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Our Consultants
 
 
Our highly professional consultants are mature (all 40 plus in age), experienced (all of them held senior management positions previously) and committed to excellence (Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) title awarded by the International Franchise Association based in Washington DC; Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and Practicing Management Consultant (PMC) title awarded by the Institute of Management Consultants and the PMC Board, recognized by the various government agencies).
Albert Kong is the CEO/Managing Director of Asiawide Franchise Consultants Pte Ltd, Asiawide Business Consultants Pte Ltd and Asiawide Trends Pte Ltd. The consulting business has been operating in Singapore since 1989. Under Albert’s leadership, the company has helped more than 400 companies in Asia to develop their business concepts and expand their businesses. Albert is amongst the first handful of Asians to be awarded by the International Franchise Association (IFA) the Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) title. He is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), and Practicing Management Consultant (PMC) and is an active council member at the Institute of Management Consultants, Singapore(www.imcsingapore.org).

Albert also serves as Honorary Secretary of ISCOS (www.iscos.org.sg) which helps ex-prisoners adapt to their new leash of life outside the prisons.

In recognition of his expertise, he has been invited to speak at franchise seminars in the USA, Spain, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, N.Z, Indonesia, Philippines, Mongolia, Kuwait, Vietnam, Cambodia and India etc. Practicing what he preaches, Albert expanded his business network by sub-franchising it to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. His brainchild Asia Franchise & Business Opportunities (AFBO) was launched on 28th March 1994. Albert was a member of the Franchise Services Advisory Committee at the STDB 1993 – 1997. He is an executive committee member of the Franchising & Licensing Association - FLA (since 1994) and was a member of the Steering Committee for Global Franchising ’97. He currently serves as Chairman for International Development. He is also a PAP Member, Kampong Kembangan Branch. Albert previous positions include: General Manager (Marketing) at a subsidiary of a listed company; Group Marketing Manager at The Hour Glass Ltd (a public-listed company); Manager, Key Accounts & Manager, Service Establishments, & other positions, at American Express Intl. Albert also holds the rank of Captain in the Singapore Armed Forces.
 
Christopher Tay Peng Chua has been a Director of the company since its inauguration in November 1993. Originally trained in accounting and auditing in the early 1970s, he joined The Hour Glass Ltd as Operations Manager, taking charge of its retail expansion operations for several years. He later joined a diversified company dealing with high fashion products and accessories until 1993, when he became Managing Director of a global trading company. In 2002, Christopher began participating in franchising projects and has since, together with fellow senior consultants, been actively consulting with clients from different industries.
 
Clarence Nah (General Manager / Resident Consultant) was the second most senior guy in franchising at Kinderland Educare Services Pte Ltd during the period 1995 - 2000. He was involved in policymaking, strategic planning, marketing and many aspects of its franchising operations, as Kinderland is a franchise pioneer in this region. Prior to this, Clarence was AVP at OCBC, in charge of the Admin Department. He served in various management roles at OCBC 1988 - 1995. Clarence worked on an e-enabling project, an events-management project before joining the parent company Asiawide Trends. Over the past few years, Clarence was instrumental in completing several projects: e.g. Wheels For Fun and Body Contours, and he has worked on Pasta Fresca Italian Restaurant, Face Of Man (beauty), Roti Buana Bakery (Indonesia), Siam Kitchen, Perlini’s Silver (retail), and many other cases. As General Manager, Clarence’s management abilities are clearly recognized by our entire worldwide network and clients as he superbly juggles his time with clients and other company-related work (e.g. support to our overseas offices, and the training of consultants, etc.) He has completed the requirements to become a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) in March 2005 and he is also a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and Practicing Management Consultant (PMC).
 
