Cynthia Chan — CEO

I’ve rewritten my story more than once, often in rooms where I didn’t quite belong. - I was one of just two Chinese students in my school growing up. - After university, I worked with the U.S. Air Force in a deeply male-dominated environment. - By 29, I was appointed Head and Chief Representative of a leading international design firm, overseeing its operations across China. - Later, I became the first Asian woman on the leadership team of the world’s largest project management firm. From there, I led revenue, strategy, and expansion across North Asia, eventually overseeing full P&L and business operations across Asia. Over the years, I’ve lived in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and now Singapore. And through it all, I’ve built teams, grown businesses, and delivered results in some of the world’s most complex, high-pressure environments. But the most meaningful evolution hasn’t been in titles or geographies - it’s been in how I lead, and why. Today, I work at the intersection of organizational transformation and identity evolution. At Catalyse, I lead Singapore’s only consultancy dedicated to workplace harassment and systemic culture change, a role that demands both operational excellence and deep cultural strategy. Through The Rewrite, I coach high-achieving professionals through leadership inflection points, career transitions, and identity redefinition. Many arrive after the restructuring, before the next step, or deep in a role that no longer feels aligned. What they often need isn’t more strategy. It’s a new story, one they own. My approach blends executive coaching, strategic insight, and psychotherapy-informed practice to support not just performance, but self-authored growth. Currently training as a psychotherapy practitioner, I draw from multiple therapeutic frameworks - including cognitive-behavioral techniques, narrative approaches, and person-centered therapy - to guide clients through emotionally intelligent, action-focused transformation. If you’re navigating your own turning point in career, identity, or leadership, feel free to connect or reach out: 📩 cynthia@cynthiaychan.com _________ ✍️ Pick up the pen. Welcome to #TheRewrite.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a leader in organizational transformation and architectural design.

Location: Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Experience: 21 yrs 9 mos

Skills

Organizational Development
Leadership
Executive Coaching
Leadership Development
Strategic Planning
Business Development

Career Highlights

First Asian woman on leadership team of a global firm
Led revenue and strategy across North Asia
Expert in workplace harassment and culture change

Work Experience

Catalyse

Managing Director (3 yrs 2 mos)

The Rewrite Lab

Founder + Psychotherapy-Informed Leadership Coach (3 yrs 11 mos)

Space Matrix

Regional Managing Director, Asia (1 yr 2 mos)

Regional Managing Director, North Asia (2 yrs 11 mos)

M Moser Associates

Director (8 yrs 9 mos)

Jones Lang LaSalle

National Director, Head of Shanghai Project & Development Services (5 yrs)

Education

Master of Counseling at Monash University

Graduate Certificate of Counselling at Monash University

Bachelor of Architecture - BArch at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Bachelor of Building Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Cynthia Chan

CEO

Singapore, Singapore, Singapore21 yrs 9 mos experience

Highly Stable

Key Highlights

First Asian woman on leadership team of a global firm
Led revenue and strategy across North Asia
Expert in workplace harassment and culture change

Stackforce AI infers this person is a leader in organizational transformation and architectural design.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Organizational DevelopmentLeadershipExecutive CoachingLeadership DevelopmentStrategic PlanningBusiness Development

Other Skills

Business Relationship ManagementEnterprise Solution DesignExecutive PresenceMotivational SpeakingBusiness StrategyFacilitationPublic Speaking TrainingTrainingHuman Resource DevelopmentClient ServicesDiversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI)Workplace Violence PreventionWorkplace OrganizationTraining FacilitationGrowing Businesses

About

Experience

21 yrs 9 mos

Total Experience

5 yrs 11 mos

Average Tenure

3 yrs 11 mos

Current Experience

Catalyse

Managing Director

Mar 2023 – Present · 3 yrs 2 mos · Singapore

Catalyse is Singapore’s leading consultancy on workplace harassment and discrimination. We support organisations through prevention, policy, training, investigations, and leadership development.
As the consulting, training, and coaching arm of AWARE (Singapore’s foremost advocate for gender equality), we bring interdisciplinary expertise across organisational development, HR, psychology, and legal practice. This rare blend allows us to tackle harassment and discrimination with both rigour and empathy.
Our 360-degree services include diagnostics, policy and procedure drafting, trauma-informed training, investigations, facilitated conversations, and coaching. We meet organisations wherever they are in their cultural journey.
Rooted in evidence and shaped by lived realities, our work draws on 16 years of engagement with survivors, alleged perpetrators, first responders, corporates, governments, and non-profits.
From frontline teams to the C-suite, we help build cultures that are Respectful, Inclusive, Safe, and Empathetic (RISE).
To date, Catalyse has made an impact in over 23 countries across 6 continents.
Because safe workplaces aren’t optional.
They’re foundational.

