Connie Lee has worked in the watch industry for over 20 years. She has worked for Omega, Jaeger LeCoultre and now Roger Dubuis.

1. Describe briefly your childhood.

I was born and raised in Hong Kong, and am the middle child in my family. I have an older sister and a younger brother.

During my upbringing, I grew up like other kids during my childhood. With a lot of playtime and not a lot of pressure in terms of homework. I attended lots of extracurricular activities and enjoyed playtime with my friends, it wasn’t until secondary school before I became very serious with my studies.

Through playtime with friends, I became quite cheeky during school time and would use toilet time in between classes to go on the slides in the playground instead of going to the toilet. Unfortunately, the slide was quite high, so I would be caught by different teachers as they had a good view of it. During hygiene checks, I would hide my fingernails full of dirt so I wouldn’t get into trouble.

At home, when my mom punished me for a cheeky act, I would run faster than her and hide in my grandparents’ room to avoid being hit with a stick. Those were fond memories, that continue to stick with me.

I used to live my life quite fearlessly as a child and I almost got kidnapped during primary school. Luckily my neighbor found me, by coincidence he just happened to open the door that the kidnapper kept me behind.

All these experiences have helped shaped me into the person I am today.

As I mentioned earlier, it wasn’t until secondary school until I decided to buckle down and study hard. With the strong determination to study hard, I succeeded by receiving a lot of recognition from my teachers and from the nuns. During this time, I also had the experience to work together with my classmates on common projects – we worked together very well, by assigning each team member with a different assignment. I truly experienced what it means to work as a team and it just happens that my team here at Roger Dubuis live and breathe and same motto - “teamwork makes the dream work.”

Combining my sheer determination to study hard, and the capability to work very well as a team – some of us in the class ranked at the top in the public examinations.

2. As a child did you have any driving ambition?

My ambitions changed during my childhood, when I was in primary school, I really wanted to become a teacher and fire-fighter – I felt a strong need to help people in my community.

When I was in secondary school, I really wanted to become an accountant – I was very interested in this subject as I had a very inspiring teacher who aided me to achieve a top grade in this subject. However, in the end, I decided not to proceed with a career in accounting as my older sister didn’t find the topic interesting for me.

In the end, I joined the advertising industry and watch industry. The watch industry is an industry I am truly passionate about and I haven’t looked back with regret ever since.

3. What is your first significant memory as a child?

Wobbly teeth were my biggest fear as a child, as my parents would tie a thread around my wobbly tooth and pull it out for me with a lot of force. However, afterwards, I was always rewarded with an ice cream popsicle to help the swelling go down.

I am sure I’m not the only one that fears going to the dentist, or anything teeth related. However, luckily enough my husband cured me of this phobia as he’s a dentist.

4. Have you ever had another profession?

Yes, I have, I started off my career on the client servicing team of an Outdoor Advertising Agency where I created lots of memorable moments. The most memorable moment that I’d like to share with you is when I fearlessly climbed up scaffolding on the rooftop of a 15-floor high building just to take a nice photo of a specific neon sign while it was undergoing construction. During that point in my life, I found it super fun and I wasn’t scared at all. However, if anyone asked me to do the same thing now at this stage in my life - I might not be as fearless!

Shortly after that, I joined the client servicing team at a 4 A’s Advertising Agency where I worked long days and nights to complete the never-ending tasks assigned to me. My boyfriend at the point, who ended up being my husband countlessly supported me during this period and encouraged me daily to keep up the great work. Even at times when I would get off at work at midnight, I would find him waiting for me downstairs for hours on end just to enjoy a meal with me.

My time at both the Outdoor Advertising Agency and the 4 A’s Advertising Agency shaped me a lot professionally – my experience enabled me to enrich my business development skills, project management skills and last but not least my client servicing skills.

5. What made you decide to go in the direction you are currently in?

Life has its interesting way of presenting different opportunities, it wasn’t until a recruitment agency called me that I considered switching jobs. The job was to fulfil an Account Manager role for Omega, since then I have been strongly rooted in the luxury watch industry. I found, and still find the people I work with within the watchmaking industry to be very passionate, creative, close-knitted and forward-thinking. Forward-thinking in a way where there are always a lot of new ideas, but at the same time never forgetting to respect the traditional know-how of the industry.

It’s an ever-evolving industry, that I am extremely passionate about.

6. What’s the worst job you’ve had to do?

I am humbled by every job I have encountered during my career, as at each stage of my career – I’ve always walked away with new learnings, that have opened new doors for me at different stages in my career.

7. What’s been the hardest moment in your life so far, and how did you overcome it?

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8. Who has had the strongest influence on you?

It’s hard to pinpoint a single person that has had the strongest influence on me, but what I can say is I’ve met lots of people I can trust during my career in the watch industry. Including top leaders from watch brands, my superiors, colleagues, and friends.

If I had to summarize my greatest inspirations – it would be the people around me. My family, my friends, my clients, and my team.

9. What are you most proud of?

I am humbled by the opportunities that I’ve had in the luxury watch industry. Strongly attach to the people in the industry. Currently, I lead the team for Roger Dubuis in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. I treat the brand I work for as my own business – as it’s the best way for me to fully engage and develop the brand as well as drive the best results with the team.

10. What advice would you give to a 20 something someone thinking of taking a similar path as you?

It’s an interesting question if I had to summarize I would do so in 3 points.

First, be committed in your role – treat the company’s business like your own business.

Secondly, be creative – never stop creating. Let your daily life be an inspiration to your work.

Last but not least, be patient - luxury takes time, it’s important to be patient. Sometimes it takes time to understand the essence of each industry.

11. Name three things on your bucket list.

What a fun question, there are 3 things that come to my mind.

I would love to travel the world, as travelling allows me to learn about different cultures and to meet new friends. Getting a boat license is also another thing on my bucket list – it’s a dream to drive my own boat around the peaceful seas and lakes of Switzerland and Croatia. Last but not least, to practice mindfulness it’s important to take the time to reflect on life and to relax my busy mind.

12. Where do you think the watch industry is going to be in 10 years time?

A fun question to wrap up this interview, in 10 years I foresee the watch industry to continue revolving around 4 areas.

Firstly, Hyper Horology – hyper timepieces that embody expressive and contemporary calibers while paying homage to traditional watchmaking.

Secondly, timepieces being linked to the expression of art – for customers to experience another dimension while wearing the timepiece and having a strong sense of ownership around it.

Thirdly, creating desire – it is an industry that will continue to convey strong emotion and desire.

Lastly, it will continue to be an ever-evolving industry that changes with society.

Learn more about Connie Lee