Lam Yuen Foong is the most senior Senior Consultant with the company. Equipped with 2 diplomas—both in Electrical & Engineering, and Industrial Engineering, Lam was employed as Head, Corporate Development at Nikko Electronic Toys Pte Ltd 1987-1990. During his tenure he set up the 5 acre factory in Penang, Malaysia, was in charge of R & D and was also instrumental in setting up the S$7 million Warehouse System. He later joined Transtech Electronics Pte Ltd as Head of Dept for Business/Corporate Development and set up a joint-venture company with a Japanese firm. He later went on to set up 3 other factories and traveled widely to Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia for other possible ventures for the company.

In 1993, Lam became a franchise/business consultant for Kurnia Family Centre Pte Ltd. He then, end 1994, became its Director and Senior Consultant under the name Kurnia Management Services Pte Ltd. When he was there, he completed several franchise projects in the childcare, transport, toy retail and restaurant industries. After joining the Company in 1995, Lam had led and completed close to 80 projects in the F&B, employment services, fashion, furniture, medical, retail, education, beauty and several other industries, a number of which were carried out overseas. Examples include Thai Village, XiaoTianEr (ChongQing, China), San San (Ningbo, China), Sanur Indonesian Restaurants, Roti Buana Bakery (Indonesia), Pasta Fresca, Siam Kitchen, Perlini’s Silver, Australia World Schools, etc.
 
Jerry Ow Poh Siong joined the Company as Associate Consultant in January 1999. A Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Sciences-Economics (with Honours 2nd Upper) graduate, he was a career Singapore Armed Forces officer for almost 20 years, reaching key appointments as Commanding Officer of the 169th Battalion of the Singapore Infantry Regiment, Head, Training & Doctrine Branch, HQ Infantry and other appointments before opting to retire early with the rank of Major. Jerry was then immediately employed as General Manager, Econ Nursing Home Services (1987) Pte Ltd, which, with Jerry playing the key role, later became the first nursing home franchise in Asia. He was also General Manager, TMI Technologies Pte Ltd, a related company of Econ Nursing Home. Jerry also spearheaded Econ's ISO 9000 Quality System project and was invited as a Judge for the government's 4th National Quality Circle Convention in 1994. Since 1995, after joining the Company, Jerry has been involved in several key franchise events in the world: e.g. the Int’l Franchise Exhibition in Washington D.C., the Franchise Asia show in KL, the Asia’s Premier Franchise Seminar, etc. He was key consultant for the Art@Domain project, Five Foot Way Café, Primadeli & Prima Taste, Tea Chapter, Nation Employment, Character Montessori, Noodle Hut and other projects.
 
Christine Rovina Cheung holds a Bachelor Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. In 1984, she was posted to the Westin Galleria-Dallas, USA and subsequently, the Westin Plaza and Westin Stamford in Singapore. She was one of the pioneers within the management team with key responsibilities over the setting-up, operations and staff training for the Canton Garden & Se Chuan Court Chinese Restaurants in the Westin Plaza as well as the renowned Compass Rose Restaurant and Lounge in the Westin Stamford.

Christine Rovina Cheung joined the Company as Associate Consultant since early 2003 and her areas of specialization are in franchise consulting as well as CaseTrust accreditation services. Christine has over 16 years of management experience. She has completed the requirements to become a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) and she is also a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and Practicing Management Consultant (PMC).

Christine has been directly involved in the franchising business since 1995 as Manager in Crestar Holdings Pte Ltd, Crestar Learning Centre and ELFA Learning Centre. She was one of the three-team members for the Crestar franchise development project in 1995. Having worked closely with IE Singapore (formerly known as TDB) and Spring Singapore (formerly known as PSB), Christine was instrumental for the Franchise Development Scheme for Crestar Learning Centre and subsequent launching of Crestar Franchise in Singapore & Overseas. Prior to her employment with Crestar Holdings, Christine was the Central West Zone Head for Yamaha Music School and directly responsible for the operational and financial performance of 3 music schools.
 
