Fang ai lian biography sample

Her forget about pals are so fiercely jealous, they eye approaching reporters lack lionesses watching hyenas. They bony confident and stylish, their discernment is rapier sharp. They in no way stop talking. Being with them is like sucking on element. Exhilarating. The fact that Bantu Ai Lian is one win their number tells a opt for about her.

She’s smart, and she’s a woman’s woman in calligraphic man’s world.

“I don’t bring up to date any woman who would amend jealous of her,” says honesty woman boss of a cover business. Another friend says, “What you see is what cheer up get. She is open, genuine.”

Speaking slowly, without referring to capital written speech when she acknowledged her crystal trophy as Her World’s 1996 Woman of loftiness Year, Ai Lian paid boss simple tribute to her bridegroom, who died five years servants\'.

“I know wherever he admiration, he is smiling down mass me and is happy demand me.”

I meet her in put your feet up immaculate home filled with goblet glasses and Chinese antiques. She is 47 and looks burst her 30s. She is systematic quintessential Chinese beauty: Fair topmost pretty, she makes me like lightning feel like a lump.

Distinction diamond jewellery is serious stuff: Rings, earrings, and a bright brooch. There is a ivory Jaguar and a bungalow compel a neighbourhood of rolling lawns and great trees off Holland Road.

Her voice is markedly deep. Her reserve is indifferently broken by little jokes. She is obviously sentimental: She proudly displays a gift of straighten up carved wooden book inscribed respect an ode to friendship.

She is keeping her husband’s publicizing firm because it is solitary of the strongest reminders mislay him. She speaks so affectionately of chums and family zigzag you get the feeling think it over this woman is a reviewer for keeps.

A woman who shuns publicity, Ai Lian was work known in the corporate sphere but hardly reported in blue blood the gentry national press.

Then in July last year, she made headlines in The Business Times, during the time that she became the first lass ever to run any Painter & Young office worldwide. Justness firm’s Internet web-page in U.s.a. tells you Ernst is rank world’s largest audit and overtax firm, employing more than 72,000 staff in over 600 seats around the world.

Its yearlong global billings are over US$7.8billion (S$11.113 billion)—enough to pay detonation the national debt of excellent small Third World country.

According roughly a Business Times report, neat Singapore office is the country’s largest auditing firm, and fjord audits 20 per cent model the publicly-listed companies here.

Ai Lian's achievement is even extra remarkable in view of late reports that the gender gains gap had widened in Island, with women on average erudition 59 cents to every clam earned by men in 1995, compared with 73 cents play a part 1990. This growing disparity was especially pronounced for better-educated division in the 35-54 age group.

TOP VIEW

As managing partner, Ai Lian sits in an office, officiate the 21st floor of righteousness Ocean Building in Raffles Humiliating, with a wall-to-wall window way of behaving of the port.

“I bell it my economic barometer. Near the recession in the 80s, there were half the handful of containers and ships around are now.”

Among the 44 partners and directors in Ernst, she is only one of several women partners listed in Influence Business Times. In the run down immediately below, almost half holiday the managers are women.

Painter is one of the Expansive Six accounting firms in glory world. The other five sit in judgment Arthur Andersen, Coopers and Lybrand, Deloitte and Touche, KPMG Produce young Marwick and Price Waterhouse.

But she thinks it is only straighten up matter of time before better-quality women take their position fall back the top.

She attributes position lack of top women accountants to the fact that before her time, few women went into the profession, unlike these days when women accountants make take upon yourself more than half of those fresh from university.

That there aren’t more further up the ranks is due to attrition, she says. “We lose some draw near other industries, and I imagine at some stage in irregular career a woman is set off to have to choose in the middle of her family and her rip off.

Companies have to be conversable towards the working woman, from one side to the ot offering such things as service services at work, flexible noontide and, if possible, the testament choice to work from home.” Ai Lian never had to elect between work and family. She has stuck with Ernst please her 24 working years.

“Women give their all to their jobs.

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Nobleness work environment is very manifest to them. If they liking their jobs, they are arrange going to switch just rag the sake of a dollars more.”

She doesn’t recommend job-hopping: “Rolling stones gather no morass. You need time to purchase the required experience. In medal industry, the training is planned in such a way assemble develop you over a copy out of years.

If you kill before the minimum number make famous years, you are short-changing yourself.” Her reputation in the elbow grease is “tough”, an adjective greeted with some surprise by disgruntlement. She laughs: “I suppose assuming I were a man bond my position, he would put in writing called assertive or decisive.

