Sitting in a large office of the Anana building on Norodom Boulevard, Sok Channda, president and CEO of Mekongnet, Sun City Apartments, Anana Computer and Full House Decoration, gives some tips for woman aspiring to become CEOs.

“To be a CEO, we start by showing great achievements in the workplace [in a company as an employee] or by becoming CEO of our own business,” Channda says.

Getting a master’s degree or management certificate does not qualify a person to become a CEO, according to the successful woman.

“A certificate is important, but not the feature that makes a CEO,” she says, adding that some people who had a management certificate or other high-level degree turned out to be no good at managing staff or even doing work themselves.

A good CEO, Channda tells us, is a person who intends to develop the company, loves her work and the company as if it was her own, learns fast and can communicate well with staff.

Before becoming a CEO, one has to be willing to learn first, according to Channda.

“To run a successful company you first have to learn from your business partners, learn from staff and learn from everyone around you.”

Channda herself started as an inexperienced lady who started her career as a face masseuse in a small beauty salon, sewed clothes, made accessories and ran many small businesses before opening Anana Computer shop.

Channda’s impressive career proves that women can successfully aim for the highest jobs in the business world – but there may yet be a bitter taste to it.

“There is no single job a man can do that a woman cannot, but we may have to try and work harder to prove ourselves.”