Working for ‘win-win’ solutions

Kitty Yu knows how to negotiate. She’s Corporate Development and Legal Affairs Director at APAC after all. But, according to Kitty, winning is not the only thing that matters.

 “Lawyers are always perceived as people who argue to get their way,” she says. “In the business world, however, it’s important to try to find win-win situation for all. I think it is important for in-house legal personnel to find creative solutions that work for all parties.”

It is Kitty’s job to oversee legal matters and mergers and acquisitions at ASSA ABLOY APAC division, and find the best possible legal solutions for both the company and the parties it deals with, often vendors of merger and acquisition deals. 

“I always try to take other people’s point of view into account, even though they may conflict with my own views,” she says. “I try to understand people and talk to them to find out what is going on before delivering what they are asking for.”

Her background working for Amnesty International sparked her decision to pursue legal studies. She says: “Before I pursued my law degree, I worked for Amnesty International in Hong Kong doing human rights campaign work.  Amnesty was founded by lawyers and I thought that instead of being a campaigner, I could do much more for human rights by getting into the legal system myself as a lawyer.”

She studied law abroad at the University of Southern California and University of London and then gained commercial legal experience in various firms in the US and Hong Kong.
Kitty then found her passion working in commercial law at ASSA ABLOY, which she joined in 2008.  “I was attracted to ASSA ABLOY because the company is very much focused on talent and people,” she says. “It is very important to me that my company values me as an individual.”

As an in-house lawyer for the APAC division, she enjoys seeing another side to her trade.
“At ASSA ABLOY, I become the client. It’s different than a typical lawyer’s role, because it incorporates many more business elements into my daily work which I enjoy.”
And enjoying work is one of Kitty’s life and career philosophies. 
“It’s important to enjoy your job and have passion for what you do,” she says. “Sometimes work is stressful and I travel a lot, so I really think that liking what I do is important to stay happy. I have a passion for cooking and good food, too, so travelling lets me taste a lot of new foods.”