Meet Yeoh Pei Xien, the third-generation scion of Malaysia’s YTL Hotels

Despite growing up as an only child, Yeoh Pei Xien never felt lonely. After all, she was surrounded by 26 cousins, who provided the companionship, camaraderie and lively energy of a close-knit extended family.

Yeoh is the youngest grandchild of the late Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay, the founder of Malaysian multinational conglomerate, YTL Group. The company operates globally across various sectors including construction, power, cement, property development, hotels and digital infrastructure. Her father, Dato Mark Yeoh, is the executive director of the group’s hotels and resorts division. 

Yeoh, 25, grew up surrounded by high-achieving cousins driven to excel, an environment that shaped her own ambitions from an early age. There was particular emphasis on education in the family. Her grandmother, a primary school mathematics teacher, personally tutored each grandchild from a young age. But the family dynamic was equally defined by warmth – the cousins gathered for late-night football matches regularly, and the bonds they formed often felt closer to that of siblings than extended relatives. “Family life really was the centre of my childhood,” quipped Yeoh. 

Naturally, this strong sense of belonging instilled in Yeoh an inclination to contribute to the family’s legacy. Many of her cousins are involved across the group’s various divisions, and today, Yeoh is vice-president of transformation and strategy of the hospitality arm. “A lot of people ask if we regret going to the family business or if we ever wanted to do something else. The honest truth is we were never forced into it, but we always felt a very deep sense of belonging and duty,” said Yeoh. 

A LIFELONG AMBITION

In truth, Yeoh’s desire to join the family business began at an early age. “When I was seven or eight and learning how to use Microsoft PowerPoint for the first time, I would design my own business cards. I even Googled the YTL Group logo and added it in,” she recalled with a laugh. As the youngest grandchild, she often felt she was “the last to join”, which only fuelled her eagerness to follow in the footsteps of her older cousins. 

With her father leading the group’s hospitality division, it seemed natural that Yeoh might eventually gravitate there as well. As she pointed out, it was also “the only division without a successor from the third generation.” 

Her training, in many ways, began long before she formally joined the business. While at boarding school in London as a teenager, she recalled receiving WhatsApp messages from her father filled with board papers and research reports. Weekly phone calls became informal tutorials. “I’d call him and say, ‘Hi Papa, how are you?’ and the first thing he’d ask was, ‘Did you read what I sent you? Have you gone through the numbers?’” she chuckled. The early exposure continued during her university years. While studying at University College London, Yeoh would spend her term breaks shadowing her father when he was in town for meetings. 

When the time came for Yeoh to enter the working world, she formally emailed her father her resume, complete with a cover letter outlining her enthusiasm to join the business. “He replied with just one word, ‘No,’” Yeoh recalled with a laugh.

Instead, her father insisted she gain experience elsewhere first. Or, as he put it: “Go make your mistakes on someone else’s dime before you come back to me.” So, Yeoh spent two years in consulting before eventually joining the family fold, an experience that proved to be beneficial. She worked across a wide range of projects – from government and telecommunications to healthcare and insurance – gaining a broad understanding of different sectors.

Consulting also sharpened her soft skills. “You learn how to strategise, think on your feet, and understand different clients’ needs and expectations.” The exposure, she added, has translated seamlessly into her role today, equipping her with the agility and perspective required within the family business.

SHAPING THE NEXT CHAPTER

In a portfolio spanning 38 properties, Yeoh’s role at YTL Hotels sits at the intersection of sales, partnerships and people. Internally, she works closely with the marketing, HR and IT teams, while externally managing relationships with global heavyweights such as Marriott International, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), under whose flags much of the group’s portfolio operates. 

At the same time, she shapes the commercial strategy for YTL’s five standalone Malaysian resorts – Pangkor Laut Resort, The Majestic Malacca, Gaya Island Resort, Tanjong Jara Resort and Cameron Highlands Resort – each of which operates independently and demands a more bespoke touch.

Of them all, Pangkor Laut Resort holds particular resonance for Yeoh. In fact, “The whole family has a very big affinity to Pangkor Laut Resort,” Yeoh shared. It was the backdrop to countless family holidays, where days were spent fishing with cousins and evenings unfolded at an unhurried pace.

