Starhub, Vodafone strengthen leadership bench to grow corporate IT business
By Grace Chng
Two telcos in Asia are strengthening its leadership team to grab a bigger share of the corporate IT business and move beyond basic voice and data services which have become commoditised.
Singapore second largest telco StarHub announced that veteran ICT executive Chong Yoke Sin will join Starhub on April 3 to head its enterprise business group. Another key officer Mock Pak Lum swapped his operational role as chief technology officer for a newly-created position that is more strategic, that of chief business development. Moving up the ladder to the CTO office is StarHub lifer Chong Siew Loong, who was previously vice-president of its networking division. All appointments except for Dr Chong’s have already taken effect.
Over at Vodafone, well-known corporate leader Tan Yen Yen has joined the London-headquartered corporation as its president for the company’s enterprise business.
Tan, who started work last week, has the chops that will enhance Vodafone’s chances in the region. She started her career with Hewlett-Packard and worked in other software companies. Her last role was as regional vice-president and managing director Asia-Pacific for SAS. She is also a company director with digital security company Gemalto and media firm Singapore Press Holdings.
The StarHub changes signal that Singapore’s second largest telco aims to accelerate its enterprise business and hone other opportunities in such areas as cybersecurity and in emerging new businesses.
As chief business development officer, Mock, will identify new opportunities especially in cybersecurity and big data analytics and ensure that strategic investments are synergistic with its core businesses. New acquisitions and investments may be on the horizon for StarHub. An immediate task for Mock, who has been with StarHub since 2011, would be to decide on an appropriate bid for the General Spectrum Auction expected to be called by the end of March. Industry insiders say that this auction, open to all mobile operators in Singapore, will push bidding to a higher level because the newest mobile entrant, TPG, will aim to get a bigger swathe of the mobile spectrum.
On the enterprise business side, StarHub will benefit from Dr Chong’s solid background in corporate ICT and many years of helming high-tech companies. Currently advisor to Parkway Pantai Healthcare Group, she was last CEO of Integrated Health Information Systems in Singapore until the end of 2016. Prior to that she spent 12 years with local systems integrator NCS, which is now part of Singtel.
Like other telcos, StarHub is actively applying its scale and IT savvy to move beyond basic voice and data services which have become commoditised. ICT services are expected to deliver higher profit margins. As organisations undergo digital transformation, they will offer opportunities in such areas as cloud computing, ubiquitous Internet connectivity, unified communications and mobile infrastructure businesses. Cloud computing, for example, will help small- and medium-sized businesses reduce ICT expenses, while ubiquitous Internet connectivity opens up a raft of opportunities in network management. Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative also offers business opportunities in cybersecurity, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things systems, among other areas.
Dr Chong’s ICT savvy and experience in the Asia-Pacific region will be useful when the telco enters the regional enterprise ICT business. But she will come out against a bevy of entrenched players including IBM, Accenture and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. Currently, enterprise contributes 40 per cent to StarHub’s revenue.
