About

‘Looking back at my career, I believe my biggest personal achievement is having built up a strong, capable, dedicated, effective and conscientious team,’ says Ginney Lim, reflecting on her 20 years heading leading Asia news portal SPH’s legal function. ‘To me, the biggest challenge is how to manage people well, whether it be those who report to me, my peers or my bosses’. During this period, SPH’s core business has diversified from traditional print media to include broadcasting, new media and even areas such as property. Lim handled SPH’s REIT IPO in 2013 and became a non-executive director on its board. She also played key roles in the IPO of AsiaOne, SPH’s internet arm. Her other achievements included Singapore CableVision and Starhubs’ 2002 merger; MediaCorp and SPH’s merger in 2004; SPH Magazines’ 2004 acquisition of Blu Inc Group; and the 2012 acquisition of ACP Singapore, which brought key women’s magazine titles, including Cleo and Singapore Women’s Weekly, to SPH. As some sign of her deep entrenchment in the organisation, Lim’s professional remit stretches far beyond that of a typical GC. She manages 24 staff across all corporate secretarial, legal, risk, insurance and corporate communications functions, including seven lawyers. ‘I enjoy that my current job is not only confined to doing just legal work,’ Lim says. ‘I am involved in senior management steering committees, where high-level discussions are debated and proposals put forth to the board of directors thereafter. I also find the challenge of representing my company as a nominee director on some boards a huge challenge and highly satisfying’. Her broad role also reflects the legal function’s strong business focus. ‘The credo that we have adopted is to be the indispensable partner-in-law to all SPH businesses,’ says Lim. ‘To this end I have inculcated a culture amongst my team of being business focused, ensuring that the organisation’s long term interests and reputation are paramount in whatever we do’. Many of her team members have worked closely with her for more than five years, while others have gone on to work in other parts of the company, including business development and media strategy. Lim structured the team so that each lawyer takes ownership of multiple business units, while at the same time employing a ‘buddy system’, which means there is always someone who understands another person’s work if they are unavailable.