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Jacqueline Woo The Straits Times Wednesday, Oct 15, 2014 When Mr Jeff Cheong set foot into the working world as a junior investment broker in 2003, he found himself living on just a monthly salary of $1,000 and a daily diet of bread. A few years on, as an associate director in another banking firm, Mr Cheong stood out as one of the top-performing sales staff. But he was refused a promotion due to his tender age - he was 23 then. Still, Mr Cheong built on his early success to zoom up the corporate ladder, armed simply with a desire to "do well" in his career. Now 32, he holds the position of chief executive of Singapore-listed property and clean energy firm Sinjia Land, a company that logged an annual revenue of $17.3 million last year. His position propels him into the ranks of only a handful of CEOs of listed companies here - and around the world - who are under 35 years old. Other members of this exclusive club include 34-year-old Daniel Schwartz, who was recently named to head Burger King after its merger with Canadian food and beverage chain Tim Hortons. Among the companies in Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, the average age of an incoming chief executive last year was 53. In Singapore, the majority of chief executives - four in 10 - are between 40 and 60 years old. The eldest is 80 and the youngest is 31, according to data from the Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations under the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School. Only 7 per cent of local corporate chiefs are between the ages of 30 and 40. "These young chief executives are often the younger generation running family firms, where it is not uncommon for the elder generation to hold on to the position of chairman or places on the board," said Dr Marleen Dieleman, associate director at the NUS centre. On the whole, she noted that the leadership of Singapore-listed firms seems to be ageing. The average age of bosses last year was 54, up from 52 in 2010. For unlisted firms, however, it is "not surprising" to see younger chief executives who have founded their own companies and now run them, said Associate Professor Mak Yuen Teen. But he added that such situations can have some drawbacks. "There are some very young people who may be brilliant entrepreneurs but lack the broader leadership and management skills as well as the experience required of a chief executive," he added. Being one of the youngest bosses of a listed firm does come with a unique set of challenges, noted Mr Cheong, who was invited to join Sinjia Land's board in 2011. "At first, it wasn't easy to tell staff who were in senior positions what to do," he recalled. "And even when I did, it was hard to convince them that it was the right way to go." He added: "It's probably human nature for people to question your ability and whether your success is the result of a stroke of luck, but that's where I have to work hard to prove myself and earn their respect." Mr Adrian Lee, 34, who is managing director of Singapore-listed oil and gas company Loyz Energy, also noted that a young management team may be a roadblock to attracting industry veterans or potential business partners to the company. "But there are no short cuts to success. It's important to persevere and work hard, even though we may be rebuffed and snubbed," he said. Mr Lee was named Loyz's executive director in 2011. The firm, set up in 2010 via the reverse takeover of sanitary-ware maker Sim Siang Choon, made $8.6 million in revenue for the quarter ended June 30. All the same, being a young CEO has its merits as well, noted Ms Wong Su-Yen, a member of the governing council at Singapore Institute of Directors. "While it is difficult to generalise, younger CEOs are less likely to be saddled by history and more attuned to emerging technologies and innovations," she said. "They also tend to have contemporary perspectives on the workplace. Leveraging social media, for example, would typically be second nature, as would openness to flexible working arrangements." Corporate boards, for their part, should take responsibility in ensuring that the CEO is "suitably qualified for the role", regardless of age, added Ms Wong. This article was first published on Oct 13, 2014. Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories http://business.asiaone.com/news/joining-the-exclusive-club-ceos-aged-under-35 i lagging behind, no wonder so many young richie .