“More than a Chan-ce thing.“
Delivering above and beyond.
BHG Retail REIT (BHG REIT) was the first pure-play Chinese sponsored retail REIT listed on Singapore’s SGX mainboard as of its 11 December 2015 debut. Helming its operations is Chief Executive Officer, Chan Iz-Lynn who contributed to the establishment of the REIT Manager and helped spearhead the REIT’s listing.
Being the first Chinese sponsored REIT in Singapore, and the only REIT listing on SGX in 2015, BHG REIT managed to maneuver through uncharted territory and make many astute and critical decisions.
This is partly due to BHG REIT’s reputable and financially strong sponsor group, an astute property management and investment team; coupled with strong corporate governance practices and culture. This combination allows BHG REIT to keep up with the aspirations of their consumers, and stay ahead in order to fulfill current Chinese consumption upgrades and its ever evolving demands.
Recognizing the fact that being the first Chinese sponsored REIT, corporate governance and transparency is certainly a key focus, the team at BHG REIT continuously strives to stay on top and ahead of best practices. Their efforts have paid off handsomely, having had bagged two awards at The Global Good Governance Awards™ 2021 for the ‘Best Governed and Transparent Company (Silver)’ and the ‘Best Corporate Communications and Investor Relations (Platinum)’.
Chan, who holds a Bachelors of Arts in English from the United Kingdom, has also completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School; where she further honed her leadership skills. Chan was also the case protagonist in Harvard Business School Case Study “Iz-Lynn at Far East Organization”.
As the key executive responsible for establishing the REIT Manager, she was tasked with selecting the right people for her team, setting a common goal to achieve, understanding what works, and managing expectations of all stakeholders. Today, all aspects have managed to come together successfully, cohesively and with precision delivery.
As all its properties are located in China, BHG REIT has implemented a strong system, working closely with local China teams in terms of daily operations, internal controls, regular reporting and risk management.
Regarding herself as an inclusive leader, Chan strives to provide equitable and sensitive treatment to all staff, while instilling a sense of belonging and value, and providing the resources and support staff need to achieve their full potential.
As CEO of the manager of BHG REIT, she believes that much of her time needs to be put into strategizing, planning, prioritizing tasks, identifying roadblocks and communicating goals to key staff for execution. Chan constantly ensures that the team has clarity on key goals and milestones, deliverables, timeline, resource constraints and potential risk areas in executions.
Acknowledging that individual leadership styles are formed from a blend of personality, education and past experiences, Chan proudly embraces the power of diversity, and believes in appreciating different views, which may at times be conflicting, but may quite often help her to see things from differing perspectives.
A strong believer in continuous learning for her team, Chan regularly encourages her employees to accumulate their training and Learning & Development hours. BHG REIT often work with various partners such as KPMG, REITAS, SGX and the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), to provide relevant training to employees, especially in terms of corporate governance, corporate and industry best practices, investments and accounting.
On the CSR front, BHG REIT has long been involved with community initiatives both in Singapore and China, that impact the communities they serve in. Their recent collaboration was with
ItsRainingRaincoats, an initiative for the benefit of migrant workers, aiming to improve their lives in Singapore, and build bridges to strengthen their integration into the country’s broader community.
“From a Bachelor of Arts in English to the General Management Program at Harvard Business School, Chan Iz-Lynn is a beacon to women executives. Her understanding of the human condition, and her endeavors to understand, support and challenge her team speak of her multi-faceted abilities, especially when balanced by her business acumen and pinpoint accuracy of her read of the markets in which she does business in.”
Shanggari Balakrishnan, Chief Executive Officer, MORS Group
“In the fast-paced, volatile market that is the Chinese consumption pattern, it takes a person with a finger on the pulse of trends, an astute reader of global REIT patterns, and a savvy juggler of profit and people power to make a success of managing a REIT. Chan Iz-Lynn is one of the few who can show how it is done.”
Dr. Jayanthi Desan, Lead Jury, ACES Awards
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