The CEO Magazine Asia - 09.2018

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E

astman Chemical Company’s Vice President and

Managing Director for Asia-Pacific, Gulferaz Ali,

places a high value on curiosity. “I’m naturally

curious about people,” he tells The CEO

Magazine, and adds that, every day, he makes a

point of trying to speak to someone he wouldn’t

usually need to. He feels energised by the learning potential

such encounters present. “Everyone has some kind of story to

share,” he points out.

One imagines that Gulferaz must have come across a

great many stories over his career. Starting out as an

engineer, rigging control systems for aircraft, he spent a

period in R&D but quickly decided it was “too structured

for me”. He gained experience in sales and marketing at an

industrial automation company before moving into human

resources, where he stayed for more than 10 years.

Gulferaz officially took on the role of managing director

and vice president for Eastman Asia Pacific in 2016, after a »

GULFERAZ ALI CELEBRATES THE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT PROCESS THAT

SEPARATES EASTMAN FROM ITS INDUSTRY PEERS.

WORDS JENNIFER SIJNJA � IMAGES YEW KWANG

CUSTOMER

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Interview | INSPIRE