Francis Yeoh

Tan Sri (Dr) Francis Yeoh Sock Ping, CBE, FICE (born 23 August 1954) is a Malaysian businessman, and the eldest son of billionaire Tan Sri Dr Yeoh Tiong Lay. He was appointed managing director of YTL Corporation in 1988, and grew YTL Group from a single listed entity in 1985 to five listed companies, one of the largest conglomerates in Malaysia.

Yeoh had his secondary school education at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he was school captain. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Kingston Polytechnic (now Kingston University, United Kingdom) in 1978. He was conferred an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Kingston University on February 2014. On July 2014 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Nottingham, England. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

He was appointed managing director of YTL Corporation in 1988 and grew it into a global infrastructure development conglomerate with a combined Market Capitalization of USD 8.0 billion and total assets of US16 billion as at 31 March 2016.

Yeoh also serves as Executive Chairman of YTL Starhill Global Reit, chairman of YTL PowerSeraya Private Limited, Chairman of Wessex Water Services Limited, and as an Independent Non-Executive Director of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited HSBC.

Yeoh serves on the Advisory Councils of INSEAD, the London Business School, and the Wharton School. He co-founded the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, is Regional Chairman of International Friends of the Louvre and works with the Nature Conservancy Council.

He is one of "Asia's 25 Most Powerful and Influential Business Personalities" by Fortune and Business Week and advocates Godly stewardship of business.

In 2006, Yeoh was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2010, he was made 'Primus Inter Pares Honouree' of the Oslo Business for Peace Award Business for Peace Foundation. Also in 2010, he received the Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the 2010 CNBC Asia Business Leaders Awards.

In 2015, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Regulated Industries at the 7th World Chinese Economic Summit (WCES), held in London.

In 2016, Tan Sri Francis was honored with the prestigious Muhammad Ali Celebrity Fight Night Award at The Celebrity Fight Night in Arizona for his philanthropic efforts.

Yeoh is a devout Christian and has often attributed his success in business to Jesus. Yeoh married Rosaline Yeoh in 1982, and they have five children. His siblings reside in Malaysia and are fellow directors of YTL Corporation.