In Conversation With Sandra Lee
Sandra has been with Aon for seven years, managing the advisory, delivery and execution of all M&A insurance-related solutions for Aon clients in Asia. Prior to joining Aon, she was a practising M&A lawyer for almost 10 years and has advised some of the world's leading financial institutions and corporate clients on their various M&A transactions (from Asia to Europe to Africa).
We spoke to her to find out what makes her tick and where she sees Aon’s M&A insurance business going in 2019.
Having worked in the M&A space for nearly two decades, one would think Sandra is an analytical professional who is purely committed to developing tailored solutions for the unique risks of each deal for clients. As a matter of fact, she is all that and more!
An athlete with 10 marathons and even a few triathlons under her belt, mother of two young children, and seasoned M&A professional, Sandra’s approach to life has always been: If you put your mind to it – no matter how hard it is – you can achieve it.
“I almost ran a marathon when I was six months pregnant with my first child!” she quipped. “However, I was on track to breaking my personal record before learning about the pregnancy and knew I wouldn’t have been able to achieve it with the baby weight, so I decided against it. Now, at least I’ve retained my personal best time of 3 hours and 36 minutes, even if I am not in a position to better this record any time soon!”
On the home front, Sandra welcomed her second bundle of joy, Hugo, in July 2018. “We’re a family of four now, and I’m beaming,” she says. Born to a French father just three days after France won the World Cup, Sandra remarks, “Hugo made it easy on Dad by coming after the Finals!”
At home and at work, Sandra says time management is a must.
“M&A transactions are done on very tight timelines. Everything is always due yesterday!” she says. “If you anticipate what is to come/next steps (and that comes with experience), then you’re better able to plan for them.”
“It’s the same with children,” she adds. “If I know my child is going to have a meltdown in three hours because he’ll be hungry or tired, then I prepare for it by bringing standby food, milk, and soothing distractors – so if I’m stuck in traffic or anything like that, my child will still be comfortable.”
Being away on maternity leave for the second half of 2018 didn’t stop Sandra from achieving new heights in business either. She more than doubled the talent in her team and trained them before she left, ensuring the right people were in place to get the job done, and achieving the strongest growth the team has seen since she took the helm.
This year, Sandra is looking to continue to build a sustainable team that will be able to grow the business in unchartered areas, complete with challenging targets and global economic uncertainty.
“We are operating in a primarily green field market here in Asia – the key is to continuously build on client knowledge and gain their trust. This you do by providing timely and practical advice, even if it sometimes means telling them that the coverage may not be fit for purpose, instead of insisting they buy a policy that does not necessarily suit their needs.”
As a woman who wears multiple hats in life, Sandra brings with her an inimitable ‘can-do’ spirit. Under her leadership and guidance, the Aon M&A and Transaction Solutions team is in a unique position to help our clients bring some certainty to the myriad of uncertain events in this coming year and partner your company to realise its goals.