LILY KEW, FOUNDER & CEO

"We believe that being beautiful is an expression of one's personality, self esteem and the liberty to live life to its fullest. The element of beauty persists when every form, thought and expression is celebrated" - Lily Kew, Founder and CEO of GLOW International®.

A firm believer in holistic beauty, Founder and CEO of GLOW International®, Lily Kew sees that the essential element of beauty exists in every form of thought and expression. A living testament of true embodiment of her belief and the GLOW brand, Lily is a powerful combination of beauty and brain, showing that it is no mean feat juggling multiple roles and wearing many hats in between managing her business, providing beauty training to institutions, playing an active role in Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Franchising and Licensing Association and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as occasionally contributing her thoughts and insights to The Business Times and SME Inc.

Looking at how many people often comment that she looks 10 years younger than her age, one would ever guess that Lily boasts over 10 years' experience in the beauty industry – and thanks to her effective beauty treatments!

The daughter of former body-builder Kew Vian Shak 72, Lily has observed a healthy regime from a young age, as well as maintained her philosophy of respect for self and the body. "Beauty is not simply skin-deep, it starts from your state of mind where your thoughts are birthed. It is not who you are, but who you think you are which will bring you to who you are."

Life for Lily did not start out all smooth. In her younger days, Lily was plagued by a very severe acne condition. Driven by a personal desire to improve her problematic acne condition, Lily's journey into the world of beauty began at Top to Toe College of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, the most established beauty institute in Singapore. She went on to win the 'Best Thesis' and 'Best Performer' awards there.

In 2000, Lily graduated from the college with the highest diploma available in the beauty industry certified by CIDESCO, the world's most prestigious qualification in the field of aesthetics and beauty therapy.

Lily then enrolled in Dominelli International College of Esthetics in Canada, where she also won the 'Best Student of the Year' award in 2002. Upon her return to Singapore, Lily worked as a beauty therapist and trainer for Leonard Drake, Dermalogica, Dr Haushka and Aesthetics Marketing.

While Lily worked for others, her entrepreneurial spirit grew stronger. It sprouted from a desire to help people who were plagued with skin problems and could not afford the expensive beauty treatments that most salons were offering.

Hence in 2004, Lily decided to set up her own beauty business offering effective yet reasonably priced treatments. She had designed a series of soothing and curative face and body treatments tailored to each individual's condition and her treatments proved so effective that she opened her second outlet only three months after her first. Today, Lily channels her passion towards building the GLOW™ brand.

Despite her busy schedule, Lily has found the time to become a qualified People's Association and Institute of Technical Education-certified beauty industry trainer. She certainly enjoys sharing her knowledge with others, having taught at the Universe Beauty Institute. A strong advocate of healthy eating habits, Lily also completed a Holistic Nutrition course by Health Management International.

Lily's expertise has been called upon by the media, who interview her for magazine features from time to time, as well as radio interviews on 938LIVE and Love 97.2FM.

An astute businesswoman, Lily is also a member of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Franchising and Licensing Association and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Occasionally, Lily also contributes her thoughts and insights to The Business Times and SME Inc – a testament of beauty and brains in a nice package.

 

BOYZ LIM KANG LING, GENERAL MANAGER

With nearly 18 years of experience in the Retail, Training, Healthcare, Fitness & Wellness industry; of which 12 consecutive years in People Management & Business Developments, Boyz Lim now spearheads the business operations, rebranding campaign and restructuring plan at GLOW International®, as the General Manager. He is responsible for strategic planning and corporate development of the GLOW brand locally and in the region. Boyz' wealth of experience in building, managing and leading dynamic teams during his 18-year career in consumer brands prove to be an asset to GLOW.

At GLOW, Boyz plays a key role in performing and executing strategic business analysis to ensure that overall operations are conducted effectively and efficiently. Additionally, he is also responsible for identifying and evaluating potential business opportunities from both a financial and strategic standpoint, and making recommendations to forefront specific directives to achieve GLOW's corporate objectives and goals.

Besides having acquired his Marketing and Retail Training skills from the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) and Marketing Institute of Singapore (MIS), Diploma in Leadership & People Management (WSQ-LPM), Boyz is also a Certified Internal Auditor for ISO-9001 and qualified internal auditor, certified by Neville Clarke.

Boyz's 18-year career anthology includes specialised roles in several SME companies such as OSIM International, Lifebrandz and most recently, Amore Fitness where he was Deputy General Manager. Among his various responsibilities there, Boyz spearheaded Amore Fitness' restructuring plan and rebranding campaign, which contributed to the company growth FY2005 – FY2010. Beginning as a Frnachise & Corporate Planning Manager in May 2004, Boyz was soon promoted to Head of Corporate Planning & Development in September 2005, and later to Deputy General Manager in 2008, where he managed the Corporate Development, Sales & Operations, HR, Marketing, and IT Department, with 20 Heads of Department and Managers under his leadership.

Under his effective management, Amore Fitness experienced an average annual growth of 25% consecutively from year 2004 – 2009, despite the economy downturn in 2008. During this time, Boyz also led the ISO project (2004), and received the Singapore Prestige Brand Award accreditation (consecutively for 3 years from 2004 - 2007), fore fronted the Amore Women's Day Out (with Singapore Sports Council) 2003 – 2010 and Re-branding campaign for the company (2009).

Boyz continues to lend his dynamic leadership, project management, interpersonal, strategic and critical thinking skills to grow the GLOW brand and company, envisioning an immense level of development for company for the coming future.

 

LYDIA KEW, DIRECTOR & CFO

Seeing how focused and determined her sister Lily Kew had been when she developed a flawless complexion from her own acne-marked skin through intensive study on beauty in Europe, Canada and America, Lydia Kew came on board to join Lily in her business at GLOW. Lydia was confident that the investment would turn out well after Lily's tried and proven self-developed beauty treatments proved successful and soon evolved from her start as a sleeping partner in 2004 at the age of 46, to become an active co-owner for GLOW International in 2008.

Lydia Kew is the CFO of GLOW International®. Armed with an impressive financial background, Lydia holds the purse strings at GLOW™ and is responsible for directing operations and driving strategic planning.

Lydia's stellar 22-year financial career spanned a number of specialised roles at prestigious firms such as Deutsche Bank (Senior Officer in fixed income trading and sales), SG Warburg, ABN AMRO Bank (Vice-President, Fixed income division) and Landesbank Baden Wuerttemberg (Portfolio Management of Treasury and Capital Markets). This included a 6-year stint in Hong Kong where she was seconded to Deutsche Bank Capital Markets, with a portfolio that involved the syndication, trading and sales of fixed income, derivatives and money market instruments. The 47-year-old financial wunderkind's corporate journey culminated in the esteemed honour of being voted Astute Bond Investor by The Asset Magazine in 2006.

Lydia then decided to leave the corporate world and channel her financial aptitude towards building a business with her sister, Lily Kew. Together, they make the perfect team as Lydia's expertise in finance and business complements Lily's passion and in-depth knowledge of the beauty industry.

Lydia's responsibilities include spearheading strategic projects that have enabled the company to grow steadily and organically in the last seven years. Till this day, Lydia regards GLOW International, without a doubt, as the best investment that she has ever had, with a steady growth of 25-30 percent per annum. Plans are underway to explore franchise inquiries that GLOW has received.

A life-long learner by nature, Lydia holds a Masters of Science in Applied Finance from the National University of Singapore and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Demonstrating her commitment to the business, she has also obtained a Certificate in Spa Services from Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ).