Founded in 2002, Optimal Consulting Group has been a Hogan distributor since 2006. Headquartered in Singapore, Optimal has physical presence in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo, and serves the Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan markets. Optimal focuses on using Hogan to predict talent and leadership potential, for developmental interventions, and for successful team engagement.
Having sold 65,000 Hogan reports and certified 2,500 Hogan users to date, Optimal is a key distributor for Hogan in the Asia-Pacific region. Clients range across the public and private sectors and include local and foreign multinational corporations. Optimal helps them use Hogan for selection and promotion, succession planning and readiness, and predicting developmental gaps.
About the CEO
Wan Leng has served as Optimal’s chief executive officer since 2002. Educated in Kuala Lumpur and London, she gained rich consulting experience at Deloitte and Mercer Consulting before joining Dell as Asia-Pacific director, covering 10 countries, and later becoming global vice president for American President Lines, covering 50-plus countries.
As leader of Optimal, Wan Leng aspires to mentor Asia’s future social, economic, and political leaders. To date, she has assessed, coached, and mentored thousands of professionals and leaders, cultivated the potential of organizations and individuals for greater business success, and earned the respect and trust of top management in many leading organizations. A recognized expert in the HR industry, she frequently serves in an advisory capacity to boards, CEOs, and top HR professionals.
Her philosophy in life is “Be balanced: Work smart, play hard. Enjoy the moment, live the future. Optimize earnings, maximize giving. Embrace diversity, preserve identity. Be good to others, be good to yourself.”
Distributor Q&A
What do you think will be the fastest-growing industries in Asia over the next 12 to 24 months?
- Healthcare: medical devices and technology, and health and well-being services
- Technology: AI, smart robots, and assistive technologies
- Gaming: game-focused platforms and e-sports
- E-commerce logistics: online B2C
- Energy: renewable energy
- Food: farming and manufacturing
How do you see the lasting impact of COVID-19 in your markets? When do you expect full recovery will happen?
We are still in transit to our new era, as 2021 will pretty much the same as 2020. Assuming the vaccines curb the spread of COVID-19 by Q3 2021, we will begin to see the end of this transit period by end 2021. Hopefully by Q1 2022 we will be in a new era.
What should we expect from leaders in Asia in the coming decade?
In the last two decades, Asia has experienced high economic growth, low birth rates, and a quickly growing aging population. In the next decade, we will see younger leaders who have been fast-tracked into their roles. They will be highly ambitious (contrary to common belief), competitive, tech-savvy leaders, preferring to work as part of a team while pursuing individual goals (collective individualism). They are an information-overload and big data–driven generation and are likely to ditch social media (watch out, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn). They are also expected to be innovative and communicative. Above all, those who will stand out are those who are purposeful and have the right perspectives and priorities.