BANDAR SUNWAY, 25 November 2014 - Chief Executive Officer of Education and Healthcare Division of the Sunway Group, Lee Weng Keng was conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by Monash University on 23 November 2014, at the Graduation Ceremony of the Monash University Malaysia held in Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel and Spa, Bandar Sunway.
Monash University bestowed this mark of honour upon Dr Lee, who joins just a small group of distinguished individuals considered to be of conspicuous merit by the University to receive the highest award that the University can offer.
This award is in recognition of Dr Lee’s “outstanding contribution to the Sunway Group and as a business management expert, as well as his interest in Monash University and invaluable contribution to the development of Monash University Malaysia” as highlighted by Monash Chancellor, Dr. Alan Finkel during the ceremony.
“The conferment of his Honorary Doctorate from a prestigious institution like Monash University is an acknowledgement of his hardwork and dedication towards education. Sunway University is proud to be associated with a man of such calibre,” said Dr Elizabeth Lee, Senior Executive Director, Sunway Education Group and Sunway University.
Lee was the Sunway Group Representative developing and working with Monash University, Australia, to set up Malaysia’s first foreign university campus – Monash University Sunway Campus, which started up in 1998. He served as Sunway Campus’s Executive Director for seven years. He also played a key role in its development and expansion, including building the new independent campus and the establishment of the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is also a Founding Board Member of Monash University Malaysia.
In his speech in summarising a few of his life’s learning points, Dr Lee said, “First, to succeed and build a career, continuous learning is essential – Ancora Imparo. Second, career advancement is about progressing one step at a time; third, it is not essential to hop from company to company to develop a career; and fourth, never say never. Always keep an open mind and be proactive.”
“I never dreamt I would be standing here as I am today on such an occasion as this, and it would not have happened if it were not for the support and assistance from so many people. More specifically, I want to thank Sunway and Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah for giving me the opportunities and the trust; my superior, colleague, mentor and friend for the advice, guidance and support; and my colleagues and team for the passion, cooperation and ‘can do’ spirit. My sincere appreciation goes to my wife Yen for the understanding over the years of ups and downs – I hope it was more ups than downs. Finally, I was lucky and thankful to have my elder brother and late parents who sacrificed so much, so that I could have a good early education“, he continued.
Lee received his early education in Chinese schools and then went on to Universiti Malaya where he obtained a B Econ (Hons) in 1974. Fifteen years later he earned an Executive MBA from Cranfield University, UK. He began his career as a school teacher before moving on to the private sector in 1975. Joining Texas Instruments (M) Sdn Bhd (TI) in 1977, he later became TI’s first local Operations Manager and was appointed the first local Director of the company in 1989.
He joined Sunway in 1994 as General Manager (Operations) and was appointed Executive Board member of Sunway College in 1996 to spearhead the development of the education unit. Under his leadership, the Sunway Education Group has grown dramatically and achieved significant milestones in its path to becoming the country’s international education hub. The Sunway Education Group today comprises 11 institutions, to name a few; Sunway College, Sunway University, Sunway International School, Sunway College Johor Bahru, Sunway College Ipoh, Kolej Sunway Kuching, Sunway International Business Management including Monash University Malaysia; and Dr Lee serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of several of these institutions.
In 2005, Dr Lee was appointed to the Board of Directors of Sunway Medical Centre and became the Chief Executive Officer of Education and Healthcare. He is Co-chair of Jeffrey Cheah Foundation’s Management Committee and Board member of Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute.
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