The Team
Dato’ Tom Chow, (Executive MBA)
A Malaysian, aged 48, graduated with an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) at Southern University, Malaysia. He is the founder of AgroFresh International. With 16 years of experience, he is fully responsible for its rapid growth in agriculture, international fruit export markets and planting management. In the year 2022, He has been appointed Managing Director & CEO of PLS Agrofresh ( A Subsidiary of PLS Plantation Berhad. KLSE: 9695 ). He was also named Executive Director of HB Global Limited, a publicly-traded company on the Malaysian Board of Directors. (KLSE: HBGLOB. Stock Code: 5187). Director of Corporate Development and Strategic Management of the group. He has been appointed Managing Director of TSL Agro Sdn Bhd; TSLA is a company subsidiary of the TSLAW Group. Responsible for the management of the crop plantation and production of the TSLAW Group. Dato’ Tom Chow was appointed as the Business Development Director (S.E.A) of China’s Hebei Zhongyun Investment Group. He may take charge of the group’s plantations & related business and development and supervise the daily operation works in all the regional offices in Cambodia and Vietnam.
He is currently involved in selling and commercializing tropical fruits in ASEAN countries. Represents a group of companies engaged in the plantation, packaging, trading, and wholesaling of fruit and other local low-fruit products fully exported to contracted clients from China, Europe, Japan, Korea, and Middle Eastern countries. His valuable positive influences and extensive knowledge of agricultural plantations, crops, and marketing strategies. He was exclusively appointed marketing adviser for the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Fruit Farmers’ Association (KLSFFA). He has been highly sought after because of his extensive knowledge of agricultural and agronomic sciences. He was appointed as a member of the Industry/Community Advisory Panel of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and he was appointed as an Institute of Bioscience, Putra Paradise Project Director. Head of research and development (R&D) in agriculture, plantation, tissue cultivation, and nursery, a project of the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). With his tremendous experience in the ethical business culture and his involvement in uplifting the livelihood of society, he was awarded the Hong Kong Distinguished Chinese Award for his invaluable contribution to the community and, under his constructive leadership, won the prestigious ASEAN Outstanding Industrial Class Award for Tropical Fruits development. His vision and guidance are the critical success factor.
Dr Edren Masuhay Panti, (PhD. MBA. MEe)
Dr. Edren Panti is an expert with 24 years of experience in Banana Plantation Operations spanning various fields including plantation development & expansions, plantation rehabilitation, engineering & Irrigation, environmental & safety certification management and agriculture sustainability. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Mindanao, Bolton Street, and has completed multiple degrees including a Master in Engineering, a Master in Business Administration, and a Doctorate in Management. Recently, he also completed Dr. Ellaine Ingham’s course at the Soil Food Web School, expanding his knowledge of sustainable agriculture.
Dr. Panti has been in charge of the Corporate Environment, Health & Safety and Engineering (CEHS) Group at Unifrutti Tropical Philippines Inc. (UTPI) for nearly 21 years. He has successfully led the organization in implementing and maintaining internationally recognized certification standards such as the Rainforest Alliance, ISO 14001, Global Good Agricultural Practices, Food Safety Management System, and Occupational Health & Safety Assessment Series. Under his leadership, Unifrutti has become one of the most innovative and sustainable banana and pineapple companies in Asia.
Apart from his work at Unifrutti, Dr. Panti also served as Head-Engineering Systems & Projects, Environment and Safety Management at LFC for nearly two years, where he spearheaded several divisions, including the Irrigation department, Asset Management group, Central Engineering division, Plantation division, Fleet & Heavy Equipment departments, Environment & Safety, and expansion & plantation rehabilitation special projects. He also provides consulting services for Egrass plantation development as part of the PMR Group’s attempt to transform the energy business into an environmentally friendly one.
Dr. Panti is a part-time faculty member at the University of Immaculate Conception since 2018 and teaches on master’s and doctoral program. He presented his research on “The Mediating Effect of Risk Management Strategies on the Relationship Between Attitude Constructs and Sustainability of Banana Production in Southern Philippines” at the 4th International Conference on Multidisciplinary Innovation in Business Engineering in Bangkok, Thailand, where he won the prestigious “Best Paper Presentation Award”.
Dr. Panti holds certifications as a Certified Lead Auditor from IRCA for ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:2008, ISO 22001:2009, and ISO 9001:2008. He is also a certified structural engineer and an accredited safety consultant. His expertise and dedication to sustainability solutions make him a valuable asset to any organization.
Prof. Dato’ Dr Mohd Azmi Mohd
I currently am a Professor at the University of Putra Malaysia (UPM). His core expertise is Molecular Virology or Biotechnology/Life Sciences at large. Additionally, he has extensive complementary exposure to technology /IP evaluation and commercialisation (finance, legal matters and corporate affairs) in biopharmaceuticals, natural products, agriculture, and other life sciences disciplines. He was a former Director of Investment at Malaysian Technology Development Corporation, former CEO of NINEBIO Sdn Bhd, and former CEO of UPM Innovations Sdn Bhd. He was a director of several investee companies and publicly listed companies. Prof Dr Mohd Azmi has more than twenty (20) years of experience in life sciences, biotechnology and agriculture on research and development (R&D), innovations, technology acquisitions and investments, entrepreneurship, commercialisation of IPs, technology management, and also taking companies going public/IPO. He engaged as a consultant and advisor to various organisations. He was a member of various committees under the Ministry of Trade & Industry (MITI), Ministry of Human Resource, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Sciences, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI), Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Halal Development Corporation, Malaysian Biotech Corporation for various roles. He was seconded as the CEO of Ninebio Sdn Bhd (wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance), focused on the manufacturing, developing, and distributing of Halal vaccines, biologics and natural products.
