When Ms Jessica Tan was growing up, money was tight and the whole family including her two sisters slept on a queen-sized bed in their Ang Mo Kio two-room flat.
She could hardly have imagined back then that one day, she would be the head honcho of a major financial services company, living in a swanky apartment overlooking the Toronto city skyline in Canada.
After years of hard work climbing the corporate ladder, with a long stint in China, the recently installed president of insurance and investment firm Sun Life Canada was listed as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine in 2021.
To reflect on this stellar rise, Ms Tan joined me on a Zoom call at 9am her time recently, with a red-patterned scarf draped over her neck to keep out the Canadian chill, nails painted red and wearing other scarlet accessories.
As I took in her appearance, with hair in a neatly combed bob and wearing light makeup, I was immediately struck by one quality that she exuded above all else: Power.
“I have to leave promptly at 10, so I can only do an hour maximum,” the busy 48-year-old Singaporean said.
I expected nothing less from the woman who previously called the shots of China’s largest insurance company Ping An Group, which has a market capitalisation of S$152.07 billion (US$111.14 billion).
Now over at Sun Life Canada, the company serves 12 million clients, which is more than a quarter of the country’s overall population.
Ms Tan graduated from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning two Bachelor of Science degrees and a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science with a perfect grade point average.
Soon after graduating, she remained in the United States to launch her career at the consulting giant McKinsey & Company in 2000. Then, she spent 11 years leading Ping An Group in China and moved on to Sun Life Canada just three months ago.
Ms Tan said that this was meant to be “chapter three” of her professional and personal life.
She wanted to explore the large North American market and dedicate more time to her two teenage daughters who will soon both be on the continent to further their studies.
The move to Sun Life Canada came after more than a decade of living apart from her family. With her husband and children back in Singapore, she flew back every weekend from China to spend time with them.
While her husband will be remaining in Singapore, her younger daughter is now studying at a Canadian high school. Her older daughter will also soon be flying over to begin college in Canada or the US this year.
A SINGAPOREAN CHILDHOOD
Ms Tan’s wild success belies her humble roots back in Ang Mo Kio. She studied at the now-defunct Kebun Baru Primary School, before her excellent grades took her to CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School and then Hwa Chong Junior College.
The junior college has since been renamed to Hwa Chong Institution.
Her parents were Malaysians who came from big families and did not have a lot of money. And yet, they made sure that she secured the best opportunities.
“My father had the opportunity to go to the US for his work attachment as a semiconductor engineer with Texas Instruments. He saw that the US was very different, very entrepreneurial. And so he wanted us to experience that working culture,” she said, speaking with an American twang.
He encouraged her to reject a scholarship in Singapore so that she could have the option to work in the US upon graduating. The scholarship would have obliged her to work here.
However, this meant that the family had to find ways to fund her expensive tertiary studies.
Her father renounced his Singapore permanent residency and quit his job so that he could withdraw money from his savings account with the national Central Provident Fund to pay for her school fees and living expenses.
“It was a great personal sacrifice,” she said. “It was hard for me, too, because I had to take odd jobs while on campus such as working at the computing help desk and library.”
However, Ms Tan emphasised that she is grateful she followed her dad’s advice to pass on the scholarship because she enjoyed studying and working in the US, and the experience shaped who she is today.
Her parents also did the same for her two sisters who later went to the US as well. The need to constantly support one another meant that her family is extremely close despite being spread out across different countries.
She said: “These are strong familial bonds. I also teach my daughters in the fourth generation that this is what you have to do to look after the whole family.”
Ms Tan’s experience made me reflect on how I took it for granted that my parents paid for my university education and I made a mental note to thank them after my interview.
