Commentary: Anthony Tan, the ‘unabashedly ambitious’ man behind Grab

SINGAPORE: Two years after founding his Uber-like taxi service, Anthony Tan was already unabashedly bold. 

“If we get this right, we can literally go into the history books,” the Harvard Enterprise Faculty-educated entrepreneur proclaimed in 2014.

Seven years later, the 39-year-old scion of certainly one of Malaysia’s wealthiest households is poised to do precisely that.

His firm, Seize, Southeast Asia’s most respected start-up, is finalising the world’s largest merger with a SPAC, or particular goal acquisition firm. It will worth his enterprise at about US$35 billion and checklist it on Nasdaq.

READ: Commentary: Why a bumper crop of Southeast Asian tech unicorns look set to IPO this 12 months

The attention-popping numbers give a way that Tan is blazing a path for your complete area, which could be very a lot in character.

“Anthony always wants to be number one. He is the guy in Seat 1A and the first one off the plane,” says a lawyer whose agency works for Seize.

Tenacious and pushed, Tan additionally has a religious facet: He cited Jesus Christ as certainly one of his management heroes in a 2019 interview and have become a “Christ centred disciple” after assembly Andy Mills at Harvard.

The previous chief government of Thomson Monetary and Seize board member guided “me as a mentor, as a big brother in my work, in my faith in God,” Tan has stated.

READ: Commentary: Multibillion-dollar wizards – how COVID-19 is exposing what’s behind the scenes

MAN ON A MISSION

Certainly, Tan describes his job as a “mission” to serve Southeast Asians’ day by day wants. Since 2012, his firm has grown from a ride-hailing app into meals and grocery supply, insurance coverage, funds, e-wallets and lending throughout eight nations in Southeast Asia, fuelled by a younger, cellular inhabitants.

Which means the corporate gives traders publicity to a few of the world’s quickest rising economies in a fragmented and aggressive market with divergent politics, currencies, regulators and shopper spending energy.

Supporters say it took somebody like Tan to navigate Southeast Asia’s interlinked world of politics and enterprise to broaden the corporate, which was valued at US$16 billion in its final personal fundraising, into the “super app” it's right this moment. 

Pre-COVID-19, he was usually seen rubbing shoulders with the area’s heads of state on the World Financial Discussion board in Davos or visiting senior ministers in a number of Southeast Asian cities to make the case for legalising ride-hailing.

Born into the household behind Tan Chong Motor, certainly one of Malaysia’s largest auto teams, he attended the College of Chicago and Harvard to arrange for entry into the household enterprise. However encounters with tech entrepreneurs together with YouTube co-founder Steve Chen proved a robust lure.

He and classmate Tan Hooi Ling got here up with a plan to revamp the Malaysian taxi market that was named a runner up in Harvard’s annual new enterprise competitors. They used the award, Anthony Tan’s financial savings and an funding from his mom to launch what was then known as MyTeksi in June 2012. 

READ: Commentary: Perhaps private-hire drivers and meals supply riders don’t need full-time jobs

When Jixun Foo, a Beijing-based managing companion for international enterprise capital agency GGV, met Tan in a Starbucks in Singapore a 12 months later he was doubtful about backing the start-up. “He’s come back from Harvard, had a job lined up in the family business and a silver spoon in his mouth. I asked him what his motivation was,” Foo says.

Tan replied that his inspiration got here from his grandfather being a taxi driver after which build up his personal enterprise.

GGV backed Seize in 2014 and was adopted quickly after by Tiger World, Hillhouse Capital and Japan’s SoftBank. Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s founder, is “very supportive of Anthony”, Foo says and Tan calls the Japanese billionaire one other certainly one of his management heroes.

READ: Commentary: Why aren't tech unicorns itemizing on the SGX?

LITTLE TIME FOR FUN

Based mostly in Singapore since he moved the corporate’s headquarters there from Kuala Lumpur in 2017, Tan can usually be seen consuming “cai fan” (an affordable rice dish) at Midview Metropolis, certainly one of Singapore’s large purchasing malls.

He's married to Chloe Tong, the daughter of the founding father of Phileo Allied Financial institution, and they're anticipating their fourth baby.

He has little time for enjoyable. In 2019, Tan known as Hollywood film Invictus an “inspiring” story of Nelson Mandela’s management – or at the very least its first 38 minutes. “I didn’t finish it … I don’t have time to watch movies.”

However he doesn’t thoughts. “I don’t need breaks because to me [the job] is a break,” he stated.

Individuals who know Tan say tenacity and time administration abilities have helped him thrive. He's identified to check enterprise circumstances or take calls whereas working on a treadmill.

“I learnt how to use a laptop on a treadmill from Anthony,” stated Seize president Ming Maa, who took a pay reduce to affix the corporate in 2016.

READ: Commentary: The gig financial system – a shock enhance from the pandemic and in Singapore, it’s not going wherever

His drive has fuelled certainly one of Asia’s most distinguished rivalries with Nadiem Makarim, a Harvard classmate who helped to discovered Indonesia’s Gojek, which additionally gives funds, supply and different providers.

Every began in his residence nation – Gojek launched in 2010 as an app for reserving bike rides.

However the two tremendous apps have burnt money as they competed for Southeast Asian dominance. Shareholders inspired them to begin merger talks final 12 months. Discussions stalled over how a lot management Tan would have.

READ: Commentary: Affect of Seize-Gojek merger on customers and drivers unlikely to be big

Uber additionally discovered Tan a troublesome competitor throughout a fierce battle that led to 2018. The US group bought out to Seize and stop the area.

“Anthony is a street fighter,” says Gregory Van, a former Seize worker who now heads a Singapore-based digital wealth administration platform.

Tan is prone to want these abilities: Seize is coming to market simply as institutional enthusiasm for SPACs is waning and quick sellers are circling.