ABOUT
In 2004, Wendy and Kang Yam left the comforts of their corporate jobs to pursue their purpose:
a space where people can find their best possibilities.
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Since then, they have built Flame Centre into what it is today - a future skills institute that has supported more than 100 organisations across the region through thought-leadership, consultancy and adult learning, training and development.
OUR STORY
In 2003, Wendy took up a Masters in Organisational Development that brought her around the world to learn from some global thinkers and best practices in organisational learning and development. It was over the course of these foundational years that Wendy found her sense of purpose: to bring out the best in people.
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This idealistic aspiration led to a conversation with her mentor, Peter Block. It was during this conversation where she quipped, "I would pursue this dream in my 40s - when I have more white hair.”
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At that moment, he stopped her in her tracks, looked her straight into the eye and confronted gently: “You’ll have the same anxiety embracing your freedom in your 40s as you would now, so why not start now?”
This conversation led to a 6-month long experiment in 2004, and with the guide of advisors and mentors along the way, Wendy and her then-boyfriend and now-husband, Kang Yam, left their full-time jobs and never looked back since then.
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Both of them have deepened their craft in their technical expertise of adult and organizational learning working with clients and partners, as well as, matured in their perspective on how they want to impact the world through their work.
Through the years, Flame Centre has grown - and evolved - with the ever-changing needs of the global workforce as a future skills institute, but remained anchored in its purpose: to be a place where people can find their best possibilities.
OUR MISSION
TO THRIVE IN THE FUTURE OF WORK
In a world increasingly powered by technology, there is a need for us to not just adapt along the way, but to learn to be adaptable. Our vision is to build our ecosystem, our partners, and our clients to thrive in the future of work through strengthening both individual and organisational development capabilities.
TO BUILD A WORLD THAT WORKS FOR ALL
Through deep listening, empathy and connection, we work with people, for people. Our work with organisations and individuals to discover their best possibilities is geared towards the goal of building a world that works for all
- within the self, the workplace, and the ecosystem.
OUR VALUES
WHO WE ARE
COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY
WE ARE COMMUNITY
We contribute to the larger community; business is a means to create a world that works for all.
COURAGE
COURAGE
BOLD COURAGE
We stay curious;
we experiment and we learn
TEAMWORK
AUTHENTICITY
AUTHENTIC TEAM
We cover each other; we support, challenge and inspire one another to be our best.
EXCELLENCE
PRIDE IN EXCELLENCE
We deliver excellent work; that keeps us at the top of our game
DETERMINATION
DOGGED DETERMINATION
We find new ways; we keep going until we arrive.
OUR PURPOSE
Towards Wholeness
In Individuals, Teams and Organizations.
To empower individuals, teams, and organizations to reach their fullest potential through the pursuit of wholeness, fostering a sense of connection, and
creating opportunities for growth and meaningful impact.
Grow Meaningfully
Grow Meaningfully = Grow Capabilities + Grow Contribution + Grow with Community
We believe that true growth is about more than just developing capabilities, it's about making a meaningful contribution to the world around us. That's why our approach to growth is centered on the principles of wholeness, community, and purpose, helping you not just grow in your capabilities,but also grow in your ability to make a difference.
OUR APPROACH
WE HELP PEOPLE TO
Be Whole in their Spirit, Thinking and Actions
We are the instrument, things happen through us – our thoughts and actions. Wholeness in our spirits means more congruence. Wholeness in our thinking helps us to be creative. Wholeness in actions means we act with wisdom with alignment to the context.
Engage in Conversations that Matter
If we can't talk about it, how can we solve it? But honest conversations are rare. It requires compassion to put ourselves in the other's shoes and authenticity to speak our own truth. Truth and trust comes together. We teach people to engage in conversations that matter.
Learn, Apply and Learn
Learning is a lifelong process, not a single event. Learn from experience, people and content. Reflect what it means and how we might need to change. Apply the learning. Then gather feedback so you know if your application is working. Ultimately, learning how to learn is the meta-skill that guides us through the future.
Build Partnerships
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. We live in a web of interdependencies. Deepening partnerships with our staff, colleagues, managers, clients, stakeholders means more alignment, resources, ideas, commitment and accountability to contribute to a larger whole.
OUR PEOPLE
Our Team
Wendy Tan, Managing Partner
An entrepreneur, speaker and learner, Wendy is committed to create a world that works for all. Concerned about how human beings are learning in an age where machines getting faster and smarter, Wendy started her doctoral studies focusing on adult lifelong learning in 2017. With these research insights and inspiration from her many years of talent development experience, Wendy is building Flame Centre as a Future Skills Institute and DevelopforLife, a “Discovery to Skill Mastery” learning experience software. Wendy is also the author of “Wholeness in a Disruptive World: Pearls of Wisdom from East and West” and a Certified Professional Speaker (CSP), a designation conferred by the National Speakers Association as the international measure of professional platform competence. An awardee of the InnovPlus Spark and HRO Today Thought Leadership Awards, Wendy publishes regularly in T+D, OD Practitioner, Today Manager and Singapore Business Review.
