Serving for 49 years, former machine operator Chui Tau Siong is now CEO

SINGAPORE – Mr Chui Tau Siong’s career trajectory is a modern-day fairy tale. He rose through the ranks over 49 years, getting his hands dirty on the factory floor and progressed on to oversee more than 1,500 people and manage multiple manufacturing plants across South-east Asia.

At 17, the former Malaysian came to Singapore looking for work. He got off the bus, saw an Insulpack Industries job listing on a pinboard outside a factory, walked in and got the job. That was how the O-level holder, who is now Singaporean, started out as a machine operator in 1973.