Bio

Sounds like a cliche, but I did not ''choose'' aviation. Aviation 'chose' me. Like any fresh university graduate, I applied for numerous jobs. What appealed to me about my first job was that it was to be overseas, as a Management Trainee with Singapore Airlines. Since then, having been rotated and moved into various segments of the industry, from airlines to ground handling, training and now airports, the solid ground that that key first job has helped me gain wide exposure. Now, whether you are in operations, passenger services, sales and marketing, consulting, etc, one strong skill that will serve you well is the ability to identify problems and to think of solutions. This has served me well throughout my career, especially later on when consulting to airport clients overseas. With aviation being such a broad and diverse field, I have also found it useful to be nimble and adept of mind. To be flexible to go outside your comfort zone and see what are the key takeaways. You can master a single domain of knowledge, but if you are narrow in thinking, you will have trouble coming up with bespoke integrated and holistic solutions to the customer's problems. Another critical factor in aviation, is basically to be prepared. Sounds simple, but people take things for granted, making this a First World Problem. Systems run, power is uninterrupted in more developed parts of the world. But aviation is so interconnected and spans First to Developed to Third Worlds. Critical thinking is needed to plan ahead for what may happen, whether as Crisis Management strategies or as Business Continuity Plans to ensure your operations and business is unaffected. And being an overseas manager with an airline helps prepare you for this There are many other success factors, but what has helped me is leadership by example. Airlines, groundhandlers and airports are very reliant on people from different backgrounds and areas of work. Motivating the masses is not easy, but leading by example and MBWA (Management By Walking Around) does help. As Leadership, it is crucial that we do not rely on just numbers and reports, but also take the chance to observe what is going on 'on the floor'. Leadership also means being decisive and this is no more evident in Operations, where delays in decisions can be costly. I have been blessed to be thrown in various roles and situations where operational decisions had to be made, sometimes during a crisis. Having a strong operational background, a sense of spotting problems and thinking ahead thus has helped me in decision-making during a crisis.