“Look good, do good, feel great.” Watsons’ official motto is profoundly inspiring, but the “do good” portion was only integrated within the past 3 years, that is, after Malina Ngai, Group CEO of AS Watson Group, injected a deeper meaning into the business.
This ethos of serving others fundamentally reflects Malina’s personal values, which are deeply anchored in helping others and creating a positive impact within her community. Her values of health, wellness, and positivity are indeed directly reflected in Watsons, the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, which has quite literally become an embodiment of Malina’s character.
“Health is inner beauty,” shares Malina, who first and foremost believes that true beauty shines from the inside. “It’s in the way your eyes sparkle, your positive spirit, and the way in which you care for others, which in turn translates to serving your community.”
A true leader, Malina explains to Cosmo ME that, with time, the most fulfilling part of her job has become coaching others and helping those around her (colleagues included) become the best versions of themselves by advising them to not only look after their outer beauty, but most importantly, to honour their health, fitness, and inner wellbeing.
The pioneer also spoke about the importance of seizing opportunities in your career, and how all growth stems from opportunity. As a child, Malina did not come from a very wealthy background, and her parents could not afford to pay for her university. It was due to her extraordinary achievements in sports that the government of Hong Kong granted her a scholarship, allowing her to pursue her education. Malina always held this close to her heart, vowing to do the same for others by creating opportunities where they are able to grow and be the best versions of themselves.
For Malina, it’s ultimately about self-improvement and confidence. Her professional journey has been far greater than the sum of the jobs she has had, and being the best version of herself has allowed her to succeed in a diverse range of careers.
From skincare, beauty, and discussing how introverted leaders are just as influential as their extroverted counterparts, to the importance of embracing and honouring your inner beauty and how being a former athlete has shifted the definition of holistic health at Watsons, Malina offered Cosmo ME unparalleled insight on what it means to be a pioneer in her field.
Inside Cosmo ME’s interview with Malina Ngai, CEO of Watsons Asia and Europe
Cosmo ME: How did you land your job as CEO of Watsons Asia and Europe?
Malina Ngai: In Hong Kong, people still recognise me as an athlete. I’ve represented Hong Kong in athletics and rowing, and won a bronze model in the Asian Games. I joined this company about 22 years ago in Public Relations and Marketing.
The way I like to always describe my journey my life journey is through opportunities. I think when there are opportunities, a lot of things that are impossible become possible. When I graduated, I didn’t even have the chance to go to university because my family wasn’t well off financially, so after high school, I was supposed to start working with my family.
However due to my sports achievements, the Hong Kong government granted me a scholarship and sent me to Australia to pursue my first degree. That’s how it became possible for me to even go to university. I really made the most of my opportunities and studied hard. My first job was actually in the government, and I eventually started working in PR and marketing when a company gave me the opportunity to do so.
I couldn’t imagine landing my current job as CEO of Watsons Asia and Europe 22 years later. Over the past 22 years I’ve had around 10 jobs, so this company gave me the opportunity to try so many different and new things. Being able to truly capture an opportunity allows you to make a difference and it’s important to not just do the job, but to get the job well done. That’s the mindset that’s gotten me here.
Cosmo ME: Tell us a little bit more about your personality and values.
Malina: My personality is a relatively acquired one. I’m quite an introvert, so when I first started working, I was very much focused on the tasks that I was given as opposed to interacting with others. At the time, my manager coached me and gave me a valuable piece of advice. He said to me, “Malina, I know you’re smart and I know you can do a good job, but in the workplace, it’s all about teamwork.”
I really reflected on what my manager advised me to do, so I started to think to myself, “what does teamwork mean in the workplace?” That’s when I started to focus more not just on my job but on my colleagues as well; not only on making myself a better person everyday but also on how can I make others more successful as well.
