The highest good is like water
上善若水
— Laozi
Board Director
Advisor . Master Certified Coach
Former CEO
Almost three decades ago, I was working on a business plan in a Harvard dorm room, eating Chinese takeout, and, most importantly, surrounded by people I believed in. Two CEO roles and many boardrooms — two of them through IPOs — later, it's still the same feeling. It has always been about the people.
Today I serve on the board of Mission Holdings, a global investment firm managing US$1.5B across the US, UK, and Asia. My work now takes two forms.
1/
I advise leaders who carry weight — CEOs, boards, family principals, and senior executives navigating transitions that have no playbook: succession, going global, stepping up, and the AI transition. Sometimes that means a seat on their board; sometimes a series of private conversations that unfold and connect dots that were invisible at the start. I work in English and Mandarin, across Western boardrooms and Asian enterprises, the two worlds I have lived in. As a Master Certified Coach, the International Coaching Federation's highest credential, and a member of its global professional coaches board, I work with a select few as an advisor.
2/
In my personal capability, I mentor founders, championing those building what comes next. I teach entrepreneurship as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD and Executive-in-Residence at SMU. Teaching keeps me learning.
Along the way, I co-founded a venture-backed startup in Silicon Valley, led two of Brunei's national economic and entrepreneurship agencies as CEO, and chaired a Singapore-listed trust through a US$1 billion+ IPO. I hold an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MSt in Coaching from the University of Cambridge, with a distinction for my dissertation on AI and coaching.
It still feels like those days beside the Charles River. Now I help others start what matters.
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