Her World Singapore – September 2019

ithher

oversized

hoodie,jeans

andmakeup-

freeface,she

couldeasily

passoffas

acollege

student.Herenergy

isinfectious,attimes

frenetic.

Shespeaks

animatedlyinbetween

giggles,dancingthrough

acarouselofstories–

fromthemusicsheloves

torunningamarathon

inNorthKorea,and

competinginhackathons.

Thentherewasthetime

sheperformedwitha

circus,spinningplates

andjuggling(yes,you

readthatright).

Mentiontech,and

herfacelightsup.She

divesintothetopicof

artificialintelligence

(AI)withsuchastute

understandingthatit

leavesonespellbound.

Littlewonderthat

AnnabelleKwok–Her

WorldYoungWoman

Achiever 2019 – is

slayingitontheworld

stage.Sheisthefresh-

faced21st-centurytech

girlwhohasgoneonto

the big league on her

own, in an industry

traditionally reserved

for brash, fast-fi ngered

men twice her 26 years.

Thewhizz-kideven

ownstheplayground:

Creatinginnovative

technology,flying

theSingaporeflag,

globetrottingtogive

talksinEurope,Asia

andtheMiddleEast,

joiningthewho’swhoof

theglobaltechindustry.

Andshe’sjust

gettingstarted.

Thespunky

#girlbossakachief

executiveofAIfirm

Neuralbayadded

anotherfeatherto

hercapinJanuary:a

workshoptohelpthe

ObamaFoundation

designitsfuture

Leadersprogrammein

theAsia-Pacificregion.

Annabellewasone

oftheyoungleaders

• from 16 countries
  andterritoriesacross
  theAsia-Pacific
  region–whotook
  partintheworkshop,
  whereparticipants
  engagedwithformer
  USpresidentBarack
  Obamaaspartoftheir
  designwork.
  Despiteherstellar
  resume,Annabelle
  brushesoffanyovations.
  “Iwasjustthereatthe
  rightplaceandtheright
  time,whentheAIscene
  wasstartingtogrow.
  Iwasthrustintothe
  limelightveryquickly,
  especiallysinceIwas
  ayoungSingaporean
  womanwithsomething
  tangibletoshow.”
  Sheadds:“WithAI,
  Iwanttomakeitcheap
  andaccessibleforthose
  whodon’thavethe
  know-how,andforthe
  greatergood.”
  Herstrongsenseof
  socialconsciousness
  stemsfromher

YOUNG WOMAN

ACHIEVER

2019

I RUN A BUSINESS.

I CREATE TECH.

I HAVE HOBBIES TO

MAINTAIN MY SANITY.

upbringing:Hermother

sentthethen13-year-

oldonaGirlGuidestrip

toPhuketin 2005 to

helptsunamivictims.

Sherecalls:“Thetruth

onlysinksinwhen

you’rethere.Andonce

you’veseensomething,

youcannotunseeit.”

At16,shevolunteered

withtheBethesda

CareandCounselling

Service,tutoring

morethan 30 primary

schoolchildrenfromless

privilegedbackgrounds.

Fouryearslater,

Annabellepacked

herbagsforasix-

weekprogrammein

Togo,WestAfrica,

travellingtorural

villagesandworking

withnon-governmental

organisations.

Oflifelessons,she

says:“Irealisedthat

ifsomeone’sspiritis

broken,itnolonger

mattershowmuchfood

orhowmanygoodsyou

give.(Whatmatters

moreis)thefeelingof

someonespreadingjoy.”

A

MODEST

START

Theyoungeroftwo

siblings,Annabelle

liveswithherparentsin

Simei.Hermedia-shy

mumanddad,whoare

intheir50s, work in the

financialsector.

Herchildhood, she

says,wasnothing out

oftheordinary. The

formerstudent of St

Anthony’s Canossian

PrimarySchool

quips:“Ionly had one

Barbiegiven to me by a

relative.”

Sheadds gleefully:

“Myparents got us

encyclopaedias, science

kits,IQgames, a fully

functioning microscope

andtelescope. And, oh

yes,thefirst edition

ofLegoMindstorms,

whereyou can link Lego

brickswith electric

cablesand build robots.”

Musically inclined

(sheplays the piano,

harmonica, drums,

saxophone and guitar),

shewasgiven ample

spacetodiscover and

developher interests, at

herownpace.

Shecredits

hermother for her

independence, as she

sometimes threw her

intothedeep end. On

Annabelle’s fi rst day

ofprimary school, her

mumtold her she would

beonherown.

“Shetold me to take

theschool bus by myself,

butifIneeded anything,

tolookto the back of the

bus,because she would

bedriving behind.”

Sheexcelled

academically. At 14,

shegotinto Temasek

JuniorCollege’s (TJC’s)

integrated programme,

104 HERWORLD SEPT 2019

• ANNABELLE, ON WHY SHE HAS SO
  MANY DIVERSE INTERESTS