CEO Insights Magazine

With the world moving towards more and more development, there is also a sudden need to look after a sustainable way of work to keep the environment safe and reduce the impact of climate change. With the vision to build resilience and sustainability in people and culture, Zainuddin Manan established Optimal Systems Engineering to create a society practicing sustainable consumption and production. The company provides consultancy services, conducts professional training, and develops cutting-edge process integration and smart systems engineering technologies and solutions to enable organizations to achieve multiple bottom-line benefits of reduced costs of energy, water, power, and resources, ultimately improving efficiency and sustainability.

Zainuddin Manan has completed his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston and later completed his Master of Science in Process Integration from the University of Manchester. He has also pursued his Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Edinburgh. He started his career as a young engineer at PETRONAS and Hong Leong Industries but after some time he realized that as an engineer, the work started feeling like routine and predictable. So, early during his career, he explored a job prospect with the chance to create, innovate & educate, and explore & experiment. His quest led him to become an academician and within one year of joining academia, he managed to propel his way to the international stage to pursue his passion by doing postgraduate study abroad in energy and resource sustainability.

Zainuddin Manan engages in an exclusive interaction with the CEO Insights Asia Magazine. Let’s hear from him.

What inspired you to establish Optimal Systems Engineering and what drives you today?

As a strong advocate of sustainability, I founded the Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT) as an academia at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to develop cutting-edge solutions for energy and resource sustainability. Within a few years, UTM-PROSPECT was ranked 1st globally in the distinguished competency of water, costs, and optimization by Elsevier and later ranked 1st globally in the competency of heat exchanger, retrofitting, and design. The stream of global recognition led me to establish Optimal Systems Engineering (OPTIMISE) as the UTM spin-off company to commercialize our solutions as a package of products, s ervices, a nd t raining p rograms. S o, here I am waking up as an international educator/ coach, entrepreneur, industrial practitioner, and changemaker with OPTIMISE.

How would you define Optimal Systems Engineering as an organization and its current position in the market?

OPTIMISE is a leading provider of cutting-edge sustainable systems engineering solutions in ASEAN. It specializes in providing training, consultancy, and smart system solutions in sustainable engineering and optimization of industrial processes and building facilities, and in sustainable enterprise planning and management. We guide organizations towards achieving multiple bottom-line benefits of improved profitability and governance, energy, resource, and environmental sustainability.

Tell us about your offerings. What are the value additions that clients can expect from your offerings?

OPTIMISE's signature training programs comprise award-winning proprietary technologies, solutions, and products that are backed by world-class, internationally validated, and referenced research in sustainable systems engineering to build competitive edges in organizations.

OPTIMISE's proven track records of over 30 years of mentoring, coaching, and providing consultancy services to over 500 organizations enable its clients to deliver performance, embrace sustainability and build resilience in their people, culture, process, and systems. Our cutting-edge technologies, solutions, and programs have been used in building facilities and numerous industries including oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, food and beverages, oleochemical, palm oil, chloral-kali, pulp and paper, medical glove, and semiconductors.

Could you tell us about Optimal Systems Engineering’s approach toward sustainability? How are you up-skilling the participants?

We call our approach the Global Cafe Hi-5 (Highimpact- Sustainability) for widening access to our quality offerings. Hi-1 is our mission to produce competent, future-ready energy sustainability changemakers through our unique recipe. Hi-2 is our customized and personalized recipes for organizations and professionals. Hi-3 are our great chefs, who are certified and competent pros to deliver our innovative recipes. Hi-4 is our uberized delivery via technology and partnership to enable access to anyone from anywhere at any time. Hi-5 is our data-driven quality control, monitoring, and improvement that leverages digital technology, analytics, and platforms.

Zainuddin Manan, Founder & CEO

Optimal Systems Engineering Malaysia An educator, entrepreneur, industrial practitioner, researcher, and academician, Zainuddin Manan is often approached by aspiring young leaders for advice. He has founded Optimal Systems Engineering and possesses professional experience of over three decades in sustainability.

• Hobbies: Nature-walking/traveling, learning about motivation, and investments

• Favorite Book: Rich-Dad, Poor-Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

• Favorite Cuisine: Fish-Head Curry

• Favorite Travel Destination: Scottish Highlands, UK

Awards & Recognition

• Global Top 2 percent Scientists by Stanford Research (Lifetime Achievement).

• Global Top 2 percent Scientists by Stanford Research (2022 Achievement).

• Innovative Curriculum Award by Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. 2018

• Ranked 1st globally by Elsevier in Emerging Competency of Heat Exchanger, Retrofitting, Design, 2014

• Top Research Scientist Malaysia by Academy of Sciences Malaysia 2013.

• Ranked 1st globally by Elsevier in the Competency of Distinguished Competency of Water, Costs and Optimization, 2012.