With a total of over 30 years in the corporate sector, Y. Bhg. Dato’ Syed is highly acclaimed for his astute skills and sound knowledge in property development and marketing, project and construction management, and general and business management.

Once the Group Chief Executive of TTDI Development Sdn. Bhd, he was instrumental in turning around the company from a 'loss' position to a 'profit-generating' one within less than a year and on the back of a depressed property market.

His 16-years contribution to the TTDI Group further included his role as a Director on the Boards of 11 subsidiaries, amongst which are Pandan Maju Sdn. Bhd., Tadisma Harta Sdn. Bhd., and TTDI Jaya Sdn. Bhd. During his leadership tenure, TTDI Development Sdn .Bhd. achieved the FIABCI (Malaysian Chapter) Award for Best Residential Township in 1993, and the ISO 9002 certificate.

He also served in the capacity of Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of UM Land Bhd, a public-listed real estate developer.

Y. Bhg. Dato' Syed holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in International Trade and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He participated in the Harvard Business School's Senior Management Development Programme and is currently an associate member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Malaysia (HBSACM).

Lim Lay Ying pioneered the property research services business back in 1989 via a joint-venture start-up with Frank Small (now Taylor Nelson Sofres), after being convinced of its importance.

However, not wanting to be just a business partner, she went solo in 1994 and founded DTZ Research (South East Asia) - now known as RESEARCH Inc. Asia - a Kuala Lumpur-based company specializing in property development consulting and marketing research that has grown swiftly under her direction.

With a Masters of Science in Town Planning, and extensive experience in the property industry, her expertise in the field is much sought after by developers, investors, retailers, consumer-based organisations and the media.

Her 30-over years in the industry have been further reinforced by her senior management positions with leading property development companies including Hong Leong Property Management Sdn Bhd and Island & Peninsular Berhad.

Through RESEARCH Inc. Asia, Ms Lim keeps in constant touch with changing market trends, customer needs and preferences in the property industry, and provides value-added research advice to both local and foreign developers, major retailers, and investors.

Ms Lim is also regularly consulted on various property-related topics at colleges, universities, conferences, and seminars.

For five and a half years, she ran a weekly column called On Property with Lim Lay Ying in the Star newspaper (Property Watch in Sin Chew Jit Poh). Today, the weekly column appears every Saturday in The New Straits Times: Property Times, continuing its long tradition of informing the public of the latest trends in the property market and industry

She has made numerous appearances on TV3's Property Watch programme and has frequently been invited to share her views in various newspapers and magazines like Business Times, The Edge, Malaysian Business, Property Review, and Building & Construction.

On the regional front, she has been featured in several recorded interviews with CNBC Asia and Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) for her views on the Asian property market.