Mentor & Protégés Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad

The financial sector isn’t an industry that’s known for its sense of humour and, yet, YM Tan Sri Dato’ Paduka Tengku Noor Zakiah Tengku Ismail and Datuk Chay Wai Leong are at Kenanga Tower, chuckling away together good-naturedly. “We do try to see the light side of things,” Datuk Chay responds, when asked if they both share the same sense of humour.

“Our field is not exactly easy and relaxed, so there’s a lot of tension all the time, especially with the capital markets. That being said, I definitely haven’t seen her tense before, and I don’t think she’s seen me at a very tense moment either.” That’s quite something when you consider that the two have known each other for eight years, ever since Datuk Chay was appointed Group Managing Director of Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad in 2011.

DIG YOUR ROOTS

Trusting a veritable outsider to take charge of Kenanga could not have been an easy prospect for Tan Sri Tengku Noor, considering she built the investment bank from scratch 46 years ago. Neither was it a position to take lightly for any newcomer: Kenanga – named after the ylang-ylang flowers Tan Sri Tengku Noor used to string into garlands for her first youthful business venture – has very much spread its wings and soared as Malaysia’s largest independent investment bank.

It’s not just Kenanga’s substantial equity trading volume and value that continues to draw attention. It remains one of the country’s top brokerage houses, with the largest network of remisiers, while the financial group collectively boasts vast experience not just in equity broking, but also investment banking, treasury, Islamic banking, listed derivatives, investment management, wealth management, structured lending and trade financing.

Any candidate looking to assist Kenanga’s formidable Founder and Adviser in running the day-to-day operations required a wealth of vast fiscal experience to draw on, which is partly what made Datuk Chay stand out. Not only had he served as Managing Director of RHB Investment Bank and Head of Corporate & Investment Banking of RHB Banking Group, but his previous appointments included Director for Regional Originations for Standard Bank Asia Ltd in Hong Kong, and Director and Head of Investment Banking for JP Morgan Malaysia.

Tan Sri Tengku Noor, however, was looking beyond his financial pedigree. “It was when Kenanga needed a managing director that the company began its search for a good man – that was in 2010 – and I relied on our directors to find him,” she recalls. Prior to that, had they met before in their industry’s circles? “I’d heard of him, but I didn’t know him. I knew he was from Singapore and, when I first met him, I got the impression that he was orang baik. After getting to know him better over the years, I know we made the right choice.”

In less than a decade, it seems that a warm, wonderfully familiar rapport between the two has been comfortably established. When, for instance, he’s asked what his first impression of Tan Sri Tengku Noor was, Datuk Chay responds: “I thought, ‘Why is she still working?’ When we first met, it was essentially an interview where I was meeting her as Chairman of Kenanga, as she was back then.

“Well, this is eight years later! We have a very reciprocal type of relationship. It takes two to maintain this sort of chemistry: I have huge respect for someone who’s done something as remarkable as she has, and there are certain characteristics about me that she likes.”

One does get the impression that Tan Sri Tengku Noor is still as sharp as a tack. Within her expansive office, among the family photos, numerous memoirs and biographies, and a magnificently ornate black and gold bookcase, a Bloomberg Terminal displays the rise and fall of share prices – a reminder of how difficult it is to stay at the top of this game, which she has adeptly done for so many years.

“She might give you the impression that she’s a sweet, quiet old lady, but don’t cross her! Once I’ve discussed a matter with her, she follows up on it. Tengku is nothing like your typical 93-year-old. When she wants certain things done, she remembers them and sticks by it, so you’d better follow her instructions,” warns Datuk Chay. “She’s very tough – and that, especially, is what I respect.”

GROWING STRONG

The emergence of their mentor-mentee dynamic, as Datuk Chay explains, has been a wholly organic process that stems from mutual respect and a shared sense of admiration. “It’s not something we got into consciously. Aspects of her character impressed me and made me determined to punch above our weight. Kenanga is small, but we want to be ahead. To give you an example, if you look at Bursa Malaysia’s broker rankings, we’re constantly in the top tiers. That’s one example of the enterprising spirit that got us here. Another is our relationship with our joint venture partners, Rakuten Securities, Inc, one of Japan’s major online broker and ranks second in terms of retail equities trading value in Japan. We’ve moved from strength to strength in terms of our numbers, and we did what we did because we wanted to be different from others in the industry. It’s just like Tengku: she came from an agricultural background, and then when she was given an opportunity in oil and gas, she took it.

