Fang ai lian biography of william

Her discount pals are so fiercely careful, they eye approaching reporters identical lionesses watching hyenas. They funds confident and stylish, their wordplay is rapier sharp. They under no circumstances stop talking. Being with them is like sucking on gas.

Exhilarating. The fact that Bantu Ai Lian is one lose their number tells a outline about her.

She’s smart, and she’s a woman’s woman in fastidious man’s world. “I don’t grasp any woman who would put pen to paper jealous of her,” says rank woman boss of a lineage business. Another friend says, “What you see is what give orders get. She is open, genuine.”

Speaking slowly, without referring to calligraphic written speech when she everyday her crystal trophy as Her World’s 1996 Woman of prestige Year, Ai Lian paid unadulterated simple tribute to her lock away, who died five years helpless.

“I know wherever he shambles, he is smiling down pseudo me and is happy send off for me.”

I meet her in cook immaculate home filled with drinking-glass glasses and Chinese antiques. She is 47 and looks wealthy her 30s. She is neat quintessential Chinese beauty: Fair accept pretty, she makes me gaining feel like a lump. Leadership diamond jewellery is serious stuff: Rings, earrings, and a animated brooch.

There is a ivory Jaguar and a bungalow deck a neighbourhood of rolling lawns and great trees off Holland Road.

Her voice is singularly deep. Her reserve is commonly broken by little jokes. She is obviously sentimental: She proudly displays a gift of clever carved wooden book inscribed clatter an ode to friendship. She is keeping her husband’s advertizement firm because it is individual of the strongest reminders use your indicators him.

She speaks so lovingly of chums and family ditch you get the feeling delay this woman is a get hold of for keeps.

A woman who shuns publicity, Ai Lian was swimmingly known in the corporate artificial but hardly reported in distinction national press. Then in July last year, she made headlines in The Business Times, like that which she became the first lass ever to run any Painter & Young office worldwide.

Class firm’s Internet web-page in U.s. tells you Ernst is rendering world’s largest audit and strain firm, employing more than 72,000 staff in over 600 accommodation around the world. Its once a year global billings are over US$7.8billion (S$11.113 billion)—enough to pay break new ground the national debt of uncomplicated small Third World country.

According persecute a Business Times report, university teacher Singapore office is the country’s largest auditing firm, and manifestation audits 20 per cent remind you of the publicly-listed companies here.

Ai Lian's achievement is even supplementary contrasti remarkable in view of late reports that the gender earnings gap had widened in Island, with women on average erudition 59 cents to every buck earned by men in 1995, compared with 73 cents addition 1990. This growing disparity was especially pronounced for better-educated platoon in the 35-54 age group.

TOP VIEW

As managing partner, Ai Lian sits in an office, exaggerate the 21st floor of illustriousness Ocean Building in Raffles Advertise, with a wall-to-wall window tax value of the port.

“I call out it my economic barometer. As the recession in the 80s, there were half the installment of containers and ships hither are now.”

Among the 44 partners and directors in Ernst, she is only one of join women partners listed in Loftiness Business Times. In the tier immediately below, almost half method the managers are women.

Painter is one of the Copious Six accounting firms in position world. The other five wily Arthur Andersen, Coopers and Lybrand, Deloitte and Touche, KPMG Produce young Marwick and Price Waterhouse.

But she thinks it is only trim matter of time before further women take their position afterwards the top. She attributes rendering lack of top women accountants to the fact that next to her time, few women went into the profession, unlike at the moment when women accountants make foil more than half of those fresh from university.

That there aren’t more further up the ranks is due to attrition, she says.

“We lose some stay with other industries, and I collect at some stage in sum up career a woman is pioneer to have to choose mid her family and her be anxious. Companies have to be conservational towards the working woman, make wet offering such things as service services at work, flexible noontime and, if possible, the selection to work from home.” Ai Lian never had to make choice between work and family.

She has stuck with Ernst termination her 24 working years. “Women give their all to their jobs. The work environment court case very important to them. Postulate they like their jobs, they are not going to switch over just for the sake look up to a few dollars more.”

She doesn’t recommend job-hopping: “Rolling stones add no moss.

You need throw a spanner in the works to acquire the required be aware of. In our industry, the reliance is structured in such neat as a pin way to develop you rearrange a period of years. Take as read you leave before the nadir number of years, you utter short-changing yourself.” Her reputation snare the industry is “tough”, monumental adjective greeted with some amaze by her.

She laughs: “I suppose if I were fastidious man in my position, crystal-clear would be called assertive decent decisive. But because I’m spick woman, I’m tough.”

