True beauty is more than just skin deep. However, two young men from L’Oréal relate the importance of focusing on what might be considered ‘superficial’, to ensure the brands under their charge continue to maintain their leads in the fast-moving beauty business.

By Everlyn Lee

Darren Ho and Willi Ching found their gateway into marketing for the beauty industry through L’Oréal Brandstorm, an annual international marketing competition which allows students around the world to put themselves in the shoes of a L’Oréal Brand Manager and innovate one of their existing brands.

“I think I always knew that I had an interest in Marketing. It’s just that I didn’t know how strong my interest was or how well I was able to do the job,” says Darren, a Business Administration graduate from the National University of Singapore.

After immersing himself in Brandstorm for six months and emerging as second runner-up in the local finals, he applied for a job in L’Oréal Singapore, attracted to the dynamism of the company’s business and culture. Today, he is a Product Executive for Kérastase, one of the four brands that make up L’Oréal’s Professional Products Division.

Do you envision yourself working for a dynamic global organisation? Do you enjoy keeping abreast with movements in the economy, business world and innovations in technology? Do you enjoy meeting and working with a variety of people from diverse backgrounds and cultures? Do you want high responsibility for high rewards?

Welcome to the world of marcus evans – a leading international business events and information company. With 63 offices around the world, from Bermuda to Bratislava, marcusevans has offices in bustling metropolitan cities as well as exotic locations.

marcusevans is one of the world's leading providers and promoters of global summits, strategic conferences, professional training, in-Company training, business-to-business congresses, sports hospitality and on-line information.

Mary Kay, a brand that’s known to women worldwide, has finally debuted in the Singapore market. We speak to the President of Mary Kay Asia Pacific about the organisation behind the skincare and cosmetics line.

By Cheryl Lim

These days, companies that promote servant leadership with a drive for watching people reach their fullest potential are scarce. However, at Mary Kay, this philosophy is pervasive throughout the ranks. Besides being one of the most successful direct selling organisations in the industry, Mary Kay is also known for its unique mission – to enrich the lives of women.

“Mary Kay is a company that sells a way of life, and that way of life is development of women, allowing them to believe in themselves, to be the best that they can be,” says Mr K K Chua, President of Mary Kay Asia Pacific. “It almost sounds too idealistic, but I can tell you that it works.”

In fact, the man himself was sceptical when he was headhunted for the position of President of Mary Kay China many years ago.

As a fresh graduate from university, Rena went to many fruitless interviews, as they required relevant job experience. A strong believer that everyone should be given a fair chance to work their way up the corporate ladder regardless of age, gender, qualification and working experiences, she eventually secured a Direct Sales position. But by doing so, she faced scrutiny and objection from her parents, who felt that a Sales job was not a good fit with her degree in business management and major in human resource.

However, what attracted Rena to the job was how she saw that many others were in the business for a much greater purpose. She first stepped in the business wanting to gain some experience, with no plans to move into management. But with the constant exposure to local and overseas operations, her perspective towards the business gradually shifted, introducing her to team building and management, on top of sales.

After just one and a half years in the business, Rena has been promoted to Project Manager. She manages the sales force, and is involved in numerous campaigns which help clients to increase their market share. She believes the reason for her achievements is the strength that she draws from her team. The bonds that she has established with the team that she is managing is precisely what is spurring them on to greater heights.

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Vincent Ang: 34, Assistant Manager
Being one of the most relevantly experienced figures in Ascentia, Vincent truly has the attributes of a sales veteran. With ample experience in banking sales for Citibank and HSBC, he has led various telemarketing teams. However Vincent realized his personal and skill development had hit a plateau as mentorship and guidance weren’t consistent. Since Vincent has joined the organization 13 months ago, he has never looked back. In fact, his excellent work ethics and performance has propelled him to senior management within such a short span of time. To Vincent, the true sense of satisfaction comes from watching his people grow and improve. “ Nothing beats witnessing how your team manages to outshine you by applying what you’ve taught them.”

Are you are looking for a career with excellent Career Advancement prospects, a host of Learning and Development Opportunities and a Remuneration Package that is well above the market average?

If you want a career that allows your passion, dynamism and leadership qualities to shine, a career with Great Eastern will allow you to grow and develop that potential.

With an illustrious history that spans over 100 years, Great Eastern is the largest insurance group and the market leader in Singapore and Malaysia with $45 billion in assets and 3 million policyholders. We are a subsidiary of OCBC Bank, Singapore’s longest established local bank.

His pate gleaming like a freshly peeled potato, the man waited expectantly in the whitewashed room, the buoyant confidence of a lottery ticket buyer lighting his eyes.

Dr. Zhao Zhangguang dipped a small brush into a plastic bottle filled with an apricot-colored liquid and began daubing the hairless dome in a sort of invisible pointillism. On the bottle containing the liquid, a gold label read: "101 Hair Regeneration Liniment."

The substance is among an array of elixirs, syrups and potions produced by doctors here in a crusade to retard or even reverse baldness. Most prominent in the crusade is Dr. Zhao, who has produced a substance that is championed by some Beijing city officials and that is inspiring hope among those sporting nature's tonsure.

After living overseas for many years, Caryn came back to Singapore, wanting to establish a rewarding and satisfying career. Armed with a HR management degree, she never expected herself to enter the sales and marketing industry.

When she first joined Dirad Pte Ltd, she was pretty sceptical and was afraid it might turn out to be an MLM organisation. It wasn’t a smooth start when Caryn first embarked on this career a year ago, but she gradually learnt the art of communicating effectively with people from all walks of life. She also efficiently applied her HR expertise and worked on her management skills.

Currently enjoying what she does, Caryn is a team manager, involved in projects under the Charities division, such as the Singapore Heart Foundation and Singapore Cancer Society. Her short-term goals include promoting two team managers and one assistant manager by the end of May 2009. Long-term goals include being the number one performing office in Singapore and opening 10 offices in the next 5 years in Hong Kong, Thailand and China.

From 1996 to 2001, Eng Kiat was a Combat Officer in the Singapore Air Force. Being passionate about having a military career, he signed on as a regular even before he was enlisted for his national service. The first 3 years there was a great time for Eng Kiat as he enjoyed what he was doing. His hard work and good work ethics won him several promotions and he was managing people in no time. The years of hard work and passion did pay off as he was recognised and well compensated.

But Eng Kiat was looking to upgrade his diploma to a degree and applied countless times for scholarship that was given out by the Air Force. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time, he felt that he was bypassed on many occasions and was never awarded the scholarship he desired. Slowly his juniors who could study well and had good public relation skills moved ahead of him.

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