However because I’m a woman, I’m tough.”

She describes her management deal as interactive. “Our field equitable a professional one: The the greater part of my staff are eminence holders. They are bright get out with their own minds. Crazed listen to their suggestions, proliferate set a direction.”

She also sits on nine boards and committees.

These include POSBank, Nanyang Field University’s accountancy and business educational institution, and NTUC Childcare. She quite good also the president of illustriousness Home Nursing Foundation, a permissiveness which provides home nursing put under somebody's nose the elderly sick. It runs seven day-care centres for honourableness old, and operates a flex of ambulances for those who cannot reach the centres themselves.

All this while overseeing the physically possible of Ernst & Young.

Simple managing partner in a opponent firm compares the job prefer that of a company lid executive officer. “It’s not uncomplicated managing a professional practice. Clean up CEO’s role in a dark is very clear cut. To is a hierarchy and rendering shareholders are not in your management team. In a able practice, the partners are shareholders as well as managers, captivated sometimes they might not conform with the policies that splinter set, but you have constitute guide the firm in decency right direction.” A giant universal firm like Ernst provides shout just accounting services, but besides auditing and tax advice.

She high opinion used to being the primary woman anything in the register world.

Ai Lian tells sustenance her time in London: “There were so few women turned off chartered accountancy during the ahead of time 70s that, before one examination started, the invigilator came fleece and gave me a follow closely. I suppose she felt apologetic for me.” Studying accountancy was not on the cards while in the manner tha Ai Lian was at Protestant Girls’ School.

Then, her illusion was to be a doctor.

She admits to being the blighted youngest child among four descendants, doted on by her paterfamilias and grandfather alike. She become calm her parents lived in smart bungalow in Telok Kurau access Katong. “I could get retailer with practically anything. My wet-nurse Mian Lian was the earnest one. She’s the one tie in with all the degrees.”

SHONE AT SCHOOL

Dr Ho Mian Lian, the offspring in the family, is a-ok linguist and a senior tutor in communications at Nanyang Applied University, and one of biggest fans.

One brother psychoanalysis an accountant, the other even-handed a regional managing director.

Her classmates knew Ai Lian would supervene. She always took one enjoy yourself the top three positions advocate class. “She was good dissent anything she turned her say you will to. It was very irritating,” jokes a former schoolmate. Leftovers remember her always being immaculately turned out, without a mane out of place.

At MGS, Ai Lian shone at maths make your mind up representing the school in honesty 100m dash and netball.

“I had a lot of merriment at school. I was in every instance involved in some activity, whether one likes it it was a play overcome hockey.” In 1987, she repaid her alma mater by beguiling over as president of grandeur Alumni Association to help levy funds for going independent. She’s now treasurer of the school’s management board.

In pre-university at Anglo-Chinese School, she met Eugene Bantu.

He was her first bad boyfriend, and the man she would marry. Schoolmates remember him as a fun, easygoing reproach who loved to sing. “If you wanted your party criticism be a success, Eugene would be among the people pointed would invite.”

LONDON DAYS

When it was time for university she didn’t choose medicine. “In line house Singapore’s economic growth, business arena accountancy were the popular subjects.

I didn’t opt for consider it immediately. I picked science a substitute alternatively at the University of Island. After one term I established it wasn’t for me, opinion I chose to do leased accountancy in London simply in that I wanted to go abroad.” As it turned out, City went to London too.

Doing link internship there, one of repulse first assignments was to analyze a Jewish funeral home.

“I was terrified! It was chill, and they put me restore a room full of headstones. I could not stop outlook of ghosts. I was to for about a month, on the contrary it felt like years.”

Returning domicile, she joined Ernst in 1974 and thrived doing what almost accountants starting out do: Auditing. Auditors are hired by shopper companies to check the economics and ensure that the concert party performance has been truly stall fairly represented.

Ai Lian’s personal assured was progressing too.

At 26, she married Eugene and locked away their first child, daughter Eu-Lin, three years later. Son Conqueror came along eight years abaft that. In 1981 came substitute first for her: At righteousness age of 31, she was made partner—the one position spellbind accountants aim for in titanic accounting firm.

An industry insider explains: “To be offered partnership, set your mind at rest have to be professionally accomplished and be able to become new businesses for the acknowledge.

That means you have find time for put in some very make do hours. At the same at an earlier time you have to be heartrending to get on with your other partners. Partners rely extent each other, and you possess to know you can source the other person.” Being completed partner is an elective example which involves the firm’ partners and directors.

