Lavernt Chen, a Malaysian male aged 43, is the Promoter, substantial shareholder, Specified Shareholder and Non-Independent Executive Director / CEO of our Company. He was appointed to our Board on 1 July 2022. He is also an Executive Director of MBN Enterprise, our wholly-owned subsidiary company.
Lavernt Chen brings to the Group over 20 years of experience in the bird's nest industry. As our Non-Independent Executive Director / CEO, he is spearheading the Group's daily operation and developing strategic directions of the Group.
Lavernt Chen completed his studies in Foundation Studies in Science in Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (“RMIT”) in 1998. He was then admitted to RMIT to continue with Aerospace Engineering and Business Administration programme from 1998 to 2003. In 2003 he was posted for internship in Siemens AG for engineering course. Upon completion of his internship in Siemens AG in 2004, he decided to return to Malaysia to pursue his family business.
Lavernt Chen's experience in the bird's nest industry could be traced back to 2004 where he was exposed to the bird's nest industry and activities under his family business where he was tasked with managing bird's nest houses including maintaining the bird's nest houses, trading of the bird's nest and processing and packaging the bird's nest product.
In 2012, he left his family business to focus on his own business involving in trading of bird's nest through CVW Ventures Sdn Bhd, which he was a director and shareholder of the company from 2005 until December 2021. During this period, he gained vast experience in trading of bird's nest in Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
In 2015, together with Liw Chong Liong he participated as a committee member to draw up the CoVP, on RUCEBN established by SIRIM Berhad among others, to provide guidelines on compliance in respect of the edible bird's nest harvested from caves and ranches. The CoVP was adopted in the same year.
In December 2016, Lavernt Chen was appointed as director in MBN Enterprise.
In 2017, he (through CVW Ventures Sdn Bhd) together with other Promoters, subscribed MBN Enterprise shares and subsequently took it under his wing to commence the RUCEBN trading business in Malaysia.
In same year, together with other Promoters, he set-up a RUCEBN processing establishment in accordance with CoVP, to commence RUCEBN trading business and export of RUCEBN.
In December 2021, he resigned as the director of CVW Ventures Sdn Bhd and disposed of his entire shareholdings in CVW Ventures Sdn Bhd to a non-related party.
Presently, he is the President of Melaka Bird's Nest Merchants Association (Persatuan Pedagang Sarang Burung Melaka), which he holds such position since 2017. He is also the Vice President of Federation of Malaysia Bird's Nest Merchants Association (Persekutuan Persatuan Pedagang Sarang Burung Malaysia) from 2018 to 2020, thereafter he holds the position as the Secretary of the association from 2020 to June 2022. He was then reelected as the Vice President of the association and holding such position until present.