ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Kenneth Goi
GROUP COO AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kenneth Goi, 46, is Group Chief Operating Officer of regional property firm GSH Corporation Limited (“GSH”), listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange.
GSH has property developments in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. It also owns and operates the Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, comprising two five-star hotels – the Magellan Sutera Resort and Pacific Sutera Hotel – which together, has nearly 1,000 rooms, and the recently-acquired Sutera@Mantanani Resort – an idyllic resort on the Mantanani Islands off the coast of Sabah. In addition, Sutera Harbour Resort also has a 104-berth marina and a 27-hole championship golf course.
Prior to joining GSH in 2012, he founded Acelink Logistics – which specialises in third-party cold chain logistics services, including cold chain warehousing and transportation, in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China – in 2000. Mr Goi is also the Non- Executive Director of Hanwell Holdings Limited and Serial System Ltd. He continues to be on the executive committee of Tee Yih Jia Group.
Mr Goi grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. Being exposed to business from an early age, he picked up many entrepreneurship lessons, which shaped his business acumen.
In business, he believes in being unique and having a key differentiation. An entrepreneur does not need to feel embarrassed at the size of his business. As long as he is able to create a specialisation that the competitors lack, he is on the road to strength and success.
The next step is creating a culture focused on people. In any business, be it in F&B, logistics, real estate or hospitality, you have to interact with people. By treating your people right, you will be creating an ambassador out of each employee for the company. By doing right by your clients, you will keep them coming back.
When Mr Goi joined GSH in 2012, it was then a consumer distribution company. He was a core part of an incoming management team that completely transformed the Group, initially raising S$300 million, disposing of its legacy businesses and returning to profitability within a year. He also played a key role in defining its new property business blueprint and identifying premium property investment opportunities in prime locations.
Armed with a warchest, the Group’s first acquisition was the Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, which helped to provide stable, recurrent income. Later, GSH ventured into developing commercial and residential properties in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.
One of its first projects was the refurbishment of Equity Plaza in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business precinct of Raffles Place into a modern, Grade-A office and retail building. The building was subsequently sold shortly after its completion in 2017.
Under his leadership, the Group has carved a reputation for being able to spot turnaround opportunities in selected key gateway cities in Southeast Asia, by focusing on premium design and finishes.
This was a key guiding factor in its investment in the Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, and, more recently, the Sutera@Mantanani Resort.
Spotting a lucrative investment opportunity in China, the Group also moved fast to secure a 30% stake in Henan Zhongyuan Group, which owns one of the largest food logistics and warehousing hubs in China.
As a result of GSH’s team-led efforts to overhaul the business, the Group has grown its market capitalization to over S$700 million, compared to its S$20 million market capitalisation at the start of 2012.
“Under his leadership, GSH Corporation has carved a reputation for being able to spot turnaround opportunities in selected key gateway cities in Southeast Asia, by focusing on premium design and finishes.”
In line with Mr Goi’s business philosophy, GSH focuses on projects that are unique and specialised, as well as creates value to keep its customers coming back.
This has led GSH to create world class spaces for living, business and leisure. Guided by this principle, the Group will continue to explore new opportunities in the region and in China, ever focusing on its paramount strategy of creating premium, signature designs and developing world-class real estate in unique prime locations and key city gateways.
The Group’s hospitality business in Kota Kinabalu continues to benefit from the growth in tourism to the East Malaysian city. In December 2018, GSH acquired a pristine island resort in the Mantanani Islands, off the coast of Kota Kinabalu. Complementing its existing 5-Star resorts in Kota Kinabalu, this acquisition also adds to the Group’s hospitality story in the region – creating a triumvirate of island, beach and integrated resort attractions.
Advice from Kenneth
“Both my grandfather and father taught me the philosophy of how to be a better person, how to treat people with respect. Business revolves around people. We stress on getting the right people and valuing them. They will give back to you in terms of their hard work to the company. If you want people to respect you, you have to respect them.”
“Shifting from F&B into something completely different such as real estate may be challenging but the philosophy is the same. In fact, hospitality is all about people having the right people in the business and creating a story for people to keep coming back.”
“Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, we all tend to have similar guiding philosophies. However, it is important for each one of us to add our spin to the philosophy, to add diversity in thoughts and keep it dynamic for future generations to build on.”
