The CEO Magazine Asia – July 2019

theceomagazine.com | 79

CENTRAL SUGARS REFINERY CEO

HISHAMMUDIN HASAN SAW PLENTY

OF WAYS TO CHANGE THE COMPANY

FOR THE BETTER WHEN HE JOINED,

BEGINNING WITH ITS MINDSET.

WORDS SHARON MASIGE • IMAGES ROB WALLER

success

Sweet

W

hen Hishammudin Hasan was appointed CEO

of Central Sugars Refinery (CSR), he made it

his mission to shift the business from a ‘mill-

refine-sell’ mindset to a fast-moving consumer

goods (FMCG) mentality – fast, nimble and

capable of introducing new products. “The first

thing I did was tell everyone that if we do not change, we will become

irrelevant,” Hishammudin tells The CEO Magazine.

CSR is one of the top sugar refineries in Malaysia. It produces

1,800 metric tonnes of sugar per day, with products including white

and brown sugars for general use and industrial-grade sugars for food

and beverage manufacturers.

When thinking of how to change the company’s business model,

Hishammudin and his team first identified the major trends among

consumers. At the top of the list was health and wellness. “The rate

of health consciousness varies from one country to another but there

is certainly a shift towards health and wellness in general,” he says.

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