Business Relationship ManagementEnterprise Solution DesignOrganizational DevelopmentLeadership

The rewrite lab

Founder + Psychotherapy-Informed Leadership Coach

Jun 2022 – Present · 3 yrs 11 mos

The Rewrite is for high achievers in motion. Those moving up, across, or out, who know how to execute but not always how to realign.
I work with senior leaders at inflection points. After the promotion. Post reorg. Deep in the pressure of leading when everything is shifting, but nothing can drop.
These are high-functioning professionals who have delivered outcomes, built teams, and held it all together.
But privately, they are asking, “Is this still mine?”
My approach blends executive coaching, strategic insight, and psychotherapy-informed practice.
It is not therapy. And it is not life coaching.
It is structured reflection that helps you reclaim clarity, navigate political complexity, and lead with alignment and performance.
You are in the right place if:
You survived a reorg but lost influence
You are seen as reliable, but not as a key decision-maker
You are delivering outcomes but not shaping the narrative
You are navigating politics but do not want to play the game
You have outgrown your leadership style, but cannot show it at the top
You are pivoting, transitioning, or asking what is next and want control, not just clarity
📩 To inquire about 1:1 coaching: cynthia@cynthiaychan.com
✍️ Pick up the pen.
#TheRewrite

Executive PresenceMotivational SpeakingExecutive CoachingLeadership Development

Space matrix

2 roles

Regional Managing Director, Asia

Promoted

Apr 2021 – Jun 2022 · 1 yr 2 mos

In less than two years of overseeing the North Asia region, I led the full integration of a newly acquired local firm, aligning people, systems, and strategic direction to meet the company’s ambitious financial goals. I elevated our capabilities to serve both international and large-scale national clients across China, established a new office in Beijing, and launched a remote design hub in Prague to support growing demand.
By the end of that period, we had increased gross profit by 278%, expanded square footage coverage by 152%, and redefined our market positioning, resulting in a 319% surge in business leads since the acquisition. The scale and speed of this transformation led to my promotion from leading North Asia to overseeing the full Asia region.

Organizational DevelopmentBusiness StrategyStrategic PlanningBusiness Development

Regional Managing Director, North Asia

May 2018 – Apr 2021 · 2 yrs 11 mos

M moser associates

Director

Jul 2009 – Apr 2018 · 8 yrs 9 mos

Spearheaded the company towards projects focusing on embracing interactive technology with creative designs. Successfully delivered the first Innovation Center in the world for GE, beating Calgary, where it was ceremonially opened by Jeff Immelt, Chairman of GE; subsequently designed and managed numerous Innovative and Experiential Centers for GE and other similar progressive clients in China.
Other noteworthy accomplishments include growing one particular account from a local project for an international bank into a global account reaching different parts of the globe. It led to 14 projects in India, 1 project in Singapore, 3 projects in New York, and 1 project of 320,000 sq ft in Hong Kong, in addition to different cities across China. The Hong Kong project, a record en-bloc office transaction in Hong Kong's history was awarded on the basis that I relocate to Hong Kong, and it ultimately won AIA's highest Honor Award for excellence and sustainability.

Jones lang lasalle

National Director, Head of Shanghai Project & Development Services

Jan 2004 – Jan 2009 · 5 yrs

In less than 4 years, successfully expanded the department from a single division unit to four divisions covering large-scale retail roll-out, hotel development, complex industrial expansion, commercial high rise, and corporate campuses, achieving the second highest revenue generating department within PDS in North Asia. Accomplishments include completing JLL's first 5-star Hotel project in Shanghai, the first medium high-rise retrofit project of 42 stories in Chengdu, and rolling out 1200 stores across China under intensive speed for a multi-national brand. Received the Ovation Award for Best Employee Coach five years in a row.