Although it has only been a year since Yeoh joined YTL, it has already been a busy period of expansion. In 2025, YTL opened three hotels in Malaysia, the AC Hotel Ipoh, Moxie KL and AC Puchong. In November, the group also announced its acquisition of the former Thistle Johor Bahru, with plans to convert the property to JW Marriott Johor Bahru by December 2026. Planned facilities include 410 rooms, three pickleball courts, a grand ballroom and a pork-free dim sum restaurant. 

“We’ve been on a really big path of expansion but in terms of the future, we’re not desperate to keep acquiring properties. But when we see the right deal, we are willing to invest,” said Yeoh. “My motto is we find the diamonds in the rocks, and then we polish then to make them very nice, shiny diamonds.” 

That philosophy is already shaping the group’s next chapter. In Phuket, Thailand, YTL is developing a new resort, The Rawai Phuket, slated to open in 2027 under Hilton’s luxury portfolio. The beachfront site, with rare, direct access to a private stretch of sand, was, Yeoh said, “a very good find”. It signals a renewed focus on Phuket, which today offers a markedly different proposition from decades past: more developed, more cosmopolitan and firmly established as a global leisure hub. Thailand as a whole has also enjoyed a fresh wave of international attention, fuelled in part by cultural moments such as The White Lotus.

For 2026, however, much of Yeoh’s focus will be closer to home. With Visit Malaysia Year 2026 on the horizon, the group is working closely with Tourism Malaysia to further spotlight its five Malaysian resorts. “They are not very huge assets, but they each have distinctive identities that showcase the multifaceted nature of Malaysia,” she said. 

NOT JUST ANOTHER ‘NEPO BABY’

Joining the family business may have been something Yeoh had prepared for her entire life, but that didn’t stop her from experiencing imposter syndrome when she first stepped into the role. “My reservation was always, what if I’m just another ‘nepo baby’ who doesn’t know the ropes and everyone has to pander to them just because of who they are?” she admitted candidly.

“I know my name has opened doors, but I truly hope my work ethic has justified my place in the room. I never want to be someone who gets to where they are and then isn’t grateful or doesn’t strive to succeed.”

Thankfully, she has her father as a mentor to guide her along the way. In fact, the two are alike in many ways. In person, Yeoh exudes the same energetic and gregarious personality as her father. 

“My dad has always been more like a friend to me than a father, because he’s very cheeky,” shared Yeoh. As she still lives at home with her parents, work discussions sometimes seep into home life. “I don't call work life balance anymore. I call it work life integration. I'll come home have dinner, and then my dad and I will be talking about work till the wee hours in the morning, and my poor mother has gone up to go and watch TV because she feels done with it,” laughed Yeoh. 

The biggest lesson she has learnt from her dad is “don't be afraid to make a bad decision, which is better than no decision. The hotel industry is very dynamic, and things can change from day to day. Sometimes it's better to make a decision, really understand why you've made it, and follow through with the consequences, rather than being indecisive and missing the boat entirely.”

From her grandfather, whom she describes as having had a close relationship with growing up, she learnt the importance of staying united as a family. “I think we are haunted by the stories of family businesses that crumble, especially after the third generation. But we were always taught by my grandparents, and now by my aunts, uncles and my dad, to be humble in what we do and to never take any personal credit.” 

CARRYING THE TORCH

Outside of YTL and her day job, Yeoh is passionate about youth mentorship. “I’m very involved in my church and, up until recently, I was serving in a youth ministry,” she shared. “It’s a lot like being a teacher. It can be exhausting, but it’s also incredibly rewarding because you get to witness the next generation grow and develop.”

To her nieces and nephews, she is simply “the fun auntie.” Acknowledging that her generation was “born with a silver spoon,” she hopes to help raise her cousins’ children with humility – just as her grandparents and parents raised them. “My cousins and I grew up when YTL was already fairly successful, although we had our downturns. But the next generation will probably never experience such a big shift in circumstances. So it’s important to teach them our family values,” she said.

When it comes to continuing the family legacy, Yeoh admits the responsibility can feel both exciting and daunting. “There are very big shoes to fill,” she said. “It’s a huge privilege that’s not lost on me. I’m very aware of all the noise around it, but my motto has always been to keep my head down and let the work speak for itself.”

The legacy she is inheriting may be vast, but Yeoh is determined to carry it forward in her own way – quietly, steadily, and guided by the same values that shaped the generations before her.