Vijay Tharumartnam is Chief Communications Officer of the Berjaya Group, the Malaysian conglomerate that has businesses in the Consumer, Hospitality, Finance, Property and Gaming sectors. He is responsible for the strategic direction and operational performance of all aspects of communications. This includes external and internal communications, corporate branding, reputational management, investor relations and CSR.

Prior to joining Berjaya, he was Director of Group Communications at PROTON where he led communications transformation efforts that saw the automaker return to prominence resulting in increased growth and market-share as well as return to profitability. 

With over 25 years of communications experience in-house and agency, Vijay has served in a variety of roles both in the public and private sectors. He was VP, marketing and communications for the Multimedia Development Corporation, the Malaysian government agency responsible for digital transformation, the technology eco-system and foreign investment. In this role he spearheaded efforts to drive digital adoption across society and businesses while also drawing global technology giants to set up in Malaysia

Prior to that, he was VP of communications for HSBC Global Resourcing (UK) where he oversaw internal communications across Asia. Before, HSBC, Vijay set up and lead the Corporate Affairs division for BMW Group Malaysia where his work saw him win international recognition for communications innovation in the sector. He was also responsible for creating BMW Shorties, a CSR programme that is now recognized globally as Malaysia’s premier short film competition

Beginning his career in broadcasting as a producer at TV3, Vijay went on to work for Petronas as Executive Producer of the Petrosains Museum and later Ogilvy PR, prior to BMW.  At Ogilvy Vijay, led the automotive and technology practices while also being very focused on crisis, C-suite communications and media training. Here he worked with clients like GSK, Maxis, Nestle, Adobe, Ford and Castrol. He was recently recognised as one of the 20 most influential in-house communicators globally by PRovoke Media

A keen follower of Sociology and History, Vijay has a great interest in how technology is reshaping both communications and society, and cites Baudrillard and Meyrowitz as key influences in his communications thinking. He is an avid fan of cars, bikes, planes and trains, in abstract contrast to his neuro-motor skills. On weekends he can be found deep in contemplation as he ruminates on what Yoda ate on Dagobah as well as trying to calculate the exact distance of a parsec.