SINGAPORE (Oct 14): David Lee, CEO of IYUNO Media Group, was once told that his business — providing dubbing and subtitling services for movies and videos — would not succeed in the US, especially since it was run by a non-American.

“Everyone told me, ‘no way an Asian businessman can make it in the US’,” he recalls in an interview with The Edge Singapore. Lee went ahead anyway, opening IYUNO’s US office within three days. The US business has grown from strength to strength. “I am a believer in instinct,” he says.

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<i>(Main photo from left):  Max Loh of EY;  Ron Tan of Cityneon Holdings, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year – Media and Entertainment;  David Lee of IYUNO Media Group, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year and for Digital Media Supply Chain category;  Kong Wan Sing of JustCo, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year – Workspace Solutions; Ng Gim Choo of EtonHouse International Education Group, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year – Education; Ng Chee Meng, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office and secretary-general, NTUC; Ron Sim, chairman of the EOY 2019 judging panel; Liew Nam Soon, EY Asean regional managing partner; Koh Kah Sek, chief financial officer and executive director, Far East Organization, EY Family Business Award of Excellence; Yeah Hiang Nam of ValueMax Group, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year – Financial Services; and Dennis A Uy of Udenna Corp, EY Asean Entrepreneurial Excellence Award</i>

Since its tough early years, when Lee had to sometimes borrow money from his employees, IYUNO has become a global market leader in the industry, attracting the likes of Softbank Ventures, which invested US$24 million ($33.1 million) for a 25% stake last year.

For his drive, grit and eventual success, Lee was named Entrepreneur Of The Year at the 18th edition of the awards, organised by professional services firm EY. He was also named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year — Digital Media Supply Chain. The awards presentation was held on Oct 3.

The theme for this year is “Unstoppable — innovate, disrupt, transform”. Lee says winning the award will inspire him to continue what he is doing, but with an even stronger conviction.

“I know that a growing and successful business can still be vulnerable. The bigger our company grows, the greater our responsibility to our employees, their families, our investors and the communities that we are a part of. I dedicate this award to fellow entrepreneurs who haven’t been discovered but continue to persevere in making their vision a reality,” he says.

Next June, Lee will represent Singapore at the prestigious EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year awards to be held in Monte Carlo, Monaco. He will compete against entrepreneurs from more than 50 other countries for the world title.

Besides Lee, four other category winners have been announced. They are Ron Tan, executive chairman and group CEO of City-neon Holdings, who was named Entrepreneur Of The Year — Media and Entertainment; Ng Gim Choo, founder and managing director of EtonHouse International Education Group, for Education; Kong Wan Sing, founder and CEO of JustCo, for Workspace Solutions; and Yeah Hiang Nam, managing director and CEO of ValueMax Group, for Financial Services.

The event was held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. Ng Chee Meng, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), was the guest of honour. Ng commented that there was a buzz to the event. “Beneath that buzz is an underlying current of grit, of a never-say-die attitude that has pushed these entrepreneurs out of comfort zones and into success,” he said.

Ron Sim, chairman of the judging panel, applauded Lee’s -“visionary leadership”. “Beyond commercial success, David has distinguished himself for his tenacity in riding out the disruptions in the industry through technology innovation, his agility in building a global footprint, and his belief in fulfilling the larger purpose of fostering inclusiveness by bridging cultures through quality localisation of the spoken word,” says Sim, who is also executive chairman and CEO of V3 Group.

Max Loh, Singapore managing partner at EY, calls the five category winners a “special group” because “they don’t give up, they don’t stop”. “They cut through the noise of this transformative age by breaking away from the pack, forging on no matter what difficulties they face, fuelled by their vision and passion, the trust that their families, stakeholders and employees place in them, and their belief in innovation to grow regardless of how long they have been in the business.”

In addition to the five entrepreneur awards, two special awards were given out. Dennis A Uy, founder, chairman and president of Udenna Corp, received the EY Asean Entrepreneurial Excellence award. Far East Organization, one of the largest developers in Singapore, received the EY Family Business Award of Excellence.

The Edge Singapore is one of the official media partners of the EOY awards while the data partner is Merrill Corp. The EOY awards also recognises Action Community for Entrepreneurship, Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Business Federation, and Skills-Future Singapore as supporters.

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