A day in the life of Klook’s SEA general manager

Day in the Life is a series where personalities in the Asian tech community recount what they do on a typical day. Read more from the series here.

My name is Chuan Sheng, CS for short. I am the general manager for Klook Southeast Asia.

I lead the team’s expansion across the region and oversee business development, strategic planning, and operations.

Klook general manager for Southeast Asia Chuan Sheng Soong

Prior to Klook, I used to be an M&A investment banker in Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong.

I’ve always been passionate about traveling, so after a number of years in finance, I decided to take some time off to travel the world. During this time, I met Eric and Ethan who were also bankers in Hong Kong. They were starting Klook, and they needed someone to help set up the Southeast Asia team. So being from Singapore, they saw a good fit in me.

This is what a day in my life looks like now.

Getting urgent tasks out by morning

My mornings vary because my travel schedule is quite hectic—about 50 percent of my time, I’m on the road across different Southeast Asian countries. We’re covered across Southeast Asia, with offices across Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh. So, a lot of my time is spent in each of these different offices.

When I’m in Singapore, I try to wake up early to go to the gym before work. It helps me wake up and get my day started.

On my way to the office, I’d grab a light bite or coffee along the way.

The first thing I do when I get to the office is hit my desk and browse through my emails.

The start is the most important part of my day because it basically helps me determine how I prioritize my to-do list and how I organize the rest of my day.

The priority for me is usually to tackle any situation that requires my feedback first, so that I don’t keep other people waiting for my input.

For example, as a GM, I have to ensure the smooth operations of the teams across different offices. So, some of these tasks could be administrative: picking the office locations or signing off on some of the renovation plans for our different offices. I spend a lot of my time on these recently since our teams are growing, and we’re moving into new locations.

Lunchtime mini-break and meetings

Evenings and winding down

Weekend work and travels

One piece of advice