RIYAZ Hotels & Resorts | APEA - Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards
parallax background

MASTER ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

Dato' Sri Mohammed Shaheen Shah Bin Mohd Sidek
Founder & Group Managing Director


RIYAZ Hotels & Resorts
www.riyaz-hotels.com


Information about Entrepreneur
Dato' Sri Mohammed Shaheen Shah has been a hotelier for more than a decade, he is also an enthusiastic entrepreneur. Dato’ Sri Shaheen is now the Group Managing Director of RIYAZ International Sdn Bhd which manages hotels regionally and has business ventures in food & beverage, agriculture travel technology & tours as well as architecture & design.

Dato’ Sri Shaheen began his undergraduate studies in hospitality at the prestigious Cesar Ritz College, Switzerland in 1994 before continuing and completing his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. He began his career in the United States under the Marriott International Management Trainee Program before returning to Malaysia where he worked for Sheraton and Pan Pacific Hotels. He moved through the ranks to become the General Manager at Cyberview Resort & Spa at a young age of 28. Young and vibrant, he had his own vision of building his empire to manage hotels under the wings of RIYAZ Hotels & Resorts in 2008. Dato’ Sri Shaheen has recently completed his MBA from the University of Toulouse, France.

Dato’ Sri Shaheen's leadership has contributed to the accelerated growth of RIYAZ Hotels & Resorts, henceforth referred to as RIYAZ, and to the success of his other endeavors.

Other Interesting Facts about Entrepreneur
Some interesting facts about Dato’ Sri Shaheen include the fact that he is an avid supporter of Liverpool FC.

Besides that, it is a part of his life philosophy that one should treat others the way one wants to be treated. He also believes that people should surround themselves around like-minded individuals and grow together, pushing each other to test the limits of their capabilities and improving each other.

Company Achievements & Role as Entrepreneur
RIYAZ, as with other hospitality companies, suffered greatly due to the pandemic; thus, post-pandemic rebuilding is currently taking place. With the persistence and entrepreneurial spirit of Dato’ Sri Shaheen, RIYAZ has emerged as one of the front runners among Malaysian-owned hospitality companies.

RIYAZ currently employs close to 400 employees in various roles and capacities and has embraced a new culture of collaboration and cross-collaboration. As the company continues to build new brands, its journey to form new partnerships and collaborations will only benefit the company.

RIYAZ has recently acquired a piece of land from Khazanah Nasional Berhad to build a new dash Resort within the Desaru Coast. This resort is slated to open in 2026. The company has also entered several tenders for hotel management contracts in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia.

Being the futurist that he is, Dato’ Sri Shaheen has decided to invest in new sustainable businesses with hospitality technology while also venturing into agricultural sectors as he believes that these are spaces that are ripe for disruption.

Vision, Mission, & Future Plans
Although the post-pandemic has been considered the rebuilding stage, RIYAZ under the stewardship of Dato’ Sri Shaheen, is on track to achieve group-wide profitability by the end of 2024.

Thus, Dato’ Sri Shaheen proudly declares how he intends to guide RIYAZ to future success. His vision is to be the innovative hospitality partner of choice, while his mission is to enlighten lives within an experiential ecosystem. To this end, Dato’ Sri Shaheen intends to grow RIYAZ across Asia, build more innovative dash Hotel designs via RIYAZ Architectural & Design arm and to venture into new sustainable businesses which are aligned to United Nations SDGs.

One piece of advice that he wishes to share with other entrepreneurs is to never wait for opportunities to come to you; you must look for, and create your own opportunities.

MASTER ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

Dato' Sri Mohammed Shaheen Shah Bin Mohd Sidek
Founder & Group Managing Director

Information about Entrepreneur
Dato' Sri Mohammed Shaheen Shah has been a hotelier for more than a decade, he is also an enthusiastic entrepreneur. Dato’ Sri Shaheen is now the Group Managing Director of RIYAZ International Sdn Bhd which manages hotels regionally and has business ventures in food & beverage, agriculture travel technology & tours as well as architecture & design.

Dato’ Sri Shaheen began his undergraduate studies in hospitality at the prestigious Cesar Ritz College, Switzerland in 1994 before continuing and completing his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. He began his career in the United States under the Marriott International Management Trainee Program before returning to Malaysia where he worked for Sheraton and Pan Pacific Hotels. He moved through the ranks to become the General Manager at Cyberview Resort & Spa at a young age of 28. Young and vibrant, he had his own vision of building his empire to manage hotels under the wings of RIYAZ Hotels & Resorts in 2008. Dato’ Sri Shaheen has recently completed his MBA from the University of Toulouse, France.

Dato’ Sri Shaheen's leadership has contributed to the accelerated growth of RIYAZ Hotels & Resorts, henceforth referred to as RIYAZ, and to the success of his other endeavors.

Other Interesting Facts about Entrepreneur
Some interesting facts about Dato’ Sri Shaheen include the fact that he is an avid supporter of Liverpool FC.

Besides that, it is a part of his life philosophy that one should treat others the way one wants to be treated. He also believes that people should surround themselves around like-minded individuals and grow together, pushing each other to test the limits of their capabilities and improving each other.

RIYAZ Hotels & Resorts
www.riyaz-hotels.com


Company Achievements & Role as Entrepreneur
RIYAZ, as with other hospitality companies, suffered greatly due to the pandemic; thus, post-pandemic rebuilding is currently taking place. With the persistence and entrepreneurial spirit of Dato’ Sri Shaheen, RIYAZ has emerged as one of the front runners among Malaysian-owned hospitality companies.

RIYAZ currently employs close to 400 employees in various roles and capacities and has embraced a new culture of collaboration and cross-collaboration. As the company continues to build new brands, its journey to form new partnerships and collaborations will only benefit the company.

RIYAZ has recently acquired a piece of land from Khazanah Nasional Berhad to build a new dash Resort within the Desaru Coast. This resort is slated to open in 2026. The company has also entered several tenders for hotel management contracts in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia.

Being the futurist that he is, Dato’ Sri Shaheen has decided to invest in new sustainable businesses with hospitality technology while also venturing into agricultural sectors as he believes that these are spaces that are ripe for disruption.

Vision, Mission, & Future Plans
Although the post-pandemic has been considered the rebuilding stage, RIYAZ under the stewardship of Dato’ Sri Shaheen, is on track to achieve group-wide profitability by the end of 2024.

Thus, Dato’ Sri Shaheen proudly declares how he intends to guide RIYAZ to future success. His vision is to be the innovative hospitality partner of choice, while his mission is to enlighten lives within an experiential ecosystem. To this end, Dato’ Sri Shaheen intends to grow RIYAZ across Asia, build more innovative dash Hotel designs via RIYAZ Architectural & Design arm and to venture into new sustainable businesses which are aligned to United Nations SDGs.

One piece of advice that he wishes to share with other entrepreneurs is to never wait for opportunities to come to you; you must look for, and create your own opportunities.