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Voices of Courage
A curation of quotes by women who have overcome their challenges or adversities. Let the voices of these women empower you to live out your dreams and awaken your COURAGE to live a life of SIGNIFICANCE.
Women of Courage by Lilian Ong
Uncover in these pages practical tips & insights that support you in your personal breakthrough & transformation!
Women of Courage Limited Edition Scarf
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Ayesha Akhter stands at the forefront of Bangladesh’s business landscape having worked under the sector of freight forwarding and logistics for over 2 decades. Graduating from Dhaka University in Bangladesh, Ayesha has a diverse portfolio which encompasses a spectrum of projects spanning multiple industries all over the world.
Currently, Ayesha is deeply engaged in a multitude of projects. She overlooks garment on hanger initiatives with Inditex in Spain. She is involved in the Bangladesh Government’s national power project in Sirajganj and is also involved in the development of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Medical Hospital (BSMMU), a collaboration between the Bangladesh Government and Korean partners aiming to elevate health care standards in the nation. Ayesha has worked on other governmental projects including working with the fire service department. She is working on a German based project with Coca Cola in the sector of logistic and materialistic supply.
Ayesha is an active member of over 15 alliances globally in countries such as Thailand, Canada, U.S.A, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, etc. Ayesha has been an active member of the ABWCI for over 4 years now. With ABWCI’s active involvement in the G20 Summit India 2023, Ayesha was honoured as a special invitee and representative of Bangladesh at the W20 Summit 2023 meetings (affiliated with the G20 Summit) in India.
Ayesha has integrated a part of her life with charity work. She works with several organisations and orphanages to give underprivileged and disabled children better lives. Ayesha is a dedicated member of 2 women run alliances that fund the educational costs of underprivileged children all around Bangladesh.
Ayesha is a dedicated women entrepreneur aiming to break the gender related barriers and stereotypes in Bangladesh. Her future visions involve opening her very own foundation where she would enhance women empowerment through vocational training. Her dedication drives her to work on changing the view of women in society and globally exemplify the transformative potential of female entrepreneurship in driving sustainable development and shaping a brighter future for Bangladesh and the world.
A commerce graduate, who went on to graduate in law from Osmania University, worked in several organizations holding different responsibilities in finance, marketing and administration.
In 2002, when she was 31 years old, got an opportunity to start a paint industry. She got into the manufacturing of decorative industrial and specialised paints, her paint company is called the “Om Sai Andhra Paints” (OSAP), and her paints go by the brand name “Gold Seal” paints (They supply our paints L&T and infrastructure people and OEM also.)
Since 1995, Kavitha Rajesh has been a member of “Association of Women entrepreneurs of India”, (ALEAP). Present Treasurer of ALEAP and secretary for ALEAP IALA Industrial estate, committee member of CED centre for entrepreneurial Development of ALEAP which is skill development.
She is the President of “Hyderabad Management Association, (HMA)”. This is a body evolved to represent the interests of management professionals in the state of Telangana Andhra Pradesh Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, ran an entrepreneur development program which was to train 10000 women globally by GOLDMANSAACH, it was a 4-month certificate course by ISB was invited to attend the “South Asian Women Entrepreneur Symposium”, hosted by the “US department of State”, held in Dhaka in 2012. This symposium is designed to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by women who owned small and medium sized enterprises. The symposium was also to create cross border economic linkages between women entrepreneurs and established business leaders across the south Asian region. She was invited by the US Federal Government for a voluntary leadership program for women entrepreneurs, VOLVIS in the year 2013.
She was invited by TANA TELUGU ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA as special guest for their 21st Tana conference held on 26th May to 28th May 2017 in ST LOUIS to speak on empowering women and how the small scale industries are flourishing in
INDIA and was one of the 400 entrepreneurs selected from India for the recently held global entrepreneur summit in Hyderabad in the year 2017 (GES) where she was addressed by the honourable Prime Minister of India and Mrs. Ivanka Trump from U.S.A.
Also, she attended empretec flagship capacity-building programme of the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for the promotion of entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium sizes enterprises (MSME) to facilitate
sustainable development and inclusive growth. She was one of the invited from the GOLDMANSACHS Global 10000 women from INDIA for the RECENT WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM in DAVOS SWITZERLAND on 22nd January 2019, it was a flagship platform in the space of 10000 women by providing business education and access to capital reaching women from 56 countries globally,
when women lead 10K Women launch with GS.
