Dexter Lau

Executive Director, Corporate/Business Operation, Kim Teck Cheong Sdn Bhd

Trained as a lawyer, Dexter Lau recalls the truth of the legal profession: “I specialised in family law and my first case saw a husband and wife trading blows.” With other cases offering the same kerfuffle as his début experience, a call from his father and grandfather, asking him to take his place within the family business, Kim Teck Cheong (KTC), would change his entire life and career path. KTC, which was then run by his father and grandfather, was already one of Borneo’s most resilient Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies. “Both my grandfather and father, whom I consider my mentors, spoke to me and I decided to listen to them and give KTC a go,” says Lau. At 35 years of age, Lau is remarkably self-assured. Having read law at the University of Kent in Canterbury, he was on track to complete his Masters in Boston until all plans were halted by the 9/11 crisis. “You wouldn’t believe it but, that year, because of 9/11, my US visa got delayed,” he relates. “Having my Masters plans come to a halt and, at the same, hearing the confidence my two mentors had in me, I decided to return home and join KTC.”

When asked about the transition from law to business, Lau says the former had tremendously prepared him for a business career. “A lot of people say a legal background helps you in the business world. Personally, I found that legal training helped me most in the decision-making process. As a lawyer, you need guts to make sound, rational and timely judgments, and the same applies to my daily business dealings. And this has proven to be a great skill for me to make full use of,” he acknowledges. Upon joining KTC, Lau observed that no one had been paying much attention to the potential businesses in East Malaysia. And, with that, he immediately saw the opportunities that KTC had to offer.

The fruits of Lau’s labour are plain to see. Since 2003, the impact of forward-vision and good governance on KTC has been remarkable, with the company’s turnover growing 10-fold within the past decade. KTC, from its birth in a small town in Sabah, now covers businesses in the entire state, as well as in Brunei and Sarawak. “We are gunning for a MYR600million turnover shortly,” he adds. “I find it very satisfying looking at the numbers we have achieved so far.”

Brought up in a conventional manner, Lau acknowledges his career options were limited. “Basically, I could choose to either become a doctor or a lawyer,” he laughs. “I had wanted to be a veterinarian but that dream was vetoed by my mother. Regardless of what career choice it may be, I would advise young people out there to follow their passions while serving as a blessing to the people around you.” Grateful for the lessons and guidance offered by his mentors, namely his grandfather, Datuk Lau Yeong Ching, and his father, Lau Kok Sing, Lau shares that some of his grandfather’s last words of advice to him were not to be greedy. “I will always remember this,” he says soberly. “Based on the Chinese character for ‘greed’, it depicts the fact that the end result of this would always be emptiness and poverty.”

Highly-focused and intuitive, Lau also manages to combine work with personal interest, which includes NeuroLinguistic Programming, of which he has been awarded with a Master Practitioner certification in Beijing in 2010, as well as business networking. Lau is also a member of the Malaysian chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO). Clearly, self-improvement is never far from Lau’s mind, to which he says: “Making calculated, assessed and informed decisions is an art and a life-long skill set.” It is hardly surprising, given his traditional Confucian upbringing, that Lau looks up to iconic Chinese figures like the aforementioned great sage as well as Chu Ke Liang, immortalised as the brilliant strategist during the famous War of the Three Kingdoms. “I greatly admire the Confucian philosophy of honesty, sensibility and sincerity. But my idea of a great CEO is one who forecasts well, with the ability to ride on waves of opportunities yet see the cycles through.”

On his preferred sources of inspiration, Lau maintains a focused stance, devouring John Maxwell’s books on leadership, as well as Bernard Marr’s Key Performance Indicators – The 75 Measures Every Manager Needs to Know. “I don’t need to go to a beach or a pool to relax. I’ve found my passion in what I do, and what I do makes me happy. And everyone would agree that being happy is the best form of relaxation.” When not brushing up on his management skills, Lau enjoys Muay Thai sessions and market visits, where he is constantly intrigued by the different consumer behaviours existing within the market. “There is a saying in Mandarin that the business is alive, meaning business should not be governed by rules, as it is forever changing. But I believe that for a company to grow and flourish, there needs to be due diligence in place, coupled with the necessity of systems, mechanisms and business processes. After all, a family may be blessed with luck and good fortune but management skills remain essential as these gifts from above are non-exhaustive.”