He set out to make Malaysia’s taxis safer. Then “Grab” became a verb across Southeast Asia.

Anthony Tan co-founded Grab with Tan Hooi Ling after a Harvard Business School plan to fix Malaysia’s taxis. Fourteen years on he is still Group CEO, running rides, food, groceries, payments and lending across eight countries. Grab made its first full-year profit in 2025, and in May 2026 Tan was named Businessman of the Year at the Singapore Business Awards.