Putting his heart and soul into the F&B industry for more than 40 years, Ricky Goh is more than qualified to receive this prestigious award. Starting from a waiter in 1966, Goh has covered almost every aspect of hotel management, including banquets and stewarding before becoming the executive director of regional hotel companies. As a testament to his dedication and professionalism. Goh obtained the CHA designation, the lodging industry’s most professional honour and certification from the American Hotel and Motel Association in 1991.

After four decades, Goh’s career path stretched across numerous countries and organizations, including Holiday Inns, Hyatt, Hilton, Regent International, Ramada, leading independent hotels and regional hotel groups such as Goodwood Group, CDL Hotels International (now part of Millenium and Copthorne) and Berjaya Hotels & Resorts. In the duration of his employment, he even took time off to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the International University of Independence Missouri USA. Now, he is the Chief Executive Officer of Delifrance Asia Ltd, managing 230 outlets in operations spanning over Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Shanghai, Brunei and Sri Lanka. His latest “Bistro” concept enabled Delifrance to reinvent itself into a trendy place suitable for all-day casual dining.