Inside Asian Gaming sits down with Annie Chan, Aristocrat’s Operations Director in Macau, to find out more about her career journey.
Inside Asian Gaming: Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Annie Chan: Although I was born in Hong Kong, I was raised in Macau and here lies my whole childhood. After high school I went on to study in the US and start my career there in Information Technology. At that time, I noticed Macau had changed a lot and believed that it was a good time to move back and be with my family.
IAG: What are your early memories of Macau when you were growing up?
AC: Macau was a small cosy town. People were simple and nice and they knew each other and their families as well. Life was peaceful. There was not much in the news about Macau and honestly, not many people even knew where Macau was located. High school in Macau provided an excellent, well-rounded education. If students wanted to learn more abouthow things are practically applied in other places, going abroad was a good option to broaden their view.
IAG: Macau has changed a lot in the past 20 years. Which changes do you think have been positive and which have been a bit negative for locals?
AC: The world changes at a fast pace with IT technology, the internet and so on. Macau especially was growing at an exponential rate with the booming of the gaming industry and the opening up of the Chinese individual visit scheme. One year I was visiting Macau and was stunned that it was no longer the village that I had in mind. There are many public traded companies that have set up branches in Macau.
Over the past 20 years, a lot of infrastructure was built and is still being built to catch up with the rapid growth in tourism. The growth also comes with more variety of career opportunities, different world class entertainment as well as great food. Of course, this came with a price and Macau is getting more crowded. Places that I used to go and enjoy walking around have become congested with tourists and are no longer places of choice for me.
IAG: How did you come to work in the gaming industry and specifically for Aristocrat?
AC: I started in the gaming industry through a close friend. It was not gaming that I was initially sold on but the nature of the opportunity. She encouraged me to try something new that was vibrant, full of excitement and challenging and most importantly it fitted with my character. There I started running operations and technical support for a gaming equipment vendor. At Aristocrat, I started on another journey via a very interesting global supply chain career path, managing contract manufacturers for the Asia-Pacific region. In that role I got the opportunity to work side-by-side with design engineers and with giant contract manufacturers such as Flextronics, Sanmina and many other OEMs to execute a world class quality output to meet our industry requirements.
A few years later there was an opportunity that surfaced as the Operations Director in Macau to manage both the Integration Centre as well as the Customer Experience Technical Support Team. The company found that I was the perfect fit and here I am!
IAG: Can you tell us more about your role at Aristocrat? What does a typical workday look like for Annie Chan?
AC: My typical workday mainly deals with three categories: satisfaction of people, challenges and process improvement. Challenges are what keep my brain rolling for a solution and fuels me with energy. Process improvement is to keep everyone on par and prevent [negative] things from happening. This eventually benefits the company by spending less resources on resolving problems and using them to focus on enhancements. Nevertheless, most of my time is really spent with people.
Aristocrat is a company with a “people first” culture that is inclusive of users, customers and our own team. Our priority is to support our team’s well-being, enrich them with knowledge and challenges, and mainly to take good care of them so that they can do the same for people that they interact with.
IAG: What do you enjoy most about your job?
AC: As previously mentioned, I enjoy working with people, understanding their challenges, helping them on the way, taking care of them and achieving together.
IAG: Aristocrat was last year awarded Made in Macau certification which I’m told you played an important part in. As a Macau local yourself, what does this mean to you?
AC: I felt honored last year that we were able to work with the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and Macau Economics Department to understand government strategy on Macau industries and be a part of their focus on local manufacturers. I really appreciate their support on walking us through the necessary processes and documents needed to obtain Made in Macau certification. Obtaining this certificate that signifies our gaming equipment production in Macau, we are hoping that through us our gaming industry will be able to support Macau and set-up more production and development in Macau. This provides more diverse career opportunities which will benefit and contribute to Macau’s future growth.
IAG: What do you do to relax in your spare time?
AC: I would like to spend more time on exercising and picking hobbies that will enhance my physical fitness. However, I spend my spare time on hair styling with curling and braiding. My so-called “clients” are my kids and very close friends. I really appreciate them willingly partaking to be my pretty lab rats!
IAG: What’s your favourite restaurant in Macau and why?
AC: There are so many Michelin restaurants in Macau now and so many options of food from different countries and even fusion food one can try. I love to try anything new. At the end of the day, I enjoy going to some very local cafés where people are friendly. I can chit chat with them, relate to them, enjoy the conversation and have a meal there.
IAG: When Macau’s borders open again, where do you most look forward to travelling to for leisure and why?
AC: There are just too many places. I used to visit on average around four countries a year before COVID. When the borders open, I will go through that list and check them all in time. However, surely Hong Kong will be the first place for me, not much for leisure but to visit family and friends that I have not seen these past two years. I am so much looking forward to that.
