertain.
“I have always reminded them to stay grounded, work hard and lead with integrity. No matter how far you go, humility and respect will carry you further,” she says. Over time, those lessons have evolved alongside the business itself. “I have also emphasised the importance of staying positive and adaptable. The world is constantly changing, and success comes from being able to embrace those changes with confidence and resilience.”
What better advice could one ask for. For the daughters, the space they are carving out for themselves is shaped as much by their mother’s guidance as by their own growing confidence within the organisation.
Samantha says that one of her proudest contributions has been steering Lexis towards a more data-driven and digitally led approach to strengthen distribution, refine workflows and sharpen how guest satisfaction is measured. “It has always been about balancing creativity with strategy, especially when resources are limited, so every decision moves the brand forward in a meaningful way,” she reflects.
“I used to think leadership was all about confidence and decisiveness in the spotlight. After joining the business, I realised it’s really about the behind-the-scenes work” – Sarah Lee
Looking back, she also acknowledges how far the team has come, from managing the Group’s early digital platforms almost single-handedly to now operating like a fully-fledged content and marketing agency across multiple properties, each with its own voice yet unified by a single brand story.
Sarah’s work centres on strengthening the Group’s digital presence and aligning communications across both traditional and online platforms. The shift, she explains, was less about tools and more about discipline, moving from fragmented messaging to a clearer, more intentional narrative supported by structured content strategy and deeper media and influencer engagement.
“What has been most rewarding is seeing how consistency builds trust over time. It shapes perception and reinforces who we are as a brand,” she says. And perhaps that is the clearest reflection of Mandy’s influence: not simply in the business she built but in the steady, thoughtful way the next generation is learning to carry it forward.