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Kenneth Goi
GROUP COO AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kenneth Goi, 46, is Group Chief Operating Officer of regional property firm GSH Corporation Limited (“GSH”), listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange.
GSH has property developments in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. It also owns and operates the Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, comprising two five-star hotels – the Magellan Sutera Resort and Pacific Sutera Hotel – which together, has nearly 1,000 rooms, and the recently-acquired Sutera@Mantanani Resort – an idyllic resort on the Mantanani Islands off the coast of Sabah. In addition, Sutera Harbour Resort also has a 104-berth marina and a 27-hole championship golf course.
Prior to joining GSH in 2012, he founded Acelink Logistics – which specialises in third-party cold chain logistics services, including cold chain warehousing and transportation, in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China – in 2000. Mr Goi is also the Non- Executive Director of Hanwell Holdings Limited and Serial System Ltd. He continues to be on the executive committee of Tee Yih Jia Group.
Mr Goi grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. Being exposed to business from an early age, he picked up many entrepreneurship lessons, which shaped his business acumen.
In business, he believes in being unique and having a key differentiation. An entrepreneur does not need to feel embarrassed at the size of his business. As long as he is able to create a specialisation that the competitors lack, he is on the road to strength and success.
The next step is creating a culture focused on people. In any business, be it in F&B, logistics, real estate or hospitality, you have to interact with people. By treating your people right, you will be creating an ambassador out of each employee for the company. By doing right by your clients, you will keep them coming back.
“Under his leadership, GSH Corporation has carved a reputation for being able to spot turnaround opportunities in selected key gateway cities in Southeast Asia, by focusing on premium design and finishes.”
When Mr Goi joined GSH in 2012, it was then a consumer distribution company. He was a core part of an incoming management team that completely transformed the Group, initially raising S$300 million, disposing of its legacy businesses and returning to profitability within a year. He also played a key role in defining its new property business blueprint and identifying premium property investment opportunities in prime locations.
Armed with a warchest, the Group’s first acquisition was the Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, which helped to provide stable, recurrent income. Later, GSH ventured into developing commercial and residential properties in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.
One of its first projects was the refurbishment of Equity Plaza in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business precinct of Raffles Place into a modern, Grade-A office and retail building. The building was subsequently sold shortly after its completion in 2017.
Under his leadership, the Group has carved a reputation for being able to spot turnaround opportunities in selected key gateway cities in Southeast Asia, by focusing on premium design and finishes.
This was a key guiding factor in its investment in the Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, and, more recently, the Sutera@Mantanani Resort.
Spotting a lucrative investment opportunity in China, the Group also moved fast to secure a 30% stake in Henan Zhongyuan Group, which owns one of the largest food logistics and warehousing hubs in China.
As a result of GSH’s team-led efforts to overhaul the business, the Group has grown its market capitalization to over S$700 million, compared to its S$20 million market capitalisation at the start of 2012.
In line with Mr Goi’s business philosophy, GSH focuses on projects that are unique and specialised, as well as creates value to keep its customers coming back.
This has led GSH to create world class spaces for living, business and leisure. Guided by this principle, the Group will continue to explore new opportunities in the region and in China, ever focusing on its paramount strategy of creating premium, signature designs and developing world-class real estate in unique prime locations and key city gateways.
The Group’s hospitality business in Kota Kinabalu continues to benefit from the growth in tourism to the East Malaysian city. In December 2018, GSH acquired a pristine island resort in the Mantanani Islands, off the coast of Kota Kinabalu. Complementing its existing 5-Star resorts in Kota Kinabalu, this acquisition also adds to the Group’s hospitality story in the region – creating a triumvirate of island, beach and integrated resort attractions.
Advice from Kenneth
“Both my grandfather and father taught me the philosophy of how to be a better person, how to treat people with respect. Business revolves around people. We stress on getting the right people and valuing them. They will give back to you in terms of their hard work to the company. If you want people to respect you, you have to respect them.”
“Shifting from F&B into something completely different such as real estate may be challenging but the philosophy is the same. In fact, hospitality is all about people having the right people in the business and creating a story for people to keep coming back.”
“Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, we all tend to have similar guiding philosophies. However, it is important for each one of us to add our spin to the philosophy, to add diversity in thoughts and keep it dynamic for future generations to build on.”