Elaine Mao

where it began

China born. World built.

I spent my first 2 decades of life across China — Beijing, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Changsha, etc.. Each city taught me something different about how people think, live, and communicate. Then I came to Singapore, and made it my home ever since.

I have also worked across the Asia-Pacific-Japan and Great China region — Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and beyond.

Living cross cultures wasn't something that happened to me — it became who I am.

the career

Across borders. Inside the room.

I have sat at the table in boardrooms where six languages were quietly running in people's heads at the same time. I have led bids worth hundreds of millions of dollars across APJ markets. I have built relationships with top leaders and talents from Tokyo to Jakarta, from Sydney to Beijing, from India to Russia.

What this gives me is not just a passport full of stamps — it is a rare ability to read a room across cultures, integrate truly diverse teams, and craft strategies that land across borders.

If your challenge lives in the APJ and Greater China region — commercial, strategic, or human — I have been in that room.

the next chapter

Building something that lasts.

The aha came late one night when I realised I was helping massive corporations win — but I hadn't yet built anything that was truly mine. I'd been optimising for other people's north stars for so long, I'd stopped checking my own compass.

AhaFlo began as a question: what if there was a tool that guided people from overwhelm to alignment the way a great mentor does? Something rooted not in productivity hacks but in the deeper wisdom traditions — Taoism, Confucian self-cultivation, the mindful pause — translated for the modern mind that checks its phone 96 times a day.

We're building that tool. AhaAlign is the first product — an AI coach that helps people find their flow state by surfacing their own wisdom back to them. AhaBid follows: bringing the bid strategy mastery I've spent a decade developing to the people who need it most but couldn't afford the consultant fees.

beyond the work

Rooted deeply. Growing gently.

Outside the boardroom, I am many things.

I am Anna — to the world's most spirited little Elsa, who runs home calling my name and asks for 抱抱. She is my north star. Everything I build, I build so I can be more present for her.

I am a wife, a friend, a dog mum to two beautiful furry souls who remind me daily that joy lives in the simple things.

I believe in love, health, and energy. In being present — not just physically, but fully. In being kind before being clever. Brave enough to begin. Humble enough to keep learning. Grateful for all of it.

I am curious about everything — food, places, people, ideas, experiences. I set no limits on what life can look like.

Root deeply. Grow gently. That is the only philosophy I need.