Interview with Luo Ren, passionate dancer & inspiring professional working in Singapore’s tech sector
Luo Ren’s drive and spirit working in the tech sector has taught her to be positive at all times even when tackling the storms.
Raised by parents who have Hokkien and Shanghainese lineages, Luo Ren is proud of her culture and descent. Interestingly, her respect for heritage and tradition prompted her to visit both sides of her parents’ ancestral villages in China. “It was a humbling and illuminating experience,” enthuses the married woman. Her upbringing was very liberal and her folks have always been supportive of her passion for dance. “Dance and choreography is something I’ve always enjoyed. I’ve organised several non-profit dance performances, which gives non-professionals an opportunity to be creative. Just because we are no longer in school, doesn’t mean we can no longer dance and perform! I’m always interested in connecting with people who are interested to give dance a shot – everybody can dance, no experience required,” laughs Luo Ren.
Just like working in the tech industry, one may have the academic credentials but nothing beats hands-on experience in real-world situations. “I think when I started my early years working in tech, the ability to take action quickly based on customer insights excited me,” beams the amiable Luo Ren. She started her career at The Walt Disney Company before eventually moving to a start-up that was acquired by Food Panda; thereafter, she joined RedMart. She cites, “There was a steep learning curve when I began working in a start-up, but I enjoyed the ride! In such an organisation, everyone wears many hats and when we encounter a problem we roll up our sleeves together to solve the problem.”
Today, Luo Ren is proud of her achievements and is thankful that she had the foresight to switch to the tech industry to get closer to consumers, a decision that has started to pay off. Luo Ren is a Senior Product Lead at RedMart who manages a team of mostly male engineers. Working at RedMart forces her to keep up with different technologies in the fast-paced, digital economy. Her advice to women wishing to begin a career in the tech industry? “Have more confidence and less self-doubt!” In our 20-minute interview, we discover how Luo Ren ticks.
What is your opinion of a “woman” in today’s context?
Luo Ren: This question is a little weird to me, there should be no difference from a man in terms of capability, expectation, home responsibilities, etc. Many women today have similar aspirations as men – at least most educated woman who come from a fairly non-conservative background. I don’t think we are more empowered or more capable than men in any one area.
What gives you drive to come to work every day?
L.R.: I manage a consumer-facing product at RedMart (i.e. RedMart.com, mobile apps and the supporting API – application programming interface). The need to solve customer pain points (and fix bugs!) and make their user experience better pushes me forward.
How do you feel that the tech sector is a male-dominated industry?
L.R.: As a woman, you can be hyper-conscious of the fact you are different. But I’ve faced this through my entire career, even before I joined tech. I was often the only Asian female, if not the only female, at board meetings and senior executive meetings. I didn’t feel odd being the only woman, just that I felt different. However, I intentionally put aside that aspect and focused on the work. My point is, this is the same situation in tech and beyond, which I think is important so we don’t make generalisations about tech.
What do you think are some strengths a woman should have working in today’s digital economy?
L.R.: Intuition and empathy – which are often female-attributed strengths if I can generalise – are critical to understanding the customer to ensure we are building the right product.
Working in this sector, what do you think a woman can do differently that a man can’t?
L.R.: Nothing, just as there is nothing a man can do differently/better than a woman.
What are some of the challenges you face at work?
L.R.: Hiring great engineers, especially in Singapore, and getting good data to understand customer behaviour holistically.
What’s a recent interesting project you’ve been working on?
L.R.: Many RedMart customers have been asking for a loyalty program for years. Working with the Lazada team enabled us to bring LiveUp, our recently launched membership program, to provide our consumers with much more compelling benefits than if we did this alone. We put together our resources across RedMart and Lazada and leveraged partnerships to offer rewards not only across Lazada and RedMart but also Netflix, Uber/UberEATS – a win for our consumers.
What advice would you give to a woman wanting to work in this sector?
L.R.: I’ve seen several cases of women who perform as well as their male counterparts, but they question their abilities and performance more than men do. In a nutshell, women need to work on their confidence level. This would help them focus their energy on work, and help them perform better.
How do you balance work and life?
L.R.: Taking vacations often helps to clear the mind. I also have a supportive husband.
What kind of change would you like to see for women working in the tech industry?
L.R.: More women in leadership roles, which starts with stepping up in small ways, e.g., volunteering to drive a project, being more vocal when they have suggestions, pushing forth their ideas to help the team.
If there were more women working in the tech sector, do you think it would be better?
If so, how?
L.R.: Absolutely. We would feel less different, there would be more diverse perspectives on how to solve problems. and women would have more opportunities to build a better support network.
Are there any other interesting tit-bits about yourself?
L.R.: I am born and bred in Singapore, and I love Singapore and chose to come home after having lived in New York, Hong Kong and Paris. Singapore is still awesome!
Interview contributed by Joseph Lim.
* Joseph pursued lifestyle journalism despite having a background in Computer Science. In 1999, he was a technology writer but switched to writing and editing for luxury periodicals under the Singapore Tatler Group in 2007. At home, he is an avid home cook all thanks to his Peranakan lineage. He digs all things vintage and old school like vinyl and cassette tapes.
Read more:
Fast, Femme and Furious: An inspiring interview with Eeleen Tan, a woman in tech
Midas Touch: An inspiring interview with Zhao Jing Yuan, a woman in Singapore’s tech sector
