THERE ARE DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO being the exception in the room. You could either feel isolated and out of place. Or you could revel in being distinctly different. Lee Hui Li, managing director at Microsoft Singapore, has always been “a glass-half-full kind of person”, she says spiritedly.

For more than two decades, she has sat in meetings where she was the sole Asian and/or woman in the room. She had two options: to draw as little attention to herself as possible – or to use her voice and persona to offer a different perspective. She chose the latter.

“When you’re in the minority, you need to be confident about it and speak up, because there’s always a tendency to fit into the norm, blend into the majority, and not raise your hand,” she says.

“But in order to grow into leadership, you really must learn to first protect your voice and fit into your own shoes. You must respect your own voice – so that people will learn to respect it too.”

Lee has used her unique perspective to ascend the leadership ladder in the tech world – which, as it stands, is still dominated by men. She held leadership positions at IBM, Symantec, Dell, HP and EY before her current appointment. At each organisation, she tried to express her opinions with candour and clarity.

Now as a head of Microsoft Singapore, she wants to create an environment where diversity and inclusivity are its cornerstones. From the hiring process to the daily operations, she wants to “drive different people with different perspectives to always speak up, so that we can thrive in an environment that doesn’t have group thinking”.

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The importance of diversity and inclusion in creating innovation is being increasingly acknowledged by the tech sector. But while a diverse staff might make for an instantly richer office culture, it requires a genuine commitment to equality and respect to realise its full benefits and stem potential tensions.

Lee says: “We all have different opinions. So we have to look at the common attributes that we stand for. For me, the solution has always been one that’s customer-centric and outcome-focused. By emphasising our customer needs, we can bridge differences and advance together.”

To women and other minorities, she offers this advice: “Don’t victimise yourself. Don’t think that just because you’re a woman, you don’t have the same opportunities as a man. You have to raise your hand first and show that you want this. Take on a leadership role without the title first, to show your capabilities. That’s how you get noticed. 

“Secondly, recognise that your work-life balance changes according to different phases of your lives. If you’re a caregiver or mother of young kids, work might sometimes have to take a backseat  – and you don’t have to feel bad about that. But when your kids are older, that might be the time when you step up and tell your bosses you’re ready for bigger responsibilities.” Lee herself has two teenage children.

“Be professional, be proactive, sort out your priorities, be yourself. Bring in your personal style because authenticity is important in earning the respect of others.”  

French novelist and poet Alfred de Musset once wrote: “How glorious it is – and also how painful – to be an exception.” In the case of Lee, she recognises the pain – but she also makes it a point to seize the glory.

Unstoppable rise of AI

Besides advocating diversity, Lee is excited about the rising role of artificial intelligence (AI) in our lives. She sees it as not just as a technological tool, but as a transformative force capable of tackling some of the biggest challenges of our time. 

At the heart of her strategy with Microsoft is a mission to make AI as commonplace as morning coffee. She says: “We want to democratise AI because we believe it can help take away the social and digital divide of the haves and have-nots.” 

This ambition has already taken shape with Microsoft Singapore’s extensive programme to upskill 100,000 NTUC members in essential AI skills, ensuring a workforce ready for tomorrow. Besides this, Microsoft is also partnering the Institute for Adult Learning to infuse AI into adult education approaches, co-developing and testing new AI tools to enhance the experiences of adult learners.

On top of that, Microsoft is teaming up with SkillsFuture Singapore to help 2,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) over three years. It will deliver practical programmes to equip SMEs with the expertise needed to leverage AI solutions, so they can transform and evolve in an increasingly dynamic business environment.

But what about the laypeople? What can they look forward to?

Lee sees a future where AI is embedded in their everyday tools to enhance their productivity and decision-making. Microsoft’s AI companion Copilot is already making waves. “It can summarise e-mail threads and team chats, and extract action items from meetings you missed. It can analyse data sets for insights, draft documents and design presentations. It integrates data across daily applications you use. This means you can focus on what matters most. There are many possibilities.”

The impact of these initiatives stretches well beyond Singapore’s borders. In Vietnam, VinBrain is using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to revolutionise medical diagnostics, helping doctors deliver faster and more accurate patient care.

In India, Microsoft’s generative pre-trained transformer technology – through its Azure OpenAI Service – powers Jugalbandi, a generative-AI chatbot that’s bringing crucial government services to millions in rural areas in their native languages. Indeed, social impact organisation Karya is paying tens of thousands of villagers to share their languages to create high-quality language data sets to help lift rural populations out of poverty with education and income. 

As Lee enthuses over the various ways that AI is helping the less privileged, it is clear that she feels invested in empowering voices and bridging divides – not just between genders and cultures but also wealth and opportunities. She sees technology not only as a means of advancement, but as a pathway to equity.

She says: “I’ve been lucky enough to be in an industry that is always evolving. I’ve gone through different eras of transformation, like e-commerce, Y2K, mobile, Internet and cloud computing – and now we’re in the era of AI.

“In tech, you never quite arrive, you’re always on a journey.”

Photography: Ivanho Harlim & Shysi Novita

Styling & art direction: CK

Hair: Grego Oh, using Keune

Make-up: Nicole Ang of The Suburbs Studio, using Makeup Forever; Victoria Hwang & Sophia Soh of The Suburbs Studio, using Dior Beauty