he wears
her humility
like a badge,
as she has
embraced it
throughout
her life: as a
daughter, wife, mother
and entrepreneur. Her
tone is composed and
comforting – a foil to
the rapid-fi re questions
posed to her.
She interrupts
instinctively with an
off er of a takeaway lunch
while on the way back
to her offi ce at Tukang
Innovation Drive in
Tuas from Gardens
by the Bay, where the
Her World video crew
has been fi lming her.
(She has been on the
Gardens by the Bay
board of directors since
December 2016.) Then
she dives back into
the conversation.
There are moments
when she reveals aspectsofherjourneyinlife,
andonegetsthefeeling
ofbeinginthepresence
ofaninspirational
lifecoachinsteadof
someonewhohasspent
nearlytwodecades
buildingamultimillion-
dollarempire.
MeetSusan
Chong, Her World
Woman of the Year
2019, and the founder
and chief executive of
Greenpac. Her award-
winning Singapore
fi rm has revolutionised
transportation
packaging for industrial
products by using cost-
saving and eco-friendly
solutions.
Susan has been
at the heart of the
company’s exponential
rise. The 2014 Ernst &
Young Entrepreneur
of the Year is a well-
regarded industry
stalwart who, in 2017,
was also a fi nalist in
the Circular Economy
Leadership (CEL)
awards scheme by
the World Economic
Forum. The CEL
recognises innovators
who are pushing
forward in their
respective fi elds and
paving the way
for others.
Susan’s insights
are deeply rooted in
years of walking the
eco talk, long before it
became a global topic
in the now-crowded
eco-hip marketplace.
She speaks passionately
and consciously, with a
holistic view and solid
understanding of the
impact of how a product
is made and disposed of.
Born in 1969 into a
generation that emerged
way before today’s
heavily discussed
green movement,
Susan led Greenpac’s
prodigious growththroughinnovativework
forwhichthefirmhas
amassedmorethan 50
enterpriseawards.
Greenpacnow
countssomeofthe
largestFortune 500
companiesinaviation,
defence,biotechnology,
pharmaceuticalsand
semiconductors among
its clients.
Under Susan’s
charge, the packaging
start-up grew from a
two-person team into
a multimillion-dollar
corporation with more
than 50 employees at its
sprawling 200,000 sq
ft Green Mark Gold-
certifi ed building,
Greenhub.
And Greenpac is
poised for greater things
as it sets its sights on
global expansion.HER
REMARKABLE
JOURNEYHers is a classic tale of
a small-town girl from
Kedah, Malaysia who
moved to Penang to
seek better fortunes,
navigating a series
of extraordinary
circumstances with
resilience – experiences
that have made her what
she is today.
A model student –
she was a school prefect
and captain of the
swimming club – she
had everything going
for her as a child. That
all changed when her
father’s construction
business went bust when
she was 10.
So, at 18, instead
of going to university,
Susan abandoned herdream of becoming a
lawyer, packed her bags,
and took a train from
Kedah to Kuala Lumpur
to enrol in a six-month
hotel and catering
management course.
“It was the quickest
and cheapest course
for me to study, get a
diploma, and fi nd a job
quickly so I could help
support my family,”
recalls the now 49-year-
old, who recently
became a Singapore
citizen. “We had trouble
keeping up with the rent
and moved often. I hid
under the table every
time the landlord came
to chase for payment.
Each time I went home
to visit my family, it was
to a diff erent house.”
She adds: “I was
heartbroken when we
had to sell my piano to
raise the funds for my
hotel course. The piano
was the most precious
thing in the house.”
From Kuala
Lumpur, Susan headed
for Penang to apply for
a job as a receptionist
at Ming Court Hotel
during the month before
she was to start her
diploma course.
When she learnt that
the hotel was hiring only
sales executives, she
managed to convince
the interviewers that
she could do the job,
even though she was
below the minimum
age of 21. The gung-ho
teenager took up the job
in Penang and put off her
diploma course.
She recalls: “I
borrowed my friend’s
motorcycle to do sales
calls. When it rained,
I was drenched, but I’d
just go back, change, and
head out again.”
By the time she
was 19, Susan had
saved enough to buyWOMAN
OF THE
YEAR 201998 HERWORLD SEPT 2019