#WOMENINTECH
Cheryl Lee and Shirley Crystal Chua’s combined experiences have given meaningful momentum to their three-month old tech club, Spectrum. They share with lionnel lim their singular vision
you can sense the close friendship and bonding as their easy banter is peppered with anecdotes of family and social gatherings. When asked a question, each defer to the other. From a female-to-female perspective, Cheryl Lee credits Shirley Crystal Chua for her “ability to trigger a call to action for me to discover my inner strength.” While Chua praises Lee’s gift to “make everyone comfortable, from the staff to the cleaning aunties. She is just so personable.”
The last year was especially challenging for women, especially in the West, starting with the Women’s March to Susan Fowler’s blog about the toxic culture with regards to sexism and harassment at Uber and, of course, #metoo. So how have these affected Spectrum, a first-of-itskind tech and innovation business club established by these two high-fliers?
“Tech has always been perceived as a maledominated industry. However, we have seen progressive changes in the past years. I try to place my opinion out there about tech and try to advocate as best as possible that there is a place for women with the right skill sets, attitude and personality,” Chua says.
Lee, formerly Asia Managing Director at a private bank, concurs. “By ensuring that we are confident and equipped with what and how we represent the ideas and strategy and to engage in inclusive discussions, to create excitement together and share, rather than pit intellectual notions and hard opinions against the opposite sex or defer in reverence ‘ just because’ it’s a gender-perceived industry. We strike the balance and articulate fresh perspectives, which allows the negotiations from both sides to take a dynamic course to steer it to the same end game for win-wins.”
The women met through a mutual friend, and what began as a business meeting became a discovery of friendship over dinners. “We were looking for a CEO to realise the vision of a technology and innovation club,” says Chua, founder and CEO of Golden Equator, Spectrum’s parent company with businesses spanning finance, consulting and technology. It was from launching and managing Golden Equator Wealth’s technology and innovation funds and the group’s consulting arm that inspired her to start Spectrum.
At that point, Lee was on a yearlong sabbatical and maternity leave and had been mulling on what she wanted to do next. “When Shirley threw the gauntlet at me by working together and turning the vision and ambition of Spectrum into reality, I jumped at it,” adds Lee, now Spectrum’s chief steward, who spearheads the club’s strategy for growth.
“The reason why it is a curated business club is so we can evaluate whether members can add value to the ecosystem we are building,” explains Chua. Members are encouraged to connect physically and digitally (through the Spectrum app) in a trusted environment. They hail from an array of industries and businesses with expertise in areas such as Fintech, Medtech, e-commerce and F&B.
“Golden Equator is a group with a unique position in Asia with access to global connections, business
know-how, wealth around the region, influential figures and family offices, as well as fund management and consultancy. The group also has key management with extensive experience in various industries. We thought about how we would extend this great culture and access to strategic counsel, business networks and investment deals to a broader community, and how we could expand this community,” Chua explains.
“At Spectrum, we work with members within strategic groups to advance technology, commerce and knowledge. We focus on six sectors: Healthcare, education, finance, food, housing and fashion. From conceptualisation of Spectrum to creation of its physical space [at DUO Tower], it took us about 18 months before we officially launched at the beginning of 2018,” Lee adds.
A key feather in the cap for them was landing Mistletoe as a key strategic partner. Founded by Japanese billionaire entrepreneur and investor Taizo Son, the venture capital firm that is part accelerator and part incubator will also base its first office in Asia outside of Japan at Spectrum.
Other members include major companies such as Jenga Integrated Solutions, Korean government-linked healthcare incubator C&R Healthcare Global, Asia’s leading e-payment provider MC Payment, Korea Health Industry Development Industry, Blockcelerate, which is helping to accelerate the tokenisation of businesses, Glints, Vault Dragon, Waach, Yolo, and of course, Asia Finance.
Most recently, Spectrum inked an MOU with leading Korean technology university, Gwanju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), to advise and assist with the development of South Korea’s first artificial intelligence cluster town in Gwangju, known as the AI Town Project. The AI Town Project is Korea’s 10-year Plan to establish a global R&D hub with world-class AI expertise in Gwangju. The city plans to spend 1 trillion won ($1,220,700,300) in the creation of the AI Town Project, which will see the incubation of 1,000 Ai-oriented start-ups.
Here, we speak to the power duo.
What motivates you?
Cheryl Lee (CL): People who believe in me, my capabilities and have faith in what I set myself out to achieve and do.
Shirley Crystal Chua (SCC): Seeing the growth of the businesses we created and manage, and how it impacts the lives of those involved directly and indirectly. Seeing the growth of my team and how we can work towards a common goal also motivates me greatly.
describe your Work style.
CL: Very open, patient and approachable. I do not subscribe to the hierarchical approach and absolutely hate political bureaucracy. I’m a multi-tasker and strive to better the end game. I can be a perfectionist but am also very empathetic and border on maternal protectiveness towards team members and colleagues. I love to listen, learn, enliven and lead.
SCC: For work, I am creative, focused, methodical and efficient and when it comes to managing people. I am open, empathetic and, as I’ve been told many times, inspiring!
how tech-savvy are you? CL:
I’m a “plug in to learn and freestyle kind of tech person”. I learn from my tech-y friends on the latest and I immediately grasp the concepts and understand the lateral approach to how the techscape works as a whole, but I am not a geek. It’s like how I am not an engineer but can repair things at home via instinct, tinkering and self-learning.
SCC: I consider myself relatively savvy as I am exposed to many tech companies via Golden Equator’s Technology and Innovation Funds. Also, every business vertical that I have created has a tech component. I preach actively about the importance of tech and that it will be here in a much more influential way these 10 years compared to the last 50 years.
success to you is…
SCC: Having discerning confidence that one has achieved something, be it a great chef, steadfast homemaker or an excellent CEO, and that is also validated by others around. Success is a combination of internal and external affirmation.
CL: Being able to leave a legacy behind for my progeny and the next generation, knowing that what I choose to do now will positively impact the lives of others with the support of my family and loved ones.
your regrets?
CL: Nothing. I look to the future with promise and hope. Regrets will weigh me down and it will add burden to the challenge I face in life.
SCC: I try not to live or have any regret. Whatever I wish I could do, I try to do it in the days forward. Whatever I wish I could have done better, I will change how I approach it. Whatever that I could not change yesterday, I shouldn’t try to change it tomorrow.
“There is a place for women with the right skill sets, attitude and personality for it”
– Shirley Crystal Chua