Women from across both American and Malaysian businesses flocked to the Royale Chulan for the American Chamber of Commerce Malaysia’s 'Celebrating Women Leaders' event.
On a rainy September afternoon in Kuala Lumpur women from across both American and Malaysian businesses flocked to the Royale Chulan for the American Chamber of Commerce Malaysia’s ‘Celebrating Women Leaders’ event. The event featured five hand-selected panelists, including: Sugunah Verumandy, HR Director of General Electric, Malaysia; Fui Kiun Soong, CEO of Centre for Strategic Engagement; Melissa Norman, Managing Director of Kelly Services; Mei Lee, Freelance Graphic Designer at DTBA and lastly Limkokwing’s homegrown trailblazer, Dato’ Tiffanee Marie Lim, Associate Vice President, Talent and Brand Development. Each of these highly successful women gave a 10-minute talk on their journey to success, sharing their experiences and challenges, including gender disparity.
Anne Marie Brooks, Executive Director of AMCHAM Malaysia, who was moderating the panel, opened the floor to an intimate group of some 80-100 attendees, mostly women in the workforce.
Sugunah Verumandy valiantly lead the way, sharing her tips on how to be successful, advocating the need for coaches and sponsors and how to develop these relationships and networks. Another key tip involved social web presence, how this can work for and against you in business, reminding everyone to be mindful with their use of social media.
Next to the floor was Fui Kiun Soong with five key points on how she became successful, also advocating the importance of sponsors and time management. Like a modern day superwoman, she can solve problems via her blackberry whilst transiting to work and still makes it on time to her daughter’s recital!
A comedic yet informative talk came from Melissa Norman, relating her experiences dating back to her battles with her family’s desired career path and her own. Her inspiring story reminds us all that success can only come when the right person is in the right job.
Despite following such an animated speaker, Dato’ Tiffanee Maire Lim humbly stormed the floor, making the valid point that success is indefinite and that we can never rest on our laurels with our satisfaction. She also highlighted how often we take our access and means to education for granted. For some, even acquiring education is a huge success in itself.
Mei Lee closed the talks with a poignant quote from Oscar Wilde, “Be yourself, because everyone else is taken,” to reiterate the point of how important it is to stay true to yourself and your passions, despite how society views them. Ultimately it worked out for this talented young artist, who has already made an astounding impact in the graphic design industry.
As the afternoon talks drew to a close and the rain lifted, the audiences of women in the room were left with a sense of empowerment; success can be measured in many different ways and can be found at various ages as the panel demonstrated. But echoing Dato’ Tiffanee Marie Lim’s words, “Our greatest successes are yet to come” I think I speak for everyone when I say I can’t wait to see what the future holds for these truly inspiring women.
