Profile Suhaimi Rafdi
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SUHAIMI RAFDI (MR) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CATHAY ORGANISATION HOLDINGS LTD. Born in Singapore in 1967, Suhaimi has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment, leisure, hospitality and F&B industries, as well as extensive experience in F&B management, cinema operations and event organisation. Suhaimi attended primary and secondary school at St Stephen‟s School and St Patrick‟s School respectively. After his GCE „O‟ levels exams, Suhaimi‟s first job was at McDonald‟s and Pizza Hut as a part-time Customer Service Staff while he continued with his GCE „A‟ Levels. Soon after his National Service in 1989, he went on to join KFC fast food restaurant as a Trainee Manager and worked his way up to the position of a Restaurant Manager. He left KFC in 1991 and joined Singapore General Hospital as a Housekeeping Manager where he managed the housekeeping services for the inpatient and outpatient areas, the hostel, linen room as well as hospital landscape with the help of 200 full-time staff, 15 Supervisors and three Assistant Managers to handle the 24/7 operation. In 1996, Suhaimi joined Cathay Organisation Holdings, a leading organisation engaged in the businesses of entertainment, leisure, lifestyle and property management services. Suhaimi was then an Assistant General Manager of Cathay Cineplexes, a subsidiary of Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited. In 1999, Suhaimi was seconded to Penang and assigned to set up multiplexes in Malaysia. In three years, he set up three multiplex locations in Penang and Johor Baru, and returned to Singapore in 2001 to set up four other multiplexes and managed cinema operations for both Singapore and Malaysia. In 2004, he was responsible for the operations and marketing functions of eight Cathay Cineplex sites and for acquisition and film distribution of commercial, and critically acclaimed and cutting edge films in Singapore and Malaysia. In 2006, Suhaimi was promoted to President of Business Operations where he was responsible for 21 of Cathay Organisation‟s subsidiary companies in Singapore and Malaysia. Later in the same year, he was assigned to oversee the Corporate Service functions of the Organisation, which include Human Resource, Finance, Legal, Group Communications, Information Technology, Internal Audit and Property & Projects Division. Also in the same year, Suhaimi was involved in the formation of Cathay Organisation‟s joint venture partnership with a leading corporation in Dubai. The joint venture partnership involves an extensive project in the development, management and operations of cineplexes and megaplexes in the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian sub-continent and Indonesia. The first development, Reel Cinemas, opened in Dubai in 2009 with 22 screens. Built in the world‟s largest shopping mall, The Dubai Mall (six times the size of Vivocity in Singapore), the 22 screens megaplex has close to 3,000 seats. Following the success of the first Reel Cinemas, a second Reel Cinemas was constructed in 2010 in the Dubai Marina Mall, with six screens. In 2007, he was nominated 4th in the top ten power list of entertainers by The Straits Times, Life!. As of January 2008, Suhaimi was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the Group overseeing all the business functions which has an annual turnover of S$200 million. Today, Cathay‟s principal activities include film exhibition, cinema management, film distribution and film library, family entertainment centre management, property letting, property and project management, computer systems integration services, investment holdings, hotel & property management, advertising, electronic gaming and event organisation services. Suhaimi also oversees the support divisions such as Finance, Information & Technology, Legal, Projects, Human Resource & Group Communications. Below is a summary of Suhaimi‟s career at Cathay Organisation: 1998 - Deputy General Manager, Cathay Cineplexes, a subsidiary of Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited. 2002 - General Manager, Cathay Cineplexes, a subsidiary of Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited. 2003 - Assistant Vice President, Business Operations, Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited. 2 2004 - Vice President, Business Operations, Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited. 2006 - President, Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited. 2008 - Chief Executive Officer, Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited. Suhaimi‟s area of work as CEO includes being a strategist, detecting opportunities to develop a sustainable competitive advantage within the industry where Cathay Organisation operates. Suhaimi sets policies for the organisation and formulates business strategies. He emphasizes on shareholder values, sets operating performance for all business units, financial policies and develops a value-based management culture. To-date, Cathay Organisation has a workforce of 600 full-time staff and some 400 part-time staff, across Singapore and Malaysia. Following Cathay Cineplexes‟ recent acquisition of a cinema consultancy and management services contract in Doha, Qatar, Suhaimi continues to raise Cathay Cineplexes‟ brand profile and international presence in the Middle East and North Africa territories. Suhaimi has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing with the National University of Ireland. He also pursued his Masters in Marketing and Casino Management in 2008 and obtained it in 2009. Suhaimi enjoys cooking in his free time and a few of his recipes were featured in a book titled “Heritage Feasts” launched in late 2010. He is a widower with four children aged 24, 19, 3 and 2, and lives in the East area of Singapore. 3 .