UNDER ONE MANAGEMENT: Ms Lai wants to make visiting the three parks better for visitors, so "Park-Hopper" tickets, a passport for all three attractions at one price, will be sold from next month. -- BT FILE PHOTO

Less than two months into her new position, she feels 'privileged' to have been tasked with bringing all the animals in Singapore's three wildlife parks under one roof, at least in the corporate sense.

The Singapore Zoo and Night Safari are already aligned, so she needs to bring the operations of the Jurong BirdPark into the fold, she told The Straits Times.

Until now, the bird park has been run and managed separately - and the separateness shows in the parks' ticketing and membership systems, for instance.

Ask Ms Lai what her plans are for WRS and her answer comes succinctly: She wants 'to raise the bar for service excellence' and spearhead research, conservation and education.

Ms Lai, 50, who holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago, also brings years of marketing experience and a hard-nosed business strategy to the table.

The zoo and Night Safari got a dose of her driven style when she took the reins as executive director of the Singapore Zoo in 2004.

She revamped two dozen exhibits at both parks.

Under her watch, visitor numbers have grown by 100,000 every year.

She is looking beyond plumping up WRS' bottom line: She wants to make visiting the three parks better for visitors.

As a first step, 'Park-Hopper' tickets, a passport to all three attractions at one price, will be sold from next month.

This ticket will cost less than the cost of separate admissions to the parks.

WRS' sales, marketing and communications director, Ms Isabel Cheng, told The Straits Times that more perks will come, but only after the parks have been more seamlessly brought together.

Bringing the three attractions under one management means resources, manpower and experience can be pooled.

They will then be deployed under six broad divisions, each handling the area for all three parks: Life Science, Conservation, Research and Education; Commercial Operations; Marketing, Sales and Communication; Park Infrastructure and Development; Finance and Corporate Services; and Human Resources.

General managers will be appointed to run each park, but the challenge will be in finding these and other top people to staff the six divisions, said Ms Lai.

The bird park's executive director, Dr Wong Hon Mun, has bailed out on running the Life Science, Conservation, Research and Education Division.

Dr Wong's exit at the end of this month follows former WRS chairman Robert Kwan's stepping down.

Speculation has it that more resignations from the bird park will follow.

But Ms Lai said she has heard none of this. WRS has in fact welcomed 10 new hires and has seen no resignations since she took over the helm on Jan1.

She acknowledged Dr Wong's contributions to the bird park, saying: 'We are sad to lose him.'