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SINGAPORE - Unlike someone leading a public agency, the chief executive of a private company cannot dodge responsibility and "kick the ball away".
That, to CapitaLand head honcho Liew Mun Leong (picture), is one fundamental difference between heading an entity in the private sector compared to one in the public sector.
In other words, a firm's chief executive officer has to find some way to "score" - solve whatever problem his company is facing - because stakeholders and shareholders will only look to him for an answer, he said.
Mr Liew, who spent 22 years in public service - rising to become the head of a statutory board - before plunging into the private sector 20 years ago, was speaking at the Charles Rudd Distinguished Lecture last night as part of National Engineers Day organised by the Institution of Engineers Singapore.
His one-and-a-half hour talk touched on the highlights and lessons learnt from being a civil engineer in the Defence Ministry, building Changi Airport and heading the statutory board Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research - now part of SPRING Singapore - before going on to head one of Asia's biggest real estate companies, CapitaLand, 16 years ago.
Citing his experience in his first private sector job as chief of L&M Group, Mr Liew, 66, said shareholders wanted to pull out their bonds just two weeks after he joined the company because of the financial difficulties the firm was in then.
He had to, and managed to, convince them not to do so.
Leaders in the public sector, however, never have to be in the firing line, said Mr Liew, because ministers, not permanent secretaries or heads of statutory boards, will handle everyone from the public and the press to the regulators.
Another difference, he added, was in leadership style. Instead of using authority or hierarchy, leaders in the private sector had to use persuasion and motivation to earn respect.
Mr Liew pointed out that his years in the public sector helped him succeed in the private sector. For example, it taught him to be highly disciplined and to deliver under pressure - like helping to build Changi Airport in five years as a fresh-faced engineer.
Civil servants are also "brainwashed in integrity", he quipped, which the corporate world values highly.
As a chief executive whose tenure far exceeds the norm - American firms' chief executives typically stay on the job for about five to six years - Mr Liew said the secret to building a successful, long-lasting company is to invest in people.
Referring to how CapitaLand weathered the "perfect storm" soon after its inception in 2000 - the bursting of the tech bubble; Sept 11 attacks; Iraq war; the two Bali bombings; and Sars - Mr Liew said his mantra was: "If I have the right people with me, I'm not worried about any crisis."
Mr Liew, who announced that he will step down in June next year, said he does not believe in retirement.
Instead, he will go into a "not-in-employment" phase and continue helping the Changi Airport Group, which he chairs, as well as helping other companies in an advisory role.
He is also in talks for lecturing gigs with several universities and plans to write a book on his career.
That, to CapitaLand head honcho Liew Mun Leong (picture), is one fundamental difference between heading an entity in the private sector compared to one in the public sector.
In other words, a firm's chief executive officer has to find some way to "score" - solve whatever problem his company is facing - because stakeholders and shareholders will only look to him for an answer, he said.
Mr Liew, who spent 22 years in public service - rising to become the head of a statutory board - before plunging into the private sector 20 years ago, was speaking at the Charles Rudd Distinguished Lecture last night as part of National Engineers Day organised by the Institution of Engineers Singapore.
His one-and-a-half hour talk touched on the highlights and lessons learnt from being a civil engineer in the Defence Ministry, building Changi Airport and heading the statutory board Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research - now part of SPRING Singapore - before going on to head one of Asia's biggest real estate companies, CapitaLand, 16 years ago.
Citing his experience in his first private sector job as chief of L&M Group, Mr Liew, 66, said shareholders wanted to pull out their bonds just two weeks after he joined the company because of the financial difficulties the firm was in then.
He had to, and managed to, convince them not to do so.
Leaders in the public sector, however, never have to be in the firing line, said Mr Liew, because ministers, not permanent secretaries or heads of statutory boards, will handle everyone from the public and the press to the regulators.
Another difference, he added, was in leadership style. Instead of using authority or hierarchy, leaders in the private sector had to use persuasion and motivation to earn respect.
Mr Liew pointed out that his years in the public sector helped him succeed in the private sector. For example, it taught him to be highly disciplined and to deliver under pressure - like helping to build Changi Airport in five years as a fresh-faced engineer.
Civil servants are also "brainwashed in integrity", he quipped, which the corporate world values highly.
As a chief executive whose tenure far exceeds the norm - American firms' chief executives typically stay on the job for about five to six years - Mr Liew said the secret to building a successful, long-lasting company is to invest in people.
Referring to how CapitaLand weathered the "perfect storm" soon after its inception in 2000 - the bursting of the tech bubble; Sept 11 attacks; Iraq war; the two Bali bombings; and Sars - Mr Liew said his mantra was: "If I have the right people with me, I'm not worried about any crisis."
Mr Liew, who announced that he will step down in June next year, said he does not believe in retirement.
Instead, he will go into a "not-in-employment" phase and continue helping the Changi Airport Group, which he chairs, as well as helping other companies in an advisory role.
He is also in talks for lecturing gigs with several universities and plans to write a book on his career.