One of the US consulate Alumni steering committee members, this is supported by the public affairs section of US consulate Hyderabad the alumni steering was officially launched by counsel general Mr. Joel Reifman on 7th September, for the year 2019 to 2020.
Dasha is the founder of LA-based startup CastingForm, the world’s leading AI-enabled marketplace to discover and book actors globally.
Before CastingForm, Dasha succeeded in global talent management. CastingForm’s clients include Universal, HBO, Netflix, and Amazon, as well as 108,000 actors in the database and users from 124 countries. Dasha studied at Stanford GSB, Florida International University, and Miami Ad School, and has her 3rd Masters degree in Space and Cyberpsychology.
Recognized by Forbes and Vogue, Dasha is an Internationally acclaimed & award-nominated publicist who is known for making her clients famous globally. Dasha has also completed open-water swimming races in the Barents Sea, a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, and the Alcatraz race. Being a girl from a small industrial town above the Article Circle she is a young self-made woman who made it to Paris, Los Angeles, and London. A survivor of child sexual abuse, she advocates for empowerment and resilience, inspiring audiences globally.
Dasha is a resident and a keynote speaker at the Launch House, Cannes Film Festival, SXSW South by Southwest, NFT London, International Economic Forum, International Project Management Summit, and Global Marketplace Summit.
Selima Ahmad MP, an entrepreneur and business leader, was elected as the Member of Parliament of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in the 11th National Election held in December 2018, since than she has been relentlessly working with dedication for the betterment of people of Cumilla-2 constituency (Homna-Titas). As the President and Founder of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) and Vice Chairperson of Nitol-Niloy Group, Selima Ahmad is the developing world’s personification working for the private sector development for the last 30 years. With her deep understanding of business, she focused on developing entrepreneurial talent, organizing financial and marketing resources to enable women get over hurdles. She founded BWCCI in 2001 to empower businesswomen and developed more than 51,497 women entrepreneurs. Her dynamic advocacy brought two policies for women entrepreneurs that include getting bank loans with low interest and without collateral which helped more than 15,250 women receive bank loans. Her advocacy facilitates $12.5 Million, a separate allocation in the national budget for the women entrepreneurs. Under her leadership 23 projects have been completed to build capacity of Women entrepreneurs. She mentors and promotes entrepreneurs and Women Chambers all over the world with special focus on SAARC countries. She got the “Leadership Champion” for the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) of the World Bank Group for the period from June 2020 to May 2022. She obtained graduation and master’s in business management from the University of Dhaka and did short courses from USA, Japan, Denmark and Canada. She is a fellow of Stanford University, USA.She is the former Director of Janata Bank Ltd., Sonali Bank Ltd., and Bangladesh Development Bank Ltd. She was a Part time faculty member of Dhaka University and American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB). Her work has been recognized by many awards including Oslo Business for Peace Award 2014. Apart from that she has been awarded with Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Award 2013, Islamic Development Bank Prize 2012, Priyadarshini Award 2012, TIAW World of Difference Award 2010 for her accomplishments.
Elisabetta is a multi-cultural young leader, family business steward and serial entrepreneur.
She is Co-Founding Unicorns for Good (UFG), a global tech-for-good platform that cultivates and empowers conscious leaders to apply and scale technology for greater good. UFG aims to bring together global leaders to drive the Tech for Good movement and to accelerate deep-tech translation into scalable solutions to solve UN SDGs, and create more impact unicorns as role models to catalyze the mindset shift for the regenerative transition.
She also co-founded Da Ivo, an Italian award-winning fine-dining restaurant in Shanghai, and the Executive President of Italy Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, impacting millions of lives in Italy and China through philanthropic activities.
Prior to her successful entrepreneurial venture, Elisabetta was the President of the Marshall Society in University of Cambridge, one of the most prestigious economics student societies in the world, served as Strategy Consultant with EY in London, Chief of Staff in Monitor Deloitte and Director of a multi-family office in Hong Kong, China, and Singapore.
In addition to her professional accomplishments, Elisabetta is committed to making a positive social impact. Elisabetta also helms the World Youth Leaders Union, co-founded the NextGen Club, is part of the Global Shaper Community of the World Economic Forum, a regular speaker and co-organizer of forums. During the 2022 Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai, Elisabetta donated 54 tons of fresh food to low-income families, the elderly and hospitals, personally distributing the food as logistics were halted in the city. Elisabetta is also a seasoned meditator with over a decade of practice and having been to two 10-day vipassana retreats.
