theceomagazine.com | 141engage with our partners and our supply
chains. There are so many improvement ideas
that come to us through these two channels,
so we keep doing it.”
Calvin believes sharing is the key to the
longevity of the theme park industry. “We
really need to get together and share best
practices, values and ideas in marketing, safety,
preventive maintenance, and so on,” he
advises. “By sharing, we ensure every theme
park in our region and around the world
works well and our people are safe. Theme
parks are becoming economic drivers in most
countries. Businesses and partners go to work
the moment a customer walks through our
gate; so many other agencies go to work, and
that pays salaries, which then pays bills. You
get a lot of people gainfully employed and
families having a better life. It stems from
that whole cycle that starts from operating
successful theme parks around the world. It
means not worrying about competition,
because every park is unique to its country,
to its demographic, to its design, and to its
people. The want to have variety and they
will visit other theme parks as well.”
With Sunway Lagoon having celebrated
its 25-year anniversary in 2017, Calvin
believes there is much more to come. “We
have good records and good profit margins,
and I think it really augurs well for us in
terms of opportunities moving forward,” he
says. “I always encourage my colleagues to
do well and learn as much as they can,
because the industry needs a lot of good
theme park operators.”
At the end of the day, Calvin is just
happy to be able to bring joy to those
who visit the park. “I am a simple man.
I take simple pleasure in the smiles I see
when our customers leave the park. I think
it is the best reward. It makes you go home
and feel that you have achieved something
small yet important.”
THE SUNWAY EMPIRE
Sunway Group Founder and Chairman Tan Sri Dato’
Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah has built a Sunway empire.
Founded in 1974, the Group has grown to encompass
12 divisions worldwide including real estate,
construction, retail, hospitality and healthcare.
Sunway has also made significant contributions to
education. In 1987, Sunway University was established
under the company’s Sunway Education Group (SEG).
SEG now has 12 educational institutions including the
Sunway College, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine
and Health Sciences, Sunway International School,
and Monash University Malaysia – the Malaysian
campus of Australia’s Monash University.
In 2007, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation was created to
support education and other philanthropic activities.
Two years later, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah
decided to donate all his capital in the SEG institutions
to the foundation. He is also affiliated with the world’s
top-tier universities, creating two professorships at
Harvard University for South East Asia Studies, and
academic collaborations with the University of Oxford
and the University of Cambridge.Interview | INVEST