Life! Does an In-depth Interview with Angelene Chan as New CEO

Part of The Straits Times’ Monday interviews in Life! with up-and-coming and high-profile personalities across a variety of industries, the profile features DP Architects’ CEO Angelene Chan as the only woman CEO out of the top 5 architecture firms in Singapore, and highlights milestones in her life and career.

The story details Angelene’s growing up years as a high-performing student in secondary school and university, as well as her interest in architecture that began when she was 12, renovating her family home. Angelene shared with The Straits Times details of her work experience at Woods Bagot in Canberra, where she designed and oversaw the construction of four buildings, including the Spanish embassy which was opened by the former king, Juan Carlos. She also spoke about what it was like to be working as an Asian woman on male-dominated work sites, explaining her approach at getting ideas from everyone and forming good relationships with them in order to make everyone contribute positively to a problem.

Angelene further shared her experience in moving back to Singapore and joining DP Architects, where she has been since 1990, working on major projects such as Suntec City and The Dubai Mall. She touched on issues close to her heart, such as juggling motherhood and work through effective time management, making of lists, maximising commitment at home and ensuring full focus at work. Angelene attributed her success at balancing both work and motherhood down to a good support system – both at home and in the office. She makes it a point to ensure family never takes a backseat with regular family time through dinners and sending the kids to school.

The interview concluded with a snapshot of Angelene’s current projects such as Yotel Singapore and two residential buildings in The Mariner’s Quarter in London, part of the 15ha Royal Wharf masterplan that aims to revitalise the Royal Docks, a job DP Architects beat three other firms from Britain to clinch. Angelene mused that at her current position, she is still continuing to learn, as architecture is a lifelong journey – the backbone of her career is still to deliver good architecture and that will take her lifetime.

Click here to read the full story.