The day I met Lee Kuan Yew....I did not comb my hair

Well, the past week has been an interesting one for me, having been helping out behind the scenes at the World Effie Festival.

My role?

I was stationed mainly at Conrad Hotel, welcoming the speakers; helping them check into their rooms; and briefing them on what was to be expected during the 2 day event.

The challenge of this role? The ungodly hours I had to be at the hotel due to the odd arrival times. SQ flights from Newark and LA land around 5.30am in the morning. Other flights land around midnight. Imagine that day when I had a 1 am arrival and a 5.30am arrival on the same day.....suicide I say!

Being privileged to have been in direct contact with some prominent figures, let me share some of my personal insight into their personalities. Trust me, I am not one to kiss and tell....but tell I will!


Shelly Lazurus
Chairman, CEO
Ogilvy & Mather

Now this lady works 24/7! She arrived at 6am. When I ushered her from her limo, she was reading some notes handed to her by an assistant. Showing her to her room, we went through her schedule:

6am - Arrive from Newark
9.30am - Deliver address at conference
10.30am - Press Conference with Ogilvy Singapore
12pm - Working Lunch
1pm - Meeting with Ogilvy Singapore (4 hour meeting)
6pm - Depart for Bangalore

Does she even sleep? Little wonder that she is 26th on Forbes' list of most powerful women in business.


Lawrence Flanagan
Chief Marketing Officer
MasterCard Worldwide

Cordial chap who has been in Singapore a few times. Comes across to me as a decisive chap who quietly works behind the scenes.


Dr Jeffrey Cole
Director
Centre for the Digital Future
Annenberg School of Communication
University of Southern California

I missed welcoming him in the lobby. I ended up going to his room to brief him...and he was in not much more than his briefs....more like a bathing robe and a face partially shaved with shaving cream dripping off his face. Jeff is a big person and with a booming laugh and ring to his voice, he is one of the most affable persons I met.


Lord Sebastian Coe

His name says it all --- former Olympic medalist; former MP in Britain; Leader of the winning Olympic bid to host it in Britain in 2012. With his partner Annette, they swooshed into the lobby of the Conrad, but not before the GM of the Conrad approached me to request that we welcome them to the hotel together. A down-to-earth chap, Lord Coe checked-in wearing sweat pants that looked no less than a day over 10 years. Amazing! Extremely focused chap who can be seen pacing up and down in the lobby on his mobile, eventually being led away by Annette with the phone still attached to his ear.


Simon Clift
Chief Marketing Officer
Group VP Personal Care
Unilever

The head of marketing for one of the world's biggest consumer goods brands, Unilever is one of the top 2 biggest spenders of advertising budget in the world. Simon has a very likeable character and extremely humble for someone who wields great power. I have been extremely taken by him. In a different life, I would have asked him to mentor me and applied to work for him.


MM Lee Kuan Yew

OK, so I did not meet him personally, but I met his security entourage and his very capable personal assistant called Ms Yong or YY. A rotund lady in her 40s to 50s, she is extremely meticulous and great with detail....much like a motherly figure.

And yes, on the day when MM Lee was speaking, I forgot to comb my hair.

I should write a book with that title.....