Well, we started to see the results with the increased tourist attendance. So as I said, when we opened, it was 800,000. We dropped to 500,000. We plateaued at 500,000 a year. Breakfast at the zoo kicks in. And then over the next three to five years, our tourist attendant… Read More
And so that’s what we stuck with until we opened Night Safari. And then Night Safari cannibalized some of the tourists, but at the same time, it wasn’t so dramatic. And so it attracted its own set of tourists. I read about a million visitors a year. Read More
Sometimes they were old exhibits that we totally renovated. But we started off, I think the first exhibit that we started off was Cuban Islands. And then we went on to sea lions and every year something reptile garden. Yeah. Read More
When did you know or when did you start to think that your marketing ideas?… Read More
You started to make people think about Singapore is a world class zoo. Read More
Aside from wanting it to be the tourist attraction, were there other challenges you faced in turning the zoo from a local zoo to his and your idea of a world class suit?… Read More
Absolutely. Well, I think we didn’t particularly plan it to be a world class suit. I think we’re always pushed on the fact that it should be a local attraction. And so one of his great philosophies was that we must have a new attraction open on an annual basis. Read More
And so that’s what I was tasked with. I think that’s probably was my most important role that I did. I just kept pumping them out. And so I developed a team that we call it the creative design team. At its height, before I left, it had four architect,… Read More
Can you tell me, do you have a favorite story about him and possibly your relationship, one that makes you smile?… Read More
Not offhand, not offhand. I may think about something later, but not at the moment. So now you have the chairman support. Mm-hmm. He wants to build the zoo. Read More
He drove the zoo forward. He thought about it day and night. He just wanted to just get this thing. He was his baby. He wanted it to do well. He wanted it to be successful. He wanted it to be commercially successful. He wanted it to be the best… Read More
How to write reports. He really talked about how to write reports. (Bernard laughing) I’m not kidding. I do it tongue-in-cheek, but he really taught me how to write reports. It just relentless, relentless corrections, corrections. I thought you were gonna give me something philosophical. I think he taught me… Read More
Those were his goals. And so he pushed those and so I could see that was what he wanted to do, and so that’s what we did. And I could help tremendously by the development side, the design side. Read More
What would you say you learned the most from him?… Read More
Was it management style?… Read More
And so I started to understand that he’s actually all not bad. He’s actually quite a nice guy, but he’s just incredibly officious when he’s playing his role as chairman of the zoo. And so one has to, well, respected, of course, but I mean understand that’s the way the… Read More
Would you say he was your protector or would that be too stronger a word?… Read More
He took care of me. Protector is a good word. I would say he was also my mentor. I would say that I was the son that he had, but was not interested in the zoo. His son is to retired as chairman of Pricewaterhouse. Because we were the same… Read More
Suddenly, I see this guy who’s like so officious and suddenly standing up on his bench and shouting and applauding or telling them that they’re horrible. They should be kicked off the field. It’s just a whole new dimension to him that I hadn’t realized. And I think through those… Read More
We were staying at the Beijing Hotel, which is on Tiananmen Square. It was a beautiful old hotel where all the foreign correspondent used to stay. But it was still in the communist, very communist era when everybody’s wearing Mao jackets. And you go up to our floor and there… Read More