Building People: Sunday Emails from a CEO

Nov. 25, 2010 - PRLog -- In Volume 2 of Building People: Sunday Emails from a CEO, readers are once more treated to valuable insights into the character and management philosophy of one of Asia’s keenest and most effective business leaders – Liew Mun Leong, President & CEO of CapitaLand Group.

Leading CapitaLand to become one of the largest listed companies in Asia, Liew passionately believes in the link between building for people and building people. Since 1988, he began writing emails to his staff as a form of relaxation and self reflection exercise on Sundays. In them, he touches on various topics based on interesting thoughts that arise from day-to-day life and work encounters, and at other times draws inspiration from books and articles he reads or observes from his frequent overseas travels. These emails form a channel that Liew uses to communicate regularly and frankly with more than 11,000 CapitaLand staff worldwide up till today.

On his book, Liew said, “Like the first volume, this second volume ensures that we leave behind for posterity the core values, morals, ethics, ethos and corporate culture of an ever-expanding CapitaLand Group through “story-telling” of real-life events. This hobby of writing anecdotal emails has been an essential means for me to communicate directly with all my colleagues in the company, whether they are in Singapore, China, Vietnam, Australia, Europe, Malaysia, Japan or elsewhere.”

All royalties from Volumes 1 (2007) and 2 of this book are donated to the CapitaLand Hope Foundation to support programmes for the shelter, education and healthcare needs of underprivileged children.

About the Author:
Liew Mun Leong’s distinguished career in both the public and private sectors spans almost 40 years.

He has worked as an engineer building airports, military camps and airbases and was appointed the Registrar of Singapore’s Professional Engineer Board. Mun Leong has also served as CEO of two statutory boards in the fields of industrial research and national standardization and he was elected President of the worldwide International Standards Organisation (ISO).

In the private sector, Mun Leong has led several public-listed companies and is the Group President and CEO of CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia’s largest listed real estate company.

Mun Leong’s passion for “building people” and creating the right corporate culture is the cornerstone of his leadership. He frequently writes “hobby emails” to his colleagues and shares his vision, core values and strategy in a simple and sincere way. This book is the second volume of a compilation of “hobby emails” to his colleagues.

Mun Leong was awarded the Public Administration Medal by the Singapore Government in 1979 for his illustrious career in the public service. For his performance in the private sector, he was named the Outstanding CEO of the Year in the 2006 Singapore Business Awards and conferred the inaugural CEO of the Year award at the 2007 Singapore Corporate Awards. In 2008, Mun Leong was named Asia’s Best Executive of 2008 (Singapore) by Asiamoney and Best CEO in Asia (Property) by Institutional Investor.

 
About Wiley:
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for over 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Since 1901, Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 400 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology/Medicine, Chemistry, Physics and Peace.

Our core businesses include scientific, technical, medical and scholarly journals, encyclopedias, books, and online products and services; professional/trade books, subscription products, training materials, and online applications and websites; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada and Australia. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.

About CapitaLand Limited:
CapitaLand is one of Asia’s largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, the multi-local company's core businesses in real estate, hospitality and real estate financial services are focused in growth cities in Asia Pacific and Europe.

The company's real estate and hospitality portfolio, which includes homes, offices, shopping malls, serviced residences and mixed developments, spans more than 110 cities in over 20 countries. CapitaLand also leverages on its significant asset base, real estate domain knowledge, financial skills and extensive market network to develop real estate financial products and services in Singapore and the region.

The listed entities of the CapitaLand Group include Australand, CapitaMalls Asia, CapitaMall Trust, CapitaCommercial Trust, Ascott Residence Trust, CapitaRetail China Trust, CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust and Quill Capita Trust.

# # #

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for over 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations.