Many of us are working from home and keeping our social distance to prevent the spread of COVID-19. When you #StayHome, cabin fever can strike and isolation can feel... well, isolating. We thought we would take this time for you to get to reconnect, rediscover, and get to know our SBPWA members better.
In this issue, we feature the SBPWA Exco 2019-2020. The Executive Committee (Exco) is made up of SBPWA members who volunteer their time to lead the organization towards achieving its goals. Elections for the positions are held once a year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September, which all members are encouraged to attend.
If you have any feedback or questions regarding any particular area of the association, you may write to admin@sbpwa.org.sg, or reach out directly to the Exco member.
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Kim Underhill
SBPWA President
KimUnderhill@sbpwa.org.sg
Kim Underhill has 23 years of experience managing large-scale corporate businesses and global brands under her belt. After leaving corporate 2 years ago, she currently runs her own management consultancy business as well as works as Keynote speaker/trainer focused on Leadership and Change Management. Her signature talk, Winning in Heels is about helping women break the glass ceiling and having it all.
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Kim is certainly no stranger to leadership positions, she is also the President of Daughters of Tomorrow, a non-profit non-government organization (NGO) that helps underprivileged women, and a certified business and personal mastery coach who works with individual clients. As a woman who has it all, her goal as SBPWA President is to build a strong platform that cares and enables business and professional women both personally and professionally through mentoring, workshops and networking.
This admirable woman balances her work life with spending time with her mother, 32-year old daughter, 28-year old son and two young granddaughters (5 & 3). She is also the author of 'Success Inside Out', a 6-step self-coaching methodology published as a hardcover book and available on Amazon.
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Valerie Lim
1st Vice President
ValerieLim@sbpwa.org.sg
Valerie is the Head of Business Development at her company, Curators Collective, an agency that has a footprint in Singapore and the Philippines. Leveraging her degree in Psychology from the National University of Singapore (NUS), with her experiences in the media as Miss Universe Singapore (MUS) 2011 and the National Director of the MUS, she manages campaigns for her clients. She is a skilled digital marketer with a keen eye for health, fashion and fitness.
It was through her first full-time role working with special needs that she found her calling in shaping young minds. She is a firm believer that providing the right opportunities and skills enables one to achieve their goals.
In her free time, this new mum enjoys experimenting with vegetarian recipes and doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
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Darshini Santhanam
2nd Vice President
DarshiniSanthanam@sbpwa.org.sg
As the Head of Global Incubation Programs for Google Cloud Learning Services, Darshini currently leads a global team dedicated to Cloud Learning Innovations and Incubations. She is passionate about driving equality and inclusiveness in the workplace and has over 15 years of experience in enabling and developing individuals, teams and organizations to achieve sales growth in the digital technology space. Darshini is heavily engaged in corporate diversity initiatives, has founded the 'Women of Cloud' Lean In circle in Singapore.
Previously, she led teams and held business critical leadership roles at Google and Microsoft, across the APAC and EMEA regions.
Outside of work, you will find her outdoors with her two kids and two dogs, taking time to learn something new, or simply just running, swimming, or diving.
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Priscillia Goh
Honorary Secretary
PriscilliaGoh@sbpwa.org
Currently a Marketing Executive at HoneySpree - a customizable mini honey favour social enterprise that supports stay-at-home moms, Priscillia is one of the newer members to SBPWA. She first joined in 2018 as a mentee, and has since become a full member.
Before graduating with a Diploma in Accounting and Finance last year, Priscillia interned at Ernst and Young. She then went on to further her studies and attain a Specialist Diploma in Retail Operations at Nanyang Polytechnic. As a young woman starting her career, her motivation for joining SBPWA is to expand her network locally and internationally, while developing her business knowledge and professional skills as a manager. Since the 2 years Priscillia has been an SBPWA member, she found value in meeting and speaking with more experienced career women, and attending workshops.
Yoga helps Priscilia unwind, and when she is not spending time with her family and friends, she reads up about women's rights - particularly those that protect women against violence.
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Beth Candice Wu
Immediate Past President
Honorary Treasurer
BethCandiceWu@sbpwa.org.sg
With a background in Finance and a Chartered Marketer, Immediate Past President Beth is currently the Business Development Director of Gold Crest Capital providing investments, loans and Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) advisory to SMEs.
