PUTTING PEOPLE first

GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CHOON HUA TRADING CORPORATION GERALD LIM UNDERSTANDS THE POWER OF A STRONG AND SATISFIED TEAM IN DELIVERING RESULTS.

- Ashton Kobler

When his father asked him to return home to help with the family business, Gerald Lim couldn’t refuse. “Being the eldest son, I was expected to carry on the business, which my late grandparents had started,” he reflects. “I felt I had an obligation to return and play my role.” Gerald’s father has been his primary motivator in his life and career. When he was young, Gerald would help his father at his shop during school holidays and deliver goods to the customers. “He took care of the family and ran the business at the same time. Watching him become the driving force in my family and the business made me want to be like him,” he recalls.

“My father was only 16 years old when my grandfather passed away and left him to manage the business without any experience,” Gerald continues. “It was tough for him back then, but he made it through.”

After completing his studies at the Queensland University of Technology in 1998, Gerald moved to Singapore to start his career. He was offered a position with Deloitte & Touche, and was with them from August 1998 until October 2006 while also completing the CPA Program.

In January 2007, Gerald returned to Malaysia upon his father’s call to join the family business, Choon Hua Trading Corporation, a leading wholesale distribution company. Coming on board as General Manager, he was later promoted to Group Managing Director in June 2008. He diversified the business into importing and distributing frozen foods in 2010.