Dawn Teo, 3rd-gen owner of Amara Hotel Singapore, wants to continue to build ‘good hotels, handsome buildings in thriving cities’

For next-generation leaders like Teo, the task of modernising the family business remains a hurdle. “Things are moving and evolving so quickly,” she said. “It’s a very delicate balance, trying to respect the tradition and legacy we’ve inherited over the generations, while trying to evolve it to be relevant today.

“It’s how you bring this startup mentality – this nimbleness in today’s environment – to a very established organisation and culture. It’s not easy. It takes a lot of messaging and communication, trying to explain that shared vision, and the purpose behind all of it.”

Convincing the rest of the hotel’s management team to let Jigger & Pony set up shop in the Amara lobby, for example, took “a lot of sensitive messaging, persuasion and delicate introductions”. Back in 2018, the impetus to change was not there but the cocktail bar’s success was a turning point, paving the way for the hotel to partner with other F&B operators.

Teo’s agility stems from her experience running Objectifs – Centre for Photography and Film in Middle Road as co-founder and director. She started Objectifs in 2003 with friend and fellow Wharton alumnus Emmeline Yong, and in the 21 years since, produced a community of visual arts enthusiasts across Southeast Asia.

When the idea for Objectifs was seeded, the local visual arts scene was just taking off. The co-founders knew that there was no time like the present, so they seized the opportunity. Today, the independent, non-profit space runs about 65 programmes a year, including exhibitions, talks and workshops.

Teo also shares that they will be launching an Objectifs Junior Lab in May. “With this Lab, we’ll be working with NGOs, the underprivileged, students with special needs and so on, to have more of a visual arts education available to them. We’re also doing art accelerators. For artists who want to hone their business skills, there will be more networking sessions, plus workshops on how to do arts applications and arts marketing.”