Taking Armstrong To The Moon & Back

When Phyllis Ong joined her parents’ company, Armstrong Industrial Corporation, in 2010, she was unprepared for the scope and scale of the thriving business. Now, a decade on, she opens up about steep learning curves, innovation and why the world needs more female leaders.

- Saskia Tillers

IN FOCUS

NAME: Phyllis Ong

COMPANY: Armstrong Industrial Corporation

POSITION: Group CEO

LOCATION: Singapore

Despite growing up around the family business, Phyllis Ong admits that she never had any intention of following in her parents’ footsteps. “I never thought I’d join Armstrong,” Phyllis tells The CEO Magazine. “Even as a kid, I was never involved in the business, and I didn’t understand what my parents did. I just knew it was something to do with foam and rubber, but I wasn’t really interested in finding out more. Of course, it was always an option to join the business, but my parents never expected us to. They were quite chilled out – they were happy for us to find out what we wanted to do.”

So instead, Phyllis forged her own path, totally separate to that of her family. She started out in business consulting, working for Arthur Andersen, before relocating to fastmoving consumer goods – the parent company of personal care brand Nivea – where she stayed for nearly eight years, doing brand management and operational work. In 2007, she was headhunted to join Johnson & Johnson as Regional Marketing Manager. However, after less than a year, Phyllis’s plans were thrown into disarray when she was presented with an unusual opportunity.