Alfred Sek, Managing Director of Excellentte Consultancy, born in Kuala Lumpur, acquired invaluable business acumen and social skills while helping his mother in her coffee shop. He came from a humble background with ten siblings. After gaining his A levels, he started on a part-time course in Accounting although his childhood dream was to become a pilot which was not to be, as he was not selected for training. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete the course due to financial constraints. He then thought of venturing into business but, again, found that capital was a problem. He remained undaunted and moved into the life insurance business which required no start-up capital.

The entrepreneur was determined to overcome the obstacles he faced through sheer hard work. He also resolutely avoided succumbing to the negative influences of living in a neighbourhood rife with drug addiction and gangsterism through education and a desire to succeed in life.

Alfred did not want to be just selling insurance. He wanted to become an insurance professional and pursued the Australian Insurance Institute (AII) designation, becoming among the first few Malaysians that completed the course, and subsequently qualifying as an Associate Member of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance in 1989. Alfred then pursued the ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant), an American programme. He was convinced that this was the future (and he was proven right) although financial planning had yet to take baby steps in Malaysia. Self-study while juggling his life commitments and managing an agency was tough but he persevered, completing the ChFC within six years. Thereafter, he obtained the Shariah Financial Planner designation from the Malaysian Financial Planning Council.

This marked his move from just life insurance into financial planning advisory which is a more complete process covering protection, wealth accumulation, wealth preservation and wealth distribution. While he feels that life insurance is a noble profession, helping people in times of need, it focuses mainly on protection and he wanted to serve his clients’ needs holistically. He had moved forward to becoming a pioneer in the financial planning industry in Malaysia.

With a string of professional qualifications in hand, Alfred then set up Excellentte in 1997 to provide training in financial planning to life insurance agents. He learnt a lot from a good friend who ran a successful law firm but gave it up to pursue farming, his passion, and became very successful. He taught him that one needs determination, hard work, passion and the spirit of never giving up. He thus goes by the saying, “Winners never quit and quitters never win”, which is reflected in his success.

Licensed by the Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM) and Securities Commission Malaysia, Excellentte today is a ‘one-stop centre’, providing comprehensive financial advisory services. It takes great pride in representing its clients’ interests first and looking for the best financial solutions to meet their needs. Under Alfred’s leadership, turnover has been growing in double digit numbers, testament to their success in providing clients with comprehensive and excellent services.

The success of Excellentte can be attributed to Alfred’s leadership style. Alfred believes in leading by example, strong team work, sharing proven experiences and not just textbook techniques, and not asking his advisers to do what he himself would not or cannot do. His conviction is to be a good leader, one also has to provide good advice. So, he acts as a leader and an advisor.

He believes his success formula hinges on his firm belief that “I do not wish to earn from you if I do not add value to you.” Excellentte has been successful in moving towards meeting their vision ‘To be the most professional, productive and profitable financial consultancy company in Malaysia’, and their mission ‘To provide professional advice on a wide range of financial products to fulfil consumers’ dreams’. With 20 financial advisers at present, Alfred wants to grow that number to about 50 full-time, qualified advisers. He wants Excellentte to be a “boutique” consultancy providing excellent services. He strongly feels one must know one’s people well and have control over them especially in a very regulated industry like financial planning.

His plans for the future are to focus on helping his advisers to grow by becoming more productive and successful. What he finds most rewarding is that he has seen people around him grow and become successful, and that he has contributed to that. He also gains much satisfaction from the fact that he can and has made a difference in the lives of the many people he has come into contact with. Hence his advice to readers: Success is not defined by your wealth but by how many lives you have touched and the difference you have helped make.

He dedicates the honour of this award to all in the Financial Planning industry.