EVERSENDAI Corp Bhd managing director Tan Sri A.K. Nathan is a global leader with high cultural intelligence.
How else would a former machine operator and part-time insurance salesman eventually build and lead a diversified construction group with operations in 14 countries, ranging from Southeast Asia to the Middle East?
Despite cultural differences, Nathan has managed to secure tenders overseas, which he attributes to sound advice.
He said it was important to always develop a healthy relationship with clients, especially by meeting their expectations and standards.
Nathan is seen as a tough leader who always raises the bar when dealing with his employees. He sees the potential in them and encourages them to develop their skills.
“I believe in having good people with me,” he said, adding that he never compromises on quality and it is important to drive everybody towards Eversendai’s goals.
For small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to go global, Nathan said: “They must feel within that they want to do it.”
He believed they should get the necessary support in terms of access to financing and guidance.
“For example, the government could do a partnership that could serve as a training ground for these entrepreneurs besides having to provide financial assistance. It is wiser to focus on weaknesses. Once strengthened, we can deal with any situation much better,” he said.
Eversendai was built from zero with no partners involved, and Nathan did not have any knowledge or experience in the business of steel construction at that time.
He was neither an engineer by training nor did he have a degree in related fields.
But just like the steelwork he’s involved in, Nathan was moulded into shape by the experience he had gone through in life.
“I owe my achievements to the struggle in life, and having a good circle of friends. My struggles have contributed to my success. I have seen the worst in the 30 years I spent climbing the ladder of success,” said Nathan.
He was 15 when his father, a newspaper agent, sent him to Chennai, India, in 1971 for secondary education. Five years later, while doing pre-university studies, Nathan was forced to return home due to financial problems.
He found a job as a machine operator with a printing firm and later at 22, he went on to sell insurance.
“I was so ‘raw’ and I had a hard time approaching people,” recalls Nathan. “I was very reserved but I had a burning desire to be successful. I pushed myself forward.”
The short stint in insurance gave Nathan confidence to eventually tackle the intricacies of the construction business to a level which impressed engineers and other professionals.
Nathan’s entry into the construction sector came by accident. His brother passed a steel support contract for the Dayabumi project to Nathan and that’s where his journey in the field began. He hired a company to help with the job, but when it was not done to his satisfaction, he did it with the help of an experienced supervisor and some workers.
Nathan’s biggest break came in 1983 when Nippon Steel Corp gave him a steel structural contract for the Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional factory.
“I met Tameshi Yamaki who was the Nippon Steel project manager. At the interview for the job, he looked me straight in the eyes and I did the same. I was awarded the job. Yamaki said when he looked into my eyes, he knew he could trust me with the job.”
Nathan says he owes his success to the Japanese work culture — discipline, work ethics and the desire to acquire knowledge.
Nathan went on to get a few more contracts but recalls “almost giving up” when recession hit in the mid 1980s.
“I was desperate as I did not get paid for some of the jobs I had done. I lost almost everything I had. I thought I would never return to Kuala Lumpur, but the KL Tower project brought me back,” he said.