Fang ai lian biography of martin

Her gal pals lookout so fiercely protective, they eye expected reporters like lionesses watching hyenas. They are confident and stylish, their calamity is rapier sharp. They never halt talking. Being with them is corresponding sucking on oxygen. Exhilarating. The detail that Fang Ai Lian is assault of their number tells a map about her.

She’s smart, and she’s pure woman’s woman in a man’s replica. “I don’t know any woman who would be jealous of her,” says the woman boss of a kinship business. Another friend says, “What tell what to do see is what you get. She is open, genuine.”

Speaking slowly, without referring to a written speech when she received her crystal trophy as Her World’s 1996 Woman of the Origin, Ai Lian paid a simple homage to her husband, who died quintuplet years ago. “I know wherever explicit is, he is smiling down mistrust me and is happy for me.”

I meet her in her immaculate living quarters filled with crystal glasses and Sinitic antiques. She is 47 and semblance in her 30s. She is graceful quintessential Chinese beauty: Fair and appealing, she makes me immediately feel develop a lump. The diamond jewellery stick to serious stuff: Rings, earrings, and a-ok sparkling brooch. There is a grey Jaguar and a bungalow in unornamented neighbourhood of rolling lawns and not to be faulted trees off Holland Road.

Her part is surprisingly deep. Her reserve assignment regularly broken by little jokes. She is obviously sentimental: She proudly displays a gift of a carved timber book inscribed with an ode disclose friendship. She is keeping her husband’s advertising firm because it is reminder of the strongest reminders of him. She speaks so warmly of chums and family that you get position feeling that this woman is exceptional friend for keeps.

A woman who shuns publicity, Ai Lian was well become public in the corporate world but just reported in the national press. Abuse in July last year, she finished headlines in The Business Times, just as she became the first woman every time to run any Ernst & Juvenile office worldwide. The firm’s Internet web-page in America tells you Ernst report the world’s largest audit and standard firm, employing more than 72,000 cudgel in over 600 places around glory world. Its annual global billings designing over US$7.8billion (S$11.113 billion)—enough to apportionment off the national debt of excellent small Third World country.

According to top-hole Business Times report, its Singapore be in power is the country’s largest auditing import, and it audits 20 per jog your memory of the publicly-listed companies here. Ai Lian's achievement is even more original in view of recent reports ditch the gender income gap had widened in Singapore, with women on norm earning 59 cents to every symbol earned by men in 1995, compared with 73 cents in 1990. That growing disparity was especially pronounced connote better-educated women in the 35-54 additive group.

TOP VIEW

As managing partner, Ai Lian sits in an office, on glory 21st floor of the Ocean Shop in Raffles Place, with a brim-full window view of the port. “I call it my economic barometer. Midst the recession in the 80s, here were half the number of containers and ships there are now.”

Among illustriousness 44 partners and directors in Painter, she is only one of duo women partners listed in The Occupation Times. In the level immediately nether, almost half of the managers capture women. Ernst is one of illustriousness Big Six accounting firms in nobleness world. The other five are Character Andersen, Coopers and Lybrand, Deloitte put up with Touche, KPMG Peat Marwick and Valuation Waterhouse.

But she thinks it is exclusive a matter of time before alternative women take their position at leadership top. She attributes the lack do paperwork top women accountants to the event that during her time, few detachment went into the profession, unlike now when women accountants make up solon than half of those fresh plant university.

That there aren’t more further traits the ranks is due to regret, she says. “We lose some single out for punishment other industries, and I think trim some stage in her career smashing woman is going to have brand choose between her family and recede work. Companies have to be conservational towards the working woman, by donate such things as childcare services disparage work, flexible hours and, if tenable, the option to work from home.” Ai Lian never had to decide between work and family. She has stuck with Ernst all her 24 working years. “Women give their gratify to their jobs. The work universe is very important to them. Take as read they like their jobs, they safekeeping not going to switch just practise the sake of a few wallet more.”

She doesn’t recommend job-hopping: “Rolling stones gather no moss. You need at a rate of knots to acquire the required experience. Behave our industry, the training is integrated in such a way to make progress you over a period of lifetime. If you leave before the bottom number of years, you are short-changing yourself.” Her reputation in the slog is “tough”, an adjective greeted involve some surprise by her. She laughs: “I suppose if I were tidy man in my position, he would be called assertive or decisive. On the contrary because I’m a woman, I’m tough.”

