'Great personal sacrifice': This Singaporean corporate high-flyer lauds parents' role in her global success
Ms Jessica Tan has led major insurance firms in China and Canada, with an interest in eldercare services and helping retirees live well. She has worked to improve career progression for working mothers as well.

Ms Jessica Tan (pictured) is president of insurance and financial services company Sun Life Canada. (Photo: Sun Life Canada)
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When Ms Jessica Tan was growing up, money was tight and the whole family including her two sisters slept on a queen-sized bed in their Ang Mo Kio two-room flat.
She could hardly have imagined back then that one day, she would be the head honcho of a major financial services company, living in a swanky apartment overlooking the Toronto city skyline in Canada.
After years of hard work climbing the corporate ladder, with a long stint in China, the recently installed president of insurance and investment firm Sun Life Canada was listed as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine in 2021.
To reflect on this stellar rise, Ms Tan joined me on a Zoom call at 9am her time recently, with a red-patterned scarf draped over her neck to keep out the Canadian chill, nails painted red and wearing other scarlet accessories.
As I took in her appearance, with hair in a neatly combed bob and wearing light makeup, I was immediately struck by one quality that she exuded above all else: Power.
“I have to leave promptly at 10, so I can only do an hour maximum,” the busy 48-year-old Singaporean said.
I expected nothing less from the woman who previously called the shots of China’s largest insurance company Ping An Group, which has a market capitalisation of S$152.07 billion (US$111.14 billion).
Now over at Sun Life Canada, the company serves 12 million clients, which is more than a quarter of the country's overall population.
Ms Tan graduated from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning two Bachelor of Science degrees and a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science with a perfect grade point average.
Soon after graduating, she remained in the United States to launch her career at the consulting giant McKinsey & Company in 2000. Then, she spent 11 years leading Ping An Group in China and moved on to Sun Life Canada just three months ago.
Ms Tan said that this was meant to be “chapter three” of her professional and personal life.
She wanted to explore the large North American market and dedicate more time to her two teenage daughters who will soon both be on the continent to further their studies.
The move to Sun Life Canada came after more than a decade of living apart from her family. With her husband and children back in Singapore, she flew back every weekend from China to spend time with them.
While her husband will be remaining in Singapore, her younger daughter is now studying at a Canadian high school. Her older daughter will also soon be flying over to begin college in Canada or the US this year.
A SINGAPOREAN CHILDHOOD
Ms Tan's wild success belies her humble roots back in Ang Mo Kio. She studied at the now-defunct Kebun Baru Primary School, before her excellent grades took her to CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School and then Hwa Chong Junior College.
The junior college has since been renamed to Hwa Chong Institution.
Her parents were Malaysians who came from big families and did not have a lot of money. And yet, they made sure that she secured the best opportunities.
“My father had the opportunity to go to the US for his work attachment as a semiconductor engineer with Texas Instruments. He saw that the US was very different, very entrepreneurial. And so he wanted us to experience that working culture,” she said, speaking with an American twang.
He encouraged her to reject a scholarship in Singapore so that she could have the option to work in the US upon graduating. The scholarship would have obliged her to work here.
However, this meant that the family had to find ways to fund her expensive tertiary studies.
Her father renounced his Singapore permanent residency and quit his job so that he could withdraw money from his savings account with the national Central Provident Fund to pay for her school fees and living expenses.
“It was a great personal sacrifice," she said. "It was hard for me, too, because I had to take odd jobs while on campus such as working at the computing help desk and library.”
However, Ms Tan emphasised that she is grateful she followed her dad's advice to pass on the scholarship because she enjoyed studying and working in the US, and the experience shaped who she is today.
Her parents also did the same for her two sisters who later went to the US as well. The need to constantly support one another meant that her family is extremely close despite being spread out across different countries.
She said: “These are strong familial bonds. I also teach my daughters in the fourth generation that this is what you have to do to look after the whole family.”
Ms Tan’s experience made me reflect on how I took it for granted that my parents paid for my university education and I made a mental note to thank them after my interview.
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Ms Tan's 2013 move from McKinsey & Company, where she had been a consultant in its Chicago office, to Shenzhen-based Ping An Group marked a major leap forward in her corporate profile.
“I chose to join a Chinese firm, as opposed to a multinational company, because I believed I could have a bigger impact.”
She rose to the rank of group co-chief executive officer in 2018, after joining the firm as its chief information officer and chief operating officer.
And quite an impact she made. During her 11 years there, Ping An Group grew from serving 80 million clients to 230 million and moved beyond providing just financial services.
Ms Tan spearheaded the integration of eldercare services into banking and insurance. Given China’s rapidly ageing population, she said that there are many retired parents who have to live by themselves at home during their silver years.
With lifespans improving, many retired adults would still have two decades or more to live, she added.
Seeing an opportunity, she and her team curated a suite of healthcare services that can be delivered at home, including a dedicated butler and online family doctor to whom clients may approach around the clock.
The company also created retirement centres with recreational and rehabilitation facilities to “provide the best in senior wellness and set a new benchmark for eldercare in China”, she said.
“Within three years of rollout, we got 200,000 families to sign up. And that to me is impact. It excites me very much.”
Now at Sun Life Canada, she hopes to help Canadians out in their retirement years as well, guiding them to achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives.
“I believe a great leader must have something that drives them. It’s not about making more money. Any person with a master’s in business administration can do that.
“It’s why you are doing this. This difference will create a real impact on clients and the community. You have to do something worth it and that you enjoy, so you will have a fulfilling time. That has been my leadership style throughout my career.”
She added that at McKinsey & Company, she chose projects that resonated with her and that she knew she could be proud of them. She did the same in China and now in Canada.
WOMEN IN THE CORPORATE WORLD
In gender terms, the likes of Ms Tan are still relatively rare at the very top of the corporate tree.
Women occupied only 8.2 per cent of CEO positions in companies on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in 2023, based on a report by global non-profit Catalyst that helps build workplaces that support women. The index comprises the largest 500 listed companies in the US.
As a woman at the top of the corporate ladder, Ms Tan acknowledged that workplace practices in many sectors tend to be male-oriented and not conducive to diverse environments.
She recalled that in her previous roles, taking maternity leave might have affected someone’s chances of promotion because they have to perform well “for two to three years consecutively”, but having a child disrupts that timeline.
So when she became an executive, she adjusted some processes to waive that gap when evaluating an employee’s performance.
As for her own experience, Ms Tan said that she had had great support from her bosses while having her children. For example, she worked for a spell at McKinsey & Company's Singapore office to better facilitate family life.
To all ambitious young women in Southeast Asia, Ms Tan advised them “to have a higher purpose and passion”. She said that they should not box themselves in no matter what they do.
She cited herself as an example: Even though she works in financial services, she expanded her work to also encompass healthcare and technology. “Find what you are passionate about and work hard for it.”
She also encouraged young women to have a global view in terms of their careers.
She stressed that it is not just about working hard, but also having wider knowledge of what the world is like.
“You would know how different industries, different people work. Having a global view allows you to put things into perspective and gives you the confidence to be able to engage with anyone on any topic,” she added.
“It also makes you a better and empathetic person, so you’re able to understand what matters. I think that is particularly important because even though Singapore is a small country, we’re globally connected and in this world, everything is connected.”