Day in the Life: Dee Poon

Dee Poon, Chief Brand Officer of PYE – the cotton shirt specialist known for timeliness, sophisticated, high-quality designs – takes us through a day in her life.

Morning

‘I usually start the day with some yoga if I’m in Hong Kong. After that I spend some time going through emails, and if I have any writing or thinking to do, I do prefer it do it before the rest of the day starts as my brain is clearer and I’m able to be more focused. When I travel, particularly if it’s to China, I prefer to take a morning flight and get wherever I’m going before lunch. This means a very early alarm, but it just works better.’

Mid-morning

‘I’m usually in the office around 9:30, working on something or other with my team, depending on the season. The fashion business is highly cyclical in terms of what happens when, and so there are periods when we’re working more on design and merchandising, others when we’re doing more around marketing, and sprinkled in always are general projects around infrastructure and the supply chain. My favourite – and what I believe to be the most important – is working on the product. A brand’s biggest promise and interaction with its customers is through its product, so it’s very important to me that we give people the best items we can. I’ve started working on more sustainable items in the last year, and this requires a lot more work with the factories as well as with our sustainability team understanding and defining what a “green” product actually entails – it’s very exciting, and I think it’s going to be really well received when we launch it next year.’

Lunch

‘I often use lunch as a way to get out of the office and see friends. Usually I’ll eat either in Central or around Pacific Place, and often I’ll drop into one of our stores to make sure that everything is up to snuff! I like to know what things are moving, to see new displays, and to just chat with everyone. And I must say, leaving the office is imperative for my sanity. I’m not really one of those people who can just work non-stop for an entire day. I need to rest my brain and think about something else.’

Afternoon

‘I’m back in the office usually around 2 or 2:30. Many days I start my afternoon with what we call a “drumbeat” – where I sit down one-on-one with someone on my team, and we get on the same page.  This can take from 60 to 90 minutes, and usually the rest of my afternoon is either spent with a group working on something, or just wandering the halls of our office with chocolate chatting with people. It sounds unstructured, and, well, it is. I work on a cross section of things, so if I can find a minute to catch up with someone and entice them with a snack, it definitely works to my benefit. If someone is in town, I might head out for a coffee and a chat – it’s best that I do this later in the day as I get distracted otherwise and find myself back in the office telling everyone about some crazy public health or sustainability or art or technology idea that I have heard about that is going to “change the world.” I get very vocal when I get excited and it can really distract people!’

Early evening

‘I try to have a hard exit time so I can be in the gym most days around 6. With all the travel I do, exercise makes a big difference in my ability to sleep and work across time zones. I’ll get on the elliptical and watch a TV show or read my magazines and just catch up with things that I’ve missed throughout the day.’

Evening

‘I don’t go out as much during the week now that I’m getting up earlier. My favourite weeknight activity is meeting up with friends at Ten Feet Tall for a foot massage, but otherwise I’m generally at home. My extended family lives in the same building as I do, and we often go to my grandmother’s for dinner. Otherwise after a long day, I seriously enjoy some time alone with a book or some Netflix. It takes me a while to get to bed, so I start early and do some meditation and play with my essential oils, and try to make sure I get 7 hours’ sleep so I can be out and about again the next day.’