Team Lotus Shareholders

[Mark H]

DATO’ SRI TONY FERNANDES

TEAM PRINCIPAL

 

Educated at The London School of Economics, Tony Fernandes has established himself as one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs.

His illustrious career started in 1987 when he assumed the role of Financial Controller for Warner Music International London before moving to Virgin Communications at the end of the 1980s as Senior Financial Analyst.

In 1992, he returned to his native Malaysia as Managing Director of Warner Music Malaysia.

At the end of the Millennium, Tony became Vice President ASEAN of the company, but it was in 2001 that Tony’s vision took him and his associates to new heights.

Together with partners Dato’ Pahamin Rejab (former chairman of AirAsia), Dato Kamarudin Meranun (now Deputy Group CEO, AirAsia), and Dato Aziz Bakar (now Chairman of AirAsia), Tony founded Tune Air Sdn Bhd in 2001, with a vision to democratise air travel and free it from the clutches of the elite by offering low fares and high quality, under the banner “Now Everyone Can Fly”.

They bought the then loss making AirAsia from its Malaysian owner DRB-Hicom, for a token RM1 (USD 0.2

5 cents), and agreed to take on the airline’s RM40 million debt.

They started with two planes, one destination (Pulau Langkawi) and a staff of 250.

The airline, together with Indonesian and Thai affiliates, now operates 82 new Airbus A320s and flies to more than 65 destinations in Asia from hubs in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

The company employs almost 7,000 staff and has carried more than 75 million guests in its short history.

A similar opportunity arose with Lotus Racing, with Tony first approached about a sponsorship opportunity with a new team (having already brought AirAsia into F1™ with AT&T Williams as a team partner).

Having been an avid motorsport fan since childhood, he saw the opportunity to bring the muchloved Lotus name back to F1™ and, with a consortium of Malaysian business interests, successfully led the creation and launch of the team in 2009, with the key milestone being September 12th’s confirmation of the team’s entry into the 2010 FIA Formula 1™ World Championship.

Having led Lotus Racing to its first season objective of tenth place, Tony and his fellow shareholders oversaw the transition to Team Lotus for 2011 and he and the whole team is now aiming to move up the grid and fight for points in their second season.

 

 

DATO’ KAMARUDIN BIN MERANUN

DEPUTY TEAM PRINCIPAL

 

Dato’ Kamarudin Bin Meranun has become one of Malaysia’s most successful business tycoons, working alongside Tony Fernandes to make Air Asia a true phenomenon within and outside of the aviation industry.

With an honours and masters degree in Finance, Kamarudin’s career started at the end of the 1980s when he joined the Arab-Malaysian Merchant Bank where he stayed from 1988 to 1993 as a Portfolio Manager, managing both institutional and high net-worth individual clients’ investment funds.

In 1994, he was appointed Executive Director of Innosabah Capital Management Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Innosabah Securities Sdn Bhd.

He subsequently acquired the shares of its joint venture partner of Innosabah Capital Management Sdn Bhd, which was later renamed Intrinsic Capital Management Sdn Bhd.

Kamarudin then sold a private music label to Warner Music and later joined forces with his long-serving business partner Tony Fernandes to co-found AirAsia, Tune Hotels and AirAsia X.

He now holds the position of Deputy Group CEO of AirAsia and Deputy Team Principal of Team Lotus.

 

SM NASARUDIN SM NASIMUDDIN

DEPUTY TEAM PRINCIPAL

 

SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin joined Malaysia’s renowned Naza group of companies following a four-year period of study in the USA from where he graduated in business economics.

He joined Naza Kia Sdn Bhd as a management trainee in 2005 and has since been intrinsically involved in various areas of the company.

In 2006, he was appointed Head of Operations at Naza Corporation Sdn Bhd and took up CEO positions in three Naza companies in 2008 – Nasim Sdn Bhd (Peugeot franchise), Naza Corporation Sdn Bhd, and NZ Diners Sdn Bhd (Naza’s first foray into the food business, Bubba Gump Shrimp).

He was appointed CEO and executive chairman of NAZA Group of Companies on 16 May 2008, following the demise of his father and founder of NAZA, Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin.

In 2009, Nasarudin became Chairman of the Malaysian French Chambers of Commerce and Industry, as well as becoming one of the two Deputy Team Principals of Team Lotus.

 

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