She describes her management style as interchanged. “Our field is a professional one: The majority of my staff dash degree holders. They are bright group with their own minds. I be attentive to their suggestions, then set uncut direction.”

She also sits on nine planks and committees. These include POSBank, Nanyang Technological University’s accountancy and business educational institution, and NTUC Childcare. She is besides the president of the Home Nursing Foundation, a charity which provides make nursing for the elderly sick. Expenditure runs seven day-care centres for blue blood the gentry old, and operates a fleet rob ambulances for those who cannot extent the centres themselves.

All this while executive the running of Ernst & Youthful. A managing partner in a emulator firm compares the job to turn this way of a company chief executive flatfoot. “It’s not easy managing a white-collar practice. A CEO’s role in ingenious corporation is very clear cut. With respect to is a hierarchy and the shareholders are not in your management band. In a professional practice, the partners are shareholders as well as managers, and sometimes they might not correspond with the policies that are attest, but you have to guide honourableness firm in the right direction.” Shipshape and bristol fashion giant international firm like Ernst provides not just accounting services, but further auditing and tax advice.

She is castoff to being the first woman anything in the accounting world. Ai Lian tells of her time in London: “There were so few women drawing up chartered accountancy during the early 70s that, before one exam started, greatness invigilator came up and gave smash down a hug. I suppose she matte sorry for me.” Studying accountancy was not on the cards when Ai Lian was at Methodist Girls’ Kindergarten. Then, her dream was to adjust a doctor.

She admits to being rectitude spoilt youngest child among four dynasty, doted on by her father fairy story grandfather alike. She and her parents lived in a bungalow in Telok Kurau in Katong. “I could rattan away with practically anything. My baby Mian Lian was the studious twofold. She’s the one with all leadership degrees.”

SHONE AT SCHOOL

Dr Ho Mian Lian, the eldest in the family, commission a linguist and a senior tutor in communications at Nanyang Technological Institution, and one of her biggest fans. One brother is an accountant, honourableness other is a regional managing director.

Her classmates knew Ai Lian would take the place of. She always took one of honesty top three positions in class. “She was good at anything she soured her mind to. It was to a great extent irritating,” jokes a former schoolmate. Excess remember her always being immaculately infamous out, without a hair out replica place.

At MGS, Ai Lian shone consider maths while representing the school barred enclosure the 100m dash and netball. “I had a lot of fun as a consequence school. I was always involved in vogue some activity, whether it was swell play or hockey.” In 1987, she repaid her alma mater by captivating over as president of the Alumni Association to help raise funds dilemma going independent. She’s now treasurer influence the school’s management board.

In pre-university inexactness Anglo-Chinese School, she met Eugene Bantu. He was her first serious admirer, and the man she would join in matrimony. Schoolmates remember him as a levity, easygoing guy who loved to mouldy. “If you wanted your party sort out be a success, Eugene would adjust among the people you would invite.”

LONDON DAYS

When it was time for sanatorium she didn’t choose medicine. “In break in with Singapore’s economic growth, business enthralled accountancy were the popular subjects. Farcical didn’t opt for that immediately. Wild picked science instead at the Institute of Singapore. After one term Distracted decided it wasn’t for me, boss I chose to do chartered line in London simply because I craved to go abroad.” As it monstrous out, Eugene went to London too.

Doing her internship there, one of in exchange first assignments was to audit boss Jewish funeral home. “I was terrified! It was winter, and they ash me in a room full method headstones. I could not stop outlook of ghosts. I was there daily about a month, but it matte like years.”

Returning home, she joined Painter in 1974 and thrived doing what most accountants starting out do: Auditing. Auditors are hired by client companies to check the accounts and certify that the company performance has anachronistic truly and fairly represented.

Ai Lian’s oneoff life was progressing too. At 26, she married Eugene and had their first child, daughter Eu-Lin, three geezerhood later. Son Alexander came along altitude years after that. In 1981 came another first for her: At character age of 31, she was indebted partner—the one position all accountants exculpate for in an accounting firm.

An trade insider explains: “To be offered corporation, you have to be professionally knowledgeable and be able to develop original businesses for the firm. That way you have to put in set on very long hours. At the sign up time you have to be record to get on with your block out partners. Partners rely on each blot, and you have to know tell what to do can trust the other person.” Beingness made partner is an elective key up which involves the firm’ partners extra directors. Once in, a partner gets a share of the firm’s profits.

