Seeking out Unique Business Opportunities, Promoting the Arts
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ART DIRECTION CLEMENTINUS LIEM PHOTOGRAPHY MICKY WONG VIDEOGRAPHY MATTHEW teo PHOTOGRAPHY ASSIStaNCE WENG BAY HAIR SEAN ANG/FAC3INC USING KEUNE MAKE-uP CINDY GOH USING DIOR LOcatiON JW MARRiott Hotel SINGAPORE SOUTH BEACH VISIT PRESTIGEONLINE.COM TO Watch OUR PERSONALITIES recOUNT THEIR SUcceSSES AND MISSTEPS under Seeking out unique business opportunities, promoting the arts, pushing scientific frontiers, defending the under-represented, and preserving culture and heritage — we present the movers and shakers and the dream makers to watch. BY ZARA ZHUANG, ALETHIA TIANG, GEMMA KOH, LOW SHI PING AND PRAISE POH SEPTEMBER 2017 PRESTIGE 139 40 UNDER 40 JEFFERY SUNg, 38 Making property transactions transparent POOJA NANsi, 35 Saying it with poetry Jeffery Sung wears two hats — other than that of senior director at DBS Bank, where Embracing creative work for Pooja Nansi he leads a team of private bankers to help involves “a kind of surrender to uncertainty”, UHNW individuals manage their wealth, and it is this ambiguity that adds beauty he’s also one of four co-founders of start-up to the world she conjures up with words. online property platform, HugProperty. The 2016 Young Artist Award winner and “We need a trustworthy property poet was recently appointed by the Poetry investment portal. There are too many dodgy Festival as Singapore’s inaugural Youth Poet self-serving agents giving weak and often Ambassador (YPA) from 2017 to 2018, during biased advice. The good ones are having a which she will run six public programmes. hard time standing out from the crowd,” “I would like to tear down the myths he says. surrounding poetry, namely that it is difficult, So when DBS launched its start-up inaccessible and irrelevant to the modern accelerator programme and encouraged condition. The issues that are close to my employees to participate, he was quick to heart are helping young people talk about share his idea for HugProperty. It received diversity with empathy. There is a huge support from the bank, as well as investment pressure to conform in terms of physical from His Royal Highness Prince Abdul Qawi appearances and conventional paths to of Brunei Darussalam. Since going live in success in our society, and I would like August 2016, HugProperty has attracted for young people to be more accepting of thousands of users. It also emerged the top themselves and of their differences,” she says. DBS employee-led team and received a Her poetry collection Love Is An Empty seed grant from the bank. Barstool recently celebrated its fourth print With HugProperty, Sung aims to eliminate run. She remarks, “It’s absolutely crazy that the negative connotations that come with this little collection has sold 3,000 copies transacting property: “We want to help make and counting, when successful print runs of the experience hassle-free, transparent poetry in places like London and New York and efficient.” are usually in the small hundreds.” She is now partnering Australian playwright Jessica Bellamy on a two-woman ETHAN KOH, 31 show that features hip-hop music as the main Bagging luxury theme, and working on her new book. On the latter, she teases, “You can expect Indian food He grew up in Serangoon, beside Heng CONNECTING WITH THE NEXT GENERATION and a very Singaporean collection.” Long, a tannery owned by his family for four Product innovation is key when it comes generations. But when it came to carving to standing out and making a statement. out a niche for himself, Ethan Koh decided Effective communication of the brand to move down the value chain. Using reptile philosophy and the “why” aspect behind skins, he creates exquisite, bespoke bags for every creation is paramount. For him, the likes of Elizabeth Hurley and Princess luxury is not just a status symbol but goes Beatrice, and that are stocked in Harrods and deeper into the meaning it formulates, the Saks Fifth Avenue. With production capped connection it encourages, and the diverse at less than 1,500 pieces a year, it is hard to cultural conversations it can lead to. believe that his eponymous brand was only established in 2011. FUELLING THE FIRE Koh finds motivation in the love and Heng Long’s imprint passion for creation. He likens every Heritage and tradition are just as important creative moment to therapy for the soul: “It as reinvention. Growing up in the family is a medium of expression and an extension tannery, and being constantly surrounded by of who I am as a person, which is always the beautiful colours and creativity made him changing and evolving.” Nothing gives him realise that “inspiration is everywhere”. It also greater satisfaction and joy than when he SUNG WEARS THE MASTER ULTRA THIN developed his ability to visualise ideas and sees his lovely creations on their just-as- RESERVE DE MARCHE FROM JAEGER-LeCOULTRE bring them to fruition. beautiful collectors. 