The Apprentice Asia

Bonnie And Clyde Organize a Charity Ball

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It’s down to the final two!

Jon and Andrea were up against each other, and Jon for one thought it would be a little strange, quipping, “Andrea and I are like Bonnie and Clyde. I would be missing my Bonnie in this specific task.”

Their task was one close to Tony’s heart – they had to organize elements of a charity black-tie fundraiser for the benefit of the AirAsia Foundation. AirAsia Foundation supports the development of regional communities in the ASEAN, by funding social enterprises.

Each would have to:

  • Organize a cocktail event.
  • Manage their own portion of the charity auction. (Each had 5 items to auction off.) In keeping with the spirit of the Foundation, though, they would not be judged on the amount raised.
  • Design a promotional standee to be displayed at the cocktail reception.

Adding to the pressure was the fact that the event would be attended by many of Tony’s friends, family, and distinguished guests.

From the get-go, Jon was excited about the task, saying that he’s personally passionate about the development of communities in ASEAN.

Picking Teams

6 fired candidates were brought in to assist them – Alex, Celina, Nash, Ningku, Sam, and, to Andrea’s dismay, Dian. (Alex and Celina carefully avoided eye-contact.)

Andrea confessed to the camera that she was not happy to see Dian, because they’d both disparaged each other during their last boardroom meeting, which ended with Dian being fired.

By coin-toss, Jon was given the first pick.

Jon’s strategy was not to pick the strongest candidates, but to pick those whom he thought he worked well with, and whom he thought would root for him to win. He chose Sam, Nash, and Celina.

Andrea was surprised at Jon’s choices. “I think Jonathan made his decision a little bit more with his heart than with his head.”

Andrea chose Ningku and Alex, and was left with no choice but to pick Dian – the last candidate available.

Who Are You, and What Have You Done To Jonathan?

This week, it seemed like an entirely different Jonathan emerged! Kathleen was amazed! “Surprisingly, Jonathan is much more relaxed. Usually every task is very intense. For once I can see Jonathan very at ease with himself, with the task, and there’s confidence coming through.”

And she was spot on – we’ve never seen Jonathan so animated and cheerful! He was GLOWING.

Jon & Celina – Outrageously Smooth

Jonathan had never worked with Celina before, but picked her because she was also Filipina, and because he thought her F&B background would be valuable. It turned out that he really enjoyed working with Celina! “Celina is the best person to work with,” he enthused, “The dynamic’s just so outrageously smooth!”

Celina seemed equally happy about working for Jon.

Not So Smooth for Andrea

Once again, Andrea faced problems working with Dian. She picked Dian to help her make decisions on room décor, but then complained that “Dian was just going with my flow.”

Passionate Jon

Auction items ranged from Patronage of Social Enterprises, to watches from Tony’s personal collection.

The biggest auction item was the Richard Branson Charity Flight – the AirAsia flight where Richard Branson dressed up as a flight stewardess and served cocktails. The minimum bid for that was 25,000RM.

Andrea was surprised when Jon instead picked Patronage of Rags2Riches as his first choice – a choice he made because Rags2Riches was set up by one of his best friends, and he was psyched up about raising funds for it.

Andrea again thought Jon was making emotional decisions.

When all choices were made, it seemed that Jon’s strategy was to go for items with low minimum bids.

Emotionless Andrea

Jon, so enthusiastic and passionate about raising funds for the AirAsia Foundation, questioned Andrea’s passion. “She can execute a charity ball perfectly, but if it’s not heartfelt, if it’s not burning with passion, I think that will come through.”

This seeming lack of passion certainly showed when she rehearsed her welcome speech. Alex and Ningku kept stopping her, because she was being too robotic and emotionless.

“You’re reading it – and you’re not feeling it,” Alex fretted, “I don’t believe you when you say these things right now, you know?”

Stressed, Andrea started whining. (Again!)

All the way down to the last minute, Andrea was writing and re-writing her script.

Will she nail the welcome speech?

Find out in the final episode next week!