CEO Interview

One common dilemma among supercar owners is that the higher the value the cars are, the more customised their insurance policies are. If a vehicle like Ferrari is peerless in its prestige, then so should its insurance be, after all. Ferrari Australasia recently addressed the need for such by introducing a first-of-its-kind service: its own insurance product.

After spending 15 years as a professional – and highly regarded – jazz pianist both in Singapore and on the international circuit, Peter Ng eventually started and settled down into his core property business in London. It was only when he found himself looking for somewhere to smoke a cigar that he conceived of, and then opened Robusto – the first incarnation of Maduro. The now beloved jazz, whisky and cigar club recently relocated to the Sofitel hotel in Sentosa, where Boulevard caught up with Ng over a Montecristo…

The workforce today is a far cry from the one Rosi Fernandez, managing director of La Prairie ANZ, entered some 25 years ago. “When I had my son, the workplace was not engineered to support working mothers. Juggling career and motherhood was challenging, to say the least,” she says. “I feel proud to see that this new generation of women is more assertive and comfortable.”

Today, like most Sydney suburbs within easy reach of the CBD and harbour, Rozelle has been thoroughly gentrified. Back in late ’80s, however, this inner-west enclave — considered since the early 20th Century to be one of the state’s most underprivileged, polluted areas — maintained a steely grip on its original unvarnished industrial character.

On International Women's Day, Boulevard had the privilege of co-hosting an exclusive luncheon at the private residence of independent art advisor and advocate Amanda Love. Esteemed clients were treated to a bespoke luncheon, as well as an intimate art tour of love's personal collection.

Set amidst the Kevin Roche-designed Millenia Walk mall, the lately opened Focal / Naim showroom represents the celebrated hifi brand’s first dedicated space in Singapore. Audiophiles are invited to immerse themselves in unbelievably crisp, rich and high-fidelity sound that blends superb acoustics with some of the most sophisticated audio systems around.

A first look at the flagship branded residences by Dusit International, which will redefine the hotel group’s landmark site in the heart of Bangkok.

A nondescript warehouse in Sydney’s Northern Beaches is not the likeliest HQ for a flashy new investment fund – and gives away few clues as to the riches within. Inside, it’s a different story: row after row of high-gloss, high-octane supercars fill the space, some on full display; most, tantalisingly hooded and double-stacked. It’s just one of three sites housing the luxury auto assets in Chrome Temple’s growing portfolio.

“The oldest family office in the world goes back over 19 generations. It’s the family behind Kikkoman – the soy sauce – and they’re going strong. There are no feuds, no scandals to read about in the papers. The family has lived by a carefully considered creed for hundreds of years,” says Kathrin Mutinelli, MD of Seventy-Two Global. “By contrast, because Australia is such a young nation, you don’t have those three, four, five generations of wealth. But it’s starting to take place as Australia enters a period of inter-generational wealth transfer. More and more families are starting to think about what to do with their money, how to preserve what they have built, and how to transfer it to the next generation.”

“We do have conversations about, you know, whether the Ju Ming is in the way of kids playing soccer,” says David Tsang, CEO of Pontiac Land Group, in reference to the Taiwanese artist’s imposing Taichi sculpture taking pride of place on the lawn at The Colonnade condo in Orchard. It’s not a problem many developers would spend time chewing over, but PLG is not your average developer.

“My superpower is bringing great design to life,” says Jaelle Ang, founder and CEO of premium coworking space The Great Room. It may not compare to x-ray vision, but Ang’s design-led approach favouring considered space-making and value-creation over sheer scalability has proven almost heroically prescient in an industry famed (and shamed) for growth at any cost. And with the launch of the brand’s ninth space (and first shophouse), on South Bridge Road, with two more on the way, along with their acquisition in 2022 by Industrious, the scale is taking shape.

BOULEVARD: Congratulations on the launch! It must be a thrill to see so many people out here – and a welcome sign of the growing interest in yachting coming out of Singapore.

The term 'luxury' is thrown around with remarkable ease, in ironic contradiction with the difficulty, typically, of producing a luxury product. The stunning new launch project Ode, in Sydney’s Double Bay, is a case in point.

The affluent customers of business jet manufacturer Bombardier are some of the most mobile people in the world. Nevertheless, despite being able to fly anywhere they wish on a whim, these jet-setters still typically have a place they call home. For more and more of them, that place is Singapore.

MB&F stands for Maximilian Büsser and Friends. Since its inception in 2005, from the moment the business name was registered, this watchmaker and purveyor of mechanical art objects has had collaboration at its core. Essentially, it’s a vehicle for founder Büsser to partner with individuals possessing specialised skills, in order to make innovative horological concepts and out-there inventions a reality.

