Lee Jia Zhang is the newly appointed COO of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK), a multinational corporation whose core business is in plantation—it is one of Malaysia’s largest plantations groups, with additional interests in chemicals and property. He is the third generation of the family-owned empire KLK Group, following his father and CEO Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian, uncle and non-executive director Dato’ Lee Hau Hian, and his late grandfather, the rubber baron and founder Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng.

Lee has a master’s in chemical engineering from Imperial College, UK and is also a chartered accountant. He started his career as an auditor, serving at Ernst & Young in the UK followed by KPMG in Kuala Lumpur. He joined KLK as senior manager in 2010, and held various positions along the way in the group’s oleochemical and corporate divisions.

Lee was later appointed executive director to assume larger responsibilities, including overseeing mergers and acquisitions, and managing several subsidiaries. In 2021, he was appointed as COO to assist his father in operational strategies and overall group direction, as well as to direct the group’s operations and management across their diverse business sectors.