Notes, talks and films on senior living, care, longevity, operations and anthropology.
Some entries first appeared on LinkedIn or YouTube. They are presented here in chronological order, using their original publication dates.
-
Learning for its own sake: completing my Harvard degree
🎓 "We refuse to let the current version of our lives be the final version."
That sentence from the Harvard Extension School Commencement speech has stayed with me.
A month ago, I attended my Harvard University graduation ceremony for a Master's in Anthropology & Archaeology, my third master's degree. I started it during the COVID lockdown… "for fun." Somehow, that also ended with a place on the Dean's List for Academic Achievement.
🗿The truth is, I never completely got over wanting to be Indiana Jones. Most people eventually outgrow that dream. Mine simply evolved into ethnographic fieldwork in the foothills of the Himalayas, dozens of academic papers, and considerably fewer ancient temples and cracks of the whip than I'd been promised.
And yes, despite the all-nighters, the flights spent reading and writing, and the privilege of living alongside isolated tribes in the mountains of China, it genuinely was fun!
I've always believed that learning doesn't need to be justified. Not every pursuit has to make you richer, faster, or more successful. In this case, learning for the sake of learning was reason enough. Curiosity is one of the few investments that always changes the person making it.
Ironically, this degree "for fun" ended up making me better at my job too. Anthropology didn't teach me how to operate senior living communities, but it deepened my understanding of the people we serve. Different discipline, same questions: how people adapt when their world changes, what traditions they preserve, which ones they reinvent, and how communities continue to thrive across generations. I never expected those synergies, but I'm grateful they found me.
Perhaps that's the real value of learning. You rarely end up exactly where you expected, but if you stay curious enough, you almost always end up somewhere worth being.
Thank you to Chanelle Ohayon-Crosby, Oriana, Jonas, my friends and colleagues for patiently putting up with countless "just one more paper" and "sorry, I can't, I have a deadline." I know I probably tested your patience at times. I hope I've made you proud!
Thank you to my professors, especially Prof. Joe Henrich and Dr. Richard Martin, who constantly challenged me intellectually.
Here's to refusing to let the current version of ourselves be the final one… and to chasing a few more childhood dreams along the way. 🎩
Credit for the commencement quote: Theo Rowley.
1 / 5First published on LinkedIn, June 30, 2026. View the original post.
-
Why longevity is a long-term business
🤷🏼♂️𝗗𝗲𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁 Sindora Living 欣岳年 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 Apple.
One of us is worth $3 trillion, the other manages senior living communities in Asia. I’ll let you guess which is which 😂.
Jokes aside, it’s gratifying to see Deutsche Bank recognize a model we believe strongly in: senior living built around long-term relationships, recurring services, and genuine care rather than one-off real estate transactions.
After all, longevity is, by definition, a long-term business. It cannot just be built quarter by quarter. It requires relationships measured in years.
The article makes it clear: the Silver Economy isn’t coming, it’s already here, and China is poised to become one of its leaders. Nice to see Sindora included in that conversation.
🔗 Deutsche Bank report on the Silver Economy: https://lnkd.in/gjrFbzKQ
First published on LinkedIn, June 19, 2026. View the original post.
-
Two years of Sindora Nanjing
(🎥sound on🎵)𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂! 🕶️
🎂Still young. Always elegant. 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗮 𝗡𝗮𝗻𝗷𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 2️⃣!
Two years of care, community, dignity, laughter, and residents proving that style has no expiry date.
That’s senior living on your own terms.
Happy anniversary to our residents, their families, and our dedicated teams!
First published on LinkedIn, May 28, 2026. View the original post.
-
What the 2026 Ageing Asia awards recognized
🏆 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿. Three weeks ago, at the 14th Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards, Sindora Living 欣岳年 walked away with two wins, one finalist spot, and one career-defining recognition for a colleague and friend I deeply respect. Overdue post, but worth writing.
🏆 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿, for our 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲. Years of R&D with Prof. Brian Kennedy, finally living inside a community: bio-age diagnostics, non-pharmacological interventions, opened beyond residents as a real revenue stream rather than a marketing line. At 90, Madam Ma climbs 68 steps without stopping. That is what "𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲" actually looks like.
🏆 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿, for our 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗝𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻 community. An affordable community built with the Jinan municipal government, where we did not cut features or dilute the philosophy to hit the price point. Quality and accessibility are not mutually exclusive, and we are happy to keep proving it.