Ms. Aarti Bindra is a multi-faceted women entrepreneur who manages a variety of businesses. A coder by education and a cybersecurity specialist by profession, she has more than 20 years of entrepreneurial experience. She has been a part of several businesses. Her work experience ranges from K12 eLearning Hub, where she designed apps for kids, developing cybersecurity solutions for Klassify and Attack Fence to managing the cybersecurity company, ACPL Systems.
She is also a certified Corporate Director who has made sure that her companies are compliant and process-driven. Through her efforts, she has ensured a gender-balanced staff in all her ventures while creating an inclusive ecosystem. ACPL is among the top 25 Mid-Size “Great Place to Work”, Top 30 Tech Employers, and India’s Top Workplaces for Women. She is passionate about plants and helps other women entrepreneurs to connect and grow their businesses.
A senior advisor, mentor and confidante to C-suites., Penny pioneered movements and entrepreneurship across the media, academic, private, public and people sectors. A global connector and innovator, she is passionate about technology for Good and mindful leadership. She advises multiple technology and innovation organisations across the globe.
From 2001-2015, as an elected Singapore Member of Parliament, she chaired an inter-agency taskforce to build the first eco-town in the tropics – the Punggol Digital District, sat on national committees covering the Parliament Estimates Committee, Ministries of finance/trade and industry, education/ national development/ environment & water resources/ information/ arts, culture, community and youth. She chaired the Government Parliamentary Committee for the Ministry of Communications, Information and the Arts. She sits on various global boards – Asia Society Global Council, Interlink Group, Operation Hope, Global Dignity, amongst many others.
A successful wealth manager, she founded the Social Innovation Park, co-created SEA and raiSE – a national platform responsible for the social enterprise sector development work. She strategized and implemented media programs, co-created television programs, the Global Social Innovators Forums and businesses that impacted numerous social entrepreneurs and people for a better world.
She sat on various universities boards including the board of Yale World Fellows (Yale University), Leonardo Centre (Imperial College of London) and the Singapore Institute of Management. She published many articles and books, including the ‘Top 50 Social Innovations Changing Our World” and ‘Practising Sustainability’ published in New York, which won the Springer Nautilus Silver award.
Penny is a frequent speaker on prestigious platforms like the World Economic Forum (Davos), Asia Society, International Parliamentary Union, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, World Knowledge Forum, DLD, Skoll Forum, etc. She has been honoured with many pinnacle global awards- founding member of the World Economic Forum’s New Asia Leaders and Young Global Leaders, the Global Shapers Community, Asia 21 Young Leaders, Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar, Yale World Fellow & Scholar, INSEAD Scholar, NTU-Lien Legacy Fellow, Salzburg Global Fellow and is an alumnus of NUS, Harvard, Yale, and Tsinghua University.
She is an avid explorer who has traversed more than 90 countries, experiencing cultures and spotting trends alongside unique landscapes across the globe.
A Chartered Financial Consultant®, Certified Financial Planner® and Associate Estate Planning Practitioner®, Janelle Tan has been in the financial sector since 2003, first in her capacity as HR business partner and thereafter, as a financial services consultant. In 2012, she left her role as Vice President, HR at a fund management company to embark on building a financial consulting practice she can be proud of. A decade later in 2022, she started leading a team of financial consultants and today, helms a team of 7, all mid-career switchers with illustrious corporate background, specializing in Retirement and Estate Planning, as well as Employee Healthcare Benefits and Deferred Compensation Design. To do good and do well, and empower others in the same, is what energises her in leadership and business.
As a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Financial Consultant, and a licensed Estate Planner, Teresa has established a growing financial services consulting business, and received numerous accolades in the more than 15 years she has been in the industry.
She is also actively speaking at corporate lunch time talks and client seminars on topics ranging from Wealth accumulation to Retirement Planning and Medical Protection and Estate Planning.
She believes is helping her clients live well by having adequate income protection and efficient wealth accumulation, and to leave well through sound estate planning. Her expertise extends even to companies and business owners.
She is also passionate about training and mentoring the next generation of Financial Planners, equipping them with the necessary skills and heart to serve their clients well.
Prior to joining this industry, Teresa has extensive experience working in MNCs, in the areas of Strategic Business Controlling and Regional Audit.
