Su-Leng Tan Lee
About Su-Leng Tan Lee
Su-Leng Tan Lee is Chief Executive Officer, Acting Chief Financial Officer, and a Director of BioNexus Gene Lab Corp. (BGLC). He is age 41 and has served in senior roles since at least September 2023; he was re-appointed as Secretary and appointed as President on November 8, 2024, with no change to compensation . Recent company disclosures show he signed proxy materials as CEO in February 2025 .
Company performance during his leadership period:
- Annual revenues declined modestly from FY 2023 ($9.77M) to FY 2024 ($9.51M), while EBITDA losses narrowed ($-2.95M to $-1.79M)* .
- Quarterly results over the last eight quarters are shown below.
| Metric | Q4 2023 | Q1 2024 | Q2 2024 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | $2,273,067* | $2,381,851 | $1,974,564 | $2,630,376 | $2,523,855* | $2,137,075 | $2,260,253 | $2,543,823 |
| EBITDA ($USD) | $-166,083* | $-143,488* | $177,240* | $-1,303,354* | $-646,677* | $-560,295* | $-594,627* | $-740,854* |
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues ($USD) | $10,928,707 | $9,770,806 | $9,510,646 |
| EBITDA ($USD) | $-129,122* | $-2,954,278* | $-1,793,198* |
Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLO Life Sciences Group | Owner & Managing Director | 2017–2023 | Focused on infectious diseases and oncology pre-clinical drug candidates; led commercialization and clinical research initiatives . |
| Dryox Health Limited | Chief Commercial Officer | 2022–2023 | Commercialization for repurposed anticholinergic drugs in dermatology . |
| Avillion Berhad (public) | President | 2018–2019 | Led travel and hospitality operations; oversight across hotels, property, and travel services . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avillion Berhad | President (public company) | 2018–2019 | Public company leadership exposure; governance and execution track record . |
| Azura Mokhtar & Low (reference to board addition) | — | — | Board strengthened with legal/audit expertise; Su-Leng supported governance via executive leadership contemporaneously . |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary ($) | Bonus ($) | Stock Awards ($) | Options ($) | All Other ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $8,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $8,000 |
- Employment Agreement: Effective August 15, 2023; annual base salary; initial two-year term with company option to auto-extend one year; termination by either party with one month’s notice; 24-month non-compete post-employment .
- No change in compensation upon appointments as President and Secretary on November 8, 2024 .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed for 2023–2024 | — | — | — | — | — |
- No plan-based awards granted to NEOs during the interim fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 .
- 2024 Equity Incentive Plan approved (3,500,000 shares authorized), enabling options, SARs, restricted stock, and other stock-based awards; includes change-in-control and clawback provisions .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Su-Leng Tan Lee | — | — | No beneficial ownership reported as of Sep 3, 2024 and Jan 31, 2025 . |
- Vested vs unvested shares: Not disclosed; 2023 outstanding equity awards to NEOs limited to restricted stock reflected in the Summary Compensation Table; no options or other awards granted to officers as of Dec 31, 2023 .
- Hedging/pledging: Incentive Plan subjects awards to company anti-hedging and pledging policies and clawbacks aligned with SOX 304 and Dodd-Frank 954 .
- Ownership guidelines: Not disclosed.
Employment Terms
- Start of senior role: Began position in September 2023; background notes COO role since August 2023, and he is listed as CEO & Acting CFO by September 2024 .
- Contract: Two-year term from August 15, 2023 with one-year auto-renew at company request; one month termination notice by either party; 24-month non-compete post-employment .
- Severance: No severance multiples or change-of-control cash provisions disclosed .
- Change-of-control: Unvested portions of awards vest immediately; the Committee may continue, assume, substitute, cash-out, or cancel awards depending on Change-in-Control price; accelerated vesting/lapse of restrictions is at Committee discretion .
- Clawback: Awards subject to forfeiture/recoupment policies, including compliance with SOX 304 and Dodd-Frank 954 .
- Tax gross-ups: Not disclosed .
Board Governance
- Role: Director; management director (not designated independent) .
- Service history: Re-elected as director in 2024 proxy; signed proxy documents as CEO .
