“The trust can't be built overnight.” Shaoyuan Han-Montillet has spent more than two decades working across L’Oréal, Diageo and LVMH, moving between China, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Her career spans brand building, commercial leadership, retail and regional business roles, including leading Fendi’s business across Southeast Asia and Australia. In this conversation, she reflects on what it takes to keep global brands relevant as customers, local competitors and retail formats change—and why leadership depends on translating market reality into decisions.

Shaoyuan’s path took her from China to France for study and work, then to Singapore, back to China and again to Singapore. Along the way, she moved from product marketing and consumer understanding into retail, P&L responsibility and broader leadership roles. She describes China as a market where decisions can move quickly because consumer feedback is close to the business, while trust with teams and partners takes longer to build. The conversation also explores the growing cultural relevance of Chinese brands, the changing role of luxury stores, and how digital channels can extend customer relationships beyond a visit.

In this episode:

• Leading across diverse Asian markets: how regional leaders distinguish standards that need to travel from decisions that require local translation.

• Listening beyond the dashboard: why input from frontline teams, customers, trade partners and external voices creates a fuller view of the market.

• China’s speed and the time trust takes: what it means to act quickly without assuming credibility appears just as fast.

• Beyond the boutique: how stores can create brand experience and community while digital interactions extend the relationship.

• What Chinese brands reveal: how storytelling, cultural relevance and shorter feedback loops are changing competition—and what international brands can learn without losing their identity.

• A different view of leadership: why coaching led Shaoyuan to spend longer with a problem and help teams make their own decisions.

If you lead an international brand in Asia, work between global headquarters and local markets, or are rethinking what a luxury store should make possible, this conversation offers an operator’s perspective on where leadership judgment matters.

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If the topics we discussed today resonate with your own leadership challenges or the conversations happening in your organization - assessing international leaders, aligning global and local teams, building capabilities across regions. You can reach us at LYC Partners to set up a consultation.

Produced by Bonjour Podcast (Melanie Hong), Leaders in Motion blends storytelling, strategy, and data-driven insight, giving today’s leaders a roadmap to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges and lead with intention.

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