Jannie Chan

Singaporean entrepreneur

Jannie Chan Siew Lee (曾秀丽), also known by her married name, Jannie Tay, is a Singaporean entrepreneur and former president of the Singapore Retailers Association and the ASEAN Business Forum, in both cases the first woman to hold the position.

Chan earned a B.Sc. in physiology and an M.Sc. in pharmacology from Monash University in 1968 and 1971,[1][2] and was a lecturer in both subjects at the National University of Singapore.[3]

In 1979, she co-founded The Hour Glass Limited, a luxury watch retailer, with her husband, Henry Tay.[4] As of 2015[update], it had 41 stores in several countries;[5] she was formerly executive vice-president[1][6] and executive vice-chairman.[7]

She founded the holding company Save Our Planet Investments (Hypha Holdings, 2005) and the non-profit Save Our Planet Foundation (2007), which works for reforestation to mitigate climate change.[1][2][3] Her most recent company is Scientific Tradition Pte Ltd, which develops mushroom products based on traditional Chinese medicine.[2]

Chan contributed to the 2006 book, Six Billion Minds: Managing Outsourcing in the Global Knowledge Economy.[8] She is the first female president of the Singapore Retailers Association and of the ASEAN Business Forum, the first female executive board member of the Commonwealth Business Council and founder chairman of the Commonwealth Business Women Leaders' Network.[1] She also serves on the first Business Advisory Council of the United Nations Office for Project Services (since 2000) and on the Business Advisory Council of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (since 2004).[1] She is active for women's rights:[2] she was one of the organisers of the first Women Inspire exposition and business forum in Singapore in 2002[9] and was president of the Singapore chapter of WOW (Women for Other Women).[10]

On 20 June 2019, Chan was declared bankrupt by the Singapore court for owing a moneylender over S$4 million in unpaid debt.[11]

Chan began serving a two-week prison sentence for contempt of court on 9 September 2019, after losing her appeal against a 2017 sentence judgment. [12]

On 15 October 2019, the Singapore High Court rules that Chan's forced sale of $3.85m apartment to be paid to Official Assignee. [13]

## Personal life

[edit]

Chan is of Hakka Chinese heritage;[14] her father and grandfather were "sinsehs" (practitioners of traditional medicine).[3] She has six siblings, four of whom became physicians.[2]

Chan and her husband have three children, Audrey, Michael (who now manages The Hour Glass) and Sabrina. Their first child died in childhood. They divorced in 2010.[15][16]

## Awards

[edit]

* 1989: Special Volunteer Award, Community Chest of Singapore [17]
* 1996: Louis Feraud Les Honours award (Business category) [18]
* 1999: Honorary doctorate, Oxford Brookes University[1]
* 1997: Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World award, Paris [19]
* 2003: Darjah Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang, carrying the title Dato'[1]
* 2003: Distinguished Alumni Award, Monash University[20]
* 2009: APEA Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award, Enterprise Asia [21]
* 2011 Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism. Presented at Singapore Experience Awards.[22]

## Key Positions Held

[edit]

* 1990: President, Women for Other Women Association (WOW)[23]
* 1997–1998: Director, International Women's Forum Leadership Foundation [24]
* 1997–1999: Board Member, Women's Leadership Initiative Board, John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University [24]
* 1998: President, ASEAN Business Forum [24]
* Jul 1999–Jul 2016: President, Singapore Retailers Association [25]
* 2002: President, Women’s Business Connection [26]
* 2002: Chairperson, Commonwealth Business Women Leaders network [27]
* 2003: Founding member and Chairman, Retail Academy of Singapore [28]
* 2004: Chairman, Retail Industry Skills and Training Council [29]
* 2004: Member, United Nations ESCAP Business Advisory Council [30]
* 2011: Chairman, Asia-Pacific Retailers Association [31]

## Personal life

[edit]

