Singapore Land Authority chief finds life lessons in memoirs and business books

Who: Colin Low, 48, chief executive of Singapore Land Authority (SLA). He joined SLA in 2021 after more than 20 years in the private sectors of real estate and hospitality.

- Ong Sor Fern

SLA has launched a tender for three units at Chip Bee Gardens as well as two units at Gillman Barracks, which Mr Low hopes will attract bookshop and cafe concepts aimed at supporting physical book reading culture.

"I enjoy reading different genres, but tend to gravitate towards memoirs and business books and view them as life lessons as there is so much that one can learn from others. A lot of these books go beyond leadership and management topics. They are relevant and relatable to everyday life.

I am currently reading Why Startups Fail by Tom Eisenmann.

Reading is an important foundation to knowledge tangential to not only work, but also to life's various aspects. Conversations around books can build relationships and foster connections, and is something that I share quite fervently with our teams at SLA.

To inculcate this spirit of learning through books, SLA introduced a staff community-driven library in 2022, where we can contribute physical books, as part of efforts to foster a conducive environment for learning, self-improvement and growth.