Southeast Asia Beachhead Advisory Board

Chuan Seng Lee

Chair

Chuan Seng Lee is a New Zealand citizen and a Singapore permanent resident, with a long and illustrious career in engineering in both countries.
 
After graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from the University of Auckland, Chuan Seng worked on engineering projects in New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia.
 
In 1989 he was appointed director of Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner (Southeast Asia) Pte Ltd, with responsibility for various projects in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar.
 
In that role he grew the Beca Group’s business into these countries as well as China. He is currently chairman of Beca Asia Holdings Pte Ltd and Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner (SE Asia) Pte Ltd and executive director of Beca Group Ltd, New Zealand. Chuan Seng is also a member, fellow or chairman of a number of professional industry bodies and committees.
 
Read Q&As with Chuan Seng Lee

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James Castle

James is the founder of CastleAsia, a business consultancy specialising in market entry strategies, economic and political analysis and public policy advocacy, in association with PT Jasa Cita.
 
In nearly 30 years of work in Southeast Asia, James has advised in the establishment of over 25 foreign investment projects and acted as a consultant to many of the world's largest corporations as well as many of Indonesia's and Southeast Asia's largest business groups. In addition to his experience with private sector clients, James has also managed or been consultant to numerous projects for governments and international agencies including the World Bank, IFC, ADB, USAID and the Indonesian government.
 
James is currently Senior Advisor to the USAID project ‘Growth, Investment, Agriculture and Trade’. He was one of two foreigners appointed to Indonesia's thirty-member Tripartite Forum on Industrial Relations in 2001 and has convened numerous conferences and seminars on economic reform and public policy issues. He is active in the media through his interest in PT Jaring Data Interaktif, which operates two satellite television channels, Suara and Q-Channel. He has lived in Indonesia since 1977.

Warrick Cleine

Warrick Cleine is joint Managing Partner of KPMG in Vietnam and Cambodia and head of the accounting and consultancy firm's Taxation Advisory and Market Entry groups.
 
A New Zealander, Warrick has been based in Vietnam since 1998 during which time he has advised many of Vietnam's leading companies on taxation, corporate governance, strategy and financial issues.
 
Warwick and his team have also advised many leading multi-national companies on their Vietnam market entry strategies.
 
He is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, a Vietnamese CPA, and sits on KPMG's Asia Pacific Board and Global Council. Warrick is also Chairman of the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.

John Lim Kok Min

John Lim Kok Min is the Executive Group Deputy Chairman of LMA International Ltd NV, and immediate past Chairman of Senoko Power and of Building & Construction Authority.
 
He has more than 40 years of senior management experience in the Asia-Pacific region and has held directorships and CEO roles in companies in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
 
He currently sits on the board of several public listed and private companies. He is the President of the Singapore Institute of Directors, a member of the Governing Council of the Singapore Institute of Management, a member of the Securities Industry Council, Senate Member of the Marketing Institute of Singapore, and a former director/Council member of both the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore Confederation of Industries.
 
He is the Chairman for the OECD Asian network on Corporate Governance for State Owned Enterprises.

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Ian Spence

Ian Spence is a company director and business consultant in Southeast Asia. He holds directorships for several multinational companies and is a member of the Asia/Pacific Advisory Board for the International Baccalaureate.
 
A New Zealander, Ian is an accountant with 40 years’ international experience. He started his career with Barr, Burgess & Stewart (now Price Waterhouse Coopers) in Dunedin, and was a Manager with Price Waterhouse Peat in Ethiopia in the late 60s, marketing for IBM in Australia in the early 70s, and was Managing Director of Bowater Far East Ltd for the next 17 years.
 
The company’s interests during that time included merchant banking, agency trading, fast food restaurants, airport catering, paper packaging materials, and ready mix concrete.

Dato’ Dr Michael Yeoh

Dato’ Dr Michael Yeoh is the Founder, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute, Malaysia’s leading private sector think tank. He is the Secretary-General of the ASEAN Business Forum, the Malaysia-China Business Council and the Corporate Malaysia Roundtable. 
 
Michael is also the Chairman of Asia Pacific Partners and API Capital, which are private equity and investment consulting companies.
 
Michael has extensive boardroom and consulting experience over the past 30 years, specialising in corporate strategic planning, Asian leadership strategies and the political economy. He has consulted for the World Bank, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, the Nomura Research Institute and the Economist Intelligence Unit.
 
He has also sat on the boards of directors of the National Heart Institute, SBB Asset Management (a subsidiary of Southern Bank and Malaysia’s second largest fund management company).
 
Michael has been a Principal Adviser to Southern Bank, General Manager of Multi-Purpose Holdings and Chief Administrative Director of the Malaysian Chinese Association.