Beyond her business, Teresa is passionate about awakening women to their purpose and call in their life. She is an active leader of WOW31, a faith-based community that aspires to help develop the whole womanhood. She is also a leader in her local church.
Tara Uzra Dawood is the Chairperson of LADIESFUND Energy Pvt. Ltd., a proposed renewables project in Gharo, Sindh, led and run by women and for the purposes of promoting women in the sector, with the support of National Electric Power Regulatory Authority Pakistan’s “Power with Prosperity” initiative.
She is also CEO and Founder of 786 Investments Ltd., one of Pakistan’s pioneer asset management companies. It is publicly listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. She also currently sits on the boards of Pakistan Refinery Limited, and Dawood Family Takaful Limited, and previously served on the boards of Pakistan State Oil – where she chaired the Audit, HR and IT/Innovation committees, Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan and Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO). She is further serving on the Energy Sub-Committee of Advisory Committee of the Planning Commission under Chairmanship of Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives (PD&SL). She is certified in Corporate Governance by Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) and Harvard Business School.
She holds a Doctorate in Judicial Science from Harvard Law School – where she specialized in shariah law and finance, as well as mergers and acquisitions, and is a specialist in managing zakat funds – and Bachelor of Arts Honors from Cornell University and Oxford University.
She worked for law firms in New York, Toronto, Amsterdam, Brussels and California before launching 786 Investments Ltd. She has served on the Faculty at Danube University Krems (Austria) as recommended by The International Investment Funds Association and EBAMA.
She speaks globally at numerous international mutual fund and banking conferences as an authority on shariah-compliant finance as well as finance for women, and most recently represented Pakistan at ALFI Rentree 2020, the annual Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, where she has previously been a speaker on Islamic finance in both 2013 and 2014. She also was invited to France to assist the Association Française de la Gestion Financière on the launching of their shariah mutual funds industry. She is well known for her philanthropic work for women and children, in partnership with Facebook’s internet.org foundation and with the support of the World Bank, as well as distribution of emergency supplies during the SWAT earthquake and most recently, food rations during COVID-19/Sindh floods. Her current passion project is spearheading the distribution of 10,000 wheelchairs across Pakistan to hospitals and individuals in need.
Dr. Ambika Sharma is a development sector professional with 25+ years of progressive global experience in organizational development & change management, strategic alliances, participatory multi-stakeholder engagement, evidence-based policy research management, programme management, and knowledge management. She has worked actively in developing countries contexts in South & South – east Asia. Dr. Sharma spearheads a global chamber for women in business, championing the empowerment of 130,000+ women entrepreneurs in over 30 countries. Her leadership at ABWCI underscores a commitment to fostering collaborations for creating opportunities, and advocating for supportive ecosystems, contributing significantly to both economic growth and the advancement of women-led development on a global scale. Prior to this she was with The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and has worked with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Winrock International (WII) and the Development Alternatives (DA) group. She has a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Planning, Masters in geography and a Masters in city and regional planning with additional diplomas in social entrepreneurship, human resources management, environment pollution control, labour law and journalism.
Parul Soni is a globally recognized leader in Impact Consulting, Entrepreneurship, International Cooperation, and Human Development. As the Founder and Global Managing Partner of Thinkthrough Consulting, a global consulting firm with offices in six countries, Parul has a wealth of experience working with Fortune 500 companies across 55 countries. His expertise includes cross-sectoral partnerships, institutional networks, women entrepreneurship, ed-tech, digital health and e-commerce businesses.
Parul’s passion for making a difference in the lives of women entrepreneurs led him to establish the world’s largest global chamber for women in business, the Association of Business Women in Commerce & Industry (ABWCI). The chamber reaches out to more than 1,30,000 women entrepreneurs with presence in over 30 countries, and is a testament to his bold vision and dedication to empowering women in business.
Parul’s reputation as a visionary with eloquent speaking skills, precedes him. Parul’s commitment to making a difference extends beyond his professional work. He is a Founding Board Member of Save the Children-Bal Raksha, Trustee and Board
Member of SafeLIFE Foundation, Trustee and Board Member of Standing Tall-Handicap International, and Trustee of Ideas to Impact Foundation, a not-for-profit sister concern of Thinkthrough Consulting.
