Over tea and a thoughtful conversation, Chief Diana Chen shares timeless wisdom on responsibility, honour, and the art of purposeful living. Drawing lessons from traditional Chinese culture, the woman behind one of Nigeria’s most impactful business legacies offers practical insights to navigate life’s complexities and become a conqueror in your own story.

A quiet tea-making ritual

I sit across from Chief Diana Chen in her Lagos office, watching her perform the delicate ritual of tea-making. It’s no surprise. Her homeland, China, is widely regarded as the birthplace of tea, and the beverage, in its wide varieties, remains central to the daily lives of millions of its people. But what stands out is how deeply personal this act is for her.

Each movement Chief Chen makes is precise and intentional, almost meditative: rinsing the teapot with hot water, letting the leaves steep, pouring with care. It’s mesmerising, calming even. She seems absorbed yet fully present, turning this simple task into an act of mindfulness. I find myself relaxing, unconsciously mirroring her serenity.
“Even when I’m making the tea, I relax myself,” she says gently as she pours me a glass. “The way I make it, I’m doing my own meditation.”

And you can feel it. The act feels sacred, not performative. What she’s offering is a window into how she lives, how she leads, and how she survives. With each step, she seems to return to herself.

Her office mirrors this: still, balanced, and peaceful, like a person who’s found peace within, despite the noise outside. Amidst the relentless pressures of running a successful business, navigating cross-cultural leadership, and adapting to life in Nigeria since 2014, it’s a space that reflects how she moves through life: calm, disciplined, and rooted.

The chairperson and Group CEO of Choice International Group (parent company of CIG Motors Company Limited, GAC Motor Nigeria, and Lagride Nigeria Limited) and Vice Chair of China-Africa Business Council (Nigeria), she has overseen over $2 billion in investments across technology, mobility and infrastructure on the continent. Her investments in Africa’s most populated country fit perfectly in the fabric of China’s Belt and Road initiative.

With more than a decade in the country, Chen is not just another Chinese businesswoman cashing out in Nigeria. She has made the country her home and built relationships in both high and humble places. She insists her coming to Nigeria was divine.

“God sent me here,” she tells me.

Finding balance: yin and yang

Our conversation drifts naturally into lessons. Chief Chen has built an enduring legacy as the chairman of CIG Motors, the company behind Lagos’s LagRide initiative. But she is quick to clarify that true honour is not born from ease.

“The more honour you want to get, the more responsibility you carry, and the more hardship you experience than the normal person,” she says. “Only hardship builds the honour, not the sweet part.”

She speaks softly, but her words carry weight. Life, as she’s lived it, has not been easy. Her composure didn’t come from a life of convenience. It’s a product of countless trials, disappointments, and inner battles, experiences that shaped her understanding of resilience and taught her the value of restraint.

“Fighting every situation won’t help you,” she advises. “Accept whatever is happening around you. Don’t waste energy fighting. Fighting will make you stressed. Stay away from stress, but work hard. And be intentional about where you invest your energy.”

The philosophy of balance runs through everything she does, from business to how she shows up in the world, and it is deeply influenced by Chinese tradition. She often references the ancient principle of Yin and Yang: masculine and feminine energy coexisting in harmony.

“As a leader, you cannot be too soft,” she tells me directly. “Leadership demands both strength and gentleness. You have to find that balance. There is a soft way and a hard way; you should use both ways.”

To her, boldness and gentleness are not opposites. They are partners. Especially for young women.

“Don’t just say, ‘I’m a woman,’” she continues. “Embrace your boldness while nurturing your gentleness. Let both sides coexist within you.”

It’s also about knowing who to lean on. Growth and leadership come with challenges and require knowing when and where to ask for help. “When you have challenges, ask for help from your senior person. Junior people ask for your support; senior people are able to give you support. You have to tell yourself you are not a normal woman if you want to be strong.”

The path to wisdom

Earlier, during her photo shoot with the Guardian Life team, I watched her quietly interact with a sculpture in her office, a bowed figure, serene and reflective. She later tells me it represents wisdom. And it becomes clear: her life has been a long, deliberate pursuit of it.

