Sitting at LATITUDE Bistro, Yully Effendi presents a pretty and sprightly picture. Her breezy exterior does little to belie her gutsy and spirited persona. “I am someone who is open to challenges,” says Yully who joined ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove as its new Membership Director in September last year.
As someone who had established herself in the banking industry, Yully was surprised when a headhunter called her with a very different proposition—about a certain job in ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove. Although, it was for a position and industry that was new to her, Yully didn’t even have to think about it. In a very Jerry Maguire-sque scenario, he had her at the mention of the company’s name.
“At my current age, I think when you actually switch careers, what really matters most is whom you’re going to be working with, and the company’s mission and vision,” says Yully. This was affirmed after her conversation with the Club’s General Manager, Jonathan Sit, and the Group General Manager Teo Joo Leng—“I knew that this was the place that I wanted to join”.
Growing up in Indonesia, the marina was Yully’s playground—her dad started his foray into the world of business in the shipping industry. “My dad loved the marina,” she says, getting emotional at his mention, having lost him two years ago. “I am from Bintan, where you can find houses built on the ocean, and the pontoon is actually the ‘road’ leading to them, so this reminds me of my hometown and my dad—it is quite special to me,” adds Yully. But the value that she brings to the Club is more than just a sentiment. Yully brings with her more than a decade of experience in the banking and finance industry. “I definitely speak a different lingo, but what connects my past experience with the work that I do here is the high net-worth clientele. Coming from the finance industry, I am able to bring a different perspective,” explains Yully, aided by her innate ability to think out of the box.
As thrilled as she may be about the serendipitous twist of events that got her this role, Yully is not oblivious to the challenges—especially terminology that she has never encountered before. “But I am a fast learner,” she says in a low voice, recalling her first stint in Singapore’s banking industry. “They put me in a neighbourhood branch—in Ang Mo Kio. I didn’t speak a word of Mandarin, and I was in a branch catering to clients who spoke a very different lingo.” It was a culture shock, but Yully not just got over it very soon, she gained recognition and won awards for her achievements. She puts it towards the international exposure she has been lucky to have—she studied in Australia before moving in 2005 to Singapore to be closer to her family. Also, her forte in international business took her around ASEAN, India and more.
“It made me very independent and versatile. I often tell my friends to send their children overseas if they can. They just have to adapt,” she says.
Getting past trials and challenges are more than a tick-box exercise for Yully—it’s also intrinsically linked to her desire to excel in her job. She proved it in February in the midst of the Club’s preparations for the SB20 race. Yully managed to hop on to an SB20 fun race at the eleventh hour when a spot became available—it was so impromptu that she had to borrow shorts and t-shirt from housekeeping. The ‘challenge’ here? Yully suffers from extreme motion sickness. “The weather was moody when we started out and we got caught in a storm before we came back ashore. I was completely drenched, but the good thing is that we survived—I actually liked the feeling,” she says.
“One of the reasons I wanted to do that is because I’m in this Club. I want to know what we can offer and experience it myself so I can share it with our Members.” Yully’s success at her career has been this ability to stay one step ahead, and for now, her heart and feet are firmly where she wants to be.