A widely sought-after thinker in the finance industry, Mario has appeared more than 40 times on financial media giants CNBC and Bloomberg, each time giving his market views to an estimated 350 million viewers worldwide.
As an accomplished corporate consultant, Mario has been brought in by some of the biggest banks in the world to speak to their traders and clients. Some of his clientele include China’s biggest bank ICBC, Switzerland’s third largest bank Julius Baer, and OCBC, which was ranked by Bloomberg as the world’s strongest bank in 2011 and 2012. His four best-selling books, including his latest work, The Magical Rule of 3, which hit #1 on Amazon, are endorsed by global billion dollar fund managers such as Dr Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, and David Kotek, Chairman of Cumberland Advisors.
With 15 years of experience in the margin trading industry, Mario brings a stellar track record to the accomplished team at Fullerton Markets. Today as Founder and Chairman of his group of companies, Mario spends his time guiding the next generation of leaders who will take the business world by storm.
As an award-winning entrepreneur, Mario firmly believes that every business should be a force for good. He loves building businesses which disrupt whole industries and bring massive value to entire communities.
Christina is an advisor and mentor on branding, marketing, and startups with over 30 years of experience across creative, marketing and branding, business leadership roles, and regional portfolios.
A keynote speaker and published author for an Amazon Bestseller “Not a Marketing Textbook”, Christina also writes for leadership publications on business and brand transformation.
She was ex-CMO-In-Residence with Singapore Management University Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, where she still continues to deliver masterclasses and mentor early stage companies across diverse sectors.
As founder of a business advisory – Chrisspeak, she leads a collective of experienced branding, business design and strategic partnership practitioners to help transform ideas into businesses that deliver real value.
Nhi Le Anne stands as a shining example of resilience and empowerment, particularly resonant for a gathering focused on women’s advancement. Born in the challenging environs of Quang Nam province, Vietnam, Nhi Le Anne’s journey has been one of remarkable transformation and self-discovery.
Equipped with a Diploma in Psychology from Singapore, she has carved a niche as Vietnam’s pioneering Life Coach. Her mission: to guide individuals towards self-realisation and happiness, drawing on a rich tapestry of personal experiences and professional knowledge. Her unique approach answers the fundamental question, “Who am I?”, and empowers individuals to unlock their true potential.
Her life, marked by trials including being a single mother in a foreign country, is a testament to her indomitable spirit. Nhi Le Anne has not only surmounted these challenges but has also flourished across diverse roles – an investor, entrepreneur, advisor, and leader. Her most impactful role, perhaps, is that of a healing speaker, where her insights have inspired audiences in Vietnam, Singapore and globally.
In her pursuit to elevate the lives of her compatriots, Nhi Le Anne collaborates with the Strengths Quotient Institute (SQI) and the NhiLe Team. Her efforts have brought transformative courses to Vietnam, fostering a positive environment for personal and communal growth. Through the principles of the Ikigai Zone and the support of SQI, she exemplifies the power of continual self-renewal, constantly evolving into a more refined version of herself.
After few years, she has successfully invest into small businesses alongside her team (NhiLe Team), including the Nhi Le company marketing agency, the Share & Work homestay, the Hush and Nhi’s House Coffee establishment, AVA Studio, the Family Cloud company focused on web development and applications, and the This is Home company in the travel sector. And she also opened a community to provide free vocational training for Vietnamese youth.
Starting his BNI journey in 2019 as the Head of Operations for BNI Singapore, he eventually became the National Director for BNI Singapore and the Director of Operations for BNI Asia Pacific. In these roles, he played a crucial part in supporting a vast network of over 108,000 BNI business owners.
Before joining BNI, Jonathon accumulated over 25 years of diverse experience in real estate, corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, and business training. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Singapore, and he further honed his skills through the Management Development Program at Harvard Business School.
Jonathon’s passion lies in people development and positive change through education. He actively contributes to the growth of others as advisor to the Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia – Executive Leadership Institute. Additionally, he supports Corporate Connect Cambodia, a business platform connecting global leaders and empowering them to create meaningful change in their organizations, communities and lives.
Driven by a mission to “Bring Cambodia to the World and the World to Cambodia,” Jonathon is enthusiastic about launching the Cambodia International Business Expo in 2024. Outside the professional realm, he maintains an active lifestyle as a triathlete and avid trekker, and he has set a personal goal to visit every country where BNI is located.
