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About The Event
We hosted a powerful discussion on "Building Bridges: Leveraging Cultural Intelligence in a Diverse World." 🌍 Moderated by Dr. Zsuzsanna Tungli, our panellists, Jenny Chua, Kulwant Bardh, and Mairin Reid, shared their profound insights on navigating cultural differences in leadership.
The discussion explored the concept of "crucible experiences" – pivotal moments that shape cultural understanding. We delved into the delicate balance between shareholder value and customer satisfaction, a challenge familiar to many of us. We also tackled the subtle barriers to effective communication, such as unconscious bias, language differences, and hierarchical structures.
A standout moment was our conversation about the importance of cultural awareness in giving feedback. Emphasising the need for cultural adaptability and the value of soft skills and cross-cultural training for leaders, we discussed the "dream big, start small" approach that resonated with many. Additionally, we highlighted the principle of assuming positive intentions while respecting cultural differences.
We also agreed on the importance of leading by example and measuring the impact of our cultural intelligence initiatives. Respect and non-judgment emerged as essential themes, underscoring the need for an inclusive and understanding environment.
A big thank you to our SGLN Fellows who planned and executed this community event as part of their Action Learning Project (ALP): Leon Cai, Kelly Heng, Yee Theng Ng, Huan Xi Soo, Boon Cheong Toh, Selina Seah and our SGLN Ambassadors Siddhant Ghosh and Ethan Zhi Hui Pang for their invaluable support.
We are also deeply grateful to our strategic partners, SMBC Group, and SMRT Corporation Ltd., for their support in making this event a success.
Key Moments
About the Singapore Leaders Network
Supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and managed by the Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI), the Singapore Leaders Network (SGLN) aims to prepare Singaporeans for global leadership roles. We aspire to help advance the social capital of Singaporean corporate leaders who can support one another on their professional and personal leadership journeys - whilst cultivating a vibrant and robust community. This is achieved through activities that enable members to learn, lead, and link including through large scale in-person events, smaller business networking sessions on various topics of interest, a structured mentoring programme, an Ambassador programme, as well as an online LinkedIn community.
Speaker
Dr Zsuzsanna Tungli
Managing Partner, Developing Global Leaders Asia
Dr Zsuzsanna Tungli is the Managing Partner of Developing Global Leaders Asia and has served as a consultant, facilitator and researcher for over 30 years. She has designed and delivered numerous executive development programs across varied industries in Asia and Europe for global multinational corporations in the following areas of global leadership and global mindset, DEl assessment, inclusive strategy formation, subconscious bias and inclusive behaviour training, female talent development programs, cross-cultural skills development, multigenerational workshops, and expat coaching.
She has also been an invited faculty at INSEAD, IMD, London Business School, National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University, and a regular speaker and facilitator at company and international conferences. Select clients include AbbVie, Ashurst, AXA, Beneo, Bosch, Coca-Cola, Dyson, Hogan Lovells, International SOS, JERAGM, Johnson Controls, JI International, MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Qualcomm, Sony, Swarovski, TD Securities, and Volvo.
Her educational qualifications are a Ph.D. in International Business (London Business School, UK), an MBA in general management (Bocconi University, Milan, Italy and UCLA), and an MSc. In Economics (Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary). Author of the book 'The Culture Key between Asia and the West' and forthcoming book 'The Roadmap to Gender Equality in Organization'.
Panellists
Jenny Chua
Executive Director, Head of Talent Management, APAC, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Jenny Chua is a seasoned Learning and Talent Development professional with over two decades of experience in regional leadership roles across diverse blue-chip companies in the financial, oil & gas, and technology sectors. Throughout her career, Ms. Chua has held responsibility for regional learning and development initiatives, graduate and talent management programs, and has served as a regional HR business partner.
Jenny possesses a strong academic foundation, having earned a Master's degree in Training & Development from the University of Melbourne, an Honours Degree in Business from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), and an Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment from the Institute of Adult Learning (Singapore). Furthermore, she is certified in DISC, MBTI, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, demonstrating her commitment to professional development and expertise in various assessment methodologies.
Jenny's dedication to the field of learning and development extends beyond the corporate realm. She actively contributes to the professional community by serving as an adjunct Adult Educator with the Institute of Adult Learning in Singapore.
Kulwant Bardh
Former Global Director, MD, CEO, Group Head Talent, Executive Coach, and Mentor for the SGLN Fellowship
Born and bred in Singapore, Kulwant brings over 30 years of multi-varied experience in Asia and the USA spanning start-ups, mid-sized SMEs and Fortune 500 companies. As a business leader, Kulwant has led three companies from red to black in P&L roles and has been involved in five M&As during his career. His past roles include a global role in the US and regional roles at Mercer, DDI, Aon, CEO Knolskape, and SVP Marsh McLennan. His most recent role was as Group Vice President for Talent and Organisational Development for a fast-growing digital financial services firm. Kutwant has coached and developed over 5000 leaders across multiple cultures and industries over the last two decades.
Kulwant speaks five languages and one Chinese dialect and is a psychometrics assessment and techie geek at heart. His latest passion is to go deeper into understanding the application of Generative Al models to help HR and business leaders transform and streamline organisations for accelerated growth and higher profitability. He is clear about his life purpose which is to make a difference in people's lives, in both professional and personal life settings.
Kulwant is an accredited PCC (Professional Certified Coach) from the ICF (International Coaching Federation). Having possessed over 3000 professional coaching hours, Kulwant is embarking on his MCC (Master Certified Coach) and plans to complete it before end-2025. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago, is a Fellow Chartered CIPD professional, and is an adjunct faculty with various institutions such as Nanyang Technology University and Human Capital Leadership Institute. He is also a global mentor with Singapore Global Leaders Network which aims to groom Singapore leaders into regional and global roles. He is certified and accredited with over a dozen leading psychometric assessment tools such as Hogan, Adept-15, Saville Wave and many more.
Mairin Reid
Head Commercial Technology, Patient and Digital Solutions, IQVIA
Mairin is the Head of Commercial Technology, Patient and Digital Solutions at IQVIA, a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the healthcare industry.
Mairin has been in Asia for more than a decade, and in consulting for more than 16 years. She currently leads engagements across Asia Pacific covering digital strategy, technology and business transformation. She has worked with a range of clients globally from large pharmaceuticals, medical technology companies, consumer health companies, state & federal governments and non-government organizations.
She is also the co-founder and board member of a digital health start-up called Cogniant, a remote monitoring platform for measuring and predicting neurological disorders. It has developed a clinically validated mobile patient engagement and reporting platform which makes mood disorder diagnoses proactive and brings benefits of early interventions to large patient populations using digital phenotyping.
Mairin holds a Post Graduate degree in International Health) from Curtin University and an MBA from the University of Western Australia and Universität Wien, Austria.