Singapore-born Joanne Ooi took a degree at the University of Pennsylvania's law school before learning the garment business in China and becoming sales and marketing director for a French shoe designer. She later launched her own upmarket fashion boutiques in Hong Kong. She now runs a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to improving air quality.
How did you get into your role?
I never imagined working for an NGO, but I ended up at CAN [Clean Air Network] through a combination of serendipity and an enduring desire to influence people. Over the years, I had built up quite a Rolodex, credibility and relationships, and it seemed like a waste of my skills set just to keep on selling stuff. Attending the 'Air We Breathe' conference last year, it dawned on me that Hong Kong really needed a comprehensive community platform focusing on the issue of greatest concern to ordinary people - health. I then got involved with founding the organisation that became CAN, wrote a lot of the launch website and the board asked me to head it up. After some hemming and hawing, I went with my gut and just said yes.
Have there been any doubts?
Honestly, I've never been happier in my entire life. I'm one of those people who never get depressed - ever. Also, 95 per cent of the individuals and corporations we've approached have supported CAN, so how can I complain or feel low? Before making my decision, the issues I thought about were how to live on a drastically reduced salary and whether I was committing career suicide. But I resolved these questions to my satisfaction and quickly moved on with the job transition.
Has your experience in fashion, marketing and retail been useful?
One of the reasons I'm effective for CAN is because I'm from the private sector. I don't talk like a tree-hugger. Secondly, my marketing background has been indispensable in terms of creating momentum and lots of noise. We have to stretch every dollar, which takes ingenuity and all kinds of guerrilla tactics to get results, but I have taken this as a challenge and a way to buff my skills set.
