June - July 2013 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

ADB News
Hello,
My name is Ay Wen and I have just joined the ADB board.
Two years ago my husband and I arrived in Singapore
with our two kids. I was sent on a 2-year secondment
by PwC Netherlands and lead the FS post-deal services
practice in Singapore. We support our clients with the
integration of organisations after a merger or acquisition.
We also provide carve out / divestment assistance.
Although I mainly focus on Financial Services, I get
involved in other regional restructuring programs outside
the financial services industry as well.
I have just extended my contract because we enjoy
Singapore so much and are not yet ready to leave. Even
after two years it still feels as if we have only just arrived.
There is so much to see and do. The kids love it here
and we enjoy the good food and our trips in the region.
An additional bonus is that I get to see my family in
Indonesia more often now that we live so close by.
There are certain things I still haven’t gotten used to,
like the freezing temperatures in offices and shopping
malls, especially when it rains. However I am now so
‘ingeburgerd’, I permanently have a woollen shawl in my
drawer and an umbrella in my bag.
Since coming to Singapore my husband and I started
reliving our youth, (or is it a mid-life crisis?). He picked
up his old passion for BMX riding and enjoys East Coast’s
Extreme Park and I started skateboarding. When my
daughter mentioned she wanted to go skateboarding,
I thought it would be nice to join her and take classes
together. Since then, it has become an addiction and I
like to devote some time every week to skateboarding
and forgetting about everything else.
I joined ADB about a year ago to get connected
with more people outside of family, school and work. I
personally enjoy ADB events for its relaxed atmosphere
and the diversity of people I meet. I look forward to
contributing to the events and would like to encourage
anyone who has a good idea for the ADB to let me /
us know. Tell us how we can make ADB even better
and more attractive to you, our members. I am looking
forward to meeting many of you at the upcoming events.
Dear ADB members,
Entering a new world was what we did when 1.5 years
ago my husband Theo, our 4 month old daughter Veerle
and I set foot on Singaporean soil for the first time. After
we had settled in, it was time for me to set up my own
business, I Interim – a Marketing, Communication &
Project Management company. I started working for
Dining City which is an ongoing project. In addition to
that, I focus on other projects and am now ready to start
working for ADB. For me, it’s important I have a click
with an organization and its people, and that I am able to
contribute to improving the company.
Having said that, when I was asked to take over from
Lineke at ADB, I knew immediately that it was the right
decision. I totally support the mission of ADB and I am
happy that I will be connecting Dutch business people in
Singapore. After having had our first board meeting, I’m
even more convinced I made the right decision as the
ADB board consists of a great group of people, all with
interesting backgrounds and many ideas to represent the
wishes and expectations of our members. And I’m proud
to be part of that.
After completing my studies at the Hotelschool, The
Hague, and then gaining a Marketing degree, I ended
up working mostly in PR, Communications, Marketing
& Project Management. The Service industry is still a
passion and I strongly believe that the key to success is
in taking the interests of the guest or client as a starting
point.
My first focus, in this new role, will be on membership
subscriptions and everything related to that. I will
continue the job done so well by Lineke over the past
nine years and will carry on “modernizing” this.
Secondly, I will try to focus on projects related to
making ADB more relevant to you as members. From
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