SINGAPORE — She has been a successful corporate warrior for almost 20 years, and her resume makes for impressive reading. Even then, nothing quite prepared Ms Chan Lay Hoon, 51, for her latest role — being the executive president of Spanish La Liga side Valencia CF.

“I’ve been there for 12 months or so, or one season. It has been a great experience — challenging, and very interesting,” said Ms Chan who took on the post last July, after Singapore billionaire Peter Lim bought a 70.4 per cent stake in the club in May 2014 in a €420 million deal that made headlines worldwide.

Regarded as one of Mr Lim’s most trusted aides, Ms Chan started out as an auditor for international accounting firm Ernst & Young. She climbed up the corporate ladder over the years to become the non-executive director of United Paper & Pulp, the non-executive deputy chairman of real estate company Rowsley and the executive chairman of Thomson Medical Centre. 

When Ms Chan agreed to the role with Valencia, she knew it would be challenging as she would be an Asian woman with little experience of the sport operating in a European, male-dominated footballing environment. It did not help matters though that Valencia ended up having a mediocre season. 

The six-time Spanish champions - which also have a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and a UEFA Cup in their trophy cabinet - finished 12th in the 20-team league, sacked two coaches - Nuno Espirito Santo and then Gary Neville, his replacement - and felt the wrath of their fans who booed the team at home matches, and criticised Lim for not being serious in wanting to lift the club’s fortunes.

Ms Chan, who is mostly based in Spain these days, has kept a low profile despite her role. In a rare interview with Singapore media, she spoke to TODAY on the sidelines of Valencia’s visit on Friday (May 20) to the Australian International School. 

“Things were not very smooth at Valencia this season,” she acknowledged. She felt that the main reason for the turmoil was the cultural differences between Spaniards and Asians. “It is not easy (as an Asian) to manage a football club overseas because of the culture difference,” said the mother of one, who is in town this week with some Valencia players and officials to conduct community outreach activities, and unveil tie-ups with S.League club Geylang International and the Football Association of Singapore.  

“Spanish people are more expressive. They  can talk for hours over one topic whereas Singaporeans are more reserved, and we are not so direct, and everything is short and sweet for us. So sometimes, (this) can cause a little bit of misunderstanding. They may feel we are cold because of the way we are.

“For example, if the club’s owner or president is a local or a Spaniard, they would be speaking to the media every day last season, even though it would be repeating the same message. For us, we felt that there was nothing really much to talk about, except to just keep working hard to improve the club.”

That was why Chan made a public promise during a press conference last month that she will brush up on her Spanish so as to communicate better and more frequently with Valencia fans. Likewise, she thinks that Neville’s torrid managerial debut at Valencia was also due to language barriers.

The 41-year-old former Manchester United and England defender’s appointment last December had raised eyebrows because he had never managed a club after retirement. Neville had made a name for himself as an astute football pundit, and was also an assistant coach with the England national team, but those credentials could not help him at Valencia. He was sacked on March 30 after recording just three wins in 16 league matches.

“Looking back, there was an issue of communication that we had perhaps underestimated,” said Chan. “I think the biggest issue for Gary was the language barrier. Because everything that he wanted to convey (to the players) was through a translator, a lot of it didn’t come through well. 

“In Spain, they need to feel a lot of warmth, and sometimes all these can be lost when you use a translator.”  

But Chan — who spends two to three weeks in Spain every month — is “confident” that Valencia will improve their fortunes next season. Ironically, while she may have felt the wrath of Valencia fans, she has also enjoyed experiencing their passion for the club.  

“The fans are always very supportive when I meet them on the streets or outside the stadium. It is when they get together in the stadium that their reaction is different,” she said, referring to the loud boos during Valencia CF’s home matches in the past season. 

“People tell me they are the most demanding (fans), but I think they are very passionate. 

“So emotions will run high when they see results are not there or that the team is not playing well. But when we win, and when the fans, young and old, the whole stadium, are very happy, these have been the most enjoyable moments for me. 

“It is a bit different in Singapore. While we love football, it is not our life. But over there, it is really their life.”

It is this passion that also inspires her to want to make the club succeed. “Football is an entertainment business, and when you see that the fans are so happy, you just feel that everything is worth the effort… That makes me feel more determined to succeed.

“Yes, of course, I have to work very hard. I may not know football as much as other people. But on the other hand, I’ve got nothing to lose. I am game for it.”