MAREC 2024

Melvin Lim, Co-Founder and CEO of PropertyLimBrothers, leads PLBMedia, Singapore’s largest in-house real estate creative agency, as well as PLB Realty, Singapore’s Top Real Estate Transactors across the categories of Landed, Condos, and HDBs.

In 2018, Melvin co-founded PropertyLimBrothers with employees from Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The agency now houses 65 media creatives. In 2022, he established PLB Realty, earning Top Transactor awards in Singapore for consecutive years with his team of 62 consultants.

Melvin is a visionary in the industry, known for his pioneering work in PLB's Signature Home Tours. With 16 years of industry experience, he is also a seasoned real estate analyst with a wealth of knowledge and expertise. His emphasis on intensive research and analytics allow him to remain at the forefront of market trends, which he propagates through his Nuggets on the Go (NOTG) podcast. Throughout his career, Melvin has provided professional guidance to numerous clients in various property transactions, solidifying his reputation as a trusted advisor in the industry.

Beyond managing multiple businesses within the PropertyLimBrothers brand, Melvin is passionate about training consultants and solopreneurs, fostering personal and professional growth with the adoption of mental models and frameworks.

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Chan Ai Cheng has been a Registered Real Estate Agent with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Malaysia since Year 2002. She graduated from the University of Auckland New Zealand with a Bachelor in Property, a programme that was all about Property! Ai Cheng is presently the General Manager of S. K. Brothers Realty (M) Sdn Bhd, a company founded by her dad in 1979. They celebrate this year, SKB’s 39th Anniversary. Prior to being in the Real Estate practice, Ai Cheng was with FARLIM, a property developer, where her portfolio was in Property Management and thereafter with REHDA, the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia with a Marketing Portfolio.

Ai Cheng now heads the Project Marketing department within SKB where her strength lies in crafting sales packages, formulating sales strategies and executing sales plans with the team. The team handles small boutique developments, specialised projects and mixed development projects around the Klang Valley.

Ai Cheng also serves as Secretary General, Membership Chair and International Liaison Chair of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) 2017-2019. A Member of the Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (ISM) and A Registered Financial Consultant with the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC). She was awarded the Certification of Certified Residential Specialist by National Association of Realtors, United States of America in 2009 and Certified International Property Specialist.

Ai Cheng was also recognized for her career achievement and contributions to society by the Malaysian Women’s Weekly, being the winner of the Great Women of Our Time Award in the Finance & Commence Category Year 2007.

She is also a graduate of the Anthony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within – Firewalk Programme.

Registered Estate Agent
Degree in Bachelor of Property (Auckland, New Zealand)
21 years experience in Real Estate
Past President of MIEA
Past Chairman of MIEA Johor
Director, Training & Development, Kim Realty
Fellow of Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents
MIEA Accredited Trainer
Member of Malaysian Institute of Professional Property Managers (MIPPM)
Member of Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the private sector of Malaysia (PEPS)
Member of Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM)
Recipient of Silver Play Button Award from YouTube

Dr. Anthony Dass currently serves as the Economic Adviser to the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific (KSI), a prominent regional think tank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Dr. Dass was the Group Chief Economist and Head of AmBank Research. Starting his career at Bank Negara Malaysia, he later worked with stockbroking firms and collaborated with various ministries and government agencies over his 30-year career. He was seconded to the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) and the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

Academically, Dr. Dass earned a PhD in Economics from Universiti Utara Malaysia in 2018, a Master of Science in Economics & Finance from the University of Bristol in 1996, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from International Islamic University Malaysia in 1987

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Sheldon is the Country Manager for the Malaysian branch of PropertyGuru Group, and is the principal representative for the Group in Malaysia. He is responsible for leading the company’s sales and B2B strategy, driving strategic business deals, and cultivating relationships with key industry partners in Malaysia. He leads a team of more than 100 Gurus, including internal and external marketing and field sales representatives, servicing real estate developers, agencies and agents.

Sheldon is a versatile sales professional and an ardent advocate for online, with over 14 years of experience in digital marketing and sales leadership. He has a strong track record of delivering results, execution excellence and improving efficiency, while also driving high employee and customer satisfaction scores for organisations across Asia.

Previously, Sheldon was with JobsDB, a leading online employment marketplace in Asia. He held the position of General Manager at JobsDB Malaysia before being promoted to Managing Director at JobsDB Singapore in 2014. Prior to JobsDB, he held various sales and general management roles in Marcus Evans, Adecco and Nextel Communications.

He holds a Graduate Diploma in Accounting, with a Minor in Marketing, from Olympia College.

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Sr Adzman Shah has been involved in the real estate industry for more than 30 years as a property consultant, valuer, estate agent and property manager. His experience included serving professional practice, local government, corporate, retail and asset management organisations. Previous employers included John David, Watts and Morgan Chartered Surveyors and Cardiff City Council in the UK, STAR Light Rail Transit, Colliers Jordan Lee & Jaafar Property Consultants, Cold Storage Plc, Carrefour Malaysia and DTZ International Property Consultants before he set up Hektar Property Services and thereafter, his current firm, ExaStrata Solutions Real Estate Advisors.

