Noor Quek - NQ International Pte.Ltd

13 July 2021

Tell us a little bit about NQ International Pte Ltd,

NQ International Pte. Ltd. (“NQ International”) was established in Oct 2007. Based in Singapore, it offers strategic business development advice and solutions to organisations and groups keen to establish or invest in Asia, with Singapore as a key centre.

Specialising in Asian and Middle East markets, NQ International’s current target sectors include multifamily businesses and financial services/investment groups who could benefit from the comprehensive range of wealth advisory and related financial skills available in Singapore, and leverage on the potential growth of the Asian markets.

NQ International also offers a bespoke high-level executive search, mentoring, and talent identification business serving especially the C-Suite and near C-suite in the wealth management and financial services industry in Asia, the Middle East, and selectively, London and Switzerland.

As a business owner, what are your top three priorities?

Try to understand fully the concerns of our clients.
Help them to prioritise their concerns with a proposed strategy to identify solutions to address their concerns, either from our own knowledge and resources and/or by reaching out to others who are able to offer the “ best in class” solutions.
Earn clients’ trust and respect by rendering honest and correct advice.

Our corporate mantra is “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

How did you get your idea or concept for the business?

Initially several of my long-term clients whom I had served over my 35 years in the investment and private banking requested me to render them such services as an independent entity. They were beginning to age and wanted to consolidate their wealth advisors as well as readdress their wealth management structures.

I finally agreed and started NQ International. I later grew the business to include talent identification and human capital placement at the request of several financial institutions who believed the industry needed a special breed of leaders and seniors going forward, in order to meet the rapid changes within the wealth management and financial services industry. This included asset management companies, banks including corporate, commercial, and private banking, insurance companies, private equity, venture capital companies, and family offices, among others.

What was your mission at the outset?

Initially, the clients who had retained my services wanted me to work with their specialist advisors in order to meet their objectives of ensuring their business needs and family wealth would be aligned to meet their aspirations for their future generations.

To what do you attribute your success?

I believe my success thus far is attributed to hard work, my long years of relevant experience working with established global financial institutions, my ability to listen and understand the issues faced by different generations within wealthy families, thereby gaining their respect and trust. I have a strong networking capability built over the years, which has been very useful in helping me grow and develop my business. Altogether, this has enabled me to render clients quality service.

Ironically while the company’s name (NQ) represents my initials, I now, after more than a decade of fairly good growth, and unabashedly define the initials to stand for Network and Quality as these are the hallmarks of our success to date, also sentiments voiced by our clients.

How long have you been a Servcorp client, and what has impressed you the most about our service?

I have been a Servcorp client since I started my business in Oct 2007. What has impressed me about Servcorp’s service is the quality of service rendered but the team of women especially the virtual secretaries.

What has been the biggest benefit you have experienced as a result of working with Servcorp?

I feel the team understands me and my needs. The quality of service even with staff changes is consistently high and predictable. It provides a pleasant and professional environment.

What’s an accomplishment that you are most proud of??

I am most proud at being able to have accomplished many of my desires in life - a happy family (with 7 grandchildren, a very supportive and caring husband, loving parents and siblings, and a good career in a relevant industry in my wonderful country, Singapore. I can also still enjoy my hobbies of music and travelling as well as be actively involved in social work. I have a very nice group of friends, developed over the years. I always feel blessed. I am a firm believer that there is no way to happiness. Happiness IS the way.

How do you balance work and life responsibilities?

I strongly believe in staying positive, prioritising my needs, making “ME” time, and in saying “NO” where relevant. Being honest with myself has helped me tremendously in managing expectations, especially mine. I also love challenging myself – it keeps me going.