Wong Lai Yong, PhD
Dr Wong is the founder and director of the social enterprise, First Penguin. A business with a social mission, First Penguin provides a platform and programmes for youth in search of a better self and a clearer life path. Dr Wong Lai Yong was born in Penang and is a Ph.D. holder in Business Administration from Yokohama National University (Japan) (scholar of Rotary Yoneyama Memorial Foundation). She also holds a B.A. in Economics (First Class Honours) from Universiti Malaya and an MBA from Keio University (Japan) sponsored by Monbusho scholarship. While pursuing her MBA, she attended the Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles as an exchange student. Her other Japanese qualifications include Career Development Advisor, Child-Raising Advisor, Childcare Professional (hoikushi) and other child care related qualifications. She also holds a Diploma of Facilitation in International Development Education from Takushoku University (Japan), a Certified Trainer under the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) Malaysia.
Apart from setting up her own social enterprise, she is also a professional consultant and trainer in corporate social responsibility (CSR), mainly serving the Headquarters of Japanese multinational corporations. Prior to moving her base back to Malaysia in January 2013 after living in Japan for 16 years, she is currently serves as the advisor of Penang Women Development Corporation and a tutor for Effective Leadership subject at Wawasan Open University. She is also a regularly invited guest that shares about career development and youth issues on radio and a frequent columnist in the online Japanese portal www.poste-my.com/.
She is regularly invited to deliver talks in both Malaysia and overseas on CSR, social entrepreneurship, as well as motivational talks targeted to parents, youth and students for achievng life fulfillment. She previously held the position of Senior Consultant in the Japan office of CSR Asia. In this capacity, she advised Japanese multinational corporations on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) projects in the Asian region. She has also accumulated experiences in life/career planning workshops and personal consultation in Japan. Armed with her holistic view from extensive knowledge and experiences in various fields and utilizing strategic frameworks in the field of corporate management, she guided participants to realize their interest, capability, values and understand the ultimate problems of their career/life and thus leading a fulfilled life.
Prior to joining CSR Asia, she served at a Japanese kindergarten and Poppins Corporation, a leading child care company in Japan for 7 years. She gained extensive experience in working with major corporations and educational institutions, mainly to set up on-site child-care centers and other related services. She was also a prolific columnist, having contributed weekly articles on child raising in Japan.
