Sustainability through purposeful leadership: the Maybank case study

Management is an art as well as a science. This draft is based upon the discussions, interviews, and webinar conducted by World Academy of Islamic Management (WAIM) which promotes Islamic management theories and practices. The WAIM publishes a biannual journal JIMS (Journal of Islamic Management Studies) and our central character is its editor-in-chief. The webinar was conducted to share best practices and the focus was on life’s experiences – personal and professional – spanning several years in corporate sector of a practicing CEO, from which he has been able to distil lessons on purposeful leadership and sustainability. He is the ninth of eleven children in a family living below the poverty line. There was a new Malaysian government policy at the time that was aimed at, among others, eradicating poverty by granting children from poor family’s access to good education; he was a fortunate beneficiary and gained admission at MRSM, Seremban, which, with its body of dedicated teachers, provided him with a wholesome learning environment with an Islamic orientation. He went on to pursue A Levels on a MARA scholarship and eventually earn the professional accountancy certification, the ACCA. Access to education served as the launching pad that changed the trajectory of the CEO’s life, and eventually, that of his family’s future. He opted for accountancy as a career, with the archetypical ambition of becoming a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of a public listed company. His thirty-five-year career has spanned private corporations, public listed companies, and institutions, and even a term in government as Cabinet Minister. In each of these organizations and the various designations held, from CFO to CEO to Minister to Chairman, he had the opportunity to lead by being involved in fulfilling expectations and meeting deliverables to the stakeholders, boosting performance, and delivering impact. It was in this process of being a quintessential leader that he gleaned the need and significance of purposeful leadership and its symbiosis with sustainability.