Gnanalingam first made his name in marketing, working for 19 years as the marketing director for British American Tobacco, or Malayan Tobacco Company as it was then. He then used his marketing skills, in combination with his love of sports in bringing the football world cup into Malaysianhones throughout the 1980’s and making the SEA games profitable.

In 1987 he was appointed onto the board of the Port Klang Authority, going on to found Kelang Multi Terminal in 1994, the company that would become Westports Malaysia, Malaysia’s largest privately owned port.
His approach to business has always been unconventional, and his ventures reflect that. His son Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, is the current managing director of Westports.