As a serial entrepreneur who founded HoneySpree 10 years ago, she has gone on to launch multiple successful businesses, e-commerce companies, and invest in startups. With her vast experiences, she mentors young entrepreneurs on how to start and run their businesses. She understands that businesses, be it doing well or ailing, can be groomed, expanded with financial assistance and the appropriate guidance. During this current COVID-19 situation, she is offering a no obligation consult to SBPWA members and friends.
Beth first joined the BPW network through BPW New Zealand in 2010, and was the past Asia-Pacific Representative for BPW International from 2014-2016. She spearheaded the initiative for the very first Young BPW Asia-Pacific Symposium in Singapore, and saw it to fruition in 2016.
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Brenda Chew
Membership Chairperson
BrendaChew@sbpwa.org.sg
Having worked in the male-dominated kitchen manufacturing industry for the last 12 years, Brenda understands the challenges women, especially single moms, face in the workplace. This was her motivation for joining SBPWA. She wanted to be part of a network where women could learn and share with each other; to uplift as well as empower one another.
In a previous role, Brenda was the Regional Manager for Southeast Asia project sales, and successfully led projects up to a million euros. Now, this resilient lady is the Vice President of Qson Kitchen Equipment that provides operational backbone support to local food & beverage outlets, including hotels, restaurants, resorts and more.
This mother of one young daughter enjoys walks in the park, and curling up with a good book.
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Charmaine Jin
Programmes Chairperson
CharmaineJin@sbpwa.org.sg
Charmaine is a dynamic litigator who was called to the Singapore Bar in 2016. In her day-to-day, she deals with a wide variety of legal disputes including matrimonial and criminal law. Despite being a young lawyer, she has already been the lead counsel for at least two trials in the state courts, and has also been involved in multi-million dollar commercial disputes. It is through her work that she demonstrates her passion for inclusivity, family law, and equal rights for men, women and the LGBTQ community.
Outside the courtroom, Charmaine swaps out her court heels for salsa heels. She is an avid salsa dancer, and has performed internationally at the Formosa Salsa Festival 2016 in Taiwan, the 2016 Berlin Salsa Congress and at the Singapore Latin Extravaganza two consecutive years in a row.
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Veron Chew
Publicity Chairperson
VeronChew@sbpwa.org.sg
Veron has been in the marketing and communications industry for 11 years. She previously worked with Karcher, a German cleaning company, and led her retail sales team to establish and achieve strong sales growth for many years before moving on to her current position at Kohler, an established American bathroom fittings company. She now manages the product marketing in the fixture category for Kohler, launching engaging campaigns.
Her passion lies in brand building, both for B2C and B2B businesses, with a focus in retail and online sales development, product marketing and brand development.
Veron wishes to create a generation of great women by empowering them with the right skills, and through building a supportive network. She extends this belief to her two children; developing their unique talents and interests by providing enrichment opportunities.
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Dr. Janet Ruth Sosna
Education Chairperson
JanetRuthSosna@sbpwa.org.sg
Originally from the US, Janet, now a naturalized Singapore citizen, is one of the longest serving SBPWA members. She joined the association in 1986, and her first memory of SBPWA was a Candle Lighting dinner - a meaningful tradition she says is etched deep in her heart till this day.
In between dedicating her time to SBPWA and leading the Federation of the Business and Professional Women (Singapore) as President 2020-2022, Janet is a senior chiropractor who has a roster of regular patients and Managing Director of her chiropractic business, Elder Chiropractic. Elder Chiropractic is one of the oldest chiropractic practises in Southeast Asia, with clinics in Singapore and Sri Lanka. Janet is the longest practicing chiropractor in Singapore, and is considered a pioneer of the chiropractic profession in Southeast Asia.
When she is not at her clinic, you will find her spending time with her husband, Alex Ivey, and her feline furkids, Benny Goodcat and Hamsum.
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Claudya Putri
Young BPW Chairperson
ClaudyaPutri@sbpwa.org.sg
Claudya is a marketing professional who specialises in growing a brand's presence and bringing in sales through multiple sales and marketing channels. She has 10 years of experience in this area with a focus in the Food & Beverage industry.
Her current employer, Mahadushi Events, is a dynamic company with a distinctive collection of food & beverage, nightclub and event venue concepts. She spends each day overseeing day-to-day operations at her Indian-Chinese restaurant and event venue, developing a distinctive work environment for co-workers; spearheading innovative strategic thinking; managing company resources effectively; directing the people development and deployment process; building a dynamic organization and making meaningful connections with guests.
On the rare occasion that you catch her outside of work, she is catching up with her loved ones over brunch, reading books about history and world leaders or watching documentaries.
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