- Committees: Audit (Chair: Chee Keong Yap; members: Yap, Muhammad Azrul bin Abdul Hamid, Koon Wai Wong) ; Compensation (Chair: Muhammad Azrul bin Abdul Hamid; members: Azrul, Yap) ; Nominating & Corporate Governance (Chair: Azrul; members: Azrul, Wong) . Su-Leng is not listed on committees .
- Independence: Board majority independent (Wong, Yap, Azrul). No family relationships among directors or executive officers .
- Lead Independent Director: Not appointed due to board size; independent directors meet separately with auditors .
- Attendance: 2023 had four board meetings; only Mr. Yap (incumbent director at that time) met the 75% attendance threshold; company expected incumbents to meet 75% attendance; no Su-Leng-specific attendance disclosed .
- Director compensation: New independent director Ms. Jook Yuen Low receives $1,000 per month; no separate director compensation disclosed for Su-Leng .
Performance & Track Record
- Achievements/governance actions: Led and signed reverse stock split proxy to regain Nasdaq compliance; the company pursued an appeal, received a temporary exception with milestones requiring split approval/effectuation and maintaining $1+ bid price .
- Risks addressed: Reverse split proposal to maintain listing; increased authorized but unissued shares post-split to support financing flexibility .
- Contemporaneous roles: CEO, Acting CFO, President, Secretary; dual-role concentration may raise governance independence and internal control concerns typical for small-cap issuers .
Compensation Committee Analysis
- Composition: Independent directors (Azrul – Chair; Yap) .
- Consultant use: No compensation consultants used during FY 2023 .
- Responsibilities: CEO compensation oversight; director compensation recommendations; equity grant policies; ability to delegate to independent subcommittee if needed .
Related Party Transactions and Red Flags
- Hedging/pledging prohibited via policy incorporated into plan documents .
- Option or award repricing/modification: Not disclosed; plan allows adjustments for corporate actions; change-in-control cash-out or cancellation rights at Committee discretion .
- Nasdaq compliance risk: Received delisting notice; appealed; temporary exception granted with milestones tied to reverse split; failure would trigger immediate delisting .
- Governance concentration: Multiple executive offices held concurrently (CEO, Acting CFO, President, Secretary), potential independence concerns .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- Not disclosed in 2024 DEF 14A; no say-on-pay percentages provided –.
Expertise & Qualifications
- 20+ years’ experience across information systems, hospitality, investment management, construction, property development, travel, government liaison, and life sciences; biotech/pharma commercialization and finance focus .
- Qualified to serve based on biotech and pharmaceutical experience; management commentary cites suitability for CEO and Board roles .
- Age: 41 .
Work History & Career Trajectory
| Company | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BGLC | COO; CEO & Acting CFO; President; Secretary | 2023–present | COO since Aug 2023; began position Sept 1, 2023; CEO & Acting CFO by Sept 2024; President & Secretary appointments Nov 8, 2024; no comp change on latter appointments . |
| Dryox Health Limited | Chief Commercial Officer | 2022–2023 | Dermatology drug repurposing commercialization . |
| FLO Life Sciences Group | Owner & Managing Director | 2017–2023 | Infectious disease and oncology pipeline management . |
| Avillion Berhad | President | 2018–2019 | Hospitality group operations . |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment currently modest: 2023 compensation for Su-Leng was minimal and equity grants to NEOs were not disclosed; the 2024 Equity Incentive Plan introduces equity-based incentives, clawbacks, anti-hedging/pledging, and change-in-control vesting, which could strengthen alignment if grants are made and tied to concrete performance metrics .
- Retention risk appears contained via contract auto-renewal and 24-month non-compete; however, absence of disclosed severance/change-of-control cash terms limits predictability of exit economics .
- Insider selling pressure is likely limited near-term given absence of reported beneficial ownership for Su-Leng; future grants under the 2024 plan could create vesting-related supply depending on award type and vesting schedules .
- Governance risk is elevated by role concentration (CEO, Acting CFO, President, Secretary) amid ongoing listing compliance remediation; monitoring execution against Nasdaq milestones and capital-raising plans post-reverse split is critical .
- Operational trajectory shows flat-to-declining revenues with improving EBITDA losses; watch for disclosure of performance-based incentives tied to revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR, or strategic milestones under the new plan to better align pay with outcomes .
Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.