Soon after Eva Lee Kwok became the first president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) she became a target as a bitter strike swept the school’s campuses around the province.
Kwok was pilloried in the press and pressured by politicians, faculty and staff. At one point, union agitators dumped cow manure on her front lawn.
“I went to the union leaders and thanked them for the huge favour, because I now had a year’s worth of fertilizer for my garden,” Kwok recalled with a characteristic laugh. Such humour, she said, helped defuse the tension and bring the conversation to a human level.
Kwok, who received an honorary doctor of laws degree last year from Royal Roads University in recognition of an exemplary career in science and business, said her experience at SIAST proved a pivotal moment in a life that has arced from Penang, Malaysia, to the boardrooms of international business.
The challenge of dealing with unions, public expectations and the right-leaning Saskatchewan government of Grant Devine opened her mind to “big-picture thinking,” she said. “I learned the complexity of being a leader.”
She proved an apt student.
In the decades since, Kwok has become one of Canada’s most respected business leaders and an authority on Canadian and Asia-Pacific trade. She is an internationally recognized advocate for female leaders in business and for increased corporate transparency and governance.
Yet she can still recall a time when she was a timid young Malaysian girl sent alone to study in Australia. “All humans, whether 95 or 19, but I think especially women, have insecurities and fears, and that is OK,” Kwok said. “It is how you overcome them that matters.”
A graduate of St. George’s Girls’ School, she received her master of science degree in nutrition from King’s College London, University of London, England, in 1967.
Kwok, who now lives in Vancouver with noted architect and urban planner Stanley Kwok, her husband of 25 years, has served as chairwoman and CEO of Vancouver real estate and development firm Amara International Investment Corp. since 1992. She is the former president and managing director of Melcorp Mercantile Inc. and former vice-president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She has also served on the board for Air Canada (TSX:AC), the Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) and Shoppers Drug Mart, among other companies, and with the BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre and the Vancouver General Hospital Foundation.
Currently, Kwok is director of the Li Ka Shing Foundation of Canada, and on the board of directors of Husky Energy Inc. (TSX:HSE) of Calgary and Hong Kong-based multinationals Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. and CK Life Sciences International (Holdings) Inc. She travels extensively and admits logging late-night conference calls – even from her Mexico vacation home – as she stays connected with Asia, Europe and Canada.
Prior to accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award in Business in Vancouver’s 2016 Influential Women in Business Awards, Kwok provided three key pieces of advice to young women embarking on their own careers: have confidence, keep a sense of humour and “learn to take risks and to recognize the opportunity that comes with risk.”
“The No. 1 thing is to have confidence in yourself,” Kwok said. “Believe in your own gut.” •
Join us March 8th when Business in Vancouver celebrates the 17th annual Influential Women in Business Awards at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. For further information or to register for the event visit the events page at www.biv.com/events/iwib.
