The CEO Magazine Asia - February 2018

(Darren Dugan) #1

businesses. They are family. I would love for
them to be involved.
“But I don’t like putting it that way,
because then I’m preventing my children
from living out their own dreams, especially
at a young age. Perhaps the best approach
then is to let them work elsewhere first, but
of course I’ll tell them, ‘If you want to come
and work for me, my door is always open’.”
Allan’s view comes from personal
experience. Growing up, he developed his
passion for heavy machinery after watching


both his parents work in LH, known then as
Lian Hup Brothers, for more than 40 years.
“It began with small machinery. From
there, I became more interested in heavy
machinery,” says Allan. Starting from ground
level as a mechanic, his career then moved to
operations, followed by sales and marketing.
After that, Allan decided he wanted to do
something away from the family operation,
working for businesses both in Singapore and
abroad. He spent four years perfecting his
sales and marketing skills at a firm specialising
in the auctioning of heavy equipment before
rejoining LH in 2005.
The experience allowed Allan to return
with more and varied experience, making
him better equipped to take on the
challenges that lay ahead for the company.
It also gave him a mentor in Steven Poh,
who was the Chairman of Asiagroup Leasing
Pte Ltd. “I still keep in touch with him
almost every week,”Allan says.
The LH family business has grown to
160 members, many more than the three it

LH Construction and
Machinery has been
providing equipment for the
Formula One Singapore
Grand Prix since 2012.

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checked 11/1/18
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