Why Loving People is Key to Effective Leadership with Datuk Hishammudin | Leaders with Ambition Asia

Описание: Season 2 Episode 2

In this episode, Matthew Cooper, Managing Director of Ambition Malaysia, together with co-host Shanggar Ganesh, Associate Director for Engineering and Supply Chain & Procurement, sits down with Datuk Hishammudin Hasan for a candid conversation on leadership, careers, and resilience.

Datuk Hishammudin brings more than 30 years of executive experience across Southeast Asia’s FMCG sector, having held leadership roles in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, including regional responsibilities across Asia, Oceania and Africa. A former Singapore Armed Forces officer, he transitioned into corporate leadership with Nestlé before going on to senior roles with Kraft/Mondelez and Danone. He later served as Deputy CEO of 7-Eleven Malaysia and Chief Executive of Central Sugars Refinery, contributing to both multinational and local Malaysian organisations.

Throughout the episode, he shares why leadership begins with loving people, the importance of aligning teams behind a clear strategy, and the role of resilience in today’s increasingly competitive job market. He also recounts a pivotal early-career moment involving a SGD1 million mistake that cost the business, and how that experience became one of his most defining leadership lessons.

He offers a candid perspective on career advice for younger professionals, challenging the idea of “follow your passion” and instead encouraging individuals to learn to love what they do. The conversation also touches on sustainability, long-term value creation, and his belief that thriving businesses are built on motivated people, sound strategy and disciplined execution.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction to Datuk Hishammudin Hasan
01:31 – From Humble Beginnings to Military Leadership
16:10 – Leaving the Army and Entering Corporate Life
25:15 – Leadership Foundations: Loving People First
26:40 – Strategy, Alignment and Execution: Getting the 10% Right
35:52 – Building High-Performance Teams: Attracting Talent and Managing Underperformance
44:05 – Excellence, Resilience, and Why Failure Is Part of Growth
47:00 – The SGD1 Million Mistake: A Lesson in Leadership
54:20 – Passion vs Practicality: Learning to Love What You Do
58:15 – Final Reflections on Leadership and Growth