Episode 12: Bill Ang and Richard Bleasdale
Composing Your Symphony: Finding Purpose in the Third Transition
AIRED: 20/01/2026
Watch the episode
Introduction
What happens when you’ve built a successful career and suddenly find yourself asking, “What now?” For most men in their 50s and 60s, this question can feel daunting. But what if this moment isn’t an ending—it’s actually the beginning of your most important act?
In this conversation, we sit down with Bill Ang and Richard Bleasdale, two marketing veterans navigating this exact transition. Both are participants in the National University of Singapore’s Distinguished Senior Fellowship Programme, Asia’s first initiative designed for accomplished leaders entering the “third transition.”
Bill Ang, Director of Brand Marketing at Singtel, has spent over 30 years mastering storytelling. “The one who tells the best story almost always wins,” he explains, “whether you’re selling pots and pans in a supermarket basement or selling an idea in the boardroom.”
Richard Bleasdale, the Scottish-born marketing consultant and former CEO of Construct Digital, is all about ideas. “Ideas solve problems,” he says. “The story might be the way that’s communicated, but it’s the idea that changes the way people think.” After decades leading agencies across Asia, Richard has learnt that mentoring brings far greater satisfaction than training—it’s about enabling people to find their own solutions.
Composing your symphony
Bill’s framework for thriving in midlife is beautifully simple. He describes it as composing your own symphony, built on four essential freedoms:
- Financial freedom—the bassline that provides stability
- Physical freedom—the rhythm that keeps you moving
- Social freedom—the melody created by the people you care about
- Purpose—the lyrics that give your life meaning
Bill’s honest admission resonates: “Usually it’s about relationships and community. When you worry too much about building a career, you forget that it’s the people around you who will help you get there.”
Richard’s journey to purpose has been more recent. Watching his daughters navigate their career paths, he recognised they were following the same work-focused trajectory that had defined his life. “The purpose thing personally really matters to me now,” he shares. “It’s important to challenge yourself on what you can do with this purpose.”
The fellowship experience
Both men are part of the NUS Distinguished Senior Fellowship Programme, a 13-week intensive that’s changing how we think about aging. The programme brings together 21 accomplished leaders to explore everything from cancer research to longevity. They’ve studied with experts like Andy Tay, Andrea Maier, and Professor John Wong from the Queenstown Project.
The highlight? A week-long immersion at Smiling Gecko in Cambodia, a remarkable social enterprise founded by Swiss photographer Hannes Schmid. What began as one man’s “foolish” dream has grown into a 150-hectare campus providing education, vocational training, and employment to over 30,000 people. The fellows got their hands dirty—literally shoveling chicken manure—and witnessed first-hand how purpose-driven work creates ripple effects across generations.
“It allows people to come and look in the mirror,” Bill reflects. “We’re so fortunate, and there are people elsewhere in the world who need help.”
Their purpose project, T100 LIFE, emerged from this experience—focused on reimagining what’s possible in our third act. As Richard observes, “This idea around intergenerational collaboration towards changing views on aging is such a powerful thought. Singapore is a place where you can make things happen.”
For midlife men wondering about their next chapter, Bill and Richard’s journey offers a clear message: this transition isn’t about winding down—it’s about stepping up with wisdom, experience, and renewed purpose.
Guest info
Bill Ang is Director of Brand Marketing at Singtel, one of Singapore’s most iconic telecommunications companies. With over 30 years of experience in advertising, public relations, and brand storytelling, Bill has worked across major organisations including the Singapore Tourism Board, Ogilvy, and DDB. A founding board director at Wild Rice, Singapore’s premier theatre company, and an executive committee member of the Association of Advertising & Marketing Singapore (AAMS), Bill received the AAMS Advertising Visionary award.
He combines his professional expertise with a passion for the performing arts, having acted and performed throughout his career. Bill regularly contributes as an external adviser and lecturer to institutions including Yale-NUS College, the National University of Singapore, and LASALLE College of the Arts. He holds a degree in Political Science from the National University of Singapore and is currently a Fellow in the NUS Distinguished Senior Fellowship Programme.
Richard Bleasdale is CEO of Construct Digital and a veteran marketing consultant with over two decades of experience across Asia Pacific. Originally from Scotland, Richard has held senior leadership positions at some of the world’s leading agencies, including JWT, Ogilvy, BBDO, and DDB. He served as Group Managing Director of DDB Singapore, CEO at Iris Worldwide, Managing Director at The Secret Little Agency (TSLA), and spent eight years as Managing Partner for Asia Pacific at The Observatory International, a global marketing consultancy specialising in agency-client relationships.
Throughout his career, Richard has focused on transforming marketing organisations, mentoring talent, and helping brands navigate change. He is known for his expertise in identifying and nurturing ideas that solve complex business problems. Richard is currently a participant in the NUS Distinguished Senior Fellowship Programme, where he’s developing purpose-driven projects focused on reimagining aging and intergenerational collaboration.
Support
There are a few simple ways you can support the show and the content we strive to craft and share every single week.
- Subscribe & Review: Please make sure to review, share comments and subscribe to the show on the various platforms (Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram) This helps tremendously!
- Spread The Word: Help grow our reach by sharing your enthusiasm for the podcast and/or your favourite episodes by posting about it on social media.
- Thanks To Our Team: No one person is an island. Our team at The Wisdom Vault are amazing! Hats off to Stephen Keys, my co- founder, Kevin Best, our Creative Director, Osh O’Sullivan for all things editing, Devon Creasman for all things marketing and community. Vernon Song and the team at Phlow, for all things website and branding. Sinead and the team at 2Cents for keeping our books on track. Hamish and team for Apparition Media for our amazing ‘Laughing Dads’ mural.
