Deca-Laurel 2023: Lim Pei Pei on leading with confidence, growth and gratitude

by Aisha Capulong

Pei Pei, founder and CEO of Fuyu Dezain, reflects on her journey of building a multi-award winning design studio — and looking back now, she confidently says she wouldn't change a thing

Fuyu Dezain’s Pei Pei walks into the room with a refreshing and amicable confidence that forms chain reactions of delight in everyone she meets. As founder & CEO of a multi-award winning design studio, it is almost a given that she is someone who believes there is always room for improvement and growth, but she looks back on Fuyu Dezain’s journey fondly and maintains how she wouldn’t change a thing. Pei Pei beams as she speaks on how incredibly proud she is of both herself and her brilliant team.

She credits her success to how she has invariably stayed true to herself and what she believes in. Though she recognises the value of external advice, Pei Pei reminds her team to not allow other people’s opinions overshadow their own intuition and vision. Viewing leadership as an open and transparent function, she dispenses all of her knowledge back into her team at Fuyu Dezain so that their successes can be replicated together.

What Pei Pei has in mind for the design studio in the next five to ten years alone is especially impressive. Fuyu Dezain will be creating a platform with an aim to connect designers with projects by fostering a culture of flexibility within the industry, allowing them to work at their own pace. Alongside a robust plan to develop an educational initiative focused on practical design skills like management and sustainability, they will also establish a network between suppliers and designers in a bid to transform the industry. Through these three commendable initiatives, Fuyu aims to become a hub for both work opportunities and professional growth.

By 2034, Pei Pei sees the design studio as a self-sustaining ecosystem that will allow her to focus on the more strategic aspects of the company. “I’ll [also] be able to dedicate more time to broader charitable endeavours, while the day-to-day operations continue to thrive independently.”