Faces of TEC: Singapore Edition

This series is a chance to get to know our Members, an opportunity to hear about their professional journey and celebrate accomplishments along the way. We will continue to develop this series every month as we visit different cities throughout our network. With 25,000 Members across our global network, our Centres are home to some incredibly accomplished and talented people. We want to use these profiles to spotlight some of the stories and faces that make our community something incredibly valuable and unique.

This month we are meeting Members from Singapore to hear their thoughts on leadership, overcoming professional challenges and the impact of a thoughtfully designed workspace. Singapore is an important market for TEC and we've recently expanded our presence in the city with two new Centres, one at Frasers Tower and another One Raffle Quay. ‘Best in Singapore' recognised our Centres as the best Coworking spaces in the city for productivity, and beyond the exceptional design and infrastructure, the people truly help make this city so special. We also have plans to continue growing our footprint in Singapore throughout the remainder of 2019 and in the new year. Our sincere thanks to Anurag Avula, Anirban Deb and Ji Kim for their contributions and time. We look forward to meeting more of our Members as we continue our travels in the coming months.

Anurag Avula – Shopmatic, CEO and Co-founder

Can you tell us who you are and what you do?

I am Anurag Avula, CEO and Co-founder of Shopmatic. We support, build and enable the entire ecommerce and retail management ecosystem for individual entrepreneurs and businesses in emerging markets. We help makers and merchants sell both online and offline on their own terms, building their customer relationships and telling their stories. Shopmatic empowers over 200,000 businesses with 6000 Point of Sale Terminals across 13 markets with over 100 employees.

What are some of the challenges that come with the scope of your work?

We are in the growth phase of our organisation and speed to market becomes increasingly critical in our endeavour to capture a large share of the market. Our ambition is to have a market presence in over 35 countries in the next 5 years, bringing a whole new dimension, scale and infrastructure to our operations.

What do you see for the future of your organisation and industry?

Emerging markets are the fastest growing geographies for ecommerce, with a tremendous, addressable market in terms of SMEs and individual entrepreneurs. Our intent is to help facilitate the success of our customers and to create a category of sellers that leverage the omni-channel capabilities of our platform. We see ourselves as leaders in emerging markets, making this type of commerce possible for entrepreneurs and SMEs in these regions.

What has been one of your most important achievements in your current role?

No doubt it has been building a fabulous international team and a global presence for our business's future growth.

What is your definition of leadership?

Leadership is about bringing out the best in your people. Aligning the purpose of the organisation with the passion that drives your people.

What is the best piece of advice, professional or personal, that you have received?

Treat and engage with people the way you would expect for yourself and you will build long-term, sustainable teams that can deliver results beyond the ordinary.

TEC enables us to be flexible. In a fast-paced growth organisation, Shopmatic requires the opportunity to scale infrastructure, overheads need to be managed effectively and a we want to maintain a professional set up. TEC makes that possible while allowing the flexibility to scale and grow without pressure and without compromising our service or product.

What is the best part of your experience working with TEC?

TEC is a cool environment with an upmarket feel and superb facilities. It’s been great coming to work here every day. I work best in a quiet place with access to fantastic coffees – thanks TEC!

What does your ideal workspace look like?

TEC manages to reflect this perfectly; flexible options, lots of meeting rooms, a good location and plenty of food options.

Anirban Deb – Singapore Immigration Partners, Managing Director

Can you tell us who you are and what you do?

I am Anirban, Managing Director of Singapore Immigration Partners. Some of my major responsibilities are setting the overall strategic direction for the company as well as planning and implementing long term business strategies to achieve the company's primary objectives. I amin a position that sees a large portion of responsibilitywhen it comes to the overall success of the business.

What are some of the challenges that come with the scope of your work?

The two top things that come with the scope of my work are, firstly, making sure that my staff are happy and that they look forward to coming to work. Secondly, it is ensuring that our clients are well taken care of and that the quality of service they get is uncompromising.

