The CEO Magazine Asia — December 2017

theceomagazine.com | 25

Lee Ang Seng delicately juggles both Beca’s Singapore and Myanmar

businesses with ease, thanks to his superior people leadership and

management skills.

WORDS ADRIAN FLORES • IMAGES YEW KWANG

A

fter 20 years rising through the ranks of New Zealand engineering consulting firm

Beca – first as an engineer and then in project delivery and as General Manager in

Singapore – Lee Ang Seng was made a Managing Director in 2013 and given the reins

of both the Singapore and Myanmar businesses. As for the two countries, they couldn’t

provide a more stark contrast in terms of their respective economic development. On one

hand, Singapore is one of the four Asian Tigers, the others being Hong Kong, South Korea

and Taiwan. Meanwhile, Myanmar is just beginning to open its economic borders following a slow transition

to democracy for the country.

Ang Seng is well aware of the unique opportunities and hurdles that both Singapore and Myanmar

bring. But regardless of which country he’s handling, his approach to managing people is essentially the

same. “I run these two countries and regard them as one company,” he says. Further, Ang Seng is also

pioneering an ‘emerging leaders’ program, aimed at young engineers with high leadership potential. The

aim is to prepare them for elevation into leadership positions within Beca. The CEO Magazine sat down

with Ang Seng to find out how he successfully juggles the business of two countries at very different

stages of growth. »

THE

TIGER

(^) AND the white
ELEPHANT
Interview | INSPIRE