PrimeTime Member Spotlight
May 2011
Darcy Roehling
Aperian Global
Director of Client Strategy and
Business Development, Asia Pacific
Each month Connections
talks to a PrimeTime member
to find out more about them,
what they do, and their
association with PrimeTime
Interviewed by:
Andrea Chalupova Hessmo
Personal talk…
Connections: Where are you from originally, and how long have you been in Singapore?
Darcy: I am from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; eight years in Singapore. I am a PR.
Connections: Have you lived in other foreign countries? If so, where?
Darcy: I have been in Asia Pacific for twenty years. In addition to living in Singapore, I have lived in Beijing
and Hong Kong. I have also lived in Europe in London, Cardiff and Milan.
Connections: What brought you to Singapore?
Darcy: After six years in China we wanted to move to a developed country, but wanted to stay in Asia so
with calculated strategy and purpose we got a transfer to Singapore.
Connections: What do you enjoy most about living here?
Darcy: Singapore is an easy place to do business as there is, plus it serves as a great hub for all my
APAC business travel. As for my personal life, Singapore is a great place to raise children — they can
play outside all year, there are a plethora of things to do and above all it is a safe place for kids.
Connections: What are your interests and hobbies?
Darcy: Does work count? I love my job and so in many respects my job is my interest. Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) is a passion of mine. I am on my company’s CSR team as well as being the former
Co-Chair of PrimeTime Outreach. As for my personal hobbies, I love scuba diving and anything related to
the sea, as well as yoga, photography and architectural design.
Connections: Have you had any particularly interesting experiences you would like to share with us?
Darcy: I can’t think of one particular experience, but I can share with you that in the past twenty years I
have seen so much growth in Asia and so many opportunities for both locals and international assignees.
A few years ago my husband was asked to transfer to Paris and although we love France (he is French),
the idea of moving to a non-emerging market did not appeal to us, not to mention that at this stage we
both had spent more than half of our careers in Asia.
Connections: Which are your favourite restaurants/shops/places to go?
Darcy: I have two favourite restaurants in Singapore — I almost want to keep them a secret! Aoki is my
favourite Japanese and my favourite European/French is Saint Pierre.
As for places to go, we spend a lot of time at the Hollandse Club, as we are members. We go to East
Coast for biking, MacRitchie Reservoir for hiking and hanging out with friends on their boats (yes, it is nice
to have friends with boats!).
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Connections: What one thing would you like to accomplish in your lifetime?
Darcy: I would like to raise two confident and kind boys who treat women with respect and take out the
garbage without being asked! I also want to make yoga a bigger part of my life as I think the older I get,
the more benefit I see from practicing. I also want to be a tap dancer, but that one might be a pipe dream!
Professional talk…
Connections: Could you tell us a little about the company you work for and your current role?
Darcy: I work for Aperian Global, a global consulting company. We work with organizations and individuals
to help them work more effectively across cultures. I am the Director of Client Strategy and Business
Development for Asia Pacific and head up our sales and marketing for the region. As we work with clients
globally, my role is to ensure global consistency in our offering as well as to better understand the local
needs of our clients. I also manage a team of sales people in the APAC region.
Connections: Have you always worked in the same industry?
Darcy: I am a business developer and have been since my feet first landed at American Express in Hong
Kong in 1990. About twelve years ago I became interested in a cross cultural training and then began
working for a US company delivering training to Chinese moving overseas, as well as expats arriving into
China. I continued to work for this company as an Associate for many years when I was pregnant and
then later when I was between jobs. After two full time roles in Singapore I finally came to an epiphany
that I could marry my two passions — business development and cross cultural training, so I sought out all
the companies that work in this field and didn’t stop until I got the perfect job — the one I have now!
Connections: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Darcy: I love that it utilizes all of my skills and experience and at the same time I am learning new skills —
we have a wealth of web tools, training products, e learning, and so forth and so each day I am learning
something new. I also enjoy the flexibility that I am given in my role — we have a target to reach and it is
up to my team and I to manage it. Also, even though we have been in business for twenty years, our
APAC brand needs to be developed so I, along with my team, have developed an engaging and exciting
marketing plan which adds a whole new dimension to my job — PR and advertising. In my role I also have
to work across cultures so I am able to ‘practice what I preach’.
Connections: What do you enjoy most about the company you work for?
Darcy: We are a very flat organisation, which means there is very little hierarchy so we all work as a team.
I also love working across cultures and as one of our hiring criteria is that employees must have lived in at
least one other country, we are very diverse which is an interesting element when we look at problem
solving — as a company we approach it from many different cultural angles, even though we are a US
company. My immediate team consists of people from India, China, Germany, Singapore, France,
Denmark, the US, Japan, Nigeria, Korea, and Sweden — now that is a nice diverse mix of people.
I also enjoy my job as Aperian Global is an innovative company — we are always reviewing our materials
and web tools to ensure relevance and cutting edge technology. It is exciting to be working for a wellrespected leader in this industry.
Connections: Have any of the Prime Time programs you’ve attended helped you in your job?
Darcy: I can safely say that every program has helped me in my job in some way — whether it is the
speaker imparting wisdom or the amazing woman who I end up sitting next to, I am always learning
something new and adding it to my tool chest of skills.
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PrimeTime talk…
Connections: When did you join PrimeTime and how did you find out about it?
Darcy: I joined eight years ago. One of my good friends was part of the founding group members with
Juanita Woodward.
Connections: Which PrimeTime subgroups do you belong to?
Darcy: Outreach, Marketing, Small Business Group and Human Resources.
Connections: Do you volunteer at PrimeTime?
Darcy: For one and a half years, I was the co-chair of Outreach, which includes a dynamic and creative
group of women passionate about helping others! Unfortunately, my job has consumed so much of my
time (in a good way) that I had to resign from my post earlier this year. I have also volunteered as an
ambassador at our 2nd Thursday meetings and am happy to help in any way that I can — PrimeTime has
been good to me so it makes sense to give back!
Connections: What do you personally feel are the benefits of being a PrimeTime member?
Darcy: I have recommended PrimeTime to many women over the years and I think my mantra is always
the same — if you want to meet interesting and creative professional women, come to PrimeTime and you
will surely learn something new too! I like knowing that even if I don’t know a soul in the room, I can feel
comfortable and welcome at all events.
Connections: Which was the most interesting or inspiring PrimeTime event you’ve attended?
Darcy: Gosh, there are so many I wish I could remember them all. I think when Sarah Marvic from Aidha
spoke was a highlight for me as she oozes passion and infectious enthusiasm. I also always enjoy hearing
our very own Jane Horan speak as she always has something interesting to say.
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