Lee Kang Yam, Chief Learning Curator
Kang Yam believes humanity is the last hope for business. With more than 25 years of talent development and consulting experience, his career revolves around building capabilities of individuals to fulfil individual and organisational goals. He has conducted various human resource development consultancies and interventions for companies in logistics, service industry, education, IT and government sectors. A trained instructional designer with a diploma in adult and continuing education (DACE), he has developed numerous training programmes. As a certified workplace learning specialists, he has also partnered with organizations to strategize their upskilling efforts. With a Master of Business Administration (Strategy) from Nanyang Business School, he is also pursuing his Doctor of Education with National Institute of Education in Singapore.
Tan Hong Wee, Senior Consultant/Trainer
Tan Hong Wee is a Leadership Development consultant and trainer, specialising in Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, Team Effectiveness and Coaching. At the individual level, Hong Wee is passionate about bringing out the best potential in each of us. For organisations, Hong Wee's mission is for leaders to co-create shared understanding of a complex issue and to bring about transformational change. He is the author of 2 books, Leader as Coach, Leader as Facilitator and Be Smarter Than Your Problem. Since 2013, Hong Wee has been consulting with various organizations, such as OCBC, PSA, MAS, ABB and Citibank in the areas of systems thinking, leadership and organization development. Recipient of Outstanding International Student Award from Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, USA, Hong Wee holds double Masters in Systems Engineering and Mathematics from Cambridge University.
LX Tan, Senior Consultant/Trainer
A leadership coach and team facilitator, LX infuses experiential learning in all his engagements through a strengths-based approach. He has been facilitating leadership and team development experiences with organizations across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Hong Kong. He also consults with clients on change initiatives and serves as an executive coach. LX’s extensive corporate experience spreads across the technology, military, education, manufacturing, FMCG and professional services industries. LX was formerly the Head of Learning Solutions at Harvard Business Publishing (Asia Pacific) and Head of Talent Development for 3M Singapore. A certified Solution Focused coach with the Canadian Council of Professional Certification and a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, LX has graduated from RMIT University with a Masters of Education (Leadership & Management).
Jasmine Liew, Senior Consultant/Trainer
Jasmine has trained and coached more than 10,000 global participants including C-suite and department heads, middle management, and executives in the Asia Pacific region. She strives “To Equip, Enable and Empower Leaders, Teams, and Employees to move towards greater success from “knowing (understand), doing (apply) to being (living it).” Her core expertise is cultivating psychological safety for high performing team, Jasmine published articles in The Straits Times, The New Paper, and The Business Times on her core expertise. Being a human resource leader for the past 20 years, Jasmine received The Training Leader of the Year Award 2017 in recognition of her effective learning and organisation development interventions for her corporate clients. Jasmine is the first global batch of Fearless Organisation Practitioners (Team Psychological Safety) by Prof Amy Edmondson, and a Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF®), National Career Development Association (NCDA).
Joan Chan, Senior Consultant/Trainer
joan@flamecentre.com | LinkedIn
With more than 20 years of progressive experience in driving strategic HR initiatives and enhancing employee engagement in the pursuit of organizational objectives, Joan believes that her higher purpose in life is to help other people build and develop their selves into the best version they can be. She is an HR practitioner, trainer, facilitator, and coach specializing in talent management & development, organizational development & change, and leadership. Joan acquired most of her skills and expertise through her professional experience in leadership roles in the HR and Learning & Development functions. Joan attained her Master’s Degree in Management (Human Resources) at Macquarie University, Australia.
Lyn Wong, Senior Consultant/Trainer
Lyn is an accredited facilitator and coach with a passion for organizational learning and development. She aims to create authentic, connected, and joyful workplaces and specializes in organizational, team, and leadership development, executive coaching, and strategic meeting facilitation. By taking a systemic approach, Lyn helps clients align visions with outcomes, engage teams, and support leaders in building leadership agility. With 24 years of experience, including 16 years in various industries and 10 years as a consultant, coach, and facilitator, she is highly regarded for her engaging and supportive approach. Lyn is an IAF-certified professional facilitator, ICF associate certified coach, and a specialist adult educator. She has received recognition for her work as part of an international team engaged by the Healthcare Leadership Academy in Saudi Arabia and is currently pursuing a Master's in People and Organization Development.
Bernard Chwee, Senior Consultant/Trainer
Bernard is a consultant, trainer, and coach with extensive experience in human resources and transformation. He has served as a Head of HR in the logistics industry and now works with leaders, teams, and individuals to facilitate desired outcomes. Bernard specializes in HR transformation, organization, and people development, agile ways of working, and change management. Bernard strives to deliver excellence in coaching teams and individuals with multi-intelligence NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) coaching methodology as they adapt to VUCA business environments today. As a certified Executive & Life Coach by the International Association of Coaching Institute, he believes that individuals can be resourceful to act effectively toward excellence. He holds an MBA from James Cook University, is certified in Neuro-Linguistic Enneagram, and is an authorized instructor with ICAgile and a Certified Scrum Professional.