“Check each culture, each country,” she says. In humankind, there are four prominent religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. Start with the one closest to you. Study your traditions deeply. But don’t stop there. Explore other traditions. Each one carries a unique lesson.

Her view of wisdom is universal and curious. It’s about noticing what brings people together, not about rigid ideologies. “Only good things carry people together,” she says. “Learn what that is. Find the good in each culture, and learn why people unite around certain beliefs.”

She urges having a wide, bird’s-eye view of life, one that does not limit knowledge to one’s own culture. Her advice to young people? Be curious. Be bold. Explore deeply. Wisdom, she assures me, will come with time.

Creating calm amid chaos

Since moving to Nigeria in 2014, Chief Chen has learned how to create peace in an environment that often feels chaotic.

“Here, everywhere is chaos,” she says, laughing. “Only the rich appreciate good environments. Society, not just the government, must decide they want change. You must tell yourself, ‘I want to change.’”

But she doesn’t just preach change; she designs it into her life.

“I make my home and my office places of calm and balance. I designed them to reflect who I am and how I choose to live.”

She acknowledges the flaws in the system but refuses to place the burden solely on the government. “[The] Government cannot do everything. Society must take responsibility too,” she insists. “Each individual must decide they want change.”

Managing people, expanding vision

Chief Chen’s leadership philosophy is firm but expansive. As we speak, she begins to share what feels like spontaneous leadership masterclasses, occasionally sharing little gems. Parts of our conversations sound like a seasoned teacher dishing out life lessons to a protégé. And that’s telling. Mentorship is a big deal for millions of Chinese. While it emphasises the importance of hierarchy and order, it also helps foster reciprocity, collectivism, and growth.

“You must make your imagination bigger than your reality,” she tells me. “If you manage four people today, imagine you manage forty. Let your mind stretch beyond what you currently see.”

It’s advice born from personal experience. Chief Chen rose through an uncharted path, created a vision of what she wanted her future to look like, and pursued that vision with unusual courage and conviction.

The inevitable obstacles in the gap between current reality and future vision don’t discourage Chief Chen; they excite her.

“Anything can be difficult,” she says. “Even making tea can seem difficult. You must train yourself to become a conqueror.”

She laughs at how quickly people back down at the first sign of challenge. “Some people say, ‘No, it’s too hard.’ But difficulty isn’t a stop sign. If you’re a fearless person, there’s nothing you see as difficult in front of you. You see problems as puzzles to solve.”

But vision alone isn’t enough. She believes growth requires more than internal fire. It needs fuel from others. People need accountability, new experiences, challenges, and mentors who constantly push them. “Self-motivation alone is not enough,” she says. “You need people who push you beyond your limits, who expand your vision. That’s how you grow.”

Endlessly pursuing greatness

As our conversation draws to a close, Chief Chen outlines the five stages of becoming great: childhood and education, marriage and partnership, career building, community management, and societal leadership.

“You must build yourself before you build the community,” she tells me. And marriage, she adds, is a key pillar. “Marry someone who supports you. Someone who isn’t selfish, who wants you to be excellent every day.”

Her own life reflects a steady pursuit of excellence through sport, calligraphy, meditation, and quiet reflection. “Sport gives strength to your body. Inner strength comes from meditation and motivation.” Calligraphy, she adds, helps her appreciate beauty and life from a different lens.

Even the way she talks about ageing carries its own grace. “Life is never complete. You can retire from positions, but never from work. Even at 80 or 90, people still work on developing themselves.”

She hopes her next chapter will focus on impact: deep, lasting, and transformative. In her office, the sculpture of the bowed figure reminds her daily: real wisdom is quiet. “Wisdom doesn’t shout,” she says like a sage. “It’s quiet. Reflective. Humble.”

As this discussion ends, she offers a final line that lingers in the air like steam rising from a freshly brewed cup of tea. “The pursuit of growth is endless. You never fully retire from meaningful work. Even at 90, keep creating, keep exploring. That’s the most beautiful part of being human.”