His expertise includes real estate investment and agency, development planning and feasibility, asset, property and retail centre management, strata property matters, property valuation and appraisal.

He was formerly Vice President and Councilor of Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM) and formerly Chairman of Property Management, Valuation and Estate Agency Surveying Division of RISM. He is presently President of Malaysian Institute of Professional Property Managers, member of the Board of Governors for INSPEN (Government Valuation Institute), Committee Member of Bumiputera Retailers Organisation (BRO) and Member of the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVEAP).

He is active in conducting training in real estate agency practice, property and facility management and strata management. He served as Secretary for several years on a JMB and is currently a Chairman for a Residents Association.

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Tan Kian Aun started his real estate career with CH Williams Talhar & Wong (now known as CBRE|WTW) Agency and Transactional Services.

Before his real estate career, Kian Aun started his working career in sales and marketing of consumer IT products, pharmaceutical, fast-moving consumer goods, air freight and logistics industry with reputable MNCs such as Canon, DHL Worldwide, Johnson & Johnson, Blackmores and JVC Kenwood, involving tasks related to sales force effectiveness, strategic marketing, corporate account management, customer relationship management and key account management.

Currently, he is attached to Hartamas Real Estate (M) Sdn Bhd, as an Associate Director, Board Member of Board of Valuers Appraiser Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP) Malaysia and Member of the Board of Director of Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) as well as a member of Industry Advisory Panel of UCSI College. His experience and expertise include serving the professional practice, advising the educational sectors, involvement with government authorities, corporate commercial and industrial transactions, tender activities, project marketing sales and real estate investment.

Professionally Kian Aun is a Registered Estate Agent (E2350) in Malaysia and Victoria, Australia. He is also a Certified Professional Coach (MIM-CPC), Global co-ordinator of International Association of Coaching (IAC®), Masteries Practitioner®, Licensed Practitioner of NLP®, Certified HRDF Trainer and Golden Key International Honour Society for his academic achievement. Kian Aun actively conducts training and seminars at the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) for the Negotiator Certification Course (NCC), CPD courses and other institutions of various real estate topics, where he had trained more than 10,000 practitioners in the real estate fraternity.

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Cheah has over 30 years of experience across various areas such as business development, merger and acquisition, business strategy, regional expansion, and process engineering across various industries such as information technology, venture capital, conglomerates, high tech manufacturing, and the services industry.

He has held several top executive and directorship positions in both client and partner organisations in an illustrious career that are synonymous with believing in synergistic partnership to drive business transformation by formulating the organisations’ strategics directions. In addition, he provides valuable counsel on overcoming organisations’ strategic challenges and conduct periodic business review to grow the senior management team.

Cheah has the unique insight in venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) space. He was involved in several large-scale investments and has guided companies through their hyper-growth stage. Cheah received the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Excellence Award from PIKOM in 2010 and was inducted into the 2016 PLC Hall of Fame for leadership and stewardship in promoting the Project Leadership Certificate (PLC) programme as part of the National ICT Certification & Standardization Grid (NICS Competence Grid).

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Jonathan Lee traded his music career to explore the prospects of the real estate industry. In his 16 years of excellence, he has closed hundreds of deals, started his real estate agency (GMAC Realtors) and partnered with some of the top developers in Malaysia.

His accumulated success caught the attention of Reapfield Properties Malaysia who acquired his agency and has recently been appointed as Group CEO in 2021. Under his and David Ong's (founder of Reapfield) leadership, Reapfield joined the Keller Williams global family to be part of a 180,000 strong global network with the aim of moving forward together as an agent-centric company.

Jonathan's role has since expanded to Deputy Regional Operating Principal of Keller Williams Malaysia as well, overseeing 3 Market Centres, a strong management team, 600 associates and counting!

In July 2023 he stepped down from his role in Keller Williams Malaysia and is currently on sabbatical and serving actively in MIEA in revamping their AMS systems and other ICT related efforts.

I have been with UOB Malaysia since 2005. Prior to my current role, I have contributed immensely in the mortgage team for 12 years. I am a graduate of Bachelor Degree in Business Administrations from the University of Northumbria, Newcastle.

Risen from a Mortgage Specialist, I was the Group Sales Manager overseeing Mortgage sales team. “Not only we must dream big, we must also dream realistically”, this has always been my modus operandi to demonstrate positive results for the bank and leading my team members. I take pride in the recognitions by UOB on my achievements that include:
2006 - Top Mortgage Specialist 2010 – Top Mortgage Team Nationwide 2015 & 2016 – Platinum Winner and Top Group Mortgage Sales Nationwide

I am being appointed to take charge of Client Acquisition and Worksite Marketing in 2018 where the focus is to drive CASA and Affluent Market acquisition.

Expanded my portfolio to Personal Banking in Q1 2022, leading a team of Personal Wealth Executives to grow wealth and banca subscription. In Q2 2023, I took over the helm to lead our Mortgage Specialist in achieving the new heights while still overseeing Client Acquisition & Worksite Marketing.