Helen Jieu began her career with the Company in 1993 as Project Executive, and throughout her first four years, until October 1996 when she was about to become a mother, she was involved with several major consulting projects like OSIM (then called R SIM), Fun World (owned then by KenAir), EPB, etc. Helen also oversaw the smooth running of several training courses conducted for clients, especially in the organizational development area. She re-joined the company a few years later on a project basis, whilst looking after her daughter. Her knack for details also contributed to the successful launching of the inaugural and subsequent editions of the Singapore Franchise Directory (published with the support of SPRING Singapore and IE Singapore and FLA). Helen is currently involved with several projects in F&B, retail, education and services sectors.
 
Mei Lin worked in the financial advisory industry soon after obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from the prestigious Brigham Young University- Hawaii U.S.A . She has gained considerable administrative and management experience from her many working years.

So as to expand her sphere of working experience, Mei Lin underwent a full year diploma course in Early Childhood and taught at Kinderland for close to a year before being appointed as Business cum Office Manager at Hanlin Language School for a good 3 years.

Mei Lin joined Asiawide Franchise Consultants Pte Ltd in 2007 and has already started on a few Case Trust projects. She is very meticulous and is a good listener thereby winning the trust of clients and colleagues who work with her. Mei Lin’s analytical and problem-solving skills, plus her strong verbal and written communication skills in English and Chinese are key strengths which make her a strong consultant.
 
Loke Ho Yong joined the Company as Associate Consultant in February 2007 and brought with him lots of valuable business experience to bear. He pursued a career in Sembawang Shipyard Ltd (1970-1999) and served in senior management positions as Production Manager, Personnel Director, Technical Director and General Manager (Technology). As Personnel Director (1983-91), he played a major role in developing HR policies and recruiting managerial manpower to support the Shipyard’s business expansion and diversification into the region in the 1980s. In his various other senior appointments in the Shipyard, Ho Yong made major contributions in productivity and service quality improvement through training, process innovation, application of technologies and R&D. As General Manager (Technology) (1996-99), he served as project sponsor in the successful implementation of SAP R/3, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) information management system. He spearheaded the Shipyard’s ISO 9001 Quality System and served as Management Representative of the Quality System. He was also instrumental in winning the Singapore Quality Class award for the Shipyard.

In 1999, Ho Yong joined Society for the Physically Disabled, a voluntary welfare organization, as its CEO (1999-2003), where he applied his business experience in establishing best practices and control procedures to ensure service excellence and good corporate governance.

A Colombo Plan Scholar, Ho Yong graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Naval Architecture (with 1st Class Honours) from University of Strathclyde, UK. He also possesses a Master of Arts (Southeast Asian Studies) and Master of Social Sciences (International Studies) from the University of Singapore. He received the Public Service Medal (P.B.M.) for his public service in the Social Service sector.
 
Yvonne Seah is the Associate Consultant/Trainer with the Company. She has 15 years of extensive working experience in the travel and tourism industry, holding management positions in marketing, product development and contracting. With her wealth of experience in the service sector, Yvonne has helped many frontline staff upgrade their customer service skills and communication skills.

Yvonne is a consultant and trainer for Han's Café and Cake House in its Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) programme under the auspices of Spring Singapore. Yvonne is also an accredited trainer for the Employability Skills Set (ESS) programme and Certified Service Professional programme (CSP) and she has experience designing and developing customer service and communications related modules.

As a trainer, Yvonne has consistently received very positive evaluations from participants because of her firm belief in using a wide variety of methods to engage learners and enable practical application of learning. A versatile bilingual trainer, Yvonne can deliver training programmes in both English and Mandarin.
 
Joyceline Ng is in charge of administration and secretarial work. Our vast library of over 1500 franchise companies’ literature, our international offices’ correspondence, maintenance of the web pages, stationery, exhibition materials, etc require a dedicated person like her to help ensure that our consultants achieve the highest productivity possible. Joyceline has been with the Company since 1993. She believes firmly that only when our clients succeed, then we can consider ourselves successful.
 
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