Creating a balance

Nando’s Chickenland Malaysia CEO Mac Chung Lyn tells VIMALA SENEVIRATNE how she manages to balance motherhood with her career.

MAC Chung Lynn used to run her business like a woman possessed. As director and CEO of Nandos Chickenland Malaysia, the franchise holder of Nando’s peri-peri chicken here, she developed the business from a single outlet in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, in 1998 to 28 outlets nationwide today, with more in the pipeline.

Her success, however, is not without a price. Her young family – husband, five-year-old son and four-year-old twin daughters – hardly saw her.

Like most working mothers, Mac was overwhelmed by the conflicts of managing both work and family, particularly as her children are very young.

“When I was single, it was fine to spend long hours in the office. But that changed when I got married and had a family. I had to do something. I hardly had enough sleep and worse, I was never home for my family,” she says.

Three years ago, she put on the brakes and did the sensible thing — hire a trustworthy chief operating officer who now shoulders some of the responsibilities, allowing Mac to spend more quality time with her family. Now, she leaves for home at 3pm on most days.

“At least I am able to balance my work life with my family life. There is no guilty feeling,” says Mac who first discovered Nando’s when eating out with her parents in London during her architect student days. That was over 10 years ago.

They were so taken in by the taste of the flame-grilled chicken that they decided to introduce it here. With financial backing from her father, she secured the franchise from the principal in South Africa and plunged headlong into the business.

“Dad left the entire running of Nando’s to me. I had to make it work, so I slogged hard to get it to where it is today,” she says.

Mac says her participation in the Women’s Summit 2007 made her more aware of the challenges women face in their business. Last year, the summit brought the issue of work-life balance to the forefront, with both men and women pushing for provisions that enable them to be actively involved in parenting their children while remaining committed and effective workers. Women’s priorities need not be achieved at the expense of men as there are many shared goals that can be achieved together.

“We also learned that there were not enough support groups and a lack of crèches at the workplace as well as mentoring programmes. And yes, prejudices against women still exist in the 21st Century,” she adds.

Empowering women through education is one way to help them overcome the obstacles. Mac encourages her female staff with young children or who are taking care of sick children, to opt for flexible working hours and to work from home if they can demonstrate commitment to their work.

“Networking is important. You need to talk to people in the same business, know what is going on, share your problems and maybe even solve them. You need to know what your competitors are doing. You have to be on top of things. That’s the only way to survive,” she says.

She is encouraging women to attend the Women’s Summit 2008, themed “Teaming Up To Make A Difference”, at the Sime Darby Convention Centre on Aug 21.

Registration is free but seats are limited. For more information, contact the Women’s Summit secretariat at 03-7954 7030 or go to www.thewomenssummit.org