What do you see for the future of your organisation and industry?

Immigration is the international movement of people into a destination country and Migration is beneficial both to the receiving and sending countries. These are topics that have been discussed at length the world over.

The future of our company is expansive. Our reputation and brand is a reflection of our proven track record. We aim to have offices in key cities around the world such as in India, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to further support people in creating and asserting their global value.

What has been one of your most important achievements in your current role?

We hit our first million in terms of revenue within ten months of operation. Being relatively new in this industry, we have impressed our clients and competitors through our strong branding which currently has helped our positioning as leaders in the market. Being the best rated and most recommended on social media by our clients means a great deal. Now, most of our business comes through referrals from previous clients.

What is your definition of leadership?

Leaders are people who do the right thing and work with the team towards a common goal. A leader is someone who takes a little more than their share of blame, a little less than their share of the credit.

What is the best piece of advice, professional or personal, that you have received?

You must fight for what you feel you're worth. Don’t settle for any less. Listening is very different from hearing.

How has TEC helped support your business?

TEC is always helpful in every possible way. Having your business grow within TEC’s infrastructure is extremely rewarding, including the sophisticated look and feel of the offices - they leave a lasting impression with our clients. There are many instances where Qistina from the front desk, Gwen and Samantha from sales and most importantly Natalie from events has been of great help to us and our company. The best part of working with TEC is that they are flexible with your needs and requests. They are always there to listen to you and to tailor the best solution that suits your business.

Where and how do you work best?

I prefer to get my work done in the director’s room of our private offices. The director’s room is a custom-made room that TEC created for us specially and something which provides an added element of privacy, an element so key to our daily work.

What does your ideal workspace look like?

Big windows with lots of natural lights- something I have certainly found in TEC.

Ji Kim – Vedder Price, Shareholder

Can you tell us who you are and what you do?

I am Ji Kim, a Shareholder of Vedder Price and a member of the firm’s Global Transportation Finance (GTF) group based in our Singapore office. Vedder Price is a full-service law firm with seven offices globally. The firm’s GTF group has one of the largest, most experienced and best-recognised aircraft finance, shipping finance and leasing practices in the world. Vedder Price operates under a guiding principle of serving our clients and meeting their needs.An approach that can best be described as practical, results-oriented, efficient and cost-effective. We firmly believe this approach has provided and will continue to provide the value and quality our clients seek from their outside counsel.

What is the significance that Singapore lends to Vedder Price’s operations?

Having established our Singapore office in 2016, it now means that Vedder Price is working on transactions across all time zones, and given GTF’s size and ability to work together, we project manage even the largest and most complex multi-jurisdictional transactions for our clients.

What do you see for the future of your organisation and industry?

Both the aviation and shipping sectors are cyclical. It is not unusual for good times to be followed by an industry downturn. However, regardless of the challenges faced by our clients, we pride ourselves on our understanding and ability to cater to our clients’ concerns and needs, every step of the way. The future of Vedder Price is very bright, as our GTF practice has the depth and breadth of experience that rivals any other law firm. The diversity of our client base, transaction structures and asset types affords us unique insight into market standards and practices.We will be at the forefront of the aviation and shipping sectors right alongside our many clients.

What is your definition of leadership?

For me, leadership is defined by service and the empowerment of other members of the team to succeed.

I believe good leaders desire success for others and will continually challenge each team member to grow and experience success, empowering them individually and as a group toward a common goal.

What is the best piece of advice, professional or personal, that you have received?

The ‘Golden Rule’ is simple in its meaning; treat others the way you would like to be treated. However, in practice, it poses a more difficult challenge and is something to always be conscious of in the reality of both personal and professional environments.

What is the best part of your experience working with TEC?

The TEC environment is supportive and attentive. The service is excellent. Our office needs are met with utmost professionalism and promptness.Our GTF practice is collaborative in nature and requires good teamwork. A comfortable working environment that allows easy access to team members is key for me.