A ‘blind marriage’ that turned out to be a happy one

For veteran IT authority Cally Chan Shan-shan, computer science wasn’t in her blood, but mathematics was.

The first woman appointed to call the shots at Microsoft’s Hong Kong and Macao unit had been a maths wizard dating back to her school days, but she would fret every time people around her kept reminding her she could very much end up as a maths teacher — something that’s probably not her cup of tea.

She was resolved to debunk that theory. She dug her heels in, opting instead to pursue a course of study that would be less likely to see her land up in the classroom.

But, Chan, who holds a bachelor’s degree in computing studies and an Executive MBA from the University of Hong Kong, candidly admits to China Daily that she barely had any clue about how computers worked until she went to college.

She managed to hit pay dirt, with the “blind marriage” turning out to be a happy one.

“I’m so pleased that I’ve chosen this industry for my career. AI (artificial intelligence) has been part of life and I’m now in the midst of this huge transformation in which AI can empower people to achieve more,” she says.

Before taking the helm at the global technology giant’s Hong Kong and Macao office, Chan had served as managing director and vice-president at Hewlett Packard Enterprise Group, better known as HP, from 2010 to 2017.

As a leader, she keeps striving to instill a “growth mindset” among her subordinates in order to bring out the very best of talents at her disposal.

“You need to aim high, even though in the end you can’t achieve 100 percent, but attaining 70 or 80 percent will still make you better than average,” she stresses.

Despite having been in her new role at Microsoft for almost a year now, Chan says she’s still reeling from some “culture shock” in the company.

Recalling an episode in the office, Chan, who would describe herself as a “very hands-on” person, revealed that she was told off by members of her team after she had painstakingly prepared a quarterly performance review for the staff. Her team was up in arms and expressed displeasure over her effort, pointing out that such a review should have been done by each individual unit and that her job should be confined to just approving or commenting on it.

Perhaps, the culture at Microsoft — that everyone can pour his or her heart out and be very vocal, even in front of their superiors — is part of the reason for Microsoft’s success, says Chan, adding that the company values individual thinking and encourages staff to be “their own men”.

“I guess that’s the beauty of Microsoft.”