Ms Kwek Pei Xuan, Head of Sustainability and Corporate Affairs at Hong Leong Asia (HLA) and President of the Hong Leong Group Sports & Recreation Club (HLGSRC), aims to increase engagement among colleagues at the Hong Leong Group Singapore of companies while promoting the Group’s core values.
voices
Pictured above: Ms Kwek Pei Xuan's hiking trip to Glendalough, Ireland in June 2022. She is currently in a fun self-discovery phase of her life and spends her free time focusing on well-being pursuits and travelling.
Ms Kwek Pei Xuan (first row, 2nd from left) at the HLA Walk event.
Q. Tell us more about yourself.
Hi, I’m Pei Xuan – I joined Hong Leong Asia right before the pandemic and have since been supporting the company on its Sustainability Agenda. Previously, I worked in Marketing Communications in the hospitality sector and this was when I started to learn about environmental issues surrounding the built environment and hospitality sectors. That realisation was actually what led me to join the family business.
Aside to that, I turn 32 this year and am finding my 30s to be a fun self-discovery period…so far! Generally, I’m quite a chilled-out yet curious personality and so, spend my free time focusing on well-being pursuits such as Yoga, Pilates, meditation and personal development. More recently, I’ve gotten a bit more ambitious and spend more time training in open-water swims as well as runs, participating in the Metasprint event after Chinese New Year. Ensuring a strong foundation to minimise injuries and maintaining my energy levels to sustain these activities has made me more curious about our unique body types and health issues. .
Other than health-related hobbies, I enjoy travelling too. I am always intrigued about different cultures and human behaviours stemming from this history of countries. Sometimes, you discover more of these little intricacies by interacting with the locals and integrating yourself into their way of life, more so than visiting historical monuments.
Spending time with family and friends is also an integral part of my life. I believe that having a strong personal support system is very important. I try my best to make time to balance work, family, and friends equally – it’s still a work in progress!
Q. What is HLGSRC and what is your role as a President?
HLGSRC was established in 1978 to build a strong community spirit and social goodwill among staff across the Hong Leong Group Singapore of companies. The club was established by the late City Developments Limited Deputy Chairman Mr Kwek Leng Joo and the late Mr Neo Kim San, formerly a senior executive with Hong Leong Holdings Limited.
The club started with a ladies’ Netball Team and registered it with the Singapore Netball Association in 1978. The team began competing with other businesses under the Association, such as Singapore Airlines and Singapore Petroleum. They saw how the interaction promoted a strong community spirit and social goodwill, and the committee of HLGSRC decided to recruit staff representatives across Hong Leong Group to help organise more events. The variety of sports gradually expanded to include squash, football, table tennis, and badminton which continued to drive community engagement within the group and also, a competitive drive amongst the employees!
Historically, the Club’s biggest two key events have been the Hong Leong Olympics and Hong Leong Group Family Day highlighting the spirit of our Group’s family values and the Club’s agenda to drive connections throughout our subsidiaries.
I was approached by a fellow member of the club to take on the role of Vice President in November 2020 for additional support as well as with the aim to understand how we could better connect with the younger generation in our Group. In November 2022 at our latest AGM, I was handed over the role of President and am currently working with the committee to rethink our brand identity and aim to pull together a new vision and mission that we all can be proud of.
Ms Kwek Pei Xuan (5th from right) with colleagues at the HLGSRC wine dinner event.
Q. What is your vision for HLGSRC in 2023?
In 2023, we are working towards developing a stronger alignment with our Group’s core values while supporting the new goals across our subsidiaries, surrounding people and sustainability.
Hence, this year will be a year focused on the rebranding of HLGSRC. The internal core group is soon kicking off to brainstorm ideas on developing new propositions of activities and benefits we can offer as well as to test them out with our Group’s employees, ranging in age groups.
As with any organisation, while we grow, we need to constantly understand our position and consider to refresh our approach and offerings if needed. For HLGSRC, we need to stay true to our roots but also capitalise on the strong network and stories that have been built to refresh our purpose. Eventually, HLGSRC should aim to reflect the voice and interests of our employees while continuing to drive a strong community spirit across the Group.
Q. How can fellow colleagues support the initiatives by HLGSRC?
We are still working on enhancing our communication methods however, colleagues in Singapore can start by downloading the app, “myHLGSRC”, to find out more and participate in our activities with their fellow colleagues. Meantime, I encourage everyone to be a little more curious about the history of HLGSRC – ask our older colleagues or look up our past sports activities! More updates will be shared about our rebranding exercise in the later half of the year.
Q. What can we expect from HLGSRC in the upcoming months?
More social events surrounding hands-on activities and group outings. The Hong Leong Olympics is also underway in planning which we encourage everyone to join in for pure fun and games such as with darts or to get a little more competitive with football or badminton. More information will be shared on the app and hence, do . remember to download the app to ensure that you get updated with all latest updates.
