Leading A Bold & Brave Future

What makes a leader truly successful is the intention behind the vision. Eena Houzyama chats with Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina, the founder of Enfiniti Academy of Musical Theatre and Performing Arts, and Yap Mun Ching, the executive director of AirAsia Foundation, to learn about the driving force behind their leadership.

- Eena Houzyama

Honestly, sitting down with two brave and bold women took some nerve on my part, as I was in awe of both their achievements and vast experience. Although they come from different industries, they’re both visionaries who strongly believe in achieving what they set out to build. I’ve followed Tiara’s journey for years now, inspired especially by her gung-ho spirit when it comes to shaking things up in the world of performing arts. With Mun Ching, whom I’ve only recently discovered, I instantly connected with her mission of supporting social enterprises. As women who walk the talk, I was eager to learn as much as I could from them about leadership.

SHAPING CREATIVE MINDS

For Tiara, her childhood experience in the arts led to the creation of a performing arts academy. As she rose up in the industry as a performer, she came to understand the need for an academy where budding talents could learn and flourish.

“When we did Puteri Gunung Ledang in 2006, we realised we wanted it to be a musical, but there were no actors who could sing and dance, and no singers who could act. We had to train everyone from scratch – getting in teachers to teach singers to act, and actors to sing and dance. And the industry just grew from that, because this first batch we trained went on to perform in almost all the musicals you’ve seen in Malaysia. We decided that this needed to continue, and we had to start from the school level, because being creative just changes you as a person. It opens you to new ideas and makes you think beyond the box.”