The path to authentic leadership requires balancing ambition with legacy-building—something Dr. Amy Lee has mastered throughout her remarkable career journey. From her early days as an accountant to becoming a CFO, and now transitioning into academia and creative writing, Amy shares how accountability and integrity have remained her North Star.
"I think I'm in my sunset career now," Amy reflects, explaining her shift toward teaching and publishing poetry after 30 years in finance leadership. This thoughtful pivot reveals a profound understanding that true success extends beyond climbing corporate ladders to building meaningful legacies. Her self-published work, "Amy's Journal," showcases how even the most analytical minds can find creative expression.
What makes this conversation particularly valuable is Amy's perspective on Australia's business relationships across the Asia-Pacific region. She articulates the "identity crisis" many Australian companies face—geographically positioned to partner with Asian neighbors while politically aligned with Western allies. This tension creates unique challenges for entrepreneurs looking to expand regionally, with trust emerging as the critical currency. "How do you build that trust?" she asks, highlighting the paradox entrepreneurs face: "How do you show results when you have no money to show results?"
For listeners navigating today's rapidly changing business landscape, Amy offers a refreshingly grounded view of technology. Comparing AI to the invention of calculators and microwaves, she emphasizes that while tools change, critical thinking remains essential. Her advice to maintain balance—"the yin and yang is so true"—provides a powerful framework for decision-making amid chaos. Whether you're an aspiring CFO, entrepreneur, or leader seeking greater purpose, this conversation offers both practical wisdom and inspirational guidance for creating a career that matters.
Find out more and visit our website: https://www.cubicpromote.com.au/
Episode Transcript
Hello guys, welcome to the Qubit Promote podcast.
Today I'm joined by Dr Amy Lee.
She's an accomplished executivewith more than 15 years of
leadership experience acrossfinance governance and
entrepreneurship in AsianPacific region.
So tell me more about you Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hi everyone, I'm Amy.
It's a pleasure to be on theQubB Promote podcast.
Just a little bit about myself.
I am an accountant by trade, aCPA qualified.
I'm a CPA for 30 years now, ofwhich 15 years were fellowship.
That's the highest rank in theCPA membership.
A few or five years ago I kindof converted into an academic.
(00:42):
So I got a doctorate inbusiness administration with
Geneva Business School over inSwitzerland.
Yeah, impressive, Is that good?
They just got anotheraccreditation in Switzerland.
I'm proud to be their alumni.
Yeah, so I'm a lecturer now.
I'm teaching MBA seniorlecturer.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Amazing, yes.
So when you look back at yourearly years, is there a clue you
would sit one day at anintersection of finance
governance and entrepreneurship?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
CFO as a role is always my goal, like ever since
when I was in year 10, I want tobe a very good accountant and
when I did some research, cfo isalways the ultimate side being
a partner of a firm, but that'spublic practice, so my path is
mainly in the internalaccounting.
So you rise up the rank from amanagement accountant, finance
(01:32):
manager, financial controller,director of finance, which I
have been and then CFO is thekind of like the last step when
you reach the pinnacle of yourcareer.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Great, amazing.
What's one personal valuethat's guided you through every
role you've taken?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I think it's accountability, yeah, and being
an accountant, we are trained tohave integrity, accountability
and governance.
I think I'm very transparent,very honest, and I think these
are the traits that have beenwith me all along, yeah, and I
think these are the traits thathave been with me all along.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Amazing.
You've been a CFO, a founder, aboard member, a lecturer.
Which of these roles haveshaped you the most, and why?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Well, now it's really much about teaching and passing
on my knowledge to the nextgeneration or whoever wants my
knowledge and my wisdom.
I think I'm in my sunset careernow.
I'm in my 50s and I thought whydon't I leave something behind
and I'm building my legacy?
And so this is shaping into whyI'm doing what I'm doing
writing books, writing poetryand, yeah, just going to that
(02:41):
academia, literature kind ofarena.
So being a poet, is that yourway of being creative?
Yes, just going to thatacademia, literature kind of
arena.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
So being a poet, is that your way of being creative?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yes, I used to be an artist many years ago and I used
to do sketching.
So now that I've becomeacademic and I have always been
a poet ever since I don't knowwhen I learned English and I
just found it's like a puzzle.
And you don't need to worryabout grammar and I'm terrible
at grammar.
So writing poems is just my wayof distressing and, you know,
(03:11):
kind of like give my opinion onthe world and the news and
current affairs around me.
And so I self-published it onAker as well, slowly, but I sold
a few.
It's called Amy's Journal.
Yeah, so check it out guys,amy's Journal from the library
of Dr Amy KW Lee.
(03:31):
Just doing a bit of effort.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yeah, for sure.
