CEO works magic with fundraising

MS JENNIE Chua, 63, is the president and CEO of The Ascott Group, which operates an international chain of serviced apartments.

Prior to that, the hospitality graduate from Cornell University in New York was known as the 'empress dowager' of Raffles Hotel. As CEO and president of Raffles Holdings, she oversaw an empire with more than 9,000 employees and scores of premium hotels spanning 30 countries.

A divorcee with two sons and three grandsons, she has won multiple prestigious tourism and hospitality awards as well as this year's Public Service Star.

Two grandmas inspired her

AS A teenager, Ms Jennie Chua used to spend one day of the week serving food and entertaining old folk at Wesley Methodist Church in Fort Canning.

She has a soft spot for the elderly, and credits her two grandmothers with inspiring her to do charity work.

The eldest of 12 children of a nutmeg and clove businessman and his second wife, she lived in the lap of luxury until age 10, when her father lost his fortune.

Giving during past downturns

1 Asian financial crisis in 1997

It was the only time in the ComChest's 25-year history that it failed to meet its goal, raising just $35 million of its targeted $39 million.

'The crisis hit us from out of the blue, and there was no precedent so we did not know how to react,' recalls Ms Jennie Chua, who was then helping to raise funds for ComChest on an ad hoc basis.

'When times are bad, it is more difficult for people to open their wallets because their capabilities are lower or they are keeping cash for their own use, or a combination of both.'

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