PROFILE OF CEO K.K.TAN

He is a 59-year-old low-keyed but highly experienced PR, think tank and management analyst and strategist who has gained a wide exposure handling some of the most difficult issues of all time.

In the early eighties, he made history of being the only overseas student to be elected president of the British Students Union over other British candidates in a red-brick university (Sheffied) in UK. Just before that, he was also the president of the national overseas students body in UK. His in-depth knowledge of many global issues was acquired from his interaction with student activists from all over the world who were studying in Britain at that time and from his interest in reading, observation and research.

In the late eighties, he was the CEO (one of the youngest at that time) of a European MNC based in Shah Alam, so he understands the high standards of corporate management.

In the early nineties, he was the CEO of a federal government council, dealing with forestry and environment issues. He was managing a fund (from timber levy) of more than RM300 million. He was also the chief co-ordinator and strategist for the government in countering the negative boycott campaign and perception in the West on the use of tropical timber, culminating as the strategic adviser to the government at the Rio Earth Summit of 1992. Environment was a highly politicised issue at that time and he managed to propose a comprehensive plan for the government to effectively deal with it.

In 1994, he set up his own management training, special PR and consultancy firm and it developed an extensive data-base of information until today on many issues locally and globally. The firm undertook some consultancy assignments with some large corporations and government bodies. He was a regular writer on global issues in The New Straits Times from 1995 to 1998 and he also organised and lectured an in-house training about the politics of environment to journalists of The New Straits Times.

In 2002, he helped to bridge some issues of understanding between Bill Gates and then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Microsofts interest to invest significantly in the MSC Project. His consultancy firm had since been engaged as a strategic consultant by Microsoft for several years.

He was the author of an international best-selling book, published in 2003, about the politics of open source software entitled The Great Software Debate. The book was the first of its kind in the world to explain comprehensively the emerging ICT controversy.

The firm also acted as a trouble-shooting consultant for other big clients and it also developed innovative projects such as CIM or computer integrated manufacturing, dyslexia project (to help children with learning difficulty), Cyberim (in-house Internet content filtering project) and training on BCP or business continuity planto help large organizations to be prepared at any time in dealing with epidemics such as the bird flu.

In November 2008, he started a column in The Sun called Beyond Race focusing on promoting racial understanding in Malaysia and overseas. In 2011, the column was changed to Beyond The Wall to highlight other local and global issues. All his articles in The Sun can be accessed from his web-blog here:

WORDPRESS

He was also a columnist with the monthly business magazine Public Listed writing on critical issues whichaffecting the corporate sector. His balanced and analytical press articles on many local and global issues have won him critical acclaim from many people.

He is currently the initiator and developer of the proposed government-supported Asian Heritage Museum, an innovative and world class CSR-driven project in Kuala Lumpur to promote tourism, multiculturalism, heritage and peace in the region.

His strategic consultancy and think tank firm has just been appointed the local partner and representative of the world renowned Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Headquartered in London and New York, the EIU is the worlds leading market research and risk analysis organization covering political, economic and business developments in 203 countries and has 450 full time analysts spread across the globe.

The Other Advisors of the group are:
1) Tan Sri Michael Chen, former Minister and former Senate President

2) Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, former senior servant (Secretary-General). former President of Transparency International Malaysia and currently corporate leader and chairman of a public policy think tank

3) Special Advisor Datuk Kamal Amir, former senior Journalist and Editor of the local press

4) Senior Associate Tan Sri Dr. Salleh Mohd Nor, Former Director General of Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, Former President of the Malaysian Nature Society and well known Research Biotech Scientist

There are several other influential, knowledgeable and experienced associates and advisers who would be called upon to assist in specialized consultancy jobs.