Tell us about your job
As management consultants at Oliver Wyman, our job revolves around providing strategic advice and solutions to organizations to help them improve their performance and overcome challenges. I work closely with partners and experts in the field to engage clients from various industries — analyzing their business operations, identifying areas for improvement, and developing actionable strategies. No two projects or clients are the same, and we are engaged to assist with a wide range of business challenges such as optimizing operational efficiency, formulating growth strategies, enhancing customer experience, and navigating complex market dynamics.
What’s your background?
As a young adult growing up and ruminating over possible career paths, I often found it challenging to tag myself to a specific industry or specialization that I wanted to dedicate my career to. I constantly found myself weighing between different options and wishing to experience and learn across them all.
This culminated in my studies at Singapore Management University, where I pursued a degree in Politics, Law and Economics (with a second major in Finance). My studies allowed me to pursue a wide range of various subject matters and fields, developing an appreciation for the various lenses in which issues can be approached from and analyzed.
Interestingly, this desire to experience a broad range of different fields also influenced my choice of sporting career. Having played in team sports as a child, I picked up fencing in 2013 out of a desire to try an individual sport different from the other ball sports that I participated in previously.
Now, beyond my role as a management consultant, I have a parallel career as a professional fencer on the Singapore National Team, representing Singapore since 2015 in major international fencing events, including the World Championships, Asian Championships, and SEA Games, among others. I have been fortunate to travel the world and pit myself against the best in the world in various major competitions.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Absolutely! Different backgrounds are not just accepted but celebrated in the consulting field, where everyone in the team comes together to bring different expertise and skillsets to derive an optimal solution for each client in each industry.
What’s the coolest thing about your job?
What I have found immediately and immensely rewarding is the creativity and independence that is constantly encouraged across all members of the team, regardless of seniority. Everyone has the opportunity to think for themselves what their best possible next steps should be and pitch in ideas and opinions. This mindset that “a good idea can come from anybody” is one that I have seen echoed across all the senior members of the teams that I have worked with, and it contributes to a welcoming, comfortable space where innovation and creativity flourishes and no one is made to feel sidelined.
In another angle, this environment of autonomy and independence has also made it possible for me to have a say over what my day-to-day can look like, and this has been integral in juggling the lifestyle of a management consultant and my rigorous training and competition commitments.
What three pieces of advice would you give to your younger self as a student?
Speak your mind. Don’t be afraid of saying the wrong thing, even making mistakes is part of learning.
Try everything at least once. Even if it is for a short period of time, more often than not, you will find yourself surprised by the things you learn.
Take the rest days as they come. Working hard towards a goal is important, but taking time to rest and recover is part of that journey.
Tell us about your best moment at Oliver Wyman
There is no shortage of positive memories. From the company offsite in Khao Lak, Thailand in my first week with the firm, to the constant support and encouragement that my colleagues have provided me with throughout my competition season, including holding watch parties of my live matches in the office and planning celebrations for my recent SEA Games medals, there are many moments where I have felt welcomed, included, and celebrated in the firm and that I am incredibly grateful for.