“In the sugar world, what we have at our disposal
is the ability to produce brown sugar; a much better
option in terms of wellness compared with white. So,
there was a lot of communication we needed to do
to convince people brown is better.”
From there, CSR decided to reduce the price
of brown sugar. “If you look at the supermarkets,
brown sugar and the so-called ‘better sugars’ are at
a much higher price than white sugar,” Hishammudin
explains. “So we said we’d make brown more
affordable for the masses so that the hurdle for them
to move over to brown becomes lower.” Since the
introduction of a cheaper price, the brown sugar
uptake has gained traction. “Our market share in the
hypermarket and supermarket for brown sugar has
risen very high,” he notes.
Hishammudin joined CSR in 2018 after many
years spent in the FMCG sector. Originally from
Singapore, Hishammudin says he was an active
student who couldn’t keep quiet. “I speak up if
I see something is wrong or I see an injustice done,”he says. “I was never afraid to engage in a debate
with a teacher as well.” As a result, Hishammudin
was enrolled in a debating society, participating
in both English and Malay events. “I also played
football for the school and I was a middle-distance
runner. I was quite the all-rounder.”
Such an active character proved beneficial when
Hishammudin began his career at Nestlé Singapore.
He was quickly identified as a worker with high
potential and given a position in Thailand. In 2004,
he was sent to Malaysia – taking his family with him- and immediately fell in love with the country.
“It’s very difficult not to fall in love with Malaysia,”
he says.
After 14 years at Nestlé, Hishammudin wanted
to try something new. He joined multinational food
and beverage company Mondelz to try an American
style of business. However, after testing the waters,
Hishammudin realised he was more suited to the
European working culture.
“There is nothing wrong with the American way
of doing things; it’s just not my style,” he says. “The
European way of doing things is more steady and
sustainable; they don’t sacrifice the long-term for
short-term gain. Whereas in America, everything is
done every quarter and you’re under tremendous
pressure to deliver. It took me being in an American
company to realise I’m more European in my style
of working.”
Promptly, he joined Danone to go back to
a European company who sent him to Jakarta to
help “reorganise” things there. Hishammudin then
found his way back to Kuala Lumpur and back to
CSR which, to the untrained eye, may not have
seemed like the best option. “To someone who might
not be imaginative, it could be seen as a dead-end
Hishammudin believes in the management
acronym he coined called OIC:O
WNERSHIP
“I like people who have ownership.
Even the person who cleans the room has
a very critical part and needs to have ownership
as well on what he or she does.”I
NTERDEPENDENCE
“Independent work does not achieve as much
as interdependent work. So I encourage an
environment where we have interdependence
between us.”C
OMMERCIALLY-DRIVEN MINDSET
“Where we use our time and resources
to improve productivity, eliminate waste, and
ensure profitability.”“A GOOD LEADER
FOCUSES ON
PRODUCING
MORE LEADERS.
IT’S NOT ABOUT
PRODUCING
FOLLOWERS.”
80 | theceomagazine.com