For shipping and shipyard operations firm Marco Polo Marine’s chief executive officer Sean Lee, the company’s comeback over the past decade has been a testament to the sheer power of perseverance and innovation. In 2016, it was on the verge of going under when oil prices plunged and its revenue plummeted by 50 per cent. Many of his competitors in the offshore marine industry shuttered their organisations during the crisis, and Lee himself spent almost a year looking for funding to tide his business over. During this make-or-break period, he visited 150 potential investors and was rejected 141 times, before finally convincing nine of them to pool together S$60 million to save his firm. Even with the lifeline, however, he knew things had to change. Sean Lee at Marco Polo Marine’s Batam Shipyard. Source: Marco Polo Marine Here, he credits the unflagging support of Marco Polo Marine’s board, investors,…
