Marian, the Managing Director of CEG’s EMEA office, began her career with CEG in 2020. Born and raised in several states around Malaysia, Marian has probably seen more of Malaysia than most Malaysians have. She earned a nursing degree at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia and soon moved to the Netherlands for love. She then began pursuing a chemical engineering degree in process and food technology, which landed her a job with Tradin Organic. It was during this time that opportunities to start her own business began emerging. With the desire to start a family, the idea of starting her own business felt more enticing than working for an employer due to the flexibility it would allow her. Marian began and grew CEG during the global pandemic and she welcomed her daughter in 2021. Chatting with her on the topic of women in business, Marian shares her insights and experiences as a new mom in a leadership position:
What does a day look like in your shoes?
My morning starts with feeding my 6-month-old. I take care of the household and make sure the dog is fed, although I do share these responsibilities with my husband. Once Iโm done with all the domestic things and have myself humanised, I get to work at around 10 a.m. and catch up with my team. We discuss the key milestones for the day, week, and fortnight. These morning meetings are essential for our type of work. Once my lunch break is over, I head back to work from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., where I usually have meetings with clients or my team or arrange plans for the organisation, like implementing training sessions and workshops for our employees so that they can upscale themselves. When my workday ends, my family and I have dinner and we take care of the baby, making sure she gets fed, showered, and changed. Once she goes to bed, sometimes I go back to work, and this happens maybe once or twice a week. Otherwise, I relax and wind down.
What gets you excited to go to work?
The feeling of being in control of your own destiny and being your own bossโitโs a lot of fun. In the past, I would be so worried about my performance review, but I donโt have to experience that anymore. I take this experience into heavy consideration when Iโm preparing the performance reviews for my staff. I try to make this process as fun and unintimidating as possible. My personal performance review is with my clients, and itโs exciting to work with different projects from all over the world and make new friends along the way as well.
Tell us about how your experience as a nurse prepared you for this role.
Time management and the ability to pick up key information quickly were two critical factors. During my time as a nurse, I also developed critical thinking, as my university would give us real patients and make us figure out what was wrong with them. There was a lot of practice in identifying issues and having a sense of urgency. I developed people skills and learned how to deal with challenging situations. I watched my managers have difficult conversations with patients so Iโm not afraid of having them and Iโm quite resilient in these situations. Sometimes, the conversations are about things that are out of my comfort zone, but I believe these situations really help build you as a person, as you canโt run away from them.
Youโve seen how various industries operate and how CEG operates. Do you think different business sectors have greater gender diversity or women in leadership and why do you think that is so?
Within the industry of healthcare and babies, there is usually a much greater female presence because many companies within this industry profile themselves as family-focused. These companies are often more flexible with mothers, as they can work three or four days a week with one day at home to look after their children. These companies will also see you as a whole person, not just an output. So, if a company within this industry doesnโt have this type of flexibility, it probably wonโt have the best reputation. A company canโt say โIโm for mothersโ but is mainly run by men and doesnโt have flexibility in working situations.
As for women who are in leadership, itโs only natural that if you have more women working in a sector, youโre probably going to have more female leadership. Despite that, unfortunately, you still see the disparity and often, men still get promoted faster than women. Sometimes itโs because women donโt want to take on the extra burden because it means more hours, more workload and ultimately, more headaches! Sometimes, companies tend to promote people (regardless of gender) who will be able to commit to the job scope better. Thatโs why I think women who are currently in leadership really want to be there. They will make sacrifices and sometimes these sacrifices come at great costs but generally, if women want to be on top, they will be able to get there.
Youโre a new mom, and you grew and developed CEG during a global pandemic. How do you balance your career, personal life, and passions? Do you believe there is such a thing as balance?
There is balance but you canโt have it all. How do I do it? I manage my devices; I never read my emails when itโs family time. Itโs crucial to touch base with my business partners and make sure that anything that is of importance or urgent is being dealt with. I also wonโt look at my phone on the weekends and I will only look at it when I know I am going to work. Iโve also learned how to delegate, so if I know I canโt do something that needs to be done and I can pass it on to someone else, I do it. Another thing is not expecting perfection; if what you have is going to get you over the line, itโs good enough.
What is one thing you know now about women and work that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
Itโs not so much something that I wish I knew but itโs definitely something I appreciateโwomen are survivors and they just make it work. Weโre very flexible and itโs something I really appreciate, especially when I think about my mom. Being brought up in a Chinese-Malaysian household, I was also raised by my grandmother and from that, my mother had a lot of support, which was especially important. From my upbringing, one thing I wish other women knew is that you donโt have to suffer by yourself. You can always ask for help and your support group is essential. In my case, we met a neighbour who eventually became a part of my family and I see her as a mother figure here. If we didnโt have her, I wouldnโt have the work-life balance that I have now. Because of her help and support, I have so much time for the business and still have time for the family.
What advice do you have for a woman just starting her career? What would you want them to know?
Just thinking about when I went back to university to pursue my chemical engineering course; it was a bachelorโs degree, and I was a little older than the rest of the cohort. One thing I noticed was how the younger people got so hung up about their grades and their performance at school. They were unable to see the bigger picture and at university, although important, grades are not the most important thing. More important things to learn at university are building relationships, learning how to deal with different people, soft skills, etc. In the end, getting a 7.9 and not an 8.0 will not matter in the grand scheme of things. Companies will more often look at your ability to socialise, your networking skills, and your critical thinking skills. Theyโll see if youโre asking the right questions, and these skills are far more valuable than just grades. Thatโs why, in your job interviews, itโs very important that you have far more questions than your interviewer has for you.
Another piece of advice I would give to women just starting their careers is to make sure you never get yourself into a situation where shady things can happen to you. I know itโs easy for me to say this coming from an industry where things like this donโt happen as often but never provide an opportunity to put yourself in a potentially harmful situation. Donโt be too gullible; take your time getting to know people; and never do things alone. Keep yourselves grounded. Ladies, as the saying goes, when something is too good to be true, it probably is.
