About Dr Wong Lai Yong &
First Penguin Sdn. Bhd.
Consulting, Training & Expertise In Sustainability Matters For Corporate Needs
Founder, Principal Trainer & Consultant,
First Penguin Sdn. Bhd.
I enjoy being a “connector” between Japan, Malaysia and Asia as I write and speak fluent Japanese, English, Mandarin, Malay and Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Hokkien). Having lived in Japan for 16 years,
I bring an in-depth perceptivity towards business, social, political and cultural understanding of Japanese lifestyle, culture and corporate life.
Dr Wong Lai Yong is the founder, principal trainer & consultant of First Penguin Sdn. Bhd. based in Penang, Malaysia that helps organizations in Asia create purpose-driven and people-driven sustainability practices. She speaks, advises, consults and trains on sustainability and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) matters.
She works with Japanese sustainability consulting firms whose clients need objective reviews on their materiality and sustainability reporting. She also helps corporations tackle root causes that prevent global talent growth and talent development from an ESG approach.
Working with her, clients gain innovative and competitive advantages through her holistic advisory and consulting approach. She streamlines and integrates business strategies with people development goals, fully optimising stakeholders’ benefits within the organization and fulfilling corporate needs. In this area, she is passionate about unleashing the full potential of women, youth and Gen Z. She served as a Board Member of Penang Women’s Development Corporation (Malaysia) from July 2018 – Sept 2023.
She is an advocate for thinking differently and challenging stereotypes and norms, making her an invaluable board member and business adviser who is courageous and conscious in delivering an uncommon Asian female outlook to strategic business decisions.
- Board member of Nitto Denko Corporation (Japan)
- External Director of Mitsui E&S Co., Ltd. (Japan)
- Board member of Farmnote Holdings, Inc. (Japan)
- Adjunct Associate Professor of Graduate School of Leadership and Innovation, Shizenkan University (Japan), lecturing on the role of business to realize a sustainable society
- Industry Advisor, Faculty of Business & Finance, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Malaysia
- Honorary Advisor of ESG Association of Malaysia
- Founding President and Honorary President of Malaysia Rotary Yoneyama Alumni Association
Dr. Wong is a Certified Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Analyst® (CESGA) by the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS) and a Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) Credential Holder by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation. She is also a Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp), Malaysia Certified Trainer and a Certified Facilitator of the 2030 SDGs Game by Imacocolabo, Japan. She holds a PhD in Business Administration from Yokohama National University, MBA from Keio Business School, Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) from University of Malaya and Diploma of Facilitation in International Education Development from Takushoku University. (Connect with her on LinkedIn.)
In 2016, she was conferred the Asia Pacific Shining Women award by the Japanese Cabinet Office (equivalent to the Prime Minister’s Office in Malaysia).
In 2022, she was awarded a state recognition, Darjah Johan Negeri (DJN) by the Penang State Government for her community excellence.
Media Highlights
- Interview by My Eyes Tokyo in English and Japanese.
- Featured in the Mitsubishi Electric Group website for her views on sustainability (and in Japanese)
- Featured on the TDK website for her expert opinion on key CSR issues (and in Japanese)
- Featured by Habataku Inc., on their collaboration for Kao Corporation’s global intrapreneurship nurturing program. Habataku Inc. is a social enterprise based in Japan and Vietnam.
- Youth development and career consulting Youtube channel and media coverage
- Radio interview series with MelodyFM about youth and career development.
- Featured in The Star for childcare development and social enterprise work.
- Featured in various media on her views and work on women empowerment, early childhood care and education, parenting
- Featured in Rotary Yoneyama Memorial Foundation (Japan) publications as an active alumni and Malaysia media on the social contributions of Malaysia Rotary Yoneyama Alumni Association
“While we work with a lot of Japanese organizations, we have experience with sustainability projects across the Southeast Asian region. We have served in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Indonesia, Myanmar and we can work with teams virtually and physically too.”
Dr Wong Lai Yong
Founder, Principal Trainer & Consultant, First Penguin Sdn. Bhd.
On The Board of
About First Penguin Sdn. Bhd.
First Penguin Sdn. Bhd. was established to awaken people and corporations to their true purpose as citizens of the world. Our belief is one of connecting the developed countries with the developing countries, reducing the gap between the have and the have-nots.
We envision a world of understanding, peaceful co-existence, shared prosperity and a sense of purpose through our sustainability approaches.
We work with corporations, universities, governments, family offices and CEOs by offering a holistic, global and long-term perspective in sustainability, global talent development, cross-cultural global management, career consulting and nurturing and expanding consciousness. Here’s how we can help.