CONFIDENT ALL-ROUNDER

Dr. Lee Ville, New Bob Group

“Life is too short to be who you are not. Just be yourself is something that the dapper Dr. Lee Ville believes in. He was only in his teens when his family ventured into the property development business. “My father would always bring me to construction sites to see the various stages of progress. It’s great seeing ideas on plan come to fruition and turn a piece of vacant land into the building of your designs,” says the group director of New Bob Group. Thought he first started off as a medical practitioner, Lee could not part with his passion for the property industry. This self-reliant leader keeps himself updated about the fast moving industry by attending seminars or forums regularly and the occasional study tours to sites outside of Penang at least once a year to get ideas. When asked about time management for balancing it all, Lee says, “There isn’t enough time in the day for me. From the book 7 Habits of Successful People by Stephen Covey, he says it’s important to do what is important now instead of what’s urgent. With such a key management role in the office, everything seems urgent and needs to be resolved immediately. The only way to get more time is to empower your leaders around you. This way, I spend more time doing what’s important for the company.” But his life is not all about work. As a father and loving husband, Lee gives his undivided attention to his family as well. Having been actively involved in Rehda Penang  since 2010, he eventually met the Rehda Youth executive commitee and has been part of the youth wing since then. Lee shares, “It’s great being together in a group with like-minded peers whereby we can learn from each other. When I first started, it was really a steep learning curve for me. By joining Rehda Youth, ideas and advice are just a phone call away. Collectively, we are able to bring the industry to the next level.” Always making it his business to learn, Lee wants to know more about green developments and hopes to one day transform Penang into a sustainable city.