Jasmine Chan, Senior Executive Group Division Director of ERA, is an Asset Progression Strategist who helps customise asset progression plans with families to achieve higher quality of life through property ownership.
She is a seasoned property investor herself and has successfully executed an average of 90 – 120 asset progression cases per year over the last 17 years in business. As a mother of 3 young children, Jasmine understands the importance of financial literacy on property ownership and the need to set a role model for the next generation on the concepts of having an active plan for asset progression. Over the years, Jasmine has been actively providing free asset progression consultations to families, especially single mummies to help them customise bespoke plans for their home ownership and property investments.
Jasmine is also an established Real Estate Mentor and a Business Coach to a community of real estate agents, providing bespoke mentorship to new and experienced real estate agents on building a sustainable real estate business for themselves. Through her one-on-one mentoring sessions and her signature training programs, Jasmine has trained and mentored many successfully real estate agents. ERA provides a nurturing community for female real estate agents, offering a supportive space where women can take charge of their personal growth in life and work. Surrounded by strong, empowered women from diverse backgrounds, she discovered a positive growth environment at ERA that encourages all women to overcome challenges, be brave, and collectively move forward. It’s a place where women support women, fostering a sense of empowerment and fostering a sustainable real estate business.
At 32, Oksana Shevchenko -Kosenko epitomizes the spirit of innovation and determination. Beginning her entrepreneurial journey at 20, Oksana has since diversified her portfolio to include ground-breaking psychological courses for women, a successful dance school, and ventures in language education. Armed with a Bachelor’s in Management and Marketing and a Master’s in Consulting Business Analytics in IT Development, she has mastered the intersection of technology and business.
Oksana co-developed ‘App 110’, blending business, psychology, and sports, and is pioneering a Swiss watchmaker brand, showcasing her flair for innovation. As a founder of ‘Alliance 110’ in London and involved in IT and marketing in the Czech Republic and ventilation in Hungary, her global footprint is notable.
With her upcoming book and ventures, including a new IT development company in Switzerland, Oksana is a beacon of inspiration, emphasizing that with belief and perseverance, anything is possible. Her experience and insights make her an invaluable speaker, bringing a wealth of knowledge and inspiration to the summit.
Shirley has over 30 years of success in the IT & Technology industry. Leading TNF Ventures, a seed and early-stage venture fund, Shirley actively supports and mentors technology startups, utilizing her extensive entrepreneurial experience. As the former head of the BT Frontline group in Asia Pacific, she spearheaded professional services for Cyber Security, Healthcare, and Applications Development.
Having co-founded Frontline Technologies in 1994, Shirley steered the company to a Singapore Exchange listing in 2001 and a subsequent acquisition by British Telecom Global Services in 2008. Passionate about fostering entrepreneurship and innovative technology, she focuses on investing in startups and serves as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at SMU, driving a world-class incubation program.
Shirley’s dedication extends to various roles, including Chairperson of the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition, and board positions in organizations like Netlink Trust NBN, DSO National Laboratories, Assurity Trusted Solutions, Yellow Ribbon Singapore and the National Kidney Foundation.
Since being elected to represent Marymount SMC in 2020, building a caring and sustainable community has been Siow Huang’s key focus. She seeded the Marymount Care and Green Plans under which various ground-up projects have sprouted, such as food rescue, support for caregivers, free TCM massage therapy for seniors, and tree planting to celebrate new births.
Siow Huang believes that good policies require communication, teamwork and collaboration to create positive impact on the ground. Her work in the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower has been hectic but rewarding as she listens and exchanges views with many to improve jobs and employability of Singaporeans. Through the SkillsFuture movement, skills upgrading and lifelong learning programmes have been enhanced to benefit more mid-career Singaporeans. On the manpower side, companies are encouraged to do more to adopt progressive workplace practices – fostering greater diversity, flexible work arrangements, work life harmony and mental wellbeing support for workers.
Siow Huang continues to advocate for the empowerment of women. She supports back-to-work women as she feels that women can contribute much more with sufficient support at home and at work. Siow Huang is constantly powered by her passion for her family and work and hopes to see more women stepping forward to take on leadership roles. Besides being a proud member of Girl Guides Singapore and Young Women’s Leadership Connection, she mentors young women who are starting on their first careers.
