Profile | Hong Kong PR firm founder who worked for a Nigerian prince, pulled off a great stunt during the 1997 handover, and built a Thai beach resort during Covid
- Susan Field, founder of ImpactAsia, managed her family hotel and worked as a housekeeper for a Nigerian prince before moving to Hong Kong in 1986
- She now spends her days transforming properties on Thailand’s Koh Samui and supporting elephant charities, all the while surrounded by her eight rescue dogs
I was born in 1956 in Leeds, in the north of England. When I was three, my father left my mum Barbara with just a few shillings in her purse – barely enough to get us bus tickets to my grandparents in Brighouse, where I grew up.
My mother was an incredibly strong woman and very hard-working. She worked two jobs to support us, which, looking back, I believe instilled an independent, fearless spirit in me. Her favourite saying was, “Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.”
Northern Soul
I attended Brighouse Girls’ Grammar School and was a pretty average student, although I was OK at tennis and enjoyed music. When I was 15, my mother married a hotelier, Peter Robinson, from Scarborough, and we moved to the coast. I loved it, especially in the summer. Scarborough’s a resort town with great beaches.
Growing up in the early ’70s, I was totally in love with soul music, mostly Tamla Motown and music from the Stax label. With my best friend, Mags, I used to sneak out of school to go to Manchester to buy rare soul records. In my late teens, I started going to Wigan Casino, a massive northern soul music venue.
Fit for a prince
I left college aged 18. I worked in Newquay, Cornwall, for two summers as a chambermaid. I also worked for (department store company) John Lewis on its staff holiday retreat. When my family bought a hotel in Devon, I managed it for a few years before heading to Austria, where I worked as a cook in a ski resort, which was great fun.
