Empowering women to thrive
THIRTY female Monash alumni were given the coveted opportunity to be mentored by some of Malaysia’s most influential figures under the Women Who Thrive (WWT) workshop, a three-part programme by Thrive, Monash Malaysia Business Alumni Chapter’s (MMBAC) development pillar.
The two-month programme which takes place from July to September aims to give these young professionals a chance to accelerate their career and personal growth under the mentorship of local industry leaders.
The first instalment of the workshop kicked off on July 29 at Monash University Malaysia with an enlightening sharing session by Korn Ferry Executive Search managing associate Fennie Chong.
Chong, who hails from a small town in Sandakan, Sabah, spoke about the trials and tribulations of her life.
The 43-year-old highlighted the importance of having values and managing one’s priorities.
Centenary Million Singapore/ Malaysia executive director and Epic DNA director Ooi Piek See delivered an inspiring talk peppered with her own hardships in life.
Ooi lost her husband 17 years ago, turning the then homemaker into the family’s sole breadwinner overnight. Despite that, the single mother successfully raised her three sons, who have since carved out rewarding careers.
Ooi, who is one of the few Malaysians with a Million Leaders Mandate certification from the John Maxwell Organisation, reminded participants that the process of growth is never automatic and that when it comes to business, hope is not a strategy.
She added that it is important to reflect on the person one is becoming as they pursue their career aspirations.
During the last session, the participants had to dig deep and get uncomfortable as their speaker, Coach 2 Success director Mohamed Mustak Aboo Bakar, walked them through some exercises that required them to ask themselves some of life’s tough questions and figure out what mattered most to them.
He added that it is important for everyone to have a personal mission statement, which is a simple line or two that encapsulates what participants set out to create and build, to stay focused on their goals as they go through the vicissitudes of life.
The workshop ended with the unveiling of mentor-mentees pairings, with one mentor assigned to two mentees over the course of the workshop and a brief mentoring session.
Besides Chong and Ooi, the strong Thrive mentors are Iflix chief executive officer (CEO) Azran Osman Rani; FutureLab CEO Brian Tan; TalentCorp CEO Shareen Shariza; UEM Lean In Malaysia, Corporate Strategy, Ashley Suelyn Tan; Fave co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) Chen Chow Yeoh; Boston Consulting Group consultant Colin Choo; Korn Ferry Malaysia Principal Pun Tian Pouw; Monash University Malaysia Associate Professor Dr Jane Tong; expressolab COO Joshua Liew; HCK Capital Berhad executive director Leong Choong Wah; Lean In Malaysia content director Nur Afifah Mohammaddiah; ServisHero regional head of marketing Sonam Pelden and PurelyB co-counder and COO Stephanie Looi.
In speaking about the first workshop, participant Rinisha Devi Vijayen was pleasantly surprised to find the session highly interactive and engaging.
Another participant, Leong Pei Chyi, shared that what she hoped to gain from the mentor-mentee pairings was to be able to pick on their brains for their best business practices that she could also use to grow her own business.
The second WWT workshop was held on Aug 26 while the third workshop will be held on Sept 30.
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