This past few weeks have been turbulent ones, for me. My very good, practically best friend, of late, Roland Teo passed away on Sat 31st Jan 2026 at 11.20 am.
While I am very sad of his passing and as a friend, I tried my very best to be there when he was literally breathing his last breaths, I am happy that we had a good 16 years of great friendship bonded over bouts of training (first) at the Ken Shin Kai karate club where he was a member then the club President from 2009 till about the time he left at 2019 - a span of 10 years.
During those times, we had numerous lunches and the occasional dinners at his best in the world dining place, the Crystal Cafe at Killiney Grand Court Residences. The staff there all knew him almost like a member on an extended family.
He was blessed with decades of widsom, honed from his working at the various top multinational companies of Pepsi Cola, Citibank (Taiwan) and Standard Chartered (Taiwan) where he was the CEO of the entire Standard Chartered operations (I believe) from the late 1990s till the early 2008 when he decided to retire at the age of 54.
He had tremendous big picture vision, a global understanding of money markets and most importantly, the ability to understand human behavior, and how to bring out the best of his team of people.
He was generally revered and seen as a great mentor to many (easily close to 50) people who looked up to his razor sharp financial acumen, his managerial skills, and understanding of how to manage upwards (his bosses) from over 50 years of working for top level corporations.
He was on the board of my SME and I seeked his assistance in many strategic decisions.
I am so grateful for his friendship, his willingness to share his experience and his foresight in handling many things in life which have led me to take him as the ultimate mentor for me these last 16 years.
Rest Well, Play the Music you so loved in heaven Roland.
I will always remember you with much fondness and gratitude.
Carpe Diem.
Roland's family (Melanie Teo, daughter, Monica Teo (wife), NIcole Teo (daughter)
