Bridge to Boardroom: Voyages of a Master Mariner

He went from building sandcastles in Kuantan to commanding a cargo ship traversing the ocean. It all started when the small-town boy was handpicked by a respected British educator for a future at sea. Dato' Capt. Ahmad Sufian left Kuantan at 14 to attend boarding school in Wales. He was with a British fleet before the Malaysian government summoned him back to join MISC. At 29, he commanded his first merchant cargo ship. He was a pioneer in LNG shipping, built the second national line, PNSL, and chaired Global Maritime Ventures, the country's first maritime venture capital firm. He also helped establish the Kuantan Port Consortium and was instrumental in the creation of Johor West Port (now known as Port of Tanjung Pelepas).

Recognising his wisdom and cool head in the boardroom, the corporate sector sought his expertise. The list includes Malaysian Bulk Carriers Berhad, PPB Group, WCT Holdings, GDEX, Alam Maritim Resources, PACC Offshore Services Holdings (Singapore) and Shipowners' P&I Club Luxembourg. He was with WCT when it built the Sepang International Circuit and with GDEX before it became the courier giant it is today. Along his life's travels, he started his own company, which would become the family business-Essem Group.