After seven years working as an auditor and earning a CPA, Choy Peng Yew decided to leave the corporate world, but declined joining the family’s digital imaging and telco business. Instead, he opted to found and lead a new line of business. In 2002, he acquired an ailing distribution company and discovered that one of the pet food brands it was distributing showed positive growth rates annually. A pet-lover himself (he currently has two short-haired dachshunds at home and five cats at the workplace), Choy’s interest was piqued and he turned his focus to the pet food industry. Four years later, he founded Pet World.
Today, Pet World is Malaysia’s largest producer of pet nutrition. It has progressed from being a distributor of brands to becoming an owner of brands (including ProDiet, Delizios, Natural Clump, ProBalance, and Le Gourmet), and has expanded its footprint to more than 10 countries in Asia Pacific, with offices in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. “We are devoted to producing uncompromising pet nutrition for pets so that pet owners can have more meaningful memories together with their pets,” Choy says.
“There have certainly been many challenges in my entrepreneurial journey, and as Group CEO, I have to deal with various issues and difficulties at work on a daily basis. But I’m a firm believer in ‘nothing is impossible’. Thinking outside the box, persistence, hard work—to me, these are important qualities in facing and overcoming challenges. I’m motivated to always deliver the best outcomes and results, and will not hesitate to act to achieve these.”
“I don’t regret venturing out on my own. Sure, there were challenges and difficulties in the beginning, but to me, focus is what wins the game. Focus and ambition move us forward. At one point, I decided to expand into retail. Unfortunately, the venture failed and we had to shut down that part of the business. However, I have no regrets. It’s part of risk-taking. And I learnt from the experience that you should do something that you’re passionate about, that you’re good at. Focus your time and resources on what you know best, and this will lead you to success.”
“I believe if I had had mentors at the start of my entrepreneurial journey, it would have made a big difference. I would have been able to benefit from their wisdom, expertise and experience, and I wouldn’t have had to learn things the hard way—make mistakes, fail, start all over again. I’m a go-getter, and having mentors would have probably helped me accelerate my entrepreneurial journey and realise my vision sooner. That’s why, today, I am very happy to share my knowledge, expertise, and experience with others. Hopefully, this can help them avoid the mistakes I’ve made and facilitate their road to success.”
“This is also why I think UOB’s The Business Circle programme is a good initiative, as I feel I have personally benefitted from it. The access to knowledge exchange, networking opportunities, and connections to successful market leaders are particularly valuable to emerging local business champions. The programme also offers opportunities to find mentors—or be mentors—who can help open your eyes and mind to new perspectives, insights and learnings. The people in the programme are truly inspirational.”
“My father started the family business in 1979—a humble photo retailer in a small town in southern Perak. Over time, he built it to become a market leader in distribution services, eventually venturing into FMCG distribution in the early 2000s. My father inspires me with his tenacity and generosity, his desire to share good things with others. It was he who taught me the value and importance of hu sheng, of collaborating for a common goal, of sharing for mutual success. Success shouldn’t be at the expense of everything else—it should be a win-win situation. I apply this philosophy in my life, in the way I conduct business and manage my company, where we focus on benefitting our people, our clients, our customers, our community, and our environment. By positively impacting all these parties, we will be able to continue long into the future.”
“Conflict between siblings or family members in a family-led business is to be expected as it involves people from different generations, who have different roles and different priorities. I manage this by ensuring open dialogue and reminding everyone to be objective and fair, to remember which hat they are wearing when, and to respect the position and responsibilities that come with it. We embrace diverse viewpoints and acknowledge differences in opinions, but ultimately, we will all align with and support the final decision of the head—we agree to disagree and move forward to deliver the best results, guided by the concept of hu sheng.”
“I think a good leader is one who is visionary, inspirational and empathetic; who is able to bring people together and move them forward to realise a shared vision. I’m quite open in terms of my leadership style. I encourage collaboration and am open to being challenged. I welcome ideas, views, and opinions, no matter how different they may be from mine. Successful collaboration is a joint effort. But I think I can still do better. I can be quite demanding as I tend to be aggressive in the pursuit of my goals, and will not compromise on quality and standards.”
“As Group CEO, I have the privilege of power and authority, and I use them to make decisions and act for the good of the company and all our stakeholders. It is important to have power so that you can get things done, but it is also important to have checks and balances. It is true that with great power comes great responsibility. Power can’t simply be handed down. We need to develop and groom our future leaders to use power responsibly and for the greater good.”
Choy Peng Yew is an inaugural member of UOB Business Circle.
Illustrations by Dawum Jeong
