A Harvard alumnus and founder of Verity Consulting, Sandy is an award-winning advisor, educator and active contributor in industry, academia and community. Sandy earned her PhD (2003) specialising in digital commerce and global business communication. With over 15 years of experience leading international growth projects regionally and globally, Sandy is the winner of Asia’s Top Sustainability Women of the Year, 2019 Women Economic Forum’s Exceptional Women of Excellence Award, 2017 USA Stevie Awards for Women in Business, 2016 Singapore Management Consultant of the Year, and 2015 Curtin Alumni Award for Community Service.
An accredited advisor by government agencies that promotes international trade in Singapore, Sandy is a certified Expert Management Consultant by TÜV SÜD, Germany, and Senior Practising Management Consultant by Singapore Business & Consultant Council. Sandy is known to devise sustainable strategies for client’s pursuit of international growth. She trains and advises executives across private & public sectors on international market strategy, leadership branding and strategic alliances. The biggest impact of her work has been successfully achieving stakeholders buy-in, elevating client’s equity and attracting funding for expansion.
A strong advocate for education and economic empowerment, Sandy dedicates her time and expertise in mentoring female entrepreneurs and youth start-ups internationally. Appointed as an advisory board member for a female-led start-up in Silicon Valley, she serves as an International Mentor for the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, the AUSTRADE’s Women in Global Business (WIGB), and CRIB incubator for female entrepreneurs in Singapore. Sandy’s passion in connecting businesses with philanthropic activities has seen her raise funds for the UN Women, Special Olympics and Homeward Bound for Women in STEMM.
Sandy also serves in numerous ambassadorial roles for the Australian Harvard Women in Perth, the Inspiring Rare Birds to promote female entrepreneurship globally, the Valuing Children initiatives (VCI), and the GameChanger Award to promote STEMM education.
The first Asian to be appointed to the Board of the WA Indigenous Tourism Council (WAITOC), and the first Asian Woman to be elected as the President of the United Nations Association of Western Australia (UNAAWA), Sandy was most recently awarded by the Governor of WA the 2020 Australian Community Citizen of the Year Award for her contribution in social impact locally and abroad.
Prior to leading the consultancy practice in Singapore, Sandy earned a tenured academic position at Curtin University, heading teaching and research programs locally and internationally in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Germany, and USA. Her passion in bridging learning experience with students of diverse and multicultural backgrounds has won her teaching award at the University for “Promoting Internationalization of the Curriculum & Cross-cultural Understanding”.
As Chief Investigator of government-funded research projects, Sandy has led multidisciplinary teams from the Queensland University of Technology, Vienna University of Economics & Business, and University of Muenster in the areas of innovation adoption, cross-country contracting, public-private procurement, strategic alliances and business process management. As an active participant in industry-linked research projects, Sandy has also served as an Industry Chair of the WA Business Process Management Roundtable for the Community of Practice between 2005 – 2007, won the Best Speaker at the IEEE Conference 2005, and served on review board for Discovery Projects as an Expert of International Standing nominated by the Australian Research Council (ARC) College of Experts, 2007. She has given keynotes at international conferences and organisations such as Harvard Business School, Yahoo, SunMicrosystems, and various industry peak bodies in Singapore and Australia.
Sandy is a member of the Marketing Association of Australia (MAA), Australian Computer Society (ACS), and the IGI-Global Journal Review Board. Her work can be found in more than 40 publications on marketing communication, information systems, supply management, global business management and public policy journals.
