A Flouring Industry

Interflour Malaysia CEO Ricky Tan Tian Tiong Is Serious About The Role That Other People Play In His Own Success.

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Interflour Malaysia CEO Ricky Tan Tian Tiong has a simple explanation for why he has stayed in the flour industry for more than three decades. The son of a supervisor at a pineapple canning factory and the second of nine children, he grew up poor, leaving school at an early age along with three other siblings to help support his family. Through an associate of his father, Ricky began working in flour milling, moving up through successive supervisor and management roles. He worked hard and his progression was straightforward. As for why he’s still in the industry? “Because,” he says. “I like people.”

Flour processing and storage doesn’t seem like the most obvious business for outgoing leaders like Ricky, but having held executive positions at Prestasi Flour Mill as well other Interflour branches, he insists that he has had the chance to work directly with clients and employees to address ongoing projects and challenges. During a brief dalliance with procurement that gave him insight to wider processes in the business, he admits the technical side of the business just wasn’t for him. “I preferred sales and being able to talk to other people,” he says, “so I opted to move back into sales and marketing.”