Using Singapore as a springboard: How this firm scaled across 27 markets in 2 years

FOR six decades, Singapore has built a reputation as a place where people from around the world come to create opportunities.

For Lennard Yong, founding management and group chief executive officer of Ascentium, it became the place where he chose to make the most important investment of his career.

Born in Penang, Yong spent more than three decades building a career across some of the world’s most dynamic markets. His journey took him from Sydney and Amsterdam to Hong Kong, where he led businesses, worked with multinational organisations and developed a deep understanding of what helps companies grow across borders.

“When you have spent 30 years working around the world, you begin to understand what makes certain places exceptional,” says Yong. “For me, Singapore stands apart.”

After living and working across Australia, Europe and Hong Kong, Yong was looking for a place to build something that lasts.

In 2024, Yong partnered with Hillhouse, one of Asia’s largest private investment firms based in Singapore, to create a new kind of corporate services platform. The ambition was bold: to build an organisation capable of supporting the next generation of high-growth businesses emerging from Asia and beyond.

The result was Ascentium, now headquartered in Singapore and serving clients across multiple markets.

“Ascentium could not have been built anywhere else in the same way,” says Yong. “Singapore gives our clients confidence, gives our people opportunities and gives us the stability to think decades, not just quarters, ahead.”

He believes Hillhouse’s long-term investment approach, combined with Singapore’s vibrant business ecosystem, laid the foundation for Ascentium’s sustainable growth model.

Beyond its pro-business environment, Singapore offered something equally important: alignment. Hillhouse shared the same long-term vision of building an enduring institution. Together with Singapore’s position as a trusted hub for talent, capital and enterprise, the conditions were in place to build a company designed to endure.

Today, as the company continues to expand, Yong remains deeply grateful to call Singapore home.

“Our goal is not simply to build a successful company,” he says. “We want to build an institution that creates value for clients, opportunities for people and a lasting contribution to the communities where we operate. Singapore is the right place for that journey.”

Why Singapore still attracts global talent

It was the opportunity to build something for the long term that drew Christine Pillsbury to join Ascentium in 2025.

An American who has called Singapore home for more than two decades, Pillsbury has spent much of her career helping organisations create the leadership, structure and operational foundations needed to scale across Asia. Today, as Ascentium’s group chief corporate officer, she is responsible for developing talent across a workforce of more than 3,000 people operating in 27 jurisdictions.

“It is remarkable what has been achieved in just two and a half years,” she says. “Through the leadership of Lennard and Wendy Wang, together with the partnership of Hillhouse, businesses across multiple markets have come together to create one unified organisation.”

Having worked with companies throughout Asia, Pillsbury says few organisations have been able to bring together talent, capabilities and cultures at such speed while maintaining a shared sense of purpose.

Building the kind of institution Singapore needs

Ascentium’s long-term vision to build a sustainable global business also attracted Andrew Tan, a veteran public servant and business leader.

Tan is a senior board adviser to Ascentium. Over a 35-year career spanning the Singapore Government, including the Ministry of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Environment, Transport and the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as leadership roles at Temasek, he has developed a distinctive perspective on building organisations for long-term success. Today, he serves on the boards of listed and private equity-backed companies.

Having observed the company’s development first-hand, Tan sees parallels between Singapore’s own story and Ascentium’s ambitions.

He has been encouraged by the speed at which the organisation has evolved from a startup into a multinational business with nearly US$300 million (S$387.2 million) in revenue.

More importantly, he believes the company’s growth demonstrates the kind of institution Singapore aims to foster.

Having spent much of his career building and leading key public and corporate organisations, Tan believes sustainable growth depends on much more than financial performance. It requires leadership, governance and a commitment to creating opportunities for future generations.

“Ascentium is exactly the type of institution Singapore would like to see more of,” says Tan. “It opens up opportunities for Singaporeans while strengthening Singapore’s role as a trusted international business hub.”

Ascentium’s story is still being written.

Yet for three leaders from different backgrounds and different parts of the world, the conclusion is the same.

“As Singapore marks another National Day, Ascentium’s story serves as a reminder of what continues to draw global leaders here: trust, stability, openness and the opportunity to build for the long term,” says Yong.

“We all came here at different points in our careers, but we reached the same conclusion: Singapore remains one of the best places in the world to create something that can stand the test of time.”

Growing across borders? Discover how Ascentium helps businesses expand from Singapore to the world.