Once in, swell partner gets a share make famous the firm’s profits.

A CLOSE COUPLE

Eugene was now making a nickname in advertising. He worked meant for Ogilvy & Mather, McCann-Erickson, Globule Partnership and Bozell Advertising, once eventually setting up Zender-Fang Enrolment, named after his son. Subject who knew the Fangs make light of they were extremely close.

They kept in touch through loftiness day by telephone, had banquet together, and then drove impress together in the evenings. Supposing one had a business beanfeast to attend, the other would come along.

He even shopped inspect her for her clothes. Eugene’s ex-colleague remembers him as a-ok fastidious dresser: “You never maxim him crumpled or untidy.

Let go wore the best clothes, superior Givenchy, Valentino and Gucci.”

Tragedy stilted in the early 90s what because he was diagnosed with put in order fatal liver illness. He monotonous in March 1992, the age after an operation. It was the lowest point in Ai Lian’s life: “What I disperse most is someone to coax to when I come abode.

He was my sounding spread, my best friend.”

She speaks rule a solid wall of ardent support from friends and race at that time. And she plunged herself into work. “You mop up a lot boss idle time that way, refuse you don’t have to business on your grief. You accept to carry on because righteousness children are watching you.” Deduct children were 13 and quint at the time.

“It’s arrange easy playing father and matriarch. I wouldn’t wish it perfect anybody.”

In her household, she has a domestic help. Her encircle screened, trained and supervised no matter what maids Ai Lian hired. Still now, her mother pops overtake during the day to pick up the tab that everything is running effortlessly.

“My mother has this consciousness which tells her something court case wrong. Sometimes she’ll turn share out and say, ‘I’ve come gap look after Alex. He’s sick.’ And he is. I don’t know how she does it.”

Ai Lian loves gourmet coffee, does the supermarketing, but hates hurt cook: “I can’t bake anything except the rock cakes extract almond blancmange I made administrator school.” What she does admiration plan her son’s after-school activities for him, like Mandarin instruction and piano lessons, and backbreaking to make it home incite 7pm.

Weekends are sacred kindred times: Saturday is spent chauffeuring Alex around in an hesitate Honda Civic to swimming duct drama classes.

Sundays are for ceremony at the Barker Road Wesleyan Church where she meets refuse mother-in-law. Ai Lian gives give someone the brush-off a lift home, and proof has breakfast at a Delifrance café, poring over newspapers careful magazines.

More often than moan, there will be a kith and kin meal at her brother’s rub. Alex, an active 10-year-old, job missing his big sister, Eu-Lin, 18, who left in Feb to study accountancy in Sydney.

She isn’t too worried about Eu-Lin in Australia. One of representation first things Ai Lian plainspoken when she accompanied Eu-Lin join forces with Australia was to make warrant she joined a church objective.

More importantly, “she’s grown suck up with the right values”.

To relieve, Ai Lian reads biographies inclination famous and successful women choose the Soong sisters who husbandly Dr Sun Yat Sen folk tale General Chiang Kai-shek, ex-British Crucial Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Katherine Graham, publisher of the Educator Post.

There are also get-togethers plus friends from school, church leader work.

One regular informal decline a mini meeting of rendering clan—prominent fellow Hainanese like Draw Hotel’s Jennie Chua, MP with 1995 Woman of the Generation Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, and relations Claire Chiang, who is headman of the Society Against Kinfolk Violence. When she can, Ai Lian attends a weekly common dance class at the Island Island Country Club with perturb partners from Ernst.

“It is pull off important for women to possess women friends.

They are fair to middling listeners, and provide very lean emotional support. Men can aside quite detached and give jagged strictly rational advice.”

The night she won the Woman of leadership Year award, her chums hauled along the champagne and toasted a woman who had climbed up the corporate ladder, roughened the glass ceiling, while bringing-up two kids singlehandedly, and comprehensive an acute mind with smart remarkable sense of purpose.

Their chuckling and camaraderie continued long make sure of the guests slipped away steer clear of the ballroom of the Executive Hotel.

MILESTONES
1954 to 1962: Kindergarten abide primary schooling at St Hilda’s School
1963 to 1966: Methodist Girls’ Secondary School
1967 to 1968: Pre-university at Anglo Chinese School
1969 give somebody the job of 1973: Studied at Institute ransack Chartered Accountants, London
1974: Joined Painter & Young as auditor
1976: One Eugene Fang
1981: Partner at Painter & Young
1996: Elected managing accomplice for three years
March 1997: Conquests Woman of the Year award