Esin Güral Argat is the vice-president of the board at the Gürok Group, the Turkish conglomerate founded in 1948 and run by her family ever since. The company has interests in packaging, real estate, mining, roof tiles and construction, among other concerns. Entering the family business in the 1990s, Güral Argat quickly seized the initiative to build a start-up of her own within the company, LAV. Today, it’s the world’s fifth-largest glassware manufacturer, producing some two million drinking receptacles per day, while employing more than 2,000 people at its offices and factories.

One of the key responsibilities of a CEO is keeping their team motivated, engaged and inspired. The inspiration element is especially important at a brand like Bang & Olufsen, which is both a producer of state-of-the-art electronic equipment, and a company that makes beautifully designed, handcrafted objects. Boasting nearly 100 years of tradition, this is a business which, nevertheless, existentially depends upon remaining on the technological cutting edge.

One of Southeast Asia’s most respected start-up entrepreneurs and investors, Patrick Grove is best known for his involvement in a string of highly successful online businesses. So when this IPO panjandrum recently revealed that he’d acquired ultra-luxe Formula 1 afterparty organisation, Amber Lounge, it came as a bit of a surprise. Why the abrupt switch from mega-exit digital dealings, to decadent dance-all-night debauchery? 

The past few years have been difficult for the hospitality industry, to say the least. But for the proprietors of Nihi, an ultra-luxury surf resort on the Indonesian island of Sumba, one hour’s flight east of Bali, there’s been a silver lining to the restrictions on international travel. 

When you've mastered the full suite of mechanical complications – including an extraordinary phases of the moon dial complete with orbiting satellite – where to next? For Bovet 1822, it was a step back from engineering, and into art.

“Whatever it costs, it’s not a problem, as long as it’s something very special,” says Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, and without doubt one of the foremost names in luxury, in savoir vivre, in how to spend it. Müller-Ötvös is holding court in his Presidential Suite at Raffles, Singapore, ensconced in a private high tea and referring to the demands of his clientele for ever more extraordinary, and more personal cars.

Following several years of painstaking R&D, top British luxury shoemaker George Cleverley recently launched its first sneaker. With classic, minimalist lines, these handmade luxury ‘kicks’ are available for bespoke orders in an array of exotic hides — from crocodile to ostrich, lizard to kudu — plus a rainbow of colours.

Far from the sensationalism of stem cells and gene editing, ice baths and transfusions, the cutting edge of longevity is increasingly a question of data: your personal biological clock – and how to wind it back. Gerontologist and total medicine specialist Professor Andrea Maier has opened a new clinic, Chi Longevity, to discover who you really are, and how to antagonise your ageing process.

De Bethune is among the most innovative watchmakers in operation today. So it seems apt to ask the company’s CEO, Pierre Jacques, how he drives his team to remain inventive and inspired. Jacques deflects all praise in this regard to his partner in the business, De Bethune cofounder and master watchmaker, Denis Flageollet.

Normally, the chairman of a company will oversee the board of directors, help decide on key C-suite appointments, and at regular intervals, check up on a CEO to ensure a company is running smoothly and is financially healthy. Generally, the chairman is not a day-to day role, and the chair won’t be involved in the ‘nuts and bolts’ of daily business operations.

Singapore-based interior designer Elliot James Barratt gives Boulevard the inside story on a sophisticated sanctuary in South Beach Residences, complete with whiskey library and covetable walk-in wardrobe for two serious collectors.

During periods of economic instability such as these, many investors view art — like property — as a safe play. “In times of high inflation, blue chip, modern and contemporary art can often be regarded as a decent hedge. It holds value. We’ve seen that in many of the past cycles.” 

Producing and marketing fine wine requires a particular set of skills, blending science and agriculture, sober business savvy and Dionysian artistry. It follows that it takes certain special qualities to be the CEO of a winemaker – especially a winemaker as esteemed as Château Palmer.

“We’ve seen a tremendous change in business aviation usage,” says Jean-Christophe Gallagher, “pre- and post-pandemic.” Bombardier’s executive vice president of aircraft sales & defense appears to be invulnerable to jet lag, having touched down at 7 am that September morning after travelling halfway across the world from the United States – and looking none the worse for wear.

Singapore’s sublime new members’ club began in London, when founder and former banker Grant Ashton found himself with a wine problem. The dilemma was an overabundance of fine wines in his collection – and a desire to share it.