Chun Wai and June Wong move up the ladder at The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Star Publications (M) Berhad has announced the appointments of Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai as the group managing director/chief executive officer and June H.L. Wong as the group chief editor.

Chun Wai, who was appointed Acting Group CEO on Aug 1, was confirmed to the position following a board of directors meeting yesterday.

The 52-year-old journalist, who has worked in The Star for 30 years, started his career as a reporter with the company in Penang and had previously held the positions of Executive Director and Group Chief Editor.

Chun Wai, a political science and history graduate from Universiti Kebangsaan Malay­sia, has also enhanced his career by attending financial and leadership courses at various American universities, including Stanford Univer­sity and University of Southern California, organised by the International Centre for Leadership In Finance.

He is also a winner of the National Press Institute Best Jour­nalist (Features) Award for 2003.

Last year, Chun Wai became the first Malaysian to be elected into the board of the Paris-based World Editors Forum.

He sits on the board of the Bangkok-based Asia News Net­work, a regional grouping of 22 media companies.

He is also a member of the Council of Governance of the National Inno­vation Agency in the Prime Minister’s De-part­ment and a trustee of the Global Movement of Moderates.

As Group MD/ CEO, he will continue to strengthen The Star’s print, radio, television and digital platforms as part of its convergence into an integrated group.

June Wong graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and a Diploma in Education from Uni­versiti Malaya.

She has over 30 years experience as a journalist, starting out as a news reporter covering politics, housing, transport, City Hall and Parliament beats for almost a decade.

Subsequently, she moved to the features desk where she covered social, women and human rights issues.

She has played a major role in setting up or establishing almost all the features and lifestyle sections in The Star.

She served as Executive Editor for six years before being appointed Managing Editor three years ago.

June is also leading the transformation of the Editorial Department into a converged content hub for the Star Media Group.