Voice of Experience: Siew Choo Ng, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Network Partnerships, Asia, American Express
Welcome to The Glass Hammer’s Spotlight on Asia Week. We’ll be featuring profiles of successful business women working in Asia all week long!
By Michelle Hendelman, Editor-in-Chief
Siew Choo Ng, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Network Partnerships, Asia, American Express based in Singapore, has held many different positions and worked in many different markets during her 20+ year career with American Express.
By gaining all of these valuable business perspectives, Ng has been able to successfully apply her knowledge and experience in her new role as Head of Global Network Partnerships in Asia . “One of the benefits of working in so many different businesses and markets is the ability to network and adapt,” said Ng.
Ng has successfully navigated the company’s different businesses, but there is one thing that she has learned throughout her career that she wishes she knew when she was first starting out. “It is important to know how to manage your boss,” remarked Ng. “He or she is the one who can be your sponsor and help you with your career. Often times you are competing for their time and sponsorship with your other team members, so it helps to distinguish yourself from the pack.”
Career with American Express
Having so many experiences has given Ng the opportunity to accumulate many achievements and accomplishments. She recalled one experience in her career that she was especially proud to be a part of. Back in the early 1990s when she was working in New York as part of the American Express International Development Program, which was a unique training program that develops international managers.
“At the time, more than twenty years ago, it was almost unheard of for a company to sponsor junior managers and train them to be international managers,” said Ng. She continued, “I gained an understanding for how the international markets operated and what it was like to work in different cultures.”
In her new role, Ng has taken on a different set of responsibilities and continues to expand into new markets. She is most excited about the possibilities for innovation that can emerge from working in Global Network Partnerships, especially in Asia, which is the fastest growing consumer market in the world.
“I currently manage Korea and Japan, which are two of the largest credit card markets in the world,” Ng said. “There is a payment revolution that appears to be happening,” she continued, “We also think a lot about the influence of the female consumer. The female consumer is becoming increasingly more powerful across all the industries in which we operate.”
Women in International Business
Ng has personally never experienced any difficulty as a female working in Asian markets. “People always respect you as a professional,” explained Ng. She continued, “It is important for young women to find their own voice.” She stressed just how critical this can be, especially for women working in Asian cultures where a lot of emphasis is placed on respecting the hierarchy.
To her female peers in the industry, she urges them to get involved in sponsorship, mentorship, and networking opportunities. “We need to be role models by sponsoring young women and encouraging them in their own career paths,” said Ng. “The more women you have at the top, it will create a lot more role models.”
“Overall, American Express has a very structured development program,” Ng said. One program that Ng is particularly fond of is the Pathways to Sponsorship program, which focuses on identifying and developing women leaders.
Ng expressed that one of the biggest challenges professional women in Asia continue to face is work/life balance. Ng stated, “In Asia, women are not only responsible for looking after their children, but there is also the responsibility of taking care of aging parents and extended family as well.” She referenced how public policies that allow women to take more time off from work, like in parts of Europe and Australia, can alleviate some of the burden for women who want to have both a career and a family.
Outside of the Office
Since it is sometimes hard for Ng to step away from her office, she tries to incorporate a relaxing yoga routine into each day. She uses her yoga time as a way to decompress and relieve some of the stress of the work day.
Ng always makes time to enjoy the local culture whenever she is traveling for business. “I have enjoyed a traditional Canadian Christmas, had Thanksgiving in upstate New York, Halloween in Spokane, WA, and attended weddings in India and France, to name a few experiences. I have also been to small towns in China and witnessed huge economic developments that have taken place over the years.” She continued, “More importantly, I have made great friends all over the world.”