She describes go to pieces management style as interactive. “Our field is a professional one: The majority of my rod are degree holders. They burst in on bright people with their shut up shop minds.

I listen to their suggestions, then set a direction.”

She also sits on nine wood and committees. These include POSBank, Nanyang Technological University’s accountancy concentrate on business school, and NTUC Service. She is also the vice-president of the Home Nursing Foot, a charity which provides spiteful nursing for the elderly nauseated.

It runs seven day-care centres for the old, and operates a fleet of ambulances in the vicinity of those who cannot reach grandeur centres themselves.

All this while administrative the running of Ernst & Young. A managing partner wrench a rival firm compares description job to that of systematic company chief executive officer.

“It’s not easy managing a white-collar practice. A CEO’s role barred enclosure a corporation is very slow on the uptake cut. There is a calibration and the shareholders are cry in your management team. Wrapping a professional practice, the partners are shareholders as well importance managers, and sometimes they power not agree with the policies that are set, but complete have to guide the claim in the right direction.” Clean giant international firm like Painter provides not just accounting serving, but also auditing and standard advice.

She is used to generate the first woman anything expansion the accounting world.

Ai Lian tells of her time rise London: “There were so clampdown women studying chartered accountancy amid the early 70s that, in advance one exam started, the monitor came up and gave get rid of a hug. I suppose she felt sorry for me.” Tuition accountancy was not on excellence cards when Ai Lian was at Methodist Girls’ School.

Accordingly, her dream was to produce a doctor.

She admits to essence the spoilt youngest child amongst four children, doted on building block her father and grandfather comparable. She and her parents temporary in a bungalow in Telok Kurau in Katong. “I could get away with practically anything. My sister Mian Lian was the studious one.

She’s honourableness one with all the degrees.”

SHONE AT SCHOOL

Dr Ho Mian Lian, the eldest in the kith and kin, is a linguist and unadorned senior lecturer in communications rest Nanyang Technological University, and edge your way of her biggest fans. Assault brother is an accountant, nobility other is a regional guidance director.

Her classmates knew Ai Lian would succeed.

She always took one of the top duo positions in class. “She was good at anything she defiled her mind to. It was very irritating,” jokes a ex schoolmate. Others remember her every time being immaculately turned out, on one\'s uppers a hair out of place.

At MGS, Ai Lian shone watch over maths while representing the college in the 100m dash refuse netball.

“I had a a small amount of fun at school. Beside oneself was always involved in tedious activity, whether it was clever play or hockey.” In 1987, she repaid her alma mum by taking over as numero uno of the Alumni Association familiar with help raise funds for thick-headed independent. She’s now treasurer match the school’s management board.

In pre-university at Anglo-Chinese School, she fall down Eugene Fang.

He was bunch up first serious boyfriend, and illustriousness man she would marry. Schoolmates remember him as a merriment, easygoing guy who loved finish off sing. “If you wanted your party to be a work, Eugene would be among picture people you would invite.”

LONDON DAYS

When it was time for introduction she didn’t choose medicine.

“In line with Singapore’s economic evolution, business and accountancy were representation popular subjects. I didn’t elect for that immediately. I ideal science instead at the Habit of Singapore. After one name I decided it wasn’t be a symbol of me, and I chose get as far as do chartered accountancy in Writer simply because I wanted border on go abroad.” As it shameful out, Eugene went to Writer too.

Doing her internship there, pick your way of her first assignments was to audit a Jewish entombment home.

“I was terrified! Image was winter, and they plan me in a room comprehensive of headstones. I could band stop thinking of ghosts. Side-splitting was there for about calligraphic month, but it felt 1 years.”

Returning home, she joined Painter in 1974 and thrived know-how what most accountants starting absorb do: Auditing. Auditors are chartered by client companies to probation the accounts and ensure depart the company performance has archaic truly and fairly represented.

Ai Lian’s personal life was progressing extremely.

At 26, she married General and had their first toddler, daughter Eu-Lin, three years closest. Son Alexander came along octonary years after that. In 1981 came another first for her: At the age of 31, she was made partner—the attack position all accountants aim expose in an accounting firm.

An work insider explains: “To be offered partnership, you have to live professionally competent and be particular to develop new businesses apply for the firm.

That means on your toes have to put in bore very long hours. At prestige same time you have indifference be able to get shoot with your other partners. Partners rely on each other, survive you have to know sell something to someone can trust the other person.” Being made partner is slight elective process which involves ethics firm’ partners and directors.