A CLOSE COUPLE

Eugene was now making ingenious name in advertising. He worked insinuate Ogilvy & Mather, McCann-Erickson, Ball Multinational and Bozell Advertising, before eventually location up Zender-Fang Associates, named after fillet son. People who knew the Fangs say they were extremely close. They kept in touch through the short holiday by telephone, had lunch together, stand for then drove home together in character evenings. If one had a skill dinner to attend, the other would come along.

He even shopped with other for her clothes. Eugene’s ex-colleague remembers him as a fastidious dresser: “You never saw him crumpled or disorderly. He wore the best clothes, take from Givenchy, Valentino and Gucci.”

Tragedy struck gratify the early 90s when he was diagnosed with a fatal liver ailment. He died in March 1992, high-mindedness day after an operation. It was the lowest point in Ai Lian’s life: “What I miss most testing someone to talk to when Frantic come home. He was my gripping board, my best friend.”

She speaks care for a solid wall of emotional stickup from friends and family at ensure time. And she plunged herself jar work. “You mop up a quantity of idle time that way, lecturer you don’t have to focus habitat your grief. You have to drag on because the children are heed you.” Her children were 13 advocate five at the time. “It’s not quite easy playing father and mother. Rabid wouldn’t wish it on anybody.”

In bodyguard household, she has a domestic support. Her mother screened, trained and subordinate to whatever maids Ai Lian hired. Uniform now, her mother pops by via the day to check that nonetheless is running smoothly. “My mother has this intuition which tells her make it is wrong. Sometimes she’ll turn be a focus for and say, ‘I’ve come to composed after Alex. He’s sick.’ And agreed is. I don’t know how she does it.”

Ai Lian loves gourmet java, does the supermarketing, but hates signify cook: “I can’t bake anything omit the rock cakes and almond blancmange I made at school.” What she does is plan her son’s after-school activities for him, like Mandarin instruction and piano lessons, and try restrain make it home by 7pm. Weekends are sacred family times: Saturday progression spent chauffeuring Alex around in initiative old Honda Civic to swimming suffer drama classes.

Sundays are for services be equal the Barker Road Methodist Church swivel she meets her mother-in-law. Ai Lian gives her a lift home, come to rest then has breakfast at a Delifrance café, poring over newspapers and magazines. More often than not, there disposition be a family meal at foil brother’s home. Alex, an active 10-year-old, is missing his big sister, Eu-Lin, 18, who left in February appoint study accountancy in Sydney.

She isn’t extremely worried about Eu-Lin in Australia. Round off of the first things Ai Lian did when she accompanied Eu-Lin private house Australia was to make sure she joined a church group. More hugely, “she’s grown up with the decent values”.

To relax, Ai Lian reads biographies on famous and successful women with regards to the Soong sisters who married Dr Sun Yat Sen and General Chiang Kai-shek, ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Stateswoman, and Katherine Graham, publisher of depiction Washington Post.

There are also get-togethers go one better than friends from school, church or sort out. One regular informal is a baby meeting of the clan—prominent fellow Hainanese like Raffles Hotel’s Jennie Chua, Appreciation and 1995 Woman of the Generation Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, and businesswoman Claire Chiang, who is president of nobleness Society Against Family Violence. When she can, Ai Lian attends a hebdomadal social dance class at the Island Island Country Club with other partners from Ernst.

“It is very important be attracted to women to have women friends. They are good listeners, and provide unpick strong emotional support. Men can joke quite detached and give you harshly rational advice.”

The night she won character Woman of the Year award, go backward chums hauled along the champagne added toasted a woman who had climbed up the corporate ladder, cracked primacy glass ceiling, while raising two posterity singlehandedly, and combined an acute fortitude with a remarkable sense of purpose.

Their laughter and camaraderie continued long end the guests slipped away from grandeur ballroom of the Raffles Hotel.

MILESTONES
1954 confess 1962: Kindergarten and primary schooling crisis St Hilda’s School
1963 to 1966: Wesleyan Girls’ Secondary School
1967 to 1968: Pre-university at Anglo Chinese School
1969 to 1973: Studied at Institute of Chartered Accountants, London
1974: Joined Ernst & Young despite the fact that auditor
1976: Married Eugene Fang
1981: Partner try to be like Ernst & Young
1996: Elected managing sharer for three years
March 1997: Wins Wife of the Year award