Unleashing self-potential with a Fortune Global 500 (FG500) corporation is everyone’s dream. However, getting enlisted as a potential candidate to serve with one of these corporations is never easy. It is once in a lifetime opportunity. Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) is a Malaysian multinational oil and gas titan currently positioning itself within this list of excellent enitities with an undisputed reputation for its energy solutions and societal progress empowerment. Ali Azanullah, 41, embarked on his professional journey with PETRONAS around 12 years ago. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy with honours from Management and Science University (MSU) in 2008, he is considered one of the luckiest professionals currently in service with Malaysia’s reputable entity as the head of Culture and Change Management at PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB), acting as the domestic marketing arm for the entity.
Although his numerical aptitude and analytical prowess were the cornerstones of his early career, he was later hired into a permanent position at PDB after fate presented him with a life-changing professional blueprint in store. Before this latest endeavour, Ali was in tenure with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as pricing analyst before shifting his attention to setting up a family business with an obtained grant from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI). Today, as the head of Culture and Change Management, Ali has demonstrated a remarkable metamorphosis from a financial analyst to a visionary culture architect, trading spreadsheets for strategic talent and corporate culture development.
“The division that I am currently overseeing is known as the Strategy Division at PDB. Our roles are mainly dedicated to charting the future growth internally and externally for PETRONAS. We are working collectively as a team to commercialise and distribute PETRONAS-owned commodities into consumer-based products for domestic use such as lubricants, refined petroleum products, facilitating licensing and operation of service stations as well as speciality products and merchandise,” as Ali explained about the core functions of the division he leads today.
According to his thorough observation of the trends and market insights for the global oil and gas industry, Ali believes in continuous research and development (RnD) and strategic governance to navigate through the existing market challenges imposed by conflicting interests, risks and competitors. If one were to ask him about what needs to be done to level up in this game, he would say that the best way is to connect the strategies with the people to work synergistically so that the entity can stay on top of other industry players.
“To link those formulated strategies and the people is one of the most effective ways to improvise internally as an organisation. This is because everything starts with people. One could have so many strategies in place, but the lack of implementation by the right people with the right mindset will render those strategies to no avail. Strategic formulation and implementation of people and management culture within the organisation call for a sufficient understanding of the goals, the nature of the challenges faced and the right interventions to deliver to the collective interests in the future,” he added about the people and culture management.
Crediting his current managerial and leadership proficiency in managing the intrinsic element within PDB, Ali relates everything to his academic journey at MSU. He is forever grateful for the path he had chosen with the guidance of talented tutors and agrees that MSU’s supportive learning curves will allow more future graduates to also curate their own stories with excellence in both academic and soft-skills performance.
“To nurture effective leadership and holistic individual growth, we should always bear in mind that proper articulation of messages and practising a rather democratic communication approach are the keys towards goal-fulfilling endeavours. Through communication and decisive managerial actions, we can chart our way forward through early interventions and address incoming challenges,” he emphasised.
As someone who is result-driven and committed to his responsibilities, Ali becomes really observant of any incoming opportunities that could uplift the performance of the people he leads, thus significantly boosting the organisational prospects for years to come. Every room for improvement and opportunities presented before his eyes are carefully analysed before strategic implementation and planning take place. He pays close attention to overall units’ performance annually to measure the impact of his strategies and continues to improvise.
“I think a great boss or leader is someone who has empathy. Simple daily greetings and offering to help in certain tasks will be more than enough to kickstart collective growth in an organisation. Great leaders must be equipped with the right psychological safety to put in place for the team they lead,” he projected his opinion on what quality leadership should look like.
Know more about Ali's strategic managerial skills and leadership on MSUPop:
Unleashing self-potential with a Fortune Global 500 (FG500) corporation is everyone’s dream. However, getting enlisted as a potential candidate to serve with one of these corporations is never easy. It is once in a lifetime opportunity. Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) is a Malaysian multinational oil and gas titan currently positioning itself within this list of excellent enitities with an undisputed reputation for its energy solutions and societal progress empowerment. Ali Azanullah, 41, embarked on his professional journey with PETRONAS around 12 years ago. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy with honours from Management and Science University (MSU) in 2008, he is considered one of the luckiest professionals currently in service with Malaysia’s reputable entity as the head of Culture and Change Management at PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB), acting as the domestic marketing arm for the entity.
Although his numerical aptitude and analytical prowess were the cornerstones of his early career, he was later hired into a permanent position at PDB after fate presented him with a life-changing professional blueprint in store. Before this latest endeavour, Ali was in tenure with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as pricing analyst before shifting his attention to setting up a family business with an obtained grant from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI). Today, as the head of Culture and Change Management, Ali has demonstrated a remarkable metamorphosis from a financial analyst to a visionary culture architect, trading spreadsheets for strategic talent and corporate culture development.
“The division that I am currently overseeing is known as the Strategy Division at PDB. Our roles are mainly dedicated to charting the future growth internally and externally for PETRONAS. We are working collectively as a team to commercialise and distribute PETRONAS-owned commodities into consumer-based products for domestic use such as lubricants, refined petroleum products, facilitating licensing and operation of service stations as well as speciality products and merchandise,” as Ali explained about the core functions of the division he leads today.
According to his thorough observation of the trends and market insights for the global oil and gas industry, Ali believes in continuous research and development (RnD) and strategic governance to navigate through the existing market challenges imposed by conflicting interests, risks and competitors. If one were to ask him about what needs to be done to level up in this game, he would say that the best way is to connect the strategies with the people to work synergistically so that the entity can stay on top of other industry players.
“To link those formulated strategies and the people is one of the most effective ways to improvise internally as an organisation. This is because everything starts with people. One could have so many strategies in place, but the lack of implementation by the right people with the right mindset will render those strategies to no avail. Strategic formulation and implementation of people and management culture within the organisation call for a sufficient understanding of the goals, the nature of the challenges faced and the right interventions to deliver to the collective interests in the future,” he added about the people and culture management.
Crediting his current managerial and leadership proficiency in managing the intrinsic element within PDB, Ali relates everything to his academic journey at MSU. He is forever grateful for the path he had chosen with the guidance of talented tutors and agrees that MSU’s supportive learning curves will allow more future graduates to also curate their own stories with excellence in both academic and soft-skills performance.
“To nurture effective leadership and holistic individual growth, we should always bear in mind that proper articulation of messages and practising a rather democratic communication approach are the keys towards goal-fulfilling endeavours. Through communication and decisive managerial actions, we can chart our way forward through early interventions and address incoming challenges,” he emphasised.
As someone who is result-driven and committed to his responsibilities, Ali becomes really observant of any incoming opportunities that could uplift the performance of the people he leads, thus significantly boosting the organisational prospects for years to come. Every room for improvement and opportunities presented before his eyes are carefully analysed before strategic implementation and planning take place. He pays close attention to overall units’ performance annually to measure the impact of his strategies and continues to improvise.
“I think a great boss or leader is someone who has empathy. Simple daily greetings and offering to help in certain tasks will be more than enough to kickstart collective growth in an organisation. Great leaders must be equipped with the right psychological safety to put in place for the team they lead,” he projected his opinion on what quality leadership should look like.
Know more about Ali's strategic managerial skills and leadership on MSUPop: