Human-centred

CURIOSITY and an appreciation of each individual's uniqueness are qualities that Accenture Singapore chairperson Teo Lay Lim has had since a young age, and which have seen her through more than three decades in the organisation - not least as Accenture's own approach evolved.

As a young person, she read biographies of historical figures and was fascinated by the approach of viewing events through the lens of the individual. Even when travelling overseas for tennis as a student, glimpsing scenery through the windows of a bus, she would wonder: what would it be like to live in that house, or that village? What goes on behind those walls? What is the way of life here?

Similar inquisitiveness lay behind her choice to study business administration at the National University of Singapore, she says. "The reason why I did business was, I was always curious about what goes on behind the doors of any organisation."