So I started to have a different perspective at work, and as I advanced myself, one of my most important job satisfaction criteria is being able to bring out the best version of my colleagues. Everyday, I try to create opportunities for them because someone has done the same for me in the past. I try to coach them so that they can be successful as well, not only professionally but also in their personal lives; I try to give them tips how to exercise, sleep better etc. so I really try to improve my colleagues lives as well. I also spend a lot of time volunteering, for instance for children with special needs in Hong Kong. By contrast to simply focusing on myself, now, I really focus and enjoy focusing on others.
Cosmo ME: What does it mean to lead with your values?
Malina: Over the years, Watsons has undergone a true evolution as a business. In the past, it was all about selling products as a retail company, but over the course of this past decade, I’ve begun integrating my own beliefs into the business. It’s about being able to empower our customers so that they feel good as it’s not just about looking good through cosmetics. It’s also so important that beauty comes from the inside.
In the past, health used to be about medicine: If you ever get sick, you should go to the pharmacy, buy the products prescribed, and supposedly feel better. But now, we’re focusing a lot on preventative health, and health is inside-beauty.
When you’re healthy it radiates inside out, and you’re truly beautiful. There’s a certain spark in your eyes, your energy is positive, and you care about others. Inner beauty is something we try to promote in all Watsons markets now.
Yes we have a lot of products for different purposes, but at the same time we create a lot of activities internally as with our customers. In the office, it’s also about how you can have a more active lifestyle, which is crucial to good health. So we have internal and external campaigns, one of which was a smile campaign. Smiles are very contagious and powerful, and when you smile, you become more healthy.
This year’s global Watsons theme is kindness. Sure, we need the business as that’s how we pay salaries and serve our customers, but if you can then influence the customers to look after themselves from the inside out then it’s an even more powerful platform. We’re also currently promoting a lot of sustainability values because in our brand, our motto is “look good, do good, and feel great.” Sustainability is about focusing on the environment but also focusing on yourself. How do you return to yourself to be more healthy, and in turn, take care of those around you and the environment? For Watsons, it’s all about how can we influence our customers (and there are around 5 billion of them) to be positive in every way.
Here in the region, Watsons has crafted a beauty-focused campaign with the message that beauty comes from within. Being yourself and radiating positive energy from the inside out is the new beautiful, we believe. This is why I really like my job, because of the impact it can create (by joining likeminded colleagues with the same values) to create a better world.
Cosmo ME: What is one makeup technique that makes you feel good?
Malina: Confidence is very important. I live quite a busy lifestyle, every year I frequently travel between Europe and Asia on long haul flights. Last year alone, I spent over 400 hours on the plane!
When it comes to makeup, it really depends on the occasion. Am I going to a black-tie dinner, or perhaps a catwalk in Paris? Every occasion is different. For everyday work, your makeup has to be efficient, something more “lowkey” yet confident. If I’m at a big event, I personally like a powerful eye look by adding a pop of colour onto my lids. Powerful eye makeup really helps bring up energy levels during events.
Cosmo ME: Tell us a little bit about the different ingredients used in skincare.
Malina: In the GCC region, the most highly searched ingredient by our customers is glycolic acid for pigmented skin. In Asia at large, there’s retinol (anti-ageing) and hyaluronic acid (for moisture) among other ingredients. If you think about how everyone applies so much makeup, it’s important to use just as many skincare products. To maintain the health of your skin, the first step is to use the right cleanser depending on your skin type. The foam type for example goes deeper into the pores. I really like foam cleansers.
Cosmo ME: Can you share some general skincare tips that you swear by?
Malina: I always prepare my on-the-go skincare/makeup bag. In it I have a cleanser, makeup remover (because it’s very important to clean the skin around the eyes as it’s a very delicate area; for instance leftover mascara cause dryness and lines), a couple of serums as well. Layering serums is very effective on the skin as well, and it’s important to ensure that each layer is absorbed before applying the next product. Daytime skincare is lighter, but at night, I rely more heavily moisturisation.
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