From KFC waitress to one of world's most influential chief marketing officers

Chris Leong still keeps in touch with the bosses who mentored her, something she is now doing for the next generation

- Wong Kim Hoh

There is a Chinese saying, yin shui si yuan, reminding one to never forget the water source when one drinks.

It is probably something Chris Leong, 54, takes to heart. She still keeps in close touch with all the bosses who have mentored her over a remarkable career spanning nearly four decades.

Ms Leong cut her teeth waiting tables in a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet in Kuala Lumpur, but is now the chief marketing officer (CMO) for Schneider Electric, a global digital automation and energy management company. She is one of 50 on the 2022 Forbes World's Most Influential CMOs list.

In between, she was a feted advertising and marketing professional working for agencies including Bates and Ogilvy not just in Singapore and Malaysia, but also Hong Kong and London.

Prior to joining Schneider - voted the most sustainable company in the world out of more than 8,000 corporations in 2021 - she was telco Nokia's senior vice-president for Greater China, Japan and South Korea.

She credits mentors who gave her opportunities for her stellar professional trajectory.

"Throughout my entire career, there have always been different people. It's not like one godfather sitting there and helping you but different people telling me, 'You should try this, you should try that, and mentoring and guiding me."

A self-starting nature, coupled with her work ethic and an innate impulse to give everything she undertakes her best shot have also propelled her to the top.

It is not a little ironic that Ms Leong is now working for an energy management corporation, considering her background. She grew up in Air Panas, a small town outside Kuala Lumpur, in a kampung where there was no electricity and running water.