The entrepreneur
Tan Sri Lim was 29 when he established his own advertising business, Wings Creative Consultants, in 1975. It was a bold move at that time because he was seen to be muscling into an industry controlled by expatriates and multinationals.
The few local agencies then were more sign-makers than anything else. He knew the business and the market. He laboured patiently and diligently to convince many of the multinational companies to use local talent.
His relentless efforts paid off as local advertising achieved sophistication in approach and execution. Local talent gained recognition for quality work. His greatest satisfaction came from the growing confidence of the local industry in its own abilities.
Today, Tan Sri Lim is Chairman of the Limkokwing Integrated Group, a multi-disciplinary group comprising subsidiary companies involved in education, film/video production, design, multimedia and publishing.
He is the Founder/President of:
- Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia, Botswana, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lesotho, United Kingdom
- Limkokwing Institute for Tomorrow (LIFT)
- Limkokwing Institute of Creative Technology
- Limkokwing Sound & Music Academy
- Limkokwing International Lifestyle Design Academy
- Limkokwing Executive Leadership College
- Limkokwing Foundation for Creative Excellence
- Millennium Institute of Technology
- Malaysian Design Innovation Centre
- Malaysian Branding & Packaging Design Centre
- Malaysian Education Promotion Council
- National Creativity and Innovation Institute
- Centre for Content Creation
- The Asia Creativity Institute
- International House Malaysia
- Public Opinion & Perception Research Centre
- K-Economy Enabling Institute
- Designers and Animators Guild
- The Next Generation
- Wings of Creativity
- The Art & Design Centre of Kuala Lumpur
- Momentum Communications
- Malaysian e-Sports Hub
Tan Sri Lim is an unusual entrepreneur in that he looks beyond the profit margin to the satisfaction level. He is always seeking novel ways to conduct business and every project must deliver some kind of social benefit. In advertising, he built recognition for local talent; in education he created respect for creative professionals.
For over 35 years he has applied his skills in helping the country achieve its objectives, often simplifying complex policies to bridge the information gap between the government and the people. His type of entrepreneurship is that which Malaysia has needed to transform itself into a thriving and prosperous economy.
He also set up a packaging gallery called Malaysia Branding and Packaging Design Centre which presented thousands of ideas on new brand packaging to the government for distribution to rural industries which needed to upgrade their branding.
But he believed that real change for the rural sector can only happen through its younger generation. So he initiated the “Generasi Baru”,or “New Generation” scheme to enable rural students to gain new skills in business management, marketing, mass communications, packaging design, interactive design and a host of other skills which they would need to boost rural industries and bridge the digital divide which is holding back expansion of that sector.