The X Factor

Nichol Ng, CEO of X‑Inc, co‑founder of The Food Bank Singapore and mother of four, is used to taking on a little extra. Tatler finds out what makes this feisty superwoman tick and how she keeps her many, many hats on

- Celine Tan

A cursory glance at Nichol Ng’s astounding portfolio and personal life, and the conclusion is clear: her schedule is impossible. This work and life cannot be balanced by a mere human being. This person’s plate is too full to take on something more, such as a magazine interview with both photo and video shoots.

But balance this work and life she does, and carve out time for Tatler Singapore she did, probably because Ng is just a little bit superpowered.

The 44-year-old runs X-Inc, an $80 million business with five subsidiaries across the food distribution, logistics and property sectors that was born from a small family business started by her grandfather in 1939, and which she and her younger brother, Nicholas Ng, helped reshape and reinvent in 2007. The siblings also started The Food Bank Singapore in 2012, a charity that collects food donations from farms, manufacturers, supermarkets and consumers that may otherwise be thrown out, and redistributes them to the needy. She’s president, too, of One (Singapore), an NGO that seeks to end poverty and raise awareness of issues such as climate change and inequality. On top of all that, she has roles in other NGOs and business organisations. And did we mention that she’s a funky, pink-haired, hands-on wonder mum to four young children, aged 10, 8, 6 and 3, and is considering a fifth child?