Dato’ George is the founder and CEO of G&A GROUP since 1999.  He qualified as Chartered Accountant from New Zealand in 1994 and Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) in 1997. He also obtained licenses as Approved Auditor and Tax Agent. He had more than 30 years’ experience in the audit practice with extensive experience in business consultancy services and tax works.

Dato’ George has been actively servicing local communities through Rotary Club International for 20 years, and Chartered a new Mandarin club in 2015. In 2016, he completed Executive MBA degree at Hult International Business School (US) which is ranked as one of the Top 20 business schools in the world. Dato’ George was elected as Sabah State Chairman of Malaysia Entrepreneurs Development Association in 2016/2020 and became its National Vice President 2019/2020. It is a unique community platform to educate and provide networking for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.

Dato’ George is a regular speaker on “Innovative Entrepreneurship” which enables small and medium businesses adapt and capitalize on the global digital economy. He believes that business cannot prosper in communities that failed. In 2016, he founded GA Space as a platform to empower 200,000 Entrepreneurs through entrepreneurship programmes, mentoring & coaching   and collaborating with Vistage Malaysia as a Chair/Coach to achieve a sustainable entrepreneur community.

In 2019, GA Space won the Malaysian’s People’s Choice Award in the Asian Rice Bowl Start-up Award. Dato’ George was appointed by the Ministry of Education as a CEO for its Faculty Program for UMS that allows public universities to collaborate with industry CEOs to make graduates industry relevant.

Graduated in 1996 with a Professional Degree from MAICSA (The Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators).

He had served as an Operations Manager for Payroll Outsourcing Services, with 10 years of experience as a payroll specialist and an expert in salary structure design, performance incentives and benefits planning. Some of the clients he had worked with are Microsoft, Unilever, Pfizer, Tetra Pak and General Electric, among others.

In 2006, he joined Dale Carnegie Training as a Performance Consultant, accumulating a wealth of experience in areas such as employee training needs analysis, training programme design and evaluation. From 2012 to 2019, he was the Managing Director of Dale Carnegie Training’s Chinese division, responsible for the Mandarin-speaking market in Malaysia. During this period, he continuously assisted small and medium business owners by providing them with comprehensive solutions that produced tangible results for their companies or departments, such as increased revenue, market share, productivity and profitability.

Tang is also a certified Dale Carnegie Trainer who utilises Dale Carnegie training principles to identify participants’ unique traits and provide them with more effective training. This is to help participants in applying Dale Carnegie principles for a solid foundation that increases self-confidence. The training is beneficial for personal, team and organisational leaderships, allowing participants to continuously enhance their achievements and improve their personal lives.

In 2020, Tang ventured into coaching by setting up CW Coaching & Consulting and also became a certified coach of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Leveraging his expertise in various areas of interests, he specialises in providing comprehensive organisational development and human resources consulting services, helping businesses to optimise their operations and employees’ performance.

After passing the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants in 1992, Edwin was admitted as Chartered Accountant in Malaysian Institute Of Accountants in 1994. Edwin worked in a few audit firms for 4 years, which include Ernst & Young.

Subsequently, he worked with a Malaysia Public Listed Company for 5 years as an Accountant. From there, he was posted to Shanghai to work under its Shanghai subsidiary for 1 year overseeing its Finance Department and designing the systems for Fast Food and Water Park ticketing sales.

After returning to Malaysia, Edwin joined another Public Listed Construction Company for 21 years, in which the company had investments and projects in Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. Before leaving the company, Edwin held the position as Senior General Manager overseeing the company’s various departments which includes Business Development, Legal and litigation, Finance, Purchasing, HR, Administration, Maintenance, IT, etc.

Edwin’s expertise includes Budgeting and cash flow control, internal control system, closing joint venture deals between landowner and developer, joint venture deals between Main Contractor and sub-contractors, Construction contract financing, management training and Cost control.

Munes an all-rounder has over 28 years of experience in senior management in the Hospitality industry. He has also worked in food and beverage (F&B), Quality, Training, Business Excellence and Human Resources.

Currently, Munes is a Corporate Trainer/Coach and an Associate Trainer (facilitating) for DRB–Hicom University. He is also providing turnaround consultancy for businesses on a part-time basis as well as helming projects respectively for hotel and restaurant.

Before stepping away from corporate life in 2015, Munes was the Director of Human Resources & Training for Starwood hotels and Millennium Hotels in Abu Dhabi, overseeing the whole spectrum of people management in Human Relations aspect.

Throughout his Hospitality career, he was among the key figures involved in the opening of the Sutera Harbour Resort Kota Kinabalu, Four Seasons Langkawi and Al Murooj Rotana in Dubai. He has also opened a Hotel & Catering college: the Asian Tourism College in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Munes has held senior positions, mainly in Training, Human Resources, Quality Control, Business Excellence and Food and Beverage at International hotel brands in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Mauritius.

He has been a guest speaker for the Best Employer Award for companies such as Intel, Toyota, KOMAG, Motorola and Intan. He is a highly recognized member of the international business community, having been involved in every strata of management from CEO to young executive in the hospitality, tourism and retail industries.

His signature programs such as ‘Breakthrough Business Strategy’,Game-Changer Transformation and Creating Guest Mystique have positively transformed individuals and companies.

Capt. KENNETH KHOO LM.I.K, a Malaysian Master Mariner, is the Co-Founder and Owner of Sealestial Marine Group of Companies with operations in Kota Kinabalu (KK), Miri and Melaka. He is also the Head of Seamaster Simulator Centre in KK, equipped with state-of-the-art Marine Simulators used in maritime and the oil and gas (O&G) industry.

Due to his passion for developing local talent, he has been involved in the training and certification of over 8,000 local and foreign seafarers, shipping executives, O&G-related professionals and port-related employees. With over 20 years of experience in coaching, training and educating young as well as adult participants, aided by his extensive knowledge and experience onboard ocean-going ships as an ex-Captain, he is dedicated in achieving excellence. This was proven by him owning the youngest approved maritime training institute in the country but yet winning the award for “Best Performer – Maritime Training Institute” at the Malaysia World Maritime Week in 2018.

With strong business acumen, he has transformed Sealestial Marine into one of the most profitable maritime training institutes in the country post-Covid-19. This was aided by his institute being among the first in the world to have conducted a fully online Cloud Simulation-related maritime training, approved by the Government and accepted internationally. In 2023, there are plans to expand regionally and cover the areas of BIMP-EAGA.

Due to his commitment to the highest standards of competence, professionalism and ethics, he was elected President of The Malaysian Maritime Education & Training Association (MyMET) in 2018 and served for two terms until 2022. Thereafter, he will focus on his business and personal development.

Apart from managing Sealestial Marine, he is actively involved in developing capacity building and human resources in the maritime industry, particularly in East Malaysia. He is part of various committees involved in local seafarers’ training requirements, career development and continuous professional development (CPD). He has done studies for the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) and was a speaker at various national and regional maritime-related events.

Recently via Sealestial Marine, he became the founding member of the AVIATION, MARITIME and OIL & GAS EduHub @ Aeropod, KK (A.M.O.G EduHub@Aeropod), an inter-disciplined education and skills training hub for the BIMP-EAGA region.

Originally from Melaka, he currently resides in Kota Kinabalu and travels regularly between East and West Malaysia in undertaking the Group’s extensive services that benefit the industry in the region.