So, from finance to teaching,advising entrepreneurs, do you
see a common thread tying it alltogether?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, I think the art of practicing the leadership is
very important.
We all know how to manage, likemanaging resources, and we
train managers, so that's given.
But what makes them differentor how they differentiate
themselves in a career, isreally really in the leadership.
There's many types ofleadership.
I mean you can be charismatic,you can be transformative and of
(04:04):
course, you know thetraditional types of leadership.
I mean you can be charismatic,you can be transformative and of
course, you know thetraditional type of leadership.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
But at the end of the day, you helped companies to
expand to Asia and to Asia.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
What I tell my students is that you've got to
develop that and whether you'rean entrepreneur, whether you are
, should we be part of the AsiaPacific in C-suite role or go
into that role, like you know,with alignment with Singapore,
hong Kong or even China, or evenday-to-day life, you've got to
learn how to make the rightdecision.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Yeah, totally makes sense.
So industry insights what's thebiggest misconception
Australians have about doingbusiness in that region?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I think Australia has a kind of like identity crisis.
Just the culture?
Or should we say no, no, no, weare Pacific, we are the Pacific
Oceanic, whereby we align withNew Zealand, us and the UK.
So geographically it's moresensible to align with the Asian
country, it's just sensible.
But politically we have toalign with the US and the UK.
(05:13):
Yeah, it makes sense.
Yeah, it's just sensible, youknow.
So that's historic, so it'sreally hard, it's a bit of a….
Speaker 1 (05:21):
So many entrepreneurs struggle with financial
discipline.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think Australia is going through an identity crisis
in terms of business politicsand we are moving towards
multiculturalism and diversityand inclusion, which is good.
But yeah, we've got to havebetter alignment alliance.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yes, A little bit more of a concept.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yes, Based on geography, it will be a wise
move.
I'm so wise.
It makes sense if you work withthe Asian country.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yes, totally so.
What's one of the blind spotsyou see again and again?
Trust you have to build trust.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
It's really hard to get people to give money to you
and let alone have thatreassurance that you know your
money is not going to go into ablack hole, like you know,
science, technology but how doyou build that trust?
So you've got to show result.
But how do you show result whenyou have no money to show
result?
So that's the challenge inentrepreneurship, or in any,
(06:20):
whether the business is alreadyestablished or not, you have to
show your credentials and youneed time.
Obviously you still need todevelop that mindset and
resources, but at the end of theday, it's trust.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Totally makes sense Not play with AI.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yes, it's the how not the?
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And with AI and automation, changing finance and
strategy, what skills do youthink future leader?
You can't if you use this as atool.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
really needs to succeed.
Well, a lot of people wastalking about stem, educate, um
and all the other acronym thatdeal with it.
But I don't know.
I think um, I mean it plays arole, like science, mathematics,
technology and engineering allplays a role.
It's still technology, but, um,I think you still need that
(07:11):
critical thinking, um, criticalthinking, and I think people
need to teach the nextgeneration how to use ai, what
or the why, and not relycompletely.
This is no different toinvention of a calculator.
Yeah, true.
But except that this one isbigger, broader and more faster.
But it's the same conceptreally.
(07:32):
It's the same concept as theinvention of microwaves.
Comparison yeah, stilltechnology, right?
So you don't?
I mean, yeah, the microwavewould place certain meals, but
at the end of the day, it's toenhance your lifestyle.
Yeah, and we need to see that.
Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, we should definitely, yeah, get more
education on how to use allthese tools, and with DBA,
there's so much hurdles.
So what's been the toughestprofessional challenge you've
faced and how did you pullthrough it?
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Oh, the hardest is during the DBA and the MBA the
education side to complementyour career, I know, yeah.
So what a story.
Another story, another podcast.
Yes, you get to a point whenyou realise that you need to do
more education to go further.
I am ambitious, so I do gofurther, and the way to get me
(08:30):
there really is education.
Well, I think for me it'seducation.
It's rewarding at the end, butit's a lot of work, a lot of
work.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
I bet it is.
Some people are more streetsmart than me.
I'm a book smart, so I justplay my strength.
But study is not easy,especially when you're working
full-time.
You get home, you're tired andyou still have to bring out a
book or you have to write a 20000 30 000 word essay.
It's not easy.
(08:59):
I have my paper been stolen.
It's sitting in a university inkenya at the moment.
Oh really, yeah, has alreadygot some review, and the review
all have a common theme is thatit's come from my yeah, so I had
to rewrite again 40 000 wordsand you get a lot of challenges.
But on the other hand, is thatyou learn a lot.
(09:20):
You have different mindset,yeah, um, you have that blue
ocean thinking, so yeah, If Iask your students or clients to
describe you in three words whatdo you think they would say?
