September 2016

Hoffman’s Singapore Office .1 Mile from Hawker Stand that Wins Michelin Star

Having called this blog “Chicken Rice of the Soul,” we have a certain obligation to cover the news that the Singaporean hawker stand, “Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle”— obviously didn’t hire a branding expert to create the name — earned a Michelin star. When Chef Chan Hon Meng received [...]

June 2016

Establishing Connections across the Causeway

Above Photo:  Hoffman and Emerald Comms in Malacca for an off-site meeting in 2007. Top L-R: Jana Ponnudurai, Neethiya Sadagopal, Lee Ling, Mayda Jutahkiti, Janice Wang Bottom L-R: Rene Leow, Tay Kuan Yan (ex GM of HA), Jisun Kim, Maureen Tseng Our link with The Hoffman Agency started in 2004. It [...]

May 2016

My Introduction to Asia Pacific PR 101

I had barely unpacked in Singapore in 1996 when I heard from our client HP. The company was hosting a major customer/media conference in a luxury resort on Phuket Island, Thailand, and my presence as media contact was requested. Hoffman Asia Pacific was barely hatched at that point, but that’s why we were there.

April 2016

“You Sir, You Have 30 Days to Prove You’re an Exec of a U.S. Company With a License.”

The first few months of my work in Singapore in 1996 were complicated because I had to leave the country every 60 days to have my passport re-stamped as a visitor. In addition to a few out-of-country business trips, and one trip home, that meant a couple of one-night sojourns on [...]

It’s all about the PEOPLE at Hoffman

My time at The Hoffman Agency was regretfully short-lived, but so full — impactFUL and meaningFUL, that is. It represented a turning point in my career — from meeting the most amazing people and picking up important lessons in leadership, to learning the true art of storytelling. I joined the Singapore [...]

Talk About Being Truly Global

Malaysian girl in Silicon Valley. Who would have thought? Sixteen years ago, I made my way to San Jose. It was 1999, my 10th month into a great job at Intel, and I was loving every bit of it. Little did I know that things were about to change drastically and [...]

March 2016

My Encounter with the Singapore Political Process

Ray Schuster started our Asia Pacific operation in Singapore. It wasn’t easy. We didn’t have an international expansion department. No, I take that back. Ray was our international expansion department. He navigated the government regulations. He found our office space and oversaw the buildout as well as played interior designer down to [...]