The Human Touch

Whether she is working for her family’s property development business or on her new personal care brand, Carmen Ow is all about people.

- Lynette Koh

After graduating from Monash University with an arts degree several years ago, Carmen Ow could have joined her family’s property development company. But instead of making a beeline for the Clydesbuilt Group, started by her dad Victor Ow in 1983, she decided to work as a sales assistant at a friend’s boutique.

Explaining why she took up a job in fashion retail then, the affable and chatty 32-year-old says, “I like working with people and helping them pick out things that I think they might like. That job gave me a broader perspective on life and reinforced my belief that you should treat people like you’d like them to treat you, whether you’re a salesperson or a customer.”