Guardians of growth

The CEO of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), Siobhan Das, has a surprising backstory for a leader of an international, non-profit, private-sector business association. Originally from Malaysia, she once worked under the bright lights of Hollywood.

“My first career was in the film industry,” Das tells The CEO Magazine. “I studied broadcasting and film and then moved out to Los Angeles. I cut my teeth on one of the hardest industries to break into, which really taught me a lot about resilience.”

Her career in filmmaking culminated in her founding a successful production company in Kuala Lumpur, allowing her to travel the world, working with big brands like Sony. But while on a career break, an unexpected offer changed the course of her life.

“I was living in China in early 2006, when I was approached to work for the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai,” she reflects.

Despite having no prior background in this sector, Das accepted. “It was an incredible experience overseeing 28 industry committees,” she says. “By the end of my time there, we were 1,600 companies strong and the largest American chamber in Asia.”

After a move back to Malaysia, she was offered the leadership of AMCHAM, where she seized the opportunity to oversee a turnaround and breathe new life into the struggling chamber.

Building success

“When I came on board in January 2016, the mandate was to unleash the full potential of the chamber,” Das says. “The chamber leadership had experienced a little bit of a revolving door and it needed stability.”

From the beginning, it was necessary to understand that Malaysia’s potential is at the center of the impressive growth taking place across South-East Asia.

“The challenge I saw was how do you transform the chamber into something that is effective for its members and represents what the possibilities could be for this part of the world?” she says.

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“Western Digital deeply values our collaboration with AMCHAM. Over the years, we have worked closely with AMCHAM to develop and promote mutually beneficial commercial and community engagements between Western Digital and Malaysian organizations. We recognize AMCHAM as a trusted partner and look forward to our continued cooperation.” – Raghu Bathamenadan, Vice President and Managing Director, Western Digital Tech and Regional Center (M)

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The first step was articulating this vision.

“I had to start at the board level and make sure that we’re all aligned on what we wanted to accomplish,” she says. “We had to make sure the governance was correct, so I oversaw a review of the constitution and of various policies and procedures.”

The next task was to inspire engagement within the membership. “It was important to set a vision for all the stakeholders, not just internally but externally, too. For the first three-to-five years, it was about delivering substance to members and putting AMCHAM on the map,” Das says.

The recent challenge, she says, has been mitigating the disruption caused by the Malaysian political turbulence since 2018, the COVID-19 pandemic and today’s geo-politics.

“The chamber has been a steady port of call. It’s always been our mission to be the best business institution for our membership and government stakeholders,” she adds.

The future

Going forward, AMCHAM is committed to showcasing Malaysia as an attractive destination for international investment.

“Multinational corporations face significant pressure to strategically reposition supply chains across the globe to bolster their resilience. We are determined to demonstrate that Malaysia can play a pivotal role in their global value chains,” Das affirms.

“Our unwavering focus on driving active engagement within our membership and with stakeholders within the United States and Malaysian governments is critical to the success of this.

“This level of engagement will undoubtedly yield substantial value.”

The chamber’s success is demonstrated by its work with vitally important industries. For example, the semiconductor industry plays a vital role in Malaysia’s economy, accounting for 40 percent of the country’s total exports.

“Nearly half of these companies sit within our membership reflecting our substantial impact,” she says. “We work to ensure they have the right environment to thrive.”

Its signature conference, the Penang Dialogue, recently hosted discussions between key players in the semiconductor industry and interconnected emerging industries such as health care and aerospace, to help foster greater collaboration in supporting the ecosystem.

Joint prosperity

AMCHAM fosters collaboration not only among various stakeholders, but also engages in partnerships with other chambers of commerce.

“On a regular basis we meet with the Japanese, German, Dutch, British, French and European chambers in addition to local associations,” she says. “We are all facing the same journey.”

Insights from key members, such as Western Digital Tech and Regional Center, are also essential to the service AMCHAM provides.

Looking ahead to the future, Das, who was recently awarded the title of Dato in Malaysia, is determined to build upon the impressive progress achieved by AMCHAM under her leadership, aiming for even greater impact.

“There are about 700 American businesses in Malaysia, and 300 are members – so we have a lot of growth potential for our membership,” Das says.

“Malaysia is looking very good right now, so the question is can we work collaboratively to retain Malaysia’s significance in corporate value chains and be a beacon of progress.

“Looking forward, Malaysia has a tremendous amount to offer.”