Allan Tan

Learning & Development Director, Asia
+65 6779 5514
allan.tan@finnpartners.com

Professional Experience

I gained my marketing and communications experience with Singapore Airlines, Shell Oil and IBM. I started my working life as an aircraft engineer for Singapore Airlines; which probably explains why I still approach marketing and PR challenges the same way I’d tackle any engineering problem: 1) any challenge can always be logically deconstructed into smaller parts, 2) there’s a fix for each part if you look hard enough, and 3) you won’t know if it works until you test it.

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

– Gandalf, from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Fellowship of the Ring"

How'd you get here?

After years of working in large multinational companies, I came to the realization that three things were certain for cubicle warriors: meaningless meetings, mind-numbing minutiae and (eventually) death. So when my wife, Yin Ching, asked me to join her and try to make our own way in the world, I jumped at the chance – armed with nothing more than an engineer’s mindset, a love of the written word, and a desire to make a difference. Almost two decades on, we’re still together, still hustling and loving every minute of it.

Articles by Allan