🥈 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁. We finished second, behind our long-term partners at 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗻, who happen to be the people we operate our Foshan community for. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱. Genuinely happy for them. Different DNA, shared ambition, same direction.
🏅 And then there is Thierry Costanzo 顾特睿 our COO, who received the 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 for a career spent bridging European and Asian senior living, and quietly pioneering modern eldercare in China. Thierry has been in this fight longer than most of us, and with less noise. About time!
💛 Thank you to Ageing Asia and the jury, to our teams in Nanjing, Jinan, and Foshan, to our partners, and to the residents and families who keep us loyal to our motto: 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀.
1 / 3First published on LinkedIn, May 8, 2026. View the original post.
-
AI will automate tasks, not presence
🤖 AI just declared senior living safe from disruption. My reaction wasn't relief.
Anthropic, the company behind Claude, just published a landmark study mapping which jobs AI will automate next.
Computer programmers: 75% of tasks covered. Customer service reps: 70%. Data entry: 67%.
Caregivers, nurses aides, care home staff: 0%.
I've spent 13 years building senior care platforms across Asia. And when I saw that number, my first thought wasn't "great, we're protected." It was: if our people are irreplaceable, why is it still so hard to convince talented people that care is a career worth choosing? Because here's what low AI exposure actually means in our sector. It doesn't mean low pressure. And it doesn't automatically translate into recognition, status, or career desirability. Society has a long habit of undervaluing the work it cannot replace. That's the real problem we need to solve.
Now flip it the other way.
The back office of senior care, documentation, scheduling, compliance, staffing logistics, is highly exposed to AI. That's exactly where we should be deploying it. Not to cut headcount. To return time to the people whose work no algorithm will ever replicate.
And there's one more thing the study hints at, that nobody in our sector is talking about. Millions of educated, higher-paid white-collar workers may face real disruption in the next few years. Some will need to reinvent entirely. Care is one of the few fields that will remain structurally, irreducibly human.
That's not a consolation prize. That could be the most meaningful redeployment story of the next decade, if we make care a profession people actually want to enter.
AI will automate the task. It will never automate the presence.
So here's my question: is caregiving undervalued because it's hard to automate, or is it hard to automate because it's been undervalued? Link to the full study in the first comment. Honestly worth reading even if senior living is the last thing on your mind, especially then.
First published on LinkedIn, March 9, 2026. View the original post.
-
Can AI help cities age better?
🏙️ Can AI help cities age better?
On 6 March, I’ll be speaking at the Intelligence Outlook Forum 2026, organized by SPARK by CIO Academy Asia.
This year’s theme, “The AI Operating System for Future Cities & Flourishing Human Vitality”, feels particularly relevant.
If cities are becoming intelligent systems, senior living and healthcare are not peripheral layers. They are central.
The real question is not whether AI will be embedded in our cities. It is whether we design it to strengthen autonomy, dignity, and human agency.
Looking forward to the conversation.
First published on LinkedIn, February 27, 2026. View the original post.
-
Five recognitions for Sindora Living at Ageing Asia 2025
🌟 I won’t fake modesty: I’m very proud to share that Sindora Living 欣岳年 has been honored with 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 at the “𝗢𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴” – the 13th Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards, held during the World Ageing Festival 2025:
🏆 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿, for our flagship Sindora Nanjing Community – 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 🏆 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿, for TERESA, our comprehensive care operations platform – 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 🥈 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 – 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 🥈 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿, for our Healthy Longevity Program – 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 🏅 And most meaningfully, our very own 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗫𝘂, our Senior Care Manager, has received a 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗹𝗮𝘇𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 – a lifetime recognition of her leadership in reimagining ageing with empathy, rigour, and vision. 🏆 👓 And congratulations to our partners at SilVR Adventures on their award for the VR-based rehabilitation device we’ve launched together in China!
🔶 At Sindora, our ambition is to 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 by building a model that 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 at every stage of the ageing journey – regardless of cognitive or physical condition.
We are proud of our philosophy “𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀" and grateful to see it recognized.
But 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: experiences that feel human, systems that work, and results that are replicable across communities, geographies, and time.
🏅To receive recognition for the tools we’ve created to 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵, while enabling 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, is a strong validation of our approach – and a clear signal that we’re heading in the right direction.
💛 Thanks to our passionate team, pioneering partners, and the residents and families who inspire us every day. We’re walking this journey together – with purpose, dignity, and heart.
♥️ And a warm thank you to the organizers Ageing Asia for once again hosting such a meaningful and successful event.
1 / 8First published on LinkedIn, April 10, 2025. View the original post.