AS Watson Group CEO named among Fortune’s most powerful women in Asia

Malina Ngai, Group CEO of AS Watson, has been named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Asia 2025, ranking sixth and the only retail leader in the top 10.

The recognition comes as the 185-year-old group draws on data and technology to sustain its global growth.

Announced earlier this month, the recognition was conferred in person at the Fortune Innovation Forum gala dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Monday night.

Ngai received the award from Khoon Fong Ang, Asia CEO of Fortune, in front of a regional audience of business leaders.

Addressing the gala on “The Science Behind a 185-Year Company”, Ngai set out how AS Watson, the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, is trying to stay relevant amid rapid shifts in consumer behaviour and technology.

The group operates more than 17,000 stores under 12 retail brands across 31 markets, including over 800 Watsons outlets in Malaysia.

“Leading a company with 185 years of history is both an honour and a challenge,” she said. “Heritage gives us credibility, but relevance keeps us alive. Tradition gives us roots, but innovation gives us wings.”

Ngai said the group’s strategy is built on listening closely to customers, colleagues and business partners, and on making decisions “with both head and heart”.

“Culture is the bridge between past and future. We invest in talent and agility so our teams can adapt quickly without losing our DNA,” she added.

She said her leadership approach is strongly linked to her background as a competitive athlete and that sport had taught her a form of resilience that “no business school can teach”.

Training for months for a few minutes of performance, she said, demanded focus, anticipation and perseverance, as well as ‘the spirit of never easily giving up’.

Those lessons, Ngai added, translate into focus under pressure, rapid decision-making and an emphasis on teamwork and trust at AS Watson.

“What we do is very much a team sport,” she said.

AS Watson is positioning itself as a technology-enabled retailer by using data analytics and AI to personalise offers while trying to maintain a human connection in stores and online, according to Ngai.

‘We are a technology-powered company with a human soul,” said Ngai, describing AS Watson’s model as “art and science” applied to retail.

AS Watson, founded in 1841 and now part of CK Hutchison Holdings, reported revenue of more than US$24bn in the 2024 financial year. Its offline plus online platforms serve over 6bn shoppers annually.

It has also pledged to boost youth employment globally through recruitment and training programmes for young people seeking careers in retail.

As the company approaches its 185th anniversary, Ngai said the priority was to stay ahead of the game without losing sight of the core values that it had long adhered to.