EUROCHAM Malaysia wishes all our Hindu members, friends and connections a happy Thaipusam.  May this auspicious occasion bring you strength, prosperity, and renewed devotion. 

Did you know? Thaipusam is a significant Hindu festival observed by the Tamil community, symbolising the victory of good over evil and the power of faith and perseverance. 

🎓 Future-ready talent is the key to Penang’s continued growth in the global marketplace.

At EU-Malaysia Business Day 2025: Penang in Focus, Breakout Session 1: Developing Future-Ready Talent: Education & Upskilling will explore: 

✅ Aligning education with industry demands

✅ Innovative upskilling programs

✅ Empowering talent to drive Penang’s industries forward 

📢 Hear from esteemed industry leaders shaping the future of workforce development: 

🎤 Moderator: 

🔹 Donal Crotty, EUROCHAM Malaysia 

🎙 Speakers:

🔹 Jan Noether, Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry

🔹 Petri Karjalainen, Finnish Education Solutions

🔹 Dr Hari Narayanan, Penang Skills Development Centre

🔹 Karen Morgan, RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus (RUMC) 

🏥 Penang is emerging as a regional hub for healthcare innovation and medical device manufacturing!

Join us at EU-Malaysia Business Day 2025: Penang in Focus for Breakout Session 1: Healthcare and Medical Devices Hub, where industry leaders will discuss cutting-edge research, regulatory insights, and global market opportunities. Learn how businesses can leverage Penang’s strengths to thrive in this rapidly growing sector. 

🎤 Moderator:

🔹 Dato Hans Brenner, BMC Consulting Sdn Bhd 

🎙 Speakers: 

🔹 Christian Kapischke, B. Braun 

🔹 JC Guillou, Mölnlycke Health Care 

🔹 Joyce Ngo, KLS Martin

Join us at EU-Malaysia Business Day 2025: Penang in Focus for a deep dive into the innovations shaping Penang’s world-class electrical & electronics (E&E) sector! 

In Breakout Session 1: Advancing Manufacturing Excellence in Penang: E&E, industry leaders will explore strategies to enhance manufacturing capabilities, integrate Industry 4.0 technologies, and position Penang as a global hub for advanced manufacturing. 

🎤 Moderator:

🔹 Michel Van Crombrugge, Tecan CDMO Solutions PN Sdn. Bhd.

As EUROCHAM Malaysia welcomes a new chapter in its leadership, our new chairman Peter Lenhardt sat down for a conversation with our new CEO Karl Godderis.

With nearly 30 years of experience across Southeast Asia in management consulting and foreign investment advisory, Mr. Godderis brings a wealth of expertise that will further strengthen the Chamber’s role in facilitating EU-Malaysia trade and investment. In this exclusive interview, our Chairman, Mr. Peter Lenhardt, sits down with Mr. Godderis about his professional journey, his vision for EUROCHAM Malaysia, and key initiatives that will drive the Chamber’s advocacy and engagement in the year ahead.

Read on to gain valuable insights into how EUROCHAM Malaysia is positioning itself for the future under his leadership.

Peter Lenhardt: It is with great pleasure that I can announce a key transition in our leadership, with the start of our new CEO Karl Godderis. This change in leadership reflects our continued commitment to excellence and collaboration. Especially in times where we need to further strengthen our efforts to navigate global and regional challenges, enhance EU-Malaysia economic ties, and advocate for the successful implementation of a targeted Free Trade Agreement between Malaysia and the EU. Welcome Karl !

Maybe to kick off, can you tell us something more about yourself and your professional background.

Karl Godderis: Thank you Peter. I am of Belgian origin but spent almost 30 years or the main part of my professional career in this part of the world. Back in 1995 I came to Malaysia first for an internship with a Belgian company which at the time already had its South East Asian HQ in Kuala Lumpur. Talking about forward thinking! This was followed by a professional period in Indonesia, which spanned the best part of 20 years. Then, after working several years in Australia I came back to Malaysia, now about 5 years ago.

For a large part of that period I worked in the management consulting industry, both with large global players like PWC and Kearney, as well as with boutique advisory companies and even my own firm. So I experienced the consulting work through the lens of the large corporate advisors as well as from a more entrepreneurial, closer to the ground perspective. Over those years the focus of my advisory work was mainly with Foreign Investors moving into South East Asia on topics ranging from regional or country specific business strategies, M&A and Post-Merger Integration, Supply chain optimisation and Business Transformation. Initially a significant part of that work was in Financial Services, but especially in the last 8 years I worked across Food& Agri, FMCG, Natural resources and industrial activities such as the EV supply chain. In most recent times, a fair bit of that work was in the context of the “Chine +1” phenomenon. Advising mainly European companies on market entry into Malaysia as a preferred option for a parallel operation or supply chain vis-à-vis their Chinese market presence.

Join Us at the EU-Malaysia Business Day 2025: Penang in Focus!

The Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Malaysia, in partnership with the Penang State Government, EUROCHAM Malaysia, and InvestPenang is thrilled to invite all our members and partners to this prestigious event. 

📅 Thursday, 13 February 2025   

⏰ 8 AM – 11 PM

📍 Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang 

This year, we spotlight Penang—a hub for innovation, technology, and global trade. Engage with influential leaders, industry experts, and policymakers from the EU and Malaysia as we explore opportunities to strengthen business ties and investment potential in the thriving ASEAN region.