The Breakfast Grille

Skechers has grown from a US comfort footwear brand into a global business, with Southeast Asia playing an increasingly important role in its growth story. Zann Lee, Managing Director of Skechers Southeast Asia, talks about the company's expansion, competition and how to deal with boycott calls it faced in Malaysia over its perceived links to Israel.

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Malaysia’s trade with Latin America and the Caribbean remains relatively modest, but shifting global supply chains and stronger diplomatic ties are opening new opportunities for businesses on both sides. The Latin American and Caribbean Chamber of Commerce has set an ambitious goal of doubling bilateral trade within five years. What is holding companies back today, which sectors offer the greatest potential, and can growing political engagement be translated into meaningful investment and commercial deals?

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Four years after Liberty's merger with AmGeneral, the integration story is largely complete. But the next challenge is bigger than combining two businesses. Puneet Pasricha, CEO of Liberty General Insurance, discusses the evolving risks facing the industry, how tech and AI are reshaping insurance, and why building customer trust remains fundamental.

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The split within Bersatu and the emergence of Parti Wawasan Negara have reshaped the opposition, raising questions about how the two parties will navigate their relationship within Perikatan Nasional. On the Breakfast Grille, Sharaad Kuttan speaks with Dr Afif Bahardin, Supreme Leadership Council Member of Bersatu, and Tun Fiqa Mohammad, Wawasan High Council member, about the reasons behind the split, the future direction of both parties, and whether they can find common ground as part of the wider opposition.

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Dassault Systèmes built its global business on 3D design and virtual twins, but its ambitions now extend from manufacturing and mobility into healthcare, cloud software and industrial AI. That expansion comes as Asian businesses contend with tighter technology budgets, shifting supply chains and pressure to demonstrate tangible returns from digital investment. As industries accelerate their adoption of simulation and AI, can Dassault Systèmes position itself at the heart of Asia’s next wave of industrial transformation?

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Home ownership remains a major aspiration for Malaysians, but affordability pressures, unsold properties and weaker transactions continue to expose the disconnect between what buyers want and what the market provides. PropertyGuru Malaysia sits at the centre of that market, connecting buyers, sellers and agents while wielding significant influence over how properties are discovered and marketed online. We speak with Managing Director Vic Sithasanan about Malaysia’s housing market, agent pricing, listing integrity and the responsibilities that come with PropertyGuru’s dominant position.

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The artificial intelligence revolution is underway, but how prepared are governments and businesses to navigate the changes this technology will bring over the next decade? We attempt to untangle some of the threads of policy discourse in Europe and Asia, as well as what this means for business strategy with Conall McDevitt, President of the Penta Group, an international strategy and communications firm.

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Businesses across Southeast Asia are under pressure to modernise their technology while keeping costs under control and managing growing expectations around artificial intelligence. For Workday, that creates opportunities to expand its cloud-based HR and finance platforms, but also challenges ranging from legacy enterprise systems and cautious IT spending to uneven digital capabilities and employee resistance to AI-driven change. As the company pushes deeper into ASEAN, how does Workday plan to capture regional growth while helping businesses bridge the technology and skills divide?

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DXN Holdings has quietly built one of Malaysia's most international businesses through a global network across some 200 markets. Prajith Pavithran, the company's executive director and group CEO, explains why DXN is investing heavily in manufacturing and expanding across Latin America, while still fundamentally a direct-selling company, or something more?

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While solidly green, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) is helping create what pundits are calling the Blue Wave. After the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections the role of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia or PAS as part of a future federal government is being entertained as a real possibility. In this conversation with discuss PAS’ current political strategy, the foundations of its economic philosophy, the tensions between its ‘populist’ social policies and the demands of being Shariah-compliant and also the SG4 initiative that aims not only to attract investment but also to promote the idea that a PAS-led government will be business friendly and inclusive of all Malaysians.

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