DPA Chairman Angelene Chan on Business Leadership at Endowus Leadership Forum 2023

Ar. Angelene Chan, Chairman of DP Architects, was invited to speak at the Endowus Leadership Forum 2023 held in conjunction with International Women’s Day (IWD). She joined esteemed speakers Julia Wei, CEO of Edelman Singapore; Jean Fernandes, CEO of GXS digital bank; and Tarini Ponniah, Head of Compliance of Aspire, a fintech start-up on the panel titled, “Changemakers Session: Business Builders”. The session was an inspiring one as it drew insights from the experiences of these top women leaders on how they are actively leading their firms through challenges, driving decision-making and enabling transformation in today’s highly complex and disrupted world.

On the topic of change management, Ar. Chan explained how DPA had to first get uncomfortable in order to address the pressing issue of sustainability. As the Built Environment sector is one of the biggest contributors of carbon emissions, DPA recognises the role it can play in effecting positive climate change, and the necessity in re-evaluating its design approach and re-focusing its sustainability strategies.

“As architects, we are the designers of our environment, and need to look at sustainability and carbon considerations of the spaces we build. That is why DPA set up our Green-Well-Tech (GWT) thrust to enable us to conduct research, scope the problems, and reflect on these issues, and whether our past projects are aligned with GWT, which is pegged against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Equally challenging, continued Ar. Chan, is getting buy-in from clients and partners. The practice is, therefore, enhancing its value proposition to clients, consultants and contractors by strengthening its design and delivery capabilities and building its in-house GWT experts across its nine architecture-related specialist arms. This includes growing its pool of accredited professionals in SmartScore, WiredScore, WELL and Green Mark so as to accelerate DPA’s GWT vision.

Ar. Chan also emphasised the importance of partnerships when driving positive change, establishing cross-disciplinary collaborations with AI and technology players such as Eutech and VIZZIO, and Institutes of Higher Learning like the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). With its partners, DPA developed unique design tools such as NimbleSim Plus and Digital Twin Explorer, to elevate its sustainable design offerings and design outcomes for a greener and more resilient built environment.

When asked about leadership, Ar. Chan shared: “As a leader, one need not be lonely at the top. You need to embed yourself in the heart of your team, and surround yourself with people you work with. Empower them, show them support and fairness, and be accessible.”

Having learnt and thrived under the mentorship of her predecessors, she pays it forward today by actively mentoring the young architects around her and guiding DPA’s next generation of leaders. Her hope is to leave the design practice in the care of stronger leaders than herself.