White guy outside, Singaporean inside
Nick Evered, SVP of SAP Concur, describes his Singapore experience, and why he stayed
Singapore
NICK Evered is someone who's had a long history with Singapore.
The 60-year-old, who was born in England, has lived here since 2002, and became a citizen three years ago.
He now works as senior vice-president and general manager (Japan and Asia-Pacific) at SAP Concur. The company is a subsidiary of SAP and specialises in travel and expense management software.
Mr Evered's first visit to Singapore was exactly 50 years ago in 1968 when he was just 10 years old and on a layover flight from Australia travelling back to England.
His links with Singapore even extends to his family - his father served as a doctor in the British Navy and spent some time in Singapore.
"An inter-twining history . . . fate always had in its mind that I was going to end up in Singapore. I was always brought back here for multiple reasons, and then finally I decided to stay here," he says.
When asked about how he found Singapore compared to other countries he has worked in, he says the Republic's "innate multi-culturalism" gives Singapore, and Singaporeans in general, a much broader perspective.
"Singapore has its own unique culture and the multicultural aspect as well," he says.
When SAP Concur decided to move its regional headquarters to Singapore, Mr Evered says this was largely due to the country's regional perspective characteristic.
Some of the markets that SAP Concur operates in the region are Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, India and South-east Asia. Mr Evered's role is to bring those operations together into a cohesive unit as he is responsible for all aspects of sales, service and delivery of Concur products in Asia-Pacific, which is the company's biggest growth market.
In the half-century that he has known Singapore, what he feels has changed the most is the skyline, with the rise of the financial district and Suntec City being some of the more memorable additions.
Another thing he enjoys about Singapore are the bougainvilleas, with the vibrancy of their colours always being a high point on his return trips from the airport.
He has even gone out of his way to recreate the effect in his garden by growing the flowers there.
What he likes most about Singapore is its "internationalism", a term he prefers over multiculturalism.
He attributes his ability to empathise with and understand those coming from different cultural backgrounds to both his wife, who is South Korean, and the environment he has been living and working in, which is Singapore. He describes how the many cultures present in Singapore help "broaden the mind" and he stresses that he has become a more tolerant person after spending so many years in Singapore.
Unlike some others, Mr Evered doesn't find Singapore boring at all. Together with his wife and their three dogs, they spend their free time visiting different parts of Singapore.
He does admit to missing the traditional British pub experience, citing Singaporean kopitiams as one of the few local features that has not grown on him yet. He likes his coffee "strong and black", in contrast to the milky sweet variety that is often served here.
Mr Evered finds it amusing whenever others discover that he is a Singaporean. He recalled one occasion at the Hong Kong airport when the immigration officer expressed visible disbelief at his citizenship. In Mr Evered's own words: "I'm a white guy on the outside, Singaporean inside".
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