Monday August 24, 2009

Putting their best faces forward

By S.S. YOGA

Good grooming is an indicator of success as men move up the corporate ladder.

A financial controller and a chief executive officer. It would appear they have nothing in common, save that they’re both relatively young.

Alex Ong, 38, is a financial controller at Hotel Nikko in Kuala Lumpur while K. Keevan Raj, 30, is the CEO of Ostel Sdn Bhd (which handles telecommunications tower maintenance). They both have drive and ambition in their respective careers, which has spurred them to early success. And both are into sports and believe in good grooming.

Ambitious: Financial controller Alex Ong believes that as men move up the corporate ladder, individual presentation

Ong says he had always dreamt of working in a luxury hotel since he had his first taste of working in the industry as a banquet part-timer many years ago. In 1999, after stints in various companies, he joined a resort hotel as financial controller. In 2007, he assumed his current position.

“Half of what I wanted has now been achieved. I would think my next move would be working towards a more regional role,” he adds.

His job is all about making sure the hotel earns a decent profit. Besides being third in command, Ong’s role involves forecasting, cost control, managing the cash flow and doing it transparently at all times to satisfy both the hotel owners and shareholders.

For Ong, the current challenge is managing the business in the face of the worldwide economic recession and also, the influenza A (H1N1) epidemic since the travel and hospitality industries have been particularly hard hit.

“With the completion of some major renovations in the hotel, we are working on various sales and marketing strategies to recapture the market. My objective is to ensure healthy returns on investment and expenses for the hotel.”

The inspiration for his work is his family.

“I share all my ups and downs in life with mum. She is my pillar of strength, and always uses motivational quotes and spiritual wisdom to enlighten me when I am at the crossroads. ‘The purpose of life is a life of purpose’ is one of her favourite quotes.”

This could explain why Ong is a perfectionist and how his career path has led him to where he is now. Downtime for him means a workout at the gym and football with friends during the weekends. “When I can afford the time, I head down to Thailand for my bout of kickboxing.”

And as men move up the corporate ladder, presentation is very much a part of the package, Ong concedes.

“I do believe that good grooming and dressing well is an indicator of one’s success and confidence. I enjoy wearing clothes that fit well, comfortable and not too flashy; in other words, stylish, simple, well-cut tailored suits are definitely for me.”

While most men usually shy away from grooming products, Ong notes things have changed. There are many products in the market targeted specifically at men and “at the end of the day, it’s all about individual perception”.

“I have no qualms about walking up to a beauty counter to enquire about products that I need. Men suffer from the same skincare issues as women,” he says.

Ong points out that stress from the job makes the body release hormones that increase the skin’s oil production, which sometimes causes an outbreak of pimples and acne.

That was how he ended up with his current product choice – a recommendation from the beauty consultant. He’s been using Biotherm products since 2007 and he uses a facial cleanser, aftershave and an anti-ageing moisturiser.

“The products are made of mineral–rich ingredients and water-based, which make your skin look healthy. There’s a definite glow at all times. The Biotherm Homme Aquapower moisturiser is the product I like the most as it helps my dehydrated skin, especially since I spend a good part of my time in an air-conditioned office,” he adds.

Someone who really kicked up a storm during his heyday is Keevan. He was a long-term fixture with his younger brother Logan in the national hockey team.

Midfielder Keevan made an amazing 267 appearances with the team and his biggest achievement was garnering the silver during the 1998 Commonwealth Games on home soil.

CEO K. Keevan Raj stresses that looking good is important as first impressions count.

The problem with being a sports star (in Malaysia anyway) is that once your sports career is over, there are very few options available besides going into coaching.

Keevan says that the telecommunications and IT industry had always appealed to him even when he was still playing hockey. When he retired from the sport five years ago, a friend approached him to be a partner in his current company (Ostel).

It has certainly worked out well for him as the company has emerged as one of the key players in the industry. From a mere six staff members four years ago, the company now has 10 times that number on its payroll.

“I confess after four years, I’m still a newbie when it comes to the technical aspect of this industry. But because of my sports background, I try to encourage teamwork within the company. I want to instil a more family-like working environment to encourage productivity,” says Keevan.

The challenge for him is to differentiate the company from the rest of the competition. And to that end he looks to the company’s chairman and his role model, Dr Ravi Ponniah.

“His achievements are in business, medicine and he also works in a charitable organisation which speaks a lot for leadership by example.”

Keevan feels that looking good is important as first impressions count. As such, some basic grooming is absolutely necessary but adds: “I’m more of a blue jeans-and-white T-shirt person.”

He used to be a “soap and water” kind of guy because he didn’t believe in skincare products.

“Well, you’ll never catch me wearing a seaweed mask or something like that, but give me a good cleanser or moisturiser anytime! Biotherm products make me feel better and cleaner, and believe it or not, more confident to face the day.”

Keevan has been using Biotherm products for the last three years and is currently using the Aquapower moisturiser. But he is particularly fond of the facial exfoliator and finds it quite refreshing.

Well, even sportsmen nowadays know their stuff when it comes to skincare and who knows how many of them actually go for facials.

In fact, almost every guy Keevan knows has his own set of skincare products. Isn’t it about time you saved some face, too?