Two Malaysian Businesswomen selected for EY 2024 Programme

Two Malaysian women, Hernan Corporation Founder and group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Datuk Anna Teo along with Berjayapak Sdn Bhd CEO, Ooi Lay Pheng has been selected for the Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneurial Winning Women Asia-Pacific Class of 2024 programme.

With their efforts, these two women have proved that success is achievable by females, even in the male-dominated industry where acquiring success is not easy.

Datuk Anna brings over 28 years of experience as the Group CEO at Hernan Corporation, making her an expert and a renowned name in the industry. She has been working with the organisation since 1996. Her work experience also includes Malaysia Airlines where she worked as a Stewardess for 6 long years between 1997 to 2003.

Datuk Anna said, “If you want to start a business and embark on entrepreneurship, you have to come up with a very solid business plan. From here, stay resilient and make sure that you take every challenge. This is something that I felt so proud to be a part of. Most importantly, I feel even more confident than ever. EY has done quite a lot to help me in getting the correct investors and mentorships, as well as connect me to the right potential clients.”

In addition, Ooi Lay Pheng has been working with her family-owned business Berjayapak from past 9 years, where she joined as the sales marketing director in 2015 and got promoted to the position of CEO in 2017. Besides, she is also the Executive Director and Group CEO of L&P Global Berhad for last 3 years.

Ooi Lay stated, “Being a small-sized, petite person, people questioned my capability and ability in this fierce industry. I always rely on four things, unlearn, relearn and keep learning, establish a good network with fellow industry players, self-motivation and embrace criticism. These are what help me to break down the barriers I encountered along the way," she said, adding that her entrepreneurial journey began when she accompanied her father on business dealings during her primary school years.”