Chan was married to Henry Tay were married in 1968 and divorced in 2010. They have three children.[32]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g Dato' Dr Jannie Chan Siew Lee, Prominent Alumni, Monash University, 2012, updated 13 February 2013, retrieved 11 September 2013.
2. ^ a b c d e "Beyond watches and reishi: Jannie Tay's approach to business", Knowledge@SMU Paper6, Singapore Management University, 2 March 2010, retrieved 11 September 2013.
3. ^ a b c Cheah Ui-Hoon, Save Our Planet Foundation, "Leaving a lasting legacy", The Business Times, 19 December 2008, repr. AsiaOne, 22 December 2008, archived at the Wayback Machine, 8 February 2009.
4. ^ "Watch retailer Jannie Tay on creating a sense of luxury in Singapore", Business, BBC News, 29 November 2010
5. ^ About History Archived 2015-08-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Hour Glass, retrieved 9 September 2015.
6. ^ Melanie Lee, "Hour Glass says time not ripe for China, India", Reuters, 19 September 2007, retrieved 11 September 2013.
7. ^ About Directors' Profiles, The Hour Glass, archived 28 August 2015.
8. ^ "Global Leaders Create Field Guide to Managing the Six Billion Minds That Make Up the New Global Knowledge Economy". PRWeb. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021.
9. ^ Kalinga Seneviratne, "Traditional roles stifle Asia's working women", Asian Economy, Asia Times, 4 December 2002.
10. ^ Kraar, Louis; Autry, Ret (October 7, 1991). "Iron Butterflies". CNN.
11. ^ "Hour Glass co-founder Jannie Chan declared bankrupt".
12. ^ Auto, Hermes (September 9, 2019). "'Recalcitrant' Hour Glass co-founder Jannie Chan starts 2-week jail term for contempt | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com.
13. ^ Auto, Hermes (October 15, 2019). "Hour Glass co-founder Jannie Chan's share from forced sale of $3.85m apartment to be paid to Official Assignee | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com.
14. ^ Sin Kiong Wong and Yu-ju Lai, "Singapore Hakka: Research Institutions and Publications in Recent Years", Global Hakka Studies 1, November 2013, pp. 185-214, p. 202 (in Chinese) (pdf): "曾秀丽为新马客家企业代表" - "Chan Siew Lee is the representative of Hakka entrepreneurship in Singapore and Malaysia".
15. ^ Candice Cai, "Hour Glass pair settle legal dispute out of court" Archived 2014-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, AsiaOne, 25 April 2012.
16. ^ "Hour Glass pair settle legal dispute out of court" Archived 2014-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, Asia One Plush Photos, no date, retrieved 11 September 2013.
17. ^ "Fund-raisers get their 'Oscars'". 1989.
18. ^ "3 women honoured for their roles in society". 1996.
19. ^ "Hour Glass' Jannie Tay receives top award". 1997.
20. ^ Dato' Dr Jannie Chan Siew Lee (BSc 1968, MSc 1971), Distinguished Alumni Awards 2003, Monash University, 2012, updated 13 February 2013, retrieved 11 September 2013.
21. ^ "Not content to rest on her laurels". 2009.
22. ^ "A Great Experience Deserves The Spotlight - Honouring Singapore Tourism". stb.gov.sg. 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
23. ^ "Start own 'buddy' system to get to the top, women execs urged". 1990.
24. ^ a b c "Time to live: Jannie Tay's journey". 2002.
25. ^ "Jannie Tay is president of retailers association". 1999.
26. ^ "Networking group for women business leaders". 2002.
27. ^ "C'wealth women's network launched". 2002.
28. ^ "A higher degree of service". 2003.
29. ^ "New council to plan retail training courses". 2004.
30. ^ "The Hour Glass 2016 Annual Report" (PDF). 2016.
31. ^ "APRCE 2011 in Singapore calls on retailers to 'discover, differentiate and deliver". 2011.
32. ^ "Hour Glass pair settle legal dispute out of court". www.asiaone.com. Retrieved 2022-09-19.