Besides heavily involved in my day-to-day job, I strive to maintain a healthy lifestyle to keep myself mentally and physically fit. I enjoy a jog or a game of futsal during my spare time to free my mind for more ideas.

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Masaki Taniguchi, born in 1964 in Tokyo, spent his adolescence during Japan's stable growth period. Yearning for the wider world, he moved to the United States. There, he expanded his horizons at an American university and began to understand the principles of economics and business. Seeking further self-improvement, he worked for ten years as a partner in a consulting firm in New York. He then moved to China, basing himself in Shanghai for eight years, where he handled various projects related to IT industry and began to develop his own unique perspectives, gaining confidence and competence as a businessman. After returning to Japan, Taniguchi worked in a housebuilding company before starting his own business. He has dedicated over a decade to the real estate industry. His experiences in Japan, the U.S., and China, through various economic climates, have cultivated a global perspective. There is a French saying, "The homeland thanks its great men, and the world thanks its merchants who bring happiness." While Taniguchi is aware of his limitations, he is eager to share the business insights he has gained with others.

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Xi Zhao, Associate Professor of the Tianjin Land Resources and Housing Vocational College. He is currently the Executive Director of the China Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and Agents and the Executive Director of the Tianjin Urban Science Research Association. He holds professional qualifications as a registered real estate appraiser, real estate agent, land appraiser, property manager, and registered consulting engineer (investment).

Xi has long been engaged in teaching, research, and practice in the fields of real estate appraisal and agent and property management. He has recently completed the report on establishing a "market access system for real estate agents and agent institutions”, a study on the housing level of urban residents in China and the preparation of housing development plans for several cities. In the upcoming conference, he is going to share his experience in applying big data, artificial intelligence, and visualization technology in the service of China's real estate industry.

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Widely recognised as Malaysia's rising Entrepreneur, Yong Meng's 13 years of experience in the property & construction industry has lead to the now group of companies under his leadership to successfully expand to nine countries in 6 years with a team of 50. As one of the pioneers in implementation of immersive technology in the property cycle, he is the first to introduce the concept of reimagining the customer experience of purchasing a property especially for overseas buyers in Vietnam. Yong Meng is also a pioneer in the implementation of mixed reality experiences (combining online & offline), strongly believing that technology plays an important role in a customer's emotions & the thought process for all property purchases. Playing a huge role in advising the implementation of the Metaverse as a corporate strategy for numerous companies in Saudi Arabia, he now advocates for every private & public companies as well as all government body to have a metaverse framework in their corporate strategy implementation.

Yong Meng, with a thirst for knowledge, stands as a beacon of academic and entrepreneurial excellence from Malaysia. Selected for prestigious study programs at Stanford University by the Malaysian government and Cambridge University School of Business by AmBank Malaysia, he embodies the nation's future leadership.

A recipient of the ASEAN Ricebowl Startup Award, The Star Outstanding Business Award, Persatuan Architect Malaysia Award, SME Entrepreneur Business Awards & many more, Yong Meng has steered teams across multiple countries, driven by an unwavering commitment to innovation, evolution, and cultural integration. Beyond business success, he bridges differences.
fostering unity & successfully delivering thousands of beautiful homes across Southeast Asia.

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Datuk Sr Firdaus Musa has gathered vast experience in property consultancy in Knight Frank in the early 1990s and with the professional knowledge, started his own practice in 1998 as a small niche outfit which had grown into a multi-faceted property consulting services, establishing itself through a group of companies with the current strength of 800 staff at its HQ, branches and site offices

Datuk Sr Firdaus holds an honours degree in Urban Real Estate Management from Kingston University, London, a registered valuer, real estate agent and property manager by profession, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia(RISM), Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector, Malaysia(PEPS), the Malaysian Institute of Professional Estate Agents and Consultants(MIPEAC) and Malaysian Institute of Professional Property and Facilities Managers (MIPFM); a professional member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors(RICS), the International Real Estate Federation(FIABCI), the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents(MIEA), the International Association of Certified Valuation Specialists(IACVS), the Business Valuers Association Malaysia(BVAM) and ASEAN Valuation Association (AVA). He is currently the President for FIABCI Malaysia Chapter, the Organising Chairman for the Malaysian Property Awards(MPA), the Secretary General in PEPS, Deputy President in MIPEAC, EAPC committee in the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers(BOVAEP) and education committee member in Institut Penilaian Negara(INSPEN) and University Malaya; past external assessor at UCSI College; past Board member in the BOVAEP, past Secretary General in RISM, and past Director in the Board of Directors in Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents. He was awarded Darjah Pangkuan Seri Melaka(DPSM) which carries the title ‘DATUK’ and Ahli Mahkota Pahang(AMP) for his dedication and contributions in the NGOs and in the property consultancy profession.

Datuk Sr Firdaus oversees the smooth running of the Group’s operations and is in charge of the Head Office in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur.

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