They say behind every successful man is a great woman. In business, that just means success takes a team—and often, it’s a family affair.

The woman usually are not in the limelight, but in the case of Powerwell Holdings Berhad, Ms. Wong Yoke Yen did take the rein when the business calls for it.

Powerwell builds custom electrical switchboards and switchgears to power up buildings. Today in 2026, with data centers popping up everywhere, business is booming

Co-founder Mr. Tham Kien Wai is a classic rags-to-riches story. Leaving school after Form 2 in 1978, he launched Powerwell in 1991 as a total one-man show—juggling design, buying, building, and delivery all on his own.

But as the business took off, someone was needed to hold the fort.

Enter Ms. Wong Yoke Yen.

She left NEC to join the startup in 1993. She calls her first year a total “culture shock”—after all, she was the only woman in the company of 10.

Over the years, she took the reins of HR and finance, even securing the company’s first major quality badge (ISO 9001). She helped steer Powerwell to a steady 10-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.56%, from RM92.5 million in 2016 to RM159 million in 2026.

Having proven itself in Malaysia, Powerwell went global. They opened their an assembly plant in Indonesia. Today, they have projects across Bangladesh, Singapore, Thailand, and Pakistan.

Roughly 3 years ago, Mr. Tham hung up his boots, Ms. Wong took over as Managing Director.

It took her 30 years to reach the top.

Shortly after that, in an interview, she said there two remaining objectives, to complete their product portfolio and to go Main Board.

From a bank teller to the MD of a highly profitable powerhouse, this is a story worth cheering for.