They say I'll be authentic.
They know I'm passionate in thethings that I do, whether it's
teaching, accounting or businessin general.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
If a young entrepreneur or professional is
listening to this.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Honesty, integrity is something that they will
comment.
My book, actually Amy's Journalit's come from my soul and that
honesty, that authenticity,yeah, it's there.
And I thought, wow, I didn'texpect to see that kind of
reflection from people who werereading my journal.
(10:07):
It's a really good feedback, Iguess.
Yeah, I just didn't expect themto say, oh, it means really
really like heart to heart, soit's user heart Really good,
because over time I startedusing my brain a lot and I was
like a little teen man in theoffice with the boss, but now I
think I've learned to have aheart, so I'm using my heart in
(10:29):
my business.
Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
So anything and once you follow a path, like one
piece of advice you would givethem.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Balance.
I think I'll give them a word,which is, rather than a sentence
, is balance.
Keep everything the chaos thatwill inflict on you in balance.
The yin and the yang is so true.
The Zen thinking is very, veryapplicable, especially when
you're in the middle of a chaos.
That in itself, in such avolatile world that we are in,
(11:00):
we have to anchor something.
Think about that.
We have to anchor ourselves sothat we're not swept away from
all the chaos around us, and thebest way to do that is to keep
a balance in everything in life,in perspective, in power and
the way you make a decisionwhat's the advantages?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
what's the disadvantages?
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Many, many years when I was the president of the Hong
Kong Australian BusinessAssociation.
Charles has been a long-timesupporter of our organization
and they are doing a great jobat printing my books at the
moment.
Amazing.
So what happened is I won ahard copy and no such printer,
and it's a good one too, verygood one.
They have been very supportive.
(11:43):
I know nothing about publishing,I know nothing about printing.
I know nothing about printing,and that's how I met him and he
does all the merchandising forus and we are grateful for his
support and his patronage.
And Charles, as a businessmanand as a friend, I learned a lot
from him and he has a veryunique perspective in business
(12:04):
and a self-made, successful man,a businessman, and something
that I still need to learn fromhim.
And, yeah, so he has been greatand he's very supportive.
And then I just nipped from theAmazon book and I said this is
what he looks like.
And then they did their magic,so it's been fantastic.
Going back to my Englishjournal, he introduced me to a
(12:24):
printer.
Yeah, it's been good, yeah, andthey loved it they loved it
amazing, he's very resourcefulyeah, very good.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
What exactly do you print with?
Um, oh, I print my hard copy ofbook, my book, what's the most
thoughtful brand gift you everreceived and one that really
stuck with you.
Available in Australia.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
And I asked Charles and I said to Charles, do you
know any printer?
And he said, yeah, I've got youone when I left HSBC and they
have been the backbone.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Really great.
And what kind of merchandiseare you doing with Cupid Promote
?
I?
Speaker 2 (13:00):
just got the cap.
I just ordered some caps fromthem very quick.
It was very nice.
I got it as a gift from one ofmy friends who also wrote a book
and a podcast I'm a promoterhere too.
It's called Epic Execution byDavid Keeney, and I got him an
orange cap with a rocket, andyour designing team has been
(13:21):
fantastic because it was asurprise gift.
Yeah, I really appreciate that.
So and so, yeah, so always,tiffany from then on has always
stuck in my heart.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Yeah, so I don't have the artwork, other than a
powerpoint, maybe christmaspresent yeah, anyway, thank you
so much for being with me and umanswering all my questions yeah
this was dr amy lee, and, um,yeah, we're, and we are coming
to the end of the podcast andthank you for listening guys.
(13:50):
So, um, I have one extraquestion okay, brand gift.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Uh, it will be my tiffany keering.
When I left my graduate job athsbc um, it was many years ago,
almost like 30 years ago.
I know it's a long time, butTiffany just arrived from New
York and they were Chifley Tower.
No one knew that brand exceptthe Asian, of course and the
(14:15):
team knew that I love Tiffanybecause I've been going to
Tiffany and they bought me a keyring with a little plate and
the plate saying that if youfound these on the street,
return back to New York andwe'll go back to the founder.
So it's their way of sayingthat, amy, we don't want to let
you go.
If you lost, come back to us.
(14:37):
So that was very momentous.
Such a nice gift.
Yeah, it's very momentous.
She has a lot of appreciation,beautiful.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Nice gift.
I haven't received a.
Yeah, it's very momentous, justa lot of appreciation.
Beautiful, yeah, that's good.
Yeah, I haven't received a giftlike that.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Oh well, you're not leaving chippewa for a long time
, so otherwise I'll hint atcharles, all right, and yeah,
thank you so much.
See you later.
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.