As growth in the US market cools down, the battle for pickleball dominance is shifting to Asia, and Selkirk has made Malaysia their Asian HQ.

Mike Barnes, Co-CEO of Selkirk Sport, joins The Breakfast Grille to discuss their $30 million investment, their expansion strategy, and why the pickleball economy will avoid the post-pandemic crash of hardware peers like Peloton.

We dive into how Selkirk uses its unique in-house R&D lab to build a strong patent moat , how they leverage sub-brands to create a customer "ladder" without hurting their premium image , and why a cooling market is actually opening up aggressive opportunities for Selkirk to lead a wave of industry M&A and consolidation.
Finally, Mike shares surprising consumer insights on why Southeast Asian players often view a premium paddle as a prime status symbol rather than a price hurdle.

Photo Credit: Selkirk Sport

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Francisco Retondo, General Manager of Sika Malaysia, joins The Breakfast Grille to discuss how the specialty chemical giant has decoupled from a slowing global market.

While global sales flattened and a real estate crash hit operations in China, Southeast Asia emerged as Sika's star performer. Francesco breaks down the mechanics of their extensive local footprint, now spanning six factories, and reveals how they are managing a volatile energy crisis.

We unpack the delicate trade-off between protecting profit margins and passing costs down to increasingly price-sensitive local contractors, the strategy for fending off aggressive Chinese suppliers looking for overseas buyers, and Sika's bold corporate roadmap to double its Malaysian business.

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Elsa Bhd is preparing for its ACE Market debut, but this is a firm that is more than your traditional oil and gas services provider. Its managing director, Daniel Ilham Khong talks about Elsa's evolution from engineering consultancy to digital solutions, robotics and energy technology, and whether that transformation can drive its next phase of growth.

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The Malaysia Higher Education Blueprint 2026 to 2035 was launched in March, setting out the policy direction for tertiary education in the country over the next decade. Does this plan address the realities of higher education institutions in Malaysia today, and what will it take to achieve the aim of becoming a global education hub by 2035? We explore themes and trends in higher education with our expert panel.

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Streaming platforms are entering a more demanding phase, where subscriber growth alone is no longer enough to sustain expansion or satisfy investors. For players like iQIYI, the challenge now is balancing profitability, localisation, creator monetisation, and AI-driven innovation while competing for audiences across Southeast Asia’s increasingly crowded entertainment landscape. As viewing habits evolve and pressure builds on both advertising and subscription models, how is iQIYI positioning itself for the next stage of growth in the region?

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As Malaysia’s digital infrastructure and enterprise technology spending continue to expand, newly listed ICT players are facing growing pressure to differentiate beyond traditional hardware distribution and project-based revenue. Pentech Holdings is positioning itself around cybersecurity, managed services, and AI-driven solutions as it prepares for its ACE Market debut at an IPO price of 20 sen per share on June 15. But in a sector known for tight margins and intense competition, how sustainable is the shift toward recurring revenue and higher-value digital services, and what should investors be watching as the company enters its next phase of growth?

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Between 2022 and 2024, Samsonite enjoyed a massive travel boom, but now the market is slowing down and cheap rivals are flooding in.

Ambert Khoo, General Manager of Samsonite Malaysia, joins The Breakfast Grille to explain how they keep Asia more profitable than their other major markets, and how selling 90% of their products directly to customers drives that success.

We also discuss how moving into everyday items like ladies' handbags and backpacks protects the business when people travel less, as well as dive into a new franchise plan designed to help their budget brand, American Tourister, win back customers from cheaper competitors.

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A.I. technology has developed at an exponential rate over the past 5 years, but it comes at the cost of regulatory and cybersecurity frameworks playing catch-up. We speak to US legal practitioner Guillermo Christensen, a partner at the law firm K&L Gates to discuss how governments are responding to the cybersecurity risks that AI poses and how businesses should adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape.

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Is artificial intelligence stuck in your cost structure and completely missing from your bottom line? Arya Bolurfrushan, Founder and CEO of The Applied AI Company (AAICO), joins The Breakfast Grille to break down exactly what enterprises are getting wrong about AI adoption.

We explore his firm’s $100 million war chest and aggressive private equity-style acquisition strategy, as well as why patching an AI agent into an existing legacy setup is a dangerous automation trap. Arya reveals how to properly design an AI-first process with strategic human placement rather than contorting your business around rigid code.

Finally, we dissect the unique mathematical vulnerability where a tiny 1% error rate compounds into an 11% operational crisis across multiple agents, and why AAICO is locked in a multi-million dollar race to chart all 2.7 million finite, regulated business processes on Earth.

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Les' Copaque Production built one of Malaysia’s most recognisable animation franchises in Upin & Ipin. Now, the company is expanding beyond content, into education, F&B, and even a theme park, as it looks to evolve into a full-fledged IP-driven business. Datuk Burhanuddin Md Radzi its founder and managing director shares how he plans to fulfil his lifelong dreams.

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