Malaysia
Thomas Mathew is the former Group CEO of Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp). Thomas brings with him more than 40 years of experience in Corporate and Commercial Banking, Business transformation/turnaround and Risk Management. He began his career as a banker, following which he joined Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Berhad, Malaysia's asset management company in 1998. He headed its Risk Management division, prior to its successful closure in 2005. Thomas then joined the MBf Holdings group of companies, as its Group President. He then assumed the role of Group Finance Director at Ben Holdings in Sri Lanka, an established retail, media and theatre conglomerate before joining the government agency, Talentcorp in 2020.
Retail, Media and Theatre
Thomas oversaw the financial performance of the MBf Group with presence in 8 countries with businesses in retail, medical, leisure, education, plantation, shipping, banking & manufacturing. He directly supervised the Group' Malaysian operations to ensure cost efficiency and profitability. He also managed all legal matters & sourced funding needs for the group. He spearheaded a Real Estate Sukuk Bond deal for the Group, working with Hong Leong Investment Bank and Danajamin. The Bond was voted Real Estate Deal of the year by IFN for 2015. Thomas was the COO of Group from 2006 to 2009 and held directorship in many of the group's subsidiaries.
Thomas oversaw all risk areas of Danaharta, including financial, operational and reputational. Prior to this, he headed a team that was engaged in restructuring/rehabilitating of borrowers in default of loans with the view in ensuring best returns to lenders.
Thomas was the Regional Head of Credit in Kwong Yik Bank (subsequently merged with DCB to form RHB Bank). He was subsequently appointed as the Head of Commercial and Corporate Banking in International Bank Malaysia Bhd. His scope of work included overseeing Credit Marketing, Credit Evaluation, Legal documentation, Credit Control and Recovery.