“For a woman to be so enterprising during those times is seriously impressive. She didn’t have to do it, but she did – from making kacang goreng, then running her own fashion shop where she designed clothes and jewellery, and, after that, to oil and gas, and then financial stockbroking at Kenanga. Remember, she was the first Malay woman to start a stockbroking company. When I think of the United States and the UK, the industry is dominated by men – but here in Malaysia, Tengku has done all of this. It’s inspired us at Kenanga to do things we don’t think we can – or should be doing – because of our size. We’re among all the bigger banks and that’s because she’s shown it’s actually possible. There’s no such thing as ‘if you’re from this background, you stay where you are’ – you need to go beyond that.”

Likewise, Tan Sri Tengku Noor is similarly enthusiastic in her praise of Datuk Chay, going as far as to say that she regards him as a family member. “There has been good progress and year-on-year achievements for Kenanga Investment Bank and its group companies, thanks to the teamwork of Datuk Chay, the Chairman and Board of Directors, and our dedicated staff,” she says. “At the same time, Datuk Chay is a balanced, thoughtful and perceptive person, who doesn’t rush into things. Whatever he does, suggests or implements often comes after much thought and discussion. He’s respectful and yet accessible, which is why he’s an expert at networking.”

Datuk Chay’s thoughtfulness comes in the form of ‘the little gestures’, including installing rubber mats and an intercom system to prevent Tan Sri Tengku Noor from slipping in her office. Datuk Chay has even initiated a Kenanga Founder’s Day on her birthday and is overseeing the finishing touches to her biography due this month. Perhaps that’s why Tan Sri Tengku Noor adds: “On a personal level, he’s kind and considerate of age and experience. He treats me not just as a Founder member, but as an elderly relative! He has all the qualities you’d expect of a great managing director: he has a vision for the company, knowledge and expertise, and he’s able to nurture productivity.”

WHERE THE FLOWER BLOOMS

More often than might be imagined, Tan Sri Tengku Noor and Datuk Chay stop by each other’s offices for a chat, which, in their fast-paced world, is something of a rarity. “Our conversations can run to an hour – that’s a long time in our industry – but we do take the time to talk with each other,” says Datuk Chay. “I seek her views when I make any big moves or major acquisitions. Because of her experience, she’s aware of things that might not be so obvious, so I always want to get a sense of her gut feeling to ensure I’ve done something right and that I’ve not missed anything out.”

In his eyes, it’s essential that mutual respect acts as the underlying foundation of a mentor-mentee relationship – and it always works best if it’s left to grow naturally. “It’s very hard to have a forced mentormentee programme, especially in finance. You do get visionary characters who think, ‘I’ve come this far – can this be continued?’ They then choose a few people to continue that process and maintain that type of culture, but that’s very much the exception rather than the norm.

“Most people may not have the patience or character to mentor, and the mentee needs to respect the person mentoring them – the relationship’s success depends on mutual respect.” Are mentor-mentee dynamics of any use at all to a company, difficult as they might be to establish? “Yes – character-building leadership development isn’t just about the technical skills. The values one wants to promote within a company are very important, as they define the type of company it is. I have a few mentees that I’m currently coaching, and I find that really useful. It helps differentiate one company from another, rather than having people exist as digits in an organisation.”

Although Kenanga may not have a formal mentorship programme, Datuk Chay points to the support that the company gives to their staff and the company’s wider network: “From the Board, from Tengku and from myself, we’ve sent out the right kind of messages in terms of what kind of organisation we want to be. We’re very big on training – if you work for us and we think you’re someone with potential and leadership qualities, we’ll invest in you. It’s not just about paying you a salary. We’ll send you to the best places – Harvard, MIT, Cambridge – and our senior people go to the best conferences relating to their field, whether they work in internal auditing, compliance or fintech. We’re quite proud of that.

“Other than Tengku’s enterprising spirit, she’s a very compassionate person. She has a lot of time for our staff, and she listens to them so she can help as much as possible. We’ve established an outreach fund outside of the company – Tengku herself pledged MYR1 million to kick it off – for which our staff do a lot of fundraising work involving voluntary donations. Whenever our staff or their relatives are affected by floods, hospital bills, or incidents that have gone above and beyond the insurance coverage, our staff committee decides which cases to support. So, it’s through Tengku’s leadership that she’s demonstrated it’s about support, not just guidance – and people respect her for that. She leads by example and acts upon it, and again, I salute that gesture from her.”

Hearing this, Tan Sri Tengku Noor leans in and tells me: “I always prayed to Allah to send me a good man to run Kenanga.”

“So – am I the man?” Datuk Chay asks in jest. “I think so,” Tan Sri Tengku Noor replies. “I know you’re a good person and a loving family man, and that is important to me.”