Palaniappan was the Chief Executive Officer of a Regional Manufacturing Group of companies.

Palaniappan developed the company from a single plant with 14 machines and 50 people and sales of US $5 million to a Regional Group with 2 plants & 1 marketing office in China,1 plant in Malaysia and 1 plant in Singapore, with more than 140 machines and 450 people and sales of US $20 million.

His primary responsibilities while in this Group were business development and marketing for new business for both the Singapore and the regional manufacturing plants. Acquired new customers from the US, Europe, China, Japan and India for the Group. He was previously the Consulting Manager of Arthur Andersen for the Management Information Consulting Division.

Palaniappan was involved in Management Information Systems consulting focus on Packaged Systems Feasibility Studies, Custom MIS Design, Executive Recruitment, Installation and Training. In addition to managing the change involved in re-engineering, restructuring and streamlining operations, mapping out strategies for local and international markets, and strategic, financial and cash flow planning.

Palaniappan has worked with local and international clients in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore in diverse industries such as banking, manufacturing, service and retail industries and owner-managed businesses.

Palaniappan has been involved in training and consulting in project management, strategic management and change management for companies in the region. Some of his clients are: Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Hewlett Packard, NCS, Reuters Asia, ATOS-Origin, Singapore Telecom, Intel and Singapore Technologies, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Daimler Chrysler Asia Pacific, Alstom, Capitaland, Fujitsu, DHL Asia, Singapore Institute of Management Palaniappan is a graduate of Business Administration from the National University of Singapore, and is certified as a Registered Behavior Change Coach by Dr Suzanne Skiffington, one of the leaders of the management coaching field.