Imran Omar was born in Singapore, sometime over 30 years ago. I have travelled, work, lived in quite a few places around the world and I do love cool places. I mean cool, literally…
So how do I survive Singapore? Thank goodness for the gazillion amount of malls and its air-conditioning, else I’ll raking up on the power bill.
I also love putting this malls into good use. I’m not into shopping but walking. Generally I prefer to spend hours walking outdoor when visit my friends in the North America. But at home, I make the best of the miles of air-conditioned malls as my “threadmill” without having to behave like hamsters on wheels. The only problem is temptations from the donuts, chocolates, coffee, carrot cakes shops that are all over the place….Yum! Well at least the good thing is that the sale signs at the stores don’t normally do anything to me.
Traveling is another favourite, preferably some place with a beach or, if possible, cooler places where I can be active outdoor for a change. Don’t get me wrong, living close to the Equator can be fun but have you tried working out in the sauna? Well, ok, maybe I am a little spoilt there.
Nature/environment and technology are the other 2 things that interest me. Better still anything that uses technology to better nature/environment goes to the top of my list. That probably explains why I have named the places that I would love to visit someday are Stewart Island in the South Island of New Zealand and Ellesmere Island in the province of Nunavut in Northern Canada, and if I never make it to any of these places, I should at least try to hang out at Lake Louise again.
So what about work? Being a curious guy as I am, I have been “trained” as a Market Research professional when I made it my career several years ago prior to going solo. I would not classify myself only as an Analyst mainly because I have been involved in and sometimes am still required to manage various aspects of the business. I have been a Focus Groups moderator, In-Depth Interviewer, Data Analyst, Presenter and Fieldwork Logistics Coordinator. I have assisted in understanding insights across a wide range of sectors, and from anyone ranging from C-Suite Executives in top multinational corporations to 5-year old kids.
Going solo has also helped me discover interests that I never knew I had before, managing conferences and events, and the public relations/media industry. Over the years, I have been part of the organising committee for an annual Asia Pacific Summit for one of the investment banks as well as for a national holiday celebration for an expatriate association in Singapore. All these time, I work without borders, and I intend to continue if I have the chance.
Where do I go from here? Right now, I am looking for opportunities that allows me to be creative as well as utilising the skills that I have. Maybe I’m bad at writing my resumé as there are no offers yet. But in the meantime, I’ll keep carrying on doing what I have been doing all this time.
