Growing up
I grew up in a working-class, Mandarin-speaking family in Singapore. For the first twelve years of my education, I attended schools that took bilingualism and biculturalism seriously. My Mandarin never had the chance to go rusty. Little did I know that this would become one of the most valuable assets I would carry into my career. Years later, in China, my properly accented Mandarin and distinctly “Han” features would help me gain access to local inner circles that foreigners rarely entered. Yet, despite my cultural affinity with China, I have always identified first and foremost as a Singaporean Chinese.
In University, I made the quintessentially kiasu Singaporean choice: a double degree in Business and Economics. After all, a social science degree seemed like a risky proposition in an increasingly competitive job market. Business school taught me to be adaptable and resourceful, and I found my strengths in business analysis, strategy development, executive presentations and project management.
But it was in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) that I found myself most intellectually alive. Sociology, in particular, got under my skin. I was fascinated by how professors unpacked topics from crime and deviance, to marriage and fertility, to money and the economy. I found myself drawn to questions that beyond spreadsheets and financial statements — to the structures, institutions and circumstances that shape people's lives. I would later approach then-Dean of FASS to request a switch from Economics to Sociology, becoming the first student in NUS to graduate with a double degree in Business and Sociology.
Those were some of the most formative years of my life. I loved poring over historical references, pursuing lines of inquiry and engaging in scholarly conversations with my professors. I would often leave lecture halls and tutorial rooms feeling indignant about the circumstances people were born into, or frustrated by the systems that seemed so resistant to change. My essays stopped feeling like assignments and started becoming expressions of personal conviction.
I was interested in the complementary roles Governments, Businesses and Civil Society play in shaping the society. In particularly, one question stuck with me: How could businesses create positive socio-economic impact on society?
In search of an answer, I participated in case competitions, attended social entrepreneurship bootcamps, and took up internships at government-linked investment firms and trade associations. Eventually, I chose to begin my career at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), drawn by a simple but compelling mission: “Bring in investments, to create good jobs for Singaporeans.”
Starting out
My career at EDB began in the consumer businesses sector, where I managed a portfolio of food manufacturing, food services and nutrition companies, including PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Yum Brands, McDonald’s and Kerry Ingredients. I subsequently moved into the digital and technology sector, working with companies such as Google, Dell, Huawei and Tencent, and contributing to the development of Singapore’s AI industry long before large language models and agentic AI became mainstream.
I was then posted to Shanghai for three years, covering the Greater China region. It was a period of tremendous change: the entrepreneurial boom, the upheaval of COVID-19, and the growing ambition of Chinese companies to expand globally. Beyond the professional experience, China gave me a deeper appreciation of the importance of relationships, cultural understanding and trust in navigating complex environments. It also reinforced my belief that economic opportunities often emerge at the intersection of different markets, perspectives and systems.
Upon returning to Singapore, I moved into healthcare ecosystem development and took on several additional assignments that cut across the organisation. These “side missions” were often the most interesting: complex, intractable problems that fell between organisational divisions and had no obvious owner. They ranged from uncovering and developing opportunities in the longevity economy, to identifying the next Google before it becomes Google, to shaping the organisation’s approach to dual-use technologies.
Through these experiences, I began to recognise a pattern in the work I gravitated towards. I enjoyed tackling problems that did not have straightforward answers, especially those that required bringing together different perspectives and navigating competing priorities. More importantly, I enjoyed helping others make sense of complexity and find a way forward. I found myself drawn to the spaces between established mandates, where new possibilities could emerge and where the right intervention could create impact beyond any single organisation or industry.
Pivoting and Emerging
Today, I work in the Strategy Group at Singapore’s Prime Minister’s Office, advising the Government on key decisions and trade-offs across the economy, sustainability and technology. In 2026, I was selected as an Asia Foundation Development Fellow, one of twelve emerging leaders from across Asia and the Pacific. Alongside my professional responsibilities, I continue to pursue side projects in service of causes close to my heart.
Looking back, the thread connecting my experiences has remained remarkably consistent. From sociology to economic development, from industry-building to national strategy, I have been motivated by a desire to understand how systems work, how they shape people's lives, and how they might work better.
Perhaps my ambition has also evolved. I began by asking how businesses could create positive socio-economic impact. Today, I find myself asking a broader question: How might we bring together the resources, institutions and ingenuity of business, government and society to solve some of our most intractable problems?
Ultimately, I hope to become someone who can move across these different worlds, bringing people, ideas and resources together to build solutions to societal problems. Whether through policy, enterprise or social innovation, I want to contribute to a society where economic progress translates into better lives, and where people have greater opportunities to shape their own futures.