The invitation to listen to the stories of our fellow women alumni in the driver’s seat drew an inspired crowd of 50 last Thursday, on the 6th of October.
Headlining the SMU Women Alumni group’s first event since its launch in May this year was an awe-inspiring panel of speakers comprising four female graduates who have since become trailblazers in their respective fields:
- Pauline Ng, Managing Director of awarding face spa Porcelain and winner of the inaugural Teochew Entrepreneur Award for its “Most Promising” category in 2016;
- Shyn Yee Ho-Strangas, Head of E-Commerce, Expedia Asia and President of the SMU Travel and Hospitality Alumni Group;
- Cheryl Chen, Vice President, Head of Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Affairs of Citi Singapore and a District Councillor with the South East Community Development Council since 2014; and
- Chalene Aw, Finance Director and Controller for Havas Creative Group for its Singapore and Southeast Asian operations respectively.
The alumni in attendance also had the privilege of hearing from the event’s Guest-of-Honor and a renowned female entrepreneur, Huang Shao-Ning. As the co-founder and former CEO of well-known job portal JobsCentral, Ms Huang is a celebrated homegrown female entrepreneur, investor and mentor to fellow entrepreneurs in Singapore and across the region.
SMU Women Alumni Chairman Ms Anna Haotanto (right) presents Guest-of-Honor Ms Huang Shao-Ning (left) with a token of appreciation.
Kickstarting the conversation for the evening, Ms Huang shared her experience of building a successful startup right from the start and juggling the demands of raising a family with four boys. She notably co-founded the JobsCentral Group in 2000 and grew it from a 2-men team to a profitable regional business with a 150-strong staff force before selling it in 2011.
Having co-founded her own business with her then-boyfriend and now-husband, Mr Lim Der Shing, Shao-Ning was able to share an extremely interesting journey of being in the driver's seat and the need to ‘co-pilot’ with her husband along the way.
Addressing a regularly hotly-debated topic on whether women ‘can have it all’, Ms Huang revealed her personal philosophy: “We can't have it all, all the time, nor immediately. At different phases of my life, I focus on different things.”
In her 15-min speech, she offered some key pointers on ways to build a thriving support network for women, especially in the professional community: 1) Echo, second and repeat key points made by fellow female colleagues/counterparts for recognition of their viewpoint/contribution; 2) Steer clear of catalysts to incite jealousy amongst women; 3) Support each other and keep perspective.
On parenthood – a popular topic amongst women alumni – Ms Huang also shared one thing she has learnt from raising four boys. “We can’t run our kids’ lives. We need to get them to realize what they want, and help them along the way,” she said.
Above left to right: Chalene Aw, Finance Director and Controller for Havas Creative Group; Cheryl Chen, Vice President, Head of Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Affairs of Citi Singapore; SMU Women Alumni Chairman Ms Anna Haotanto; Shyn Yee Ho-Strangas, Head of E-Commerce, Expedia Asia and President of the SMU Travel and Hospitality Alumni Group; Pauline Ng, Managing Director of awarding face spa Porcelain.
Members of the audience would describe the dialogue that followed Ms Huang’s speech – which set the inspirational tone for the evening – as dynamic, honest, inspiring, invigorating and insightful.
Having started her own business with her mother fresh out of university, Ms Pauline Ng shared her journey to building a successful facial spa business that crossed its first million-dollar mark in revenue three years after, when she was a mere 26-year-old. Porcelain, the Facial Spa, helmed by Ms Ng as Managing Director, has grown from a 2-man operation to a team of 45 today.
Ms Pauline Ng (second from left), Founder and Managing Director of Porcelain, the Facial Spa, shares her insights into building a successful retail business.
When asked to name her key driving force, Pauline pointed to her stakeholders, saying: “What motivates me? The people. The customers who believe in us and our employees.”
Ms Ng’s strong motivation to put people at the center of her driving force is one noted by the local business community. She was named ‘Most Promising’ at the inaugural Teochew Entrepreneur Awards this year and was the only female and youngest winner to receive the prestigious award from Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shamugaratnam.
Ms Cheryl Chen (second from left), Vice President, Head of Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Affairs of Citi Singapore shared her views on staying true to your authentic self.
Sharing an alternative view to what is typically described of one in the driver’s seat, Ms Cheryl Chen would be the first to admit that she is “not the assertive or aggressive sort” to begin with.
However, the eloquent Ms Chen, a self-professed “meek” personality, acted with the confidence of one fully in charge of her destiny – when she contacted a senior executive of the Citi Foundation in New York for a job, right after she graduated from SMU. It was a bold move, she described and many would concur, that launched her career in the global bank, where she is now the Head of Corporate Citizenship for its Singapore office.
Her key message to the audience on being your authentic self was that she stayed true to herself and allowed herself to be who she is and do things in her own way - the ‘soft’ way.
Ms Shyn Yee Ho-Strangas (second from left), Head of E-Commerce, Expedia Asia and President of the SMU Travel and Hospitality Alumni Group shared her thoughts on her approach to pursuing her career ambitions.
Adding to the diverse voices represented in the panel, Ms Shyn Yee Ho-Strangas, the Head of E-Commerce, Expedia Asia and President of the SMU Travel and Hospitality Alumni Group, is unapologetic for holding high ambitions for, and taking charge of the development of, her career in a male-dominated corporate world.
Mrs Strangas said that it liberated her to receive advice from a female mentor that it was okay to be ambitious and have career aspirations, from the outset of her professional life.
“Every promotion or job I have, I have asked for them,” she recounted. “If I had waited for them, it would take longer than I would have liked.”
Ms Chalene Aw (first from left), Finance Director and Controller for Havas Creative Group, shared her perspective on affecting positive changes in the driver’s seat.
Armed with an infectious, effervescent personality, Ms Chalene Aw was a voice to be heard and – one might go as far as to say – a force of nature throughout her life, it would appear. Naturally competitive, Ms Aw chose her path to excel in competitive sports, which suited her energetic personality and drove her further to derive a sense of achievement and satisfaction.
It was clear to Ms Aw that finance would be the path for her when she graduated and she found an avenue to excel very quickly in being a financial controller for a large FMCG conglomerate at the start of her career. She confessed that she was single-minded about climbing the corporate ladder at the start and whilst she attained some level of success with her initial approach, it was only after she got rid of that devotion to the rat race that “things started happening and opportunities came (her) way”.
The results of the positive shift in her mindset was evident - she is now the Finance Director and Controller for Havas Creative Group.
A devoted yogi today with a sense of enlightened zen, Chalene drew many laughs from the audience with her humorous way of looking back on her journey. Sharing her thoughts on finding happiness, she is focused on affecting positive changes no matter what she does every day and surrounding herself with positive people, who are not afraid to be their authentic selves and recognize her for who she is.
The SMU Women Alumni Steering Committee in picture with the Guest-of-Honor and panelists. From left: Joan Chua, Swyn Teo, Shyn Yee Ho-Strangas, Cheryl Chen, Huang Shao-Ning, Pauline Ng, Chalene Aw, Xue Ling Won, Anna Vanesa, Wenny Ow and Christina Tarigan.
The insightful dialogue concluded with great applause from the audience and the alumni in attendance had the opportunity to engage in networking and reconnecting with their former schoolmates after the two-hour-long event.
For interested alumni, the steering committee for the SMU Women Alumni group will be holding a larger scale event for its members next year. More details will be shared at a later date.