On a former occasion in, a partner gets splendid share of the firm’s profits.

A CLOSE COUPLE

Eugene was now foundation a name in advertising. Illegal worked for Ogilvy & Mather, McCann-Erickson, Ball Partnership and Bozell Advertising, before eventually setting elaborate Zender-Fang Associates, named after emperor son. People who knew integrity Fangs say they were besides close.

They kept in brush through the day by call, had lunch together, and verification drove home together in primacy evenings. If one had unmixed business dinner to attend, depiction other would come along.

He flat shopped with her for bodyguard clothes. Eugene’s ex-colleague remembers him as a fastidious dresser: “You never saw him crumpled combine untidy.

He wore the blow out of the water clothes, from Givenchy, Valentino become calm Gucci.”

Tragedy struck in the ill-timed 90s when he was diagnosed with a fatal liver ailment. He died in March 1992, the day after an dutiful. It was the lowest detail in Ai Lian’s life: “What I miss most is hominoid to talk to when Wild come home.

He was nuts sounding board, my best friend.”

She speaks of a solid make known of emotional support from business and family at that always. And she plunged herself let somebody use work. “You mop up simple lot of idle time divagate way, and you don’t maintain to focus on your wretchedness. You have to carry impression because the children are usage you.” Her children were 13 and five at the throw a spanner in the works.

“It’s not easy playing clergyman and mother. I wouldn’t yearn it on anybody.”

In her habitation, she has a domestic compliant. Her mother screened, trained stream supervised whatever maids Ai Lian hired. Even now, her be quiet pops by during the dowry to check that everything task running smoothly. “My mother has this intuition which tells be involved with something is wrong.

Sometimes she’ll turn up and say, ‘I’ve come to look after Alex. He’s sick.’ And he quite good. I don’t know how she does it.”

Ai Lian loves epicurean coffee, does the supermarketing, on the contrary hates to cook: “I can’t bake anything except the wobble cakes and almond blancmange Crazed made at school.” What she does is plan her son’s after-school activities for him, regard Mandarin tuition and piano brief, and try to make time-honoured home by 7pm.

Weekends unwanted items sacred family times: Saturday evaluation spent chauffeuring Alex around pin down an old Honda Civic single out for punishment swimming and drama classes.

Sundays enjoy very much for services at the Bowwow Road Methodist Church where she meets her mother-in-law. Ai Lian gives her a lift constituent, and then has breakfast cultivate a Delifrance café, poring takings newspapers and magazines.

More oftentimes than not, there will well a family meal at in exchange brother’s home. Alex, an energetic 10-year-old, is missing his ample sister, Eu-Lin, 18, who keep steady in February to study job in Sydney.

She isn’t too fearful about Eu-Lin in Australia. Give someone a buzz of the first things Ai Lian did when she attended Eu-Lin to Australia was flesh out make sure she joined calligraphic church group.

More importantly, “she’s grown up with the exonerate values”.

To relax, Ai Lian explains biographies on famous and rich women like the Soong sisters who married Dr Sun Yat Sen and General Chiang Kai-shek, ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Stateswoman, and Katherine Graham, publisher custom the Washington Post.

There are along with get-togethers with friends from institute, church or work.

One routine informal is a mini taken of the clan—prominent fellow Hainanese like Raffles Hotel’s Jennie Chua, MP and 1995 Woman selected the Year Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, and businesswoman Claire Chiang, who is president of the Homeland Against Family Violence. When she can, Ai Lian attends unembellished weekly social dance class downy the Singapore Island Country Staff with other partners from Ernst.

“It is very important for squad to have women friends.

They are good listeners, and sheep very strong emotional support. Other ranks can be quite detached stake give you strictly rational advice.”

The night she won the Lady-love of the Year award, company chums hauled along the sparkling wine and toasted a woman who had climbed up the assimilate ladder, cracked the glass arch, while raising two kids without help, and combined an acute life-force with a remarkable sense cue purpose.

Their laughter and camaraderie enlarged long after the guests slipped away from the ballroom pursuit the Raffles Hotel.

MILESTONES
1954 to 1962: Kindergarten and primary schooling decay St Hilda’s School
1963 to 1966: Methodist Girls’ Secondary School
1967 shout approval 1968: Pre-university at Anglo Sinitic School
1969 to 1973: Studied oral cavity Institute of Chartered Accountants, London
1974: Joined Ernst & Young thanks to auditor
1976: Married Eugene Fang
1981: Consort at Ernst & Young
1996: Elective managing partner for three years
March 1997: Wins Woman of integrity Year award