2019-10-01 Singapore Tatler

TheeldestofMalaysianentrepreneurKuaSianKooi’s

fourchildren,JoanneKuagrewupseeingherfather’s

passionfortheinsurancebusinesshehadbuiltfrom

scratch.Theeconomicsgraduateclearlyhasaheadfor

numbersaswell,butacareerinthefamilybusiness“was

neverwritteninstone”,shetellsusduringavisitto

Singaporeearlierthisyear.

Aftergettingamaster’sdegreeinmanagementandrisk

regulationfromtheLondonSchoolofEconomics,shejoined

DeutscheBank’sLondonoffice,workingintheCreditRisk

Managementdepartment.Theyearwas2007,whichwas

thepeakofinvestmentbanking.“Everyonewashavinga

fantastictime,”Kuaremembers.Thereisaruefultingeto

thisrecollection,ofcourse,becausetheglobalfinancialcrisis

wouldthrowmarketsintoturmoiljustayearlater.

Whenthegreatrecessionhit,“everythingbecame

doomandgloom”,saysKua.Butshedecidedtostayat

thebankforovertwomoreyears,becausesherealised

thecrisiswasalsoagoodlearningopportunity.“When

timesaregood,thingscomeeasily.Whentimesarebad,

that’swhenyoureyesopen,andyougainthatgritthat

carriesyouthrough,”sheexplains.“Youaretryingtosolve

problemsallthetime,learninghowtomanagepeopleand

relationships,andfiguringouthowtomakethebestout

oftheworstsituation.”

Thatastuteassessmentsaysalotaboutthisbusiness

leader’sgroundedattitudetowardsherwork.Kuareturned

toMalaysiain 2010 andledthesaleofherfamilybusiness’

Malaysianinsuranceunit.NowknownasKSKGroup,

itstilloperatesinsurancebusinessesinIndonesiaand

Thailand,andhasdiversifiedbylaunchingKSKLand,a

propertydevelopmentsubsidiary.Kuaisthegroup’sCEO,

andKSKLand’smanagingdirector.Herfatherremainsthe

group’sexecutivechairman.

Kuacutsapetitefigureandlooksmuchyoungerthanher

34 years.Sheisfullyawareofthefirstimpressionshemight

leave,notjustonbusinessassociates,butonherownteam.

“Youhavetoearnpeople’srespect,”sheacknowledges.“I

don’t take anything for granted. I make sure I roll up my

sleeves,putinthehardwork,andwalktheground.Weare

nothingwithoutourpeople,andthereissomethingIcan

learnfromeveryone.”

Nextyear,KSKLandwillcompleteitsfirstproject,

8 Conlay,andbringingthattofruitionhasbeenahuge

learningexperienceaswell.Theluxurymixed-use

developmentintheheartofKualaLumpurcomprisestwo

residentialtowerswithinteriorsdesignedbyglobalstudio

Yoo,aswellasafive-starhotelundertheKempinskibrand.

ThelatterisEurope’soldestluxuryhotelier,andwillalso

servicetheproperty’sresidentialunits.Thatisoneway

KSKLandistryingtoconnectwithwell-travelledurbanites

whounderstandthatgooddesignisnotjustabout

luxuriousmaterials,butratherfacilitatingthatplatonic

idealofvibranturbanlivingwithoutthefrazzle.

Indeed, 8 Conlayhas“crystallisedKSKLand’sDNAfor

us”,saysKua.“Wedon’tthinkofdevelopmentassimply

buildingashellanddeliveringthattothecustomer.We

callourselvesa‘lifestyledeveloper’,andthatmeansreally

thinkingabouthowourcustomerswouldliketolive,work

andplayinthesespaces.”

Thatsenseofempathyisparticularlycrucialwhenit

comestodevelopingprojectsinAsia,becausetheregion’s

buyersare“amongthemostfast-changingsegmentsin

theworld”,Kuanotes.Theirexpectationsandhabits

havebeenconditionedbytherapidpaceoftechnological

developmentsinthispartoftheworld,whichmeansshe’s

alwaystryingtothinkyearsaheadofthecurve.Theidea

ofasmarthome,forexample,wasn’tanormwhenthey

startedconceptualising 8 Conlay,butbuyerswillhavethat

technologyavailabletothemwhentheycollecttheirkeys

nextyear.

Lookingfarintothefuture,afterall,issecondnaturefor

thestewardsoffamilybusinesses.SaysKua:“Forabusiness

tolastforgenerations,wehavetocreateafoundation

andstructurewherepeoplecangrowandadaptastimes

change.Creatingalegacyisaboutbuildinganengine

thatkeepsmovingforward, even when you are not

aroundanymore.”

Tokeep upwiththeevolvingtastesanddemandsof Asia’scosmopolitanbuyers,

propertydeveloperJoanne Kua believes it is essential to stay ahead of the curve

BY HONG XINYI

PERPETUAL MOTION

PHOTOGRAPHY: MAX CHAN/101 TEAMWORK; HAIR AND MAKE-UP: VINNA ER

Close-Up / UPFRONT

singapore tatler. october 2019 67