140 PRESTIGE SEPTEMBER 2017 SEPTEMBER 2017 PRESTIGE 141 40 UNDER 40 MERYL KOH, 34 Practicing law like a role model HENRY CHAN, 32 Giving your cash back Going into law school, Meryl Koh had a bright-eyed view of the prestige Building on the idea that no one would say that came with being a lawyer. But no to a good discount, Henry Chan co- it was when she volunteered at established ShopBack, an online cashback Redfern Legal Centre in Sydney, platform, in 2014. It offers users a percentage which provides legal aid for the less of monetary return for purchases from privileged, that she began to see the affiliated sites such as Lazada, AliExpress, profession as her calling. and FoodPanda. Today, ShopBack has A decade later, Koh is now a litigator expanded beyond Singapore and is present in and director of intellectual property Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and dispute resolution at Drew & and Taiwan. It has more than three million Napier. In her role, the University of users from the world over. New South Wales graduate mainly With a strategy that focuses on sustained handles patents, trademarks and growth over profits, ShopBack has grown copyright disputes, while also working fourfold in the last 12 months. “Our focus is with a team on general, civil and still on exponential growth and we expect commercial litigation. The facts and ourselves to be profitable in the next two to details that affect the solutions and three years,” says Chan. outcomes of cases continue to drive Although the potential of e-commerce her interest and passion for law, says is immense, finding experienced talent to Koh, who is described as a “great join a young start-up has been challenging strategist” by The Asia Pacific Legal especially since Singaporeans tend to be 500. She has worked with numerous risk-averse. Nevertheless, he is very grateful clients, such as IIa Technologies, for his “strong and concerted team” of over Novartis, Azen Manufacturing and 120 staff, which fittingly consists mainly of Sanofi Aventis. millennials with an average age of 29. The mother of two is also on the While he is thankful for the supportive volunteer list for the Criminal Legal ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs Aid Scheme (CLAS), where she in Singapore, he acknowledges that its represents accused persons in non- market size will always be a constraint. He capital criminal matters on a pro bono explains, “Unlike our neighbouring countries, basis. Her career involves challenges our market is small. If you keep within the such as long hours but what keeps Koh borders, there is only so much you can going is her family — she hopes to be maximise. Going global is the way to truly a role model for her children. “I want to scale an e-commerce business.” DIVIAN NAIR, 30 show my daughter and son that even Fostering Singaporean Identity when you have to juggle a family and you have a lot of commitments, you Founder of self-initiated national campaign a space in their minds for what a national can still pursue your career.” “We Are Majulah”, Divian Nair reveals that identity should be, relative to them,” he says. he defined his identity as a Singaporean “To me, being a Singaporean embodies only after travelling to close to 20 countries. the indomitable spirit of our forefathers to His concept of “belonging and home” was persevere together, despite all odds.” solidified through his interaction with people After the success of their first ground- from different cultures. up initiative “The Good Word Project”, It led him to launch the provocative video which draws on advice from everyday I Will Not Die for Singapore in February Singaporeans, Nair and his team are testing 2016, which has since garnered over and developing another initiative “Majulah 530,000 views. Eraser Cup”. “We started the project to combat He shares, “It is an old Singaporean game apathy, generate discourse and promote that centres on eraser fighting. We hope participation in being an active citizen. to use it as a refreshing corporate activity, All in all, just by the number of shares and as well as to bring it to schools as an KOH WEARS THE RENDEz-VOUS IVY views, regardless of whether people agreed alternative way to promote national identity FROM JAEGER-LeCOULTRE with our proposition, they had carved out through the tie-in of trivia questions.” 142 PRESTIGE SEPTEMBER 2017 SEPTEMBER 2017 PRESTIGE 143 40 UNDER 40 DANNY TAN, 34 Furnishing homes at a click of ELIZABETH TAN, 32 a mouse Ensuring business is a shoe-in Become a rival of IKEA in five years Elizabeth Tan believes a woman can never — that’s how HipVan CEO and co- have enough shoes. Of course, you might founder Danny Tan motivates his say she is biased, since Tan is the managing team.