Queen Of Kingsland

Originally intent on becoming a broadcaster, Shann SOk has instead parlayed her bold gut instincts into taking her family real estate business to new heights. The entrepreneur speaks with Lionnel Lim

- Lionnel Lim

CHARMING AND GROUNDED, Shann Sok is not your typical CEO. She sets you at ease immediately and is personable. She is no-nonsense and is always up for a challenge.

Early for our lunch appointment at The St Regis Singapore, her first sentence is, “Would you like to have a glass of wine with your lunch? I am ordering one for myself”. Immediately I feel a connection with her. Anyone who likes a tipple during lunch has my vote.

Hair pulled into a braided ponytail and with immaculate makeup, Sok looks every part the stylish lady-who-lunches in her navy sheer netted blouse, black tailored pants, sky-high stiletto heels, complete with a white croc leather handbag. She is svelte and energetic. There’s nothing to suggest that she’d just given birth to her third child about four months ago. She has two older children aged seven and six. Except that she is also the group CEO of Kingsland Development Pte Ltd, her family’s business that oversees projects in Singapore and other parts of the region.

Kingsland Development was founded in 1974 by her father, Sok Hang Chaw, who is now its chairman. Apart from commercial properties, Kingsland has grown into a sophisticated and innovative multi-sector real estate developer in Asia, with a core business portfolio that includes the development of high-tech data centres (build, own and operate), commercial and retail spaces, industrial parks and facilities, and even hotels and resorts throughout Singapore, China, Malaysia and Cambodia (like the Lumiere Hotel in Phnom Penh).

Some 26 years into the business, Sok Senior had a health scare. Sok realised she would have to join the business as soon as possible, so she could start learning the ropes.