Haslina Hamid, Marketing Lead
Haslina believes in continuous learning to stay robust for the future. This is evident in her work as a social entrepreneur in the past six years, where she has helped hundreds of socially disadvantaged women achieve gainful employment through learning new skills. Her social impact was validated by the achievement of the Venture For Good grant and Community Leaders’ Forum fund. A mid-career switcher, Haslina is now spearheading marketing at Flame Centre, sharing with professionals, managers and the general public on how they can be better skilled in facing the challenges of Industrial 4.0. Being a Certified Scrum Master (CSM®) and Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO®), Haslina applies these competencies in the management of the marketing strategy and planning at Flame Centre. With her interests and experience in upskilling, she hopes to connect with others to share and deliver learning content and skills that add value to their career growth.
Andrea R. Pailago, Learning Innovator
Andrea believes that her purpose in life is to continuously work for the development of everyone while working hand in hand with them. She has been working with women survivors after she graduated with her Sociology Bachelor's degree. She is a young independent worker who has worked closely with communities in remote areas. She believes in equity, continuous learning, and women’s empowerment that through these, there would be greater success in society. She has been doing development work for 7 years, helping micro-entrepreneurs build and sustain their businesses to achieve sustainable livelihood through empowerment and continuous learning in a faced-paced world. Andrea continues to live on her purpose by stepping into learning and development in Flame Centre.
Despite having over three decades of experience in both administration and academia, Teresa remains committed to lifelong learning. She views the learning process as akin to an adventure, acknowledging that it can be challenging, yet ultimately fulfilling when acquiring new skills and knowledge. Teresa is passionate about using her abilities to assist others and feels that this is her purpose in life. She devotes time to volunteer work, helping refugees, and contributing her expertise in mountain climbing and scuba diving to rescue operations. In her professional capacity at Flame Centre, Teresa continues to pursue her passion for helping organizations and professionals. She achieves this by ensuring efficient administration, communicating effectively and supporting learners' needs. Her work is driven by a desire to live out her purpose and make a positive impact on those around her.
Teresa P, Client Support
Wendy Ludovico, Finance Lead
As a Finance Lead, Wendy loves to work with people from different walks of life and assist them in their needs. A strong believer in integrity in whatever one is doing, what gives Wendy joy is doing her work well. She has been working in administration and client support roles for 10 years, including in the insurance and construction industries. Being in the adult education industry is more challenging, yet it is also more meaningful to Wendy as it helps her to learn and grow as a person. Currently, in Flame Centre, Wendy takes care of finance, compliance, documentation, and learner communications. Wendy holds a degree in Business Administration with a major in Financial Accounting.
Our International Affiliates
Lesley Lin, General Manager and Principal Consultant | Flame Centre (China)
Lesley’s personal mission is to create transformation in people and organizations. Using systematic organization development methodology and impactful learning initiatives, she seeks to propel towards business results, growth and fulfillment. With more than 20 years of experience in BP in various leadership roles, such as sales, marketing, customer experience and innovation management, Lesley has developed sharp business insight. She is skilled in leveraging customer experience to design marketing strategy and programs to drive brand performance as well as using critical moments that matter to develop sales capability strategy plan. Building on her business experience, Lesley made her career transition specializing in organization development, strategy and change management. She currently spearheads the Flame Centre in China. She is also skilled in applying action learning and design thinking for digital transformation and innovation. As a graduate of Chicago Booth Business School's EMBA, Lesley is a registered organization development and change consultant from ISODC in America.
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Cindy Shen, Senior Consultant/Facilitator (China)
Cindy is an experienced human resource management consultant with over 20 years of experience in China and the Asia Pacific region. She specializes in organization development and whole systems change, focusing on strategy, culture, process, leadership, and performance management to drive business transformation. Cindy's expertise includes organizational diagnosis, executive and team coaching, strategy decoding, organizational culture shaping, organization design, leadership and competency modeling, performance management systems, compensation management systems, and career path coaching. With her corporate experience, she has successfully led cross-cultural organizational projects and built comprehensive human resource management systems to support business transformation. Cindy holds an MBA from Shanghai University, a doctorate of Psychology from UCAM, and various certifications in leadership training and career path coaching.
Allison Tsao is an Organisation Development consultant and deep ecologist. In her work, she seeks to help her clients connect with their deeper wisdom and purpose so that the organisations they lead can do good in the world. Allison practices as a coach, consultant, facilitator, and advisor. Her practice draws from many fields, including complexity science, adult learning, behavioural science, systems thinking, motivational theory, coaching, psychology, ecology, wisdom traditions, and the healing arts. She believes we must draw on trans-disciplinary practices to address the complex and chaotic challenges of our time and meet those challenges with our whole selves. Allison has a Bachelors in Management, Marketing, and International Business from New York University's Stern School of Business, and a Masters in Organisation Development from Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business. She currently reside