DG Leslie was born on the 5th of April 1955 in Taiping, as his late father, Philip Seow was a mining inspector there but has lived in the Klang Valley since he was three, when his father was transferred back to Kuala Lumpur.
He had his secondary education at the Victoria Institution, KL and his tertiary education at both the Otago and Canterbury Universities in New Zealand. Governor Leslie celebrated his silver anniversary in Rotary on 28 June 2009 and has been keeping a perfect attendance record ever since he was inducted into the Rotary Club of Gombak having been proposed by former ember Major (rtd) Thomas Oh. He was a Rotaractor for a short stint when he was at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch. Served in most club positions, prior to assuming the Club Presidency during which year his club achieved the Presidential Citation Award. During his presidency in 1997/98 he weathered the Asian financial crisis and he hopes during his Governorship he can similarly face the challenges of the Global financial downturn.
DG Leslie first served the district in RY2001/02 when PDG R T. Arasu made him the District Environment Chair and, since then, has been actively involved in various positions including Vocational Chair, Assistant Governor, Membership Development & Retention Chair and District General Secretary. He also played a key role in the formation of the Rotary Club of Centennial Puchong. He has been involved In the organization of Rotary Institutes, Presidential Conference, District Conferences and Assemblies, Interact Conference and two RYLAs. He has attended almost all District Assemblies and Conferences, the Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta Institutes, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur Presidential Conferences and the Chicago and Birmingham Conventions.
Passionate about sharing Rotary and membership growth, DG Leslie proposed DGN Lim Kok Beng to his club and introduced IPP Alex Ow to RC USJ and DRR Amanda Lam to the Rotaract Club of Gombak. In addition he has introduced more than twenty Rotarians to his home club, RC Titiwangsa, RC Tanjung Bungah and RC Puchong Centennial. He is also a regular Group Discussion Leader at Assemblies and Conferences since involving himself in the District. DG Leslie is a PHF + 1, a Paul Harris Society Member and a Jamil Rais Fellow.
DG and his wife, Ziela, run an executive search and business consultancy. He started his present company in 1994 after a stint with INBUCON and Arthur Young (the predecessor firm of Ernst & Young). He traveled to India, the Philippines, Indonesia and the People's Republic of China to source human capital. DG Leslie was active in various bilateral chambers, as a founding member of the Malaysian-Australian Business Council, a former executive member of the Malaysian-New Zealand Business Council and the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Recreation-wise, Leslie has lost his handicap in golf due to his heavy involvement in Rotary but occasionally still owls and plays the odd tennis. He was a marathon runner in his younger days. More of an armchair sportsman these days, he still tries to follow his favourite sports and teams - Man United, the All-Blacks and also cricket, whenever he has the time.
Adi, his eldest son, a former Interactor, graduated with a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering and has settled down in Denver, Colorado working in defence technology, while his daughter Misha has just turned six.
