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Partnership with NEWRI to develop next-generation membrane technology
Latest Trends in Water Technology
An exclusive interview with Olivia Lum,
Executive Chairman and Group CEO of Hyflux
Meet one of the most influencial water leaders in the world.
THE PERSON
Olivia Lum is the Executive Chairman and
Group Chief Executive Officer of the Hyflux
Group. Ms Lum founded Hyflux in 1989,
and for more than 25 years, she has been
the driving force behind Hyflux’s growth and
business expansion, and is responsible for
policy and strategy formulation as well as its
corporate direction.
It had been a tough road to success. Ms Lum
was adopted at birth and due to difficulties
early on in life, she had to earn her own pocket
money by selling fruits, sandwiches, ice
cream and jeans in school as well as weaving
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Water Leaders • May 2017
rattan bags and playing the clarinet in funeral
processions. Her experience trained her well to
be an entrepreneur for the next phases of life.
She started her corporate life as a chemist with
Glaxo Pharmaceutical and saw how companies
faced numerous challenges treating the
wastewater from their production processes.
From there, she realised that there was a
market for treating wastewater, in the face of
increasing urbanisation and industrialisation
worldwide. Ms Lum then started her business
by offering her services as sales agent for
large water companies and moved on to water
recycling in Singapore with a small membrane-
based pilot project in 1992.