What is your role as a governance professional?

‘I am currently a director of the GoGlobal Group, which is a global employment outsourcing company supporting clients to employ cross-border talent in an effective and compliant manner. My main role is to develop the company’s human resources (HR) strategy, policies and practices globally. I also provide HR governance insights country-by-country internally, as well as to clients in order to help them navigate their employment compliance obligations.’ 

What was your career path to your current role?

‘I started my career in Japan in an international business process outsourcing company that serves multinational companies in Japan. After some years, I relocated back to Hong Kong to assist the company set up its first overseas branch. Then I decided to join GoGlobal, which was a new start-up when I joined in 2018, to pursue my interest in working in HR governance and compliance.’

What value does governance bring to organisations and to wider society?

‘Governance helps to ensure that strategic decisions made at all levels in organisations are effective and able to contribute to the business in a positive way. It also helps to mitigate risk and protect the best interests of stakeholders. Countries with good governance systems are better able to increase trust and build up a good reputation, which helps to attract more foreign investment and boost the economy.’

What qualities do you think are needed to be a successful governance professional?

‘The ultimate goal is to use our knowledge and experience to support and strengthen the board’s decision-making process. We need to have the courage to challenge decisions we don’t agree with, to highlight any compliance risks and to ensure that the organisation’s core values are not overridden in the pursuit of profit. Last but not least, we need to be prepared for crises.’ 

How do you think governance will evolve in the future?

‘With the advances of technology and environmental changes, particularly after the Covid pandemic, we are moving to a higher-risk environment compared with a few years ago. This does not mean that we should try to achieve zero risk – an organisation taking too little risk is in danger since risk is an inevitable part of innovation and pursuing new opportunities. Finding the right balance, with a proper contingency plan, is the challenge and it is impossible to achieve this perfectly.’ 

What inspires you in your life and work?

‘My inspiration comes from the people I work with. I like working towards a common goal, channeling the ideas and creativities of team members to achieve something that might have looked impossible. On the other hand, inspiration also comes from those giving me a hard time. I do not see this as a negative thing – criticism shows me the way to self-improvement.’

How do you fill your time outside work?

‘As a mother of two little boys, I don’t have a lot of “me” time. Fortunately, GoGlobal offers flexible working arrangements to employees – “work anywhere, anytime” is our culture. This gives me flexibility to arrange my schedule as an employee of GoGlobal, a mum of my kids, a wife of my husband and a daughter of my parents. I enjoy spending time with my family and the thing I miss most from our pre-pandemic lives is the ability to go on family trips.’