Trained from young to take over the reins

Source: By Maxie Aw Yeong, The Business Time
Thursday, 3 May 2011

YOUNG, attractive, and female - Shann Sok looks nothing like an executive director of a property developer.

But Ms Sok, who is 30 years old, has been leading Kingsland Development for seven years, and has been involved in the business for even longer.

'From young, how my father groomed me was that he'll bring me to see the sites and attend meetings with customers,' Ms Sok says.

And the exposure, she says, cultivated her interest in doing business and allowed her to pick up the ropes of the business fast.

Even though Ms Sok studied accountancy in university, she realised that she did not enjoy being an accountant, and was more interested in doing business. Perhaps the exposure since young had rubbed off on her, she says, using the Chinese phrase, 'er ru mu ran', which means to have a subconscious influence.

Currently, Ms Sok's father, Sok Hang Chaw, is taking a backseat with an advisory role in the boutique industrial developer that specialises in design and build, custom build to suit for lease. The major decisions are in Ms Sok's hands.

Helping her out in the business investment aspect of the company is her younger brother, Kingsley Sok. It may be a surprise to some that the reins were not passed down to her brother instead, but Ms Sok says her father is not one who favours sons over daughters. 'If my father is very traditional and practices favouritism, I wouldn't be in the company in the first place,' she says.

As Ms Sok graduated with an accounting degree, she did not have a background in the technical and engineering aspects of Kingsland's business. Thus she had to learn about what the company had to offer from scratch.

Not surprisingly, the start of her term in the company was the most trying. She says that there were also sceptical looks. 'When I first started out and went for meetings with clients, some will say, 'Why do I see a young, good-looking woman? I expect a male to talk to me',' she says.

But after working with her, the company's business partners became convinced about her competency in running and leading Kingsland Development. She concedes that it takes a little bit of time to build up their trust and confidence. 'How I overcome that (client's scepticism) is by product knowledge, professionalism, and I will send them the signal that 'This is what I can provide for you, and this is how I value-add', and this is regardless of whether I'm young, or whether I am a woman,' she says.

With Ms Sok's drive, she has led the company to win awards such as the Singapore Prestige Brand Award 2010 - Promising Brands.

But bringing in awards and managing Kingsland Development is not the greatest challenge she faces, Ms Sok says. 'For me, my mission is that I want to be the best business leader, wife, and I want to be the best mother - all at the same time.' So her ultimate goal is finding a balance between all the roles that she is playing.

Nine months ago, Ms Sok gave birth to a baby boy and is now the proud mother of Christian Chan, to whom she devotes her mornings before going to work.

It was not an easy pregnancy, Ms Sok says. She was working throughout her duration of pregnancy, right through to the day before she gave birth.

'When I went for my confinement, some of my customers didn't really know,' she says with a laugh. 'I didn't feel that there was a need to alarm them.'

And after a month of confinement, during which she worked from home, she returned to work officially.

With Ms Sok spending so much time on her work, weekends are strictly out-of-bounds for anything that's work-related. 'I can't spend quantity time with my baby, so I try to spend quality moments,' she says.

In addition to being executive director of Kingsland, she is also executive director of AceEmpire Agri-Investment, a company she started with her husband and where she serves as chief financial officer.

With so many commitments, how does she find a balance, and still keep time for herself?

'I have a very good support group of close friends and husband and my family. I appreciate them.

'I will talk to them and tell them that I cannot handle some stuff, some emotional turmoil and talk it out - releasing all the suppressed stress and emotions,' she says.

Ms Sok also engages in activities such as meditation, and goes for short getaways once in a while to recharge herself when she feels stress building up on her.

She says: 'I think everybody needs pitstops to reflect, heal and recharge. Then you can go and charge in your business work.'

Giving herself enough rest is also a way of pampering herself. 'Always love yourself. I feel that I need to love myself, then I can have enough capacity to love my child and my husband. If not, I will not be able to fulfill my responsibilities as a mum and a wife,' she said.

As a young woman, mentors are also very important to her, as they are whom she can learn from in coping with all the different roles that she plays.

'They are very powerful business women, and I look up to them as my role models. They are how I want to be like 20 years later - still looking good, still being able to be a good mother.

'The mentor group also gives me a lot of vision, of what kind of business leader I want to be.'

At the end of the day, as a woman, her family is still the most important. 'To me, a successful business woman is one who is successful in firstly, her family. That is the priority.'

Business Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.