Sarena Cheah and Ong Pang Yen were appointed as joint managing directors of the property development division at Sunway Bhd effective May 1. They replace Ho Hon Sang who left at the end of last month.

Cheah joined the group 18 years ago. Her father is Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, Sunway Group founder and chairman.

Cheah and Ong brushed aside the joint positions, saying that having two MDs is nothing new.

“I take the younger and the female perspective,” says Sarena, 39.

Ong, 52, says: “No, she is not understudying me. We complement each other.”
Sarena Cheah has been a Board member of Sunway Berhad since 2010. She brings to this position 15 years of experience in strategy, corporate planning and development roles in various industries including Corporate Finance, Audit, Education, Healthcare and Property. Previously in the property division from 2006 to 2009, she was the Senior General Manager for Sales & Marketing and the Director of Property Division. Sarena is also the Executive Director of Strategy & Corporate Development of Sunway Berhad.

Going back to her school days, the Sekolah Jalan Selangor and Garden International School student informs that she was one of the earlier batches of enrolments at Sunway College, founded by her father. "My dad believes in putting his own children in institutions he starts. Why not if he's doing it with the best interest for the good of all?" Sarena says. She then did her matriculation and a twinning programme at the University of Western Australia, majoring in commerce, accounting and finance. "I've always liked Maths and amazingly, my parents and brother all come with an accountant's degree." While her youngest brother still burns the midnight oil studying, whether he'll join the family of accountants, we'll have to wait and see.

Every parent would wish for their child to join the family business, and Sarena reveals that hers were no different, although they never demanded she do so or imposed their ideals on her. "I'm grateful for being allowed to make my own decisions and glad I chose to work with the Sunway Group, as well as the short stint I did with IBM." After five years in the corporate world, Sarena returned to Australia to complete her education by doing her Masters Degree in Business Administration from Melbourne Business School.

While the corporate world keeps the chairman's daughter on her toes, her role as a mother to her baby girl Zoe and wife to her husband Leo, adds spark to her fire. "I totally adore and love being mum and wife. I'm very happy living with my in-laws and enjoy getting fully involved in raising my daughter, right down to bathing, feeding and reading to her before I rush off to work.





Evan Cheah Yean Shin, 36 years old, is the Chief Executive Officer of Sunway Group in China. He obtained a Bachelors Degree in Commerce and a Bachelors Degree in Business Systems from Monash University. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder, a Certified Practising Accountant and a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.