KING'S COLLEGE LONDON GRADUATE, YAN ZHONG HEADS SUSTAINABILITY DEPT

Lee Yan Zhong graduated in 2022 from King's College, UK and returned home to work in 99 Speedmart, the largest mini-market chain retailer in Malaysia (more than 2500 stores) which his father, Lee Thiam Wah founded. He heads the Optimisation and Sustainability processes in 99 Speed Mart to take it to the next level. Yan Zhong was appointed as  an Alternate Director to his father on the Board of 99 Speed Mart on 28 November 2023. He is the Next Gen to look out for in big family businesses in Malaysia. 

Yan Zhong's mother, Ng Lee Tieng, 44, is on the Board of 99 Speed Mart. She has been working in the company since 1997 when Lee Thiam Wah started his first grocery store "Pasar Mini 99" in Klang, Selangor. She has more than 25 years in the retail industry chiefly dealing with suppliers. From 2000 onwards as a Director of the company, she took full charge of Human Resources of the Group. In 2015 she and Lee Thiam Wah invested in Burger King Malaysia & Singapore, buying the franchise rights from Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) for over RM70 million. Ng Lee Tieng is CEO of the Burger King operations here and in Singapore. 

Lee Thiam Wah could not attend school in the early days as did the rest of his siblings because he contracted polio. His grandmother took care of him and reminded him that he was only cacat physically but not mentally. She deserves the credit today for the success of 99 Speedmart. We all need grandmothers like her. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1. 99 Speedmart. Corporate Information. https://99speedmart.com.my/corporate-information/
2. New Straits Times. https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/09/1103163/updated-99-speed-mart-holdings-opens-12pct-premium-first-day