In a glittering ceremony at The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur attended by top entrepreneurs in the country and leaders of Corporate Malaysia, the country winner of the prestigious EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 was announced amidst thunderous applause. Goh Peng Ooi, the maverick Founder and Executive Chairman of Silverlake Axis Ltd, clinched the top title and will go on to represent Malaysia at the coveted EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year award at the annual event in Monte Carlo this summer. In his victory speech, Goh talked about his company’s “journey of diversity and disruption†over the years. He founded Silverlake Axis in 1989 and built it into a leading provider of state-of-the-art digital economy solutions and services for the banking and financial services, payments, retail, logistics and insurance businesses. Today, the group is a global multibillion-dollar company.
Philip Rao, Partner and EOY Malaysia Programme Director, said: “Goh is an excellent example of entrepreneurs who have the foresight and vision to challenge the status quo and ask questions that some haven’t even thought of yet.â€
The four category winners were selected by an independent panel of judges, including Malek Ali, Founder and Managing Director of BFM Media Sdn Bhd, Tan Sri Dr Ngau Boon Keat, Executive Chairman of Dialog Group Bhd, and Tan Sri AK Nathan, Chairman and Group Managing Director of Eversendai Corporation Bhd.
Minister of International Trade and Industry, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, who was described by EY Country Managing Partner, Dato’ Abdul Rauf Rashid, as one of the strongest supporters of the Entrepreneur Of The Year programme, was guest of honour at the glittering affair. The 13th edition of the awards was also attended by Maria Pinelli, EY’s Global Vice Chair of Strategic Growth Markets.