Sher-li Torrey is the founder and director of Mums@Work (Singapore), which was started in 2010. Trained in various personality profiling tools, she has more than 20 years of corporate experience holding various roles in different industries. In 2010, following the birth of her daughter, Sher-li started Mums@Work (Singapore) – a social enterprise that supports women. A point of information source for women looking at flexible work arrangements and/ or starting their own business, Mums@Work is a career portal that supports more than 53,000 women. In 2016, she started a subsidiary of M@W, Career Navigators – with a focus on bringing women back into the workforce in full-time roles. Through this subsidiary, partnerships with more than 150 MNCs have been established – and various returnships and back-to-work programmes have been implemented across the years. In 2021, Sher-li launched “Singapore:40-over-40. Inspiring Women”- an annual initiative to highlight 40 women in Singapore, over the age of 40, who have started a business, restarted a career, changed career paths or created a social giveback project. The project aims to speak up against ageism and gender bias faced by women in Singapore.
As founder of Singapore’s first flexible work career portal, Sher-li has spoken to various organisations and local media on Diversity & Inclusion topics, as well as HR-related issues. She is a frequent speaker and article contributor to press and TV on topics related to new work environment, employment trends and diversity hiring. As a trained career coach, Sher-li also currently sits on various advisory boards of Singapore’s different government ministries – including the COMPASS Council (Ministry of Education) since 2017, the ACCORD Family & Community Council (Ministry of Defence) since 2019 and the Families For Life Council (Ministry of Social & Family Development) since August 2019. A mother of 2 school-going children, Sher-li strongly advocates a work environment that thrives in allowing employees to have better work-family integration.
Before becoming a mother, Joyce was actively volunteering in youths and children associations such as TRYBE and Youth Corp. She was also active in doing missionary works in the region – educating communities regarding the importance of family relationships.
With the arrival of her son, she had to find a way to raise her child as a stay home mom, while still support the family financially; with her strong will, self-initiative and determination – she became a successful digital marketer that provides not just social media consultancy and management service but other related services such as photography, graphic design, etc and has helped many companies to build their online presence.
While juggling her son and digital marketing, she never left behind her passion for the arts and she became a Mama on Palette, a community of mother artist, where she began to grow her love for teaching art. This prove to be her stepping stone where later she became the co-founder of Imaginasium, a children playdate company and later on she started Vinreh, which makes exquisite, handcrafted polymer clay jewellery to her current successful business Chokmah where her passion of art and design is combined in creating beautiful, modern, sustainable lifestyle wares. She also runs the trendiest workshop in Singapore – Chokmah’s Terrazzo tray making workshop.
In all her busy day to day activities, Joyce still find time to give back to the community as a member of the Connecting Mothers Support Group, as well as being a Women of Courage Asia Community Leader, where she connects with other women to collaborate and serve the community together.
Rev Dr. Naomi Dowdy is a distinguished leader and mentor, recognized both for her pioneering work in global organisational leadership and her profound impact in religious and educational circles. As the former Senior Pastor of Trinity Christian Centre in Singapore and the Founder-Chancellor of TCA College, Dr. Dowdy has dedicated her life to fostering leadership and personal growth. She also serves as the Chairperson of the Network for Christian Women (NCW), where she focuses on empowering women to reach their full potential.
Through Naomi Dowdy Ministries and Naomi Dowdy Mentoring and Consulting, she addresses a wide range of issues from leadership transitions to marketplace dynamics, offering balanced biblical insights for contemporary challenges. Renowned for her dynamic speaking and authorship, she mentors and trains business leaders and strategic organisational leaders across the globe, from America to Asia.
Her commitment to shaping a new generation of leaders is evident in her tireless efforts to encourage business leaders to leverage their enterprises for global betterment. Having served over 40 years in Singapore, Dr. Dowdy continues to travel extensively, preaching, mentoring, and providing consultation to churches and leaders internationally, nurturing a generation of world changers with her global influence and visionary leadership.
Lilian is known as a Courage Coach & Breakthrough Catalyst. Author, Social Entrepreneur & Community Builder, Maxwell Leadership Certified Coach, Speaker, and Trainer. She is also the Country President of the Association of Business Women in Commerce & Industry, Singapore.
Together with her team, Lilian provides highly tailored transformational programs to develop courageous women leaders so that every woman is equipped with tools to succeed in their personal lives and businesses. She has spoken on many platforms & impacted thousands of lives locally & overseas. She also volunteers in humanitarian & social projects around the region, including our local female Juvenile Institutions & the Women’s Prison.
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