Ninebio also provides support services related to manufacturing and HALAL certification activities to multinational companies, for instance, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. Dr Mohd Azmi was responsible for the strategic direction, business development, fundraising from IDB and another big MNC abroad (USD100 million), and the company’s overall management. Throughout his tenure (2009-2010), he managed to restructure the company to ensure the right business direction, funding requirement, financing, and good governance/compliance Mohd Azmi served as Director of publicly listed companies, including TDM Berhad (plantation & healthcare sectors) and INS Bioscience Berhad (natural products & marketing). He served as a Chairman of the International Advisory Board, Board Audit Committee, and Remuneration Nomination Committee in one of the public companies. He has also been instrumental in ensuring the company went public/IPO in 2004. He is currently helping another two companies pending IPO- to be listed in 2013 (in the Malaysian ACE stock market).
Mr TONG GEE PUN (BScs).
Mr Tong Gee Pun graduated from the University of Technology Malaysia (UTM). BScs in Marine Technology are the Chief Executive Officer & Director for E Solvent Technologies and Saramanis Limited (NSX, National Stock Exchange of Australia). He has more than 25 years of experience in Project Development & Corporate Finance.
The core business of E Solvent is the development of natural asphalt mines and the promotion of integrated use of natural asphalt. At the same time, Saramanis Limited focuses on banana and pineapple plantations & agro-forestry. He has served as the Executive Director of a Ho Wah Genting Bhd-listed company in Malaysia for 6 years. He is responsible for corporate finance, the Mining exploration, development, mining and smelter development business of minerals (magnesium, tin & zirconium) and their investment portfolio. He has participated in business restructuring, fundraising, debt& equity financing, mergers and acquisitions and listing cases in various industries, including Oil & Gas, Agriculture, IT, Coal & Nickle.
Dr Reynato Umali, (PhD)
Graduated from Chiba University, Japan. PhD in Plant Breeding & Biotechnology.
An experienced agriculture and research executive with a wealth of experience in crop production, plant and fruit physiology, plant biotechnology, wastewater treatment, postharvest technologies, packaging material, cold storage, varietal improvement, geo-informatics application, and management of research organisation spanning a combined total of 30 years with the world`s top fresh fruit companies including Dole, Delmonte, Unifrutti and PT Great Giant Pineapple of Indonesia. Managerial accomplishments include leading a robust collaborative research and production team providing valuable technical and extension services to address corporate and growers` needs toward improved yield and overall fruit quality of Cavendish banana and MD2 pineapple.
Effectively established a network of cooperation in government, markets, and academic and scientific communities here and abroad. Had a wide range of exposure to various Asian and Middle East markets on different fresh and fresh-cut product demands and customer preferences.
Management style is based on strong interpersonal and human relation skills, attention to detail, ability to foster a motivated team environment, excellent communication skills, and a strong customer focus.
Mr. Hans Thorsten Tuchel. (MSc Finance)
Has 18 years of experience in the banana farming industry. Graduated from the University of Potsdam, state of Brandenburg, Germany. Master of Financial Consultancy.
EXPERIENCE CONSULTANT — JANUARY 2018 – TODAY GUO RUN FRUIT TRADING CO., DAVAO CITY, PHILIPPINES The main objective of Guo Run Fruit Trading is to connect Farmers to Buyers and to assist Farmers in their farm development, expansion and quality yield increase. As banana plantation experts, we provide our knowledge in The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. PRESIDENT/CMO — JANUARY 2010 – DECEMBER 2017 PHILFRUIT – BANANA BROTHERS, INC.., DAVAO CITY, PHILIPPINES As part owner and President/CMO of the company, we made PhilFruit a known Quality Brand for Cavendish bananas and pineapples in the Middle East, China, South Korea and other countries. We established our farms from scratch, contracted growers and managed more than 1500 hectares of banana farms. Aside we assisted incomplete project planning for banana plantations abroad. Further, we extended the export of pineapples. CEO/CMO — JANUARY 2007 – DECEMBER 2009 TUCHEL TRADING AND CONSULTANCY SERVICES, CO. DAVAO CITY, PHILIPPINES Building a Cavendish banana export company from scratch and is the first German exporter in the Philippines. Set the base for future expansion in the industry. OWNER — AUGUST 2000 – DECEMBER 2006 HOUSE AND LIVING CONSULTING, CO. MAGDEBURG/GERMANY AND MANILA, PHILIPPINES Complete independent Financial Consultancy for households and medium-sized companies. DIRECTOR — AUGUST 1999 – AUGUST 2000 AVANTIS BERATUNGS, AG MAGDEBURG/GERMANY Building up a complete Sales structure and training of Sales personnel for Hospitals, Doctors and Health Workers.
Haw Chun Yap (B.A. Hons)
David Haw is an accomplished professional who possesses a diverse set of skills in accounting, finance, and construction. He graduated from UCSI University in 2011 with a B.A. (Hons) degree in Accounting and Finance. Since then, he has gained valuable experience in various roles.
At YC Tan & Co, David worked as an audit senior, where he conducted statutory reviews, risk assessments, and performance reviews, among other duties. Later, he joined Chuan Huat International (S) Pte. Ltd as an accounts manager and was responsible for overseeing full set accounts, audit schedules, and employee performance.
David also served as a finance manager at Shanghai Geo-harbour Construction Group for three years. In this role, he managed group reporting, project analysis, and audits. His exceptional skills and experience have made him a valuable asset to every team he has worked with.