Huan Yang: Behind GudangAda’s Technological Success
While it is true that the measure of a team is each member who supports it, the direction and speed with which the team moves is often decided by the leaders. We need higher-ups with the adequate expertise to develop new game plans, assess new problems, and think one step ahead of the competition.
Our team, our ship, is important to the success of our company. So when we let someone else take the wheel, we give them our complete trust.
And that brings us to today’s story!
Today’s focus is on the role of Chief Technology Officer, which is critical for a technology company like us. As the captain, mentor, and guide for all technological things, the person in this position must be both knowledgeable and open-minded, and as eager to teach as they are to learn.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Huan Yang! Are you ready to get to know him?
Meet Huan Yang, CTO of GudangAda
There are many people who are knowledgeable about technology in today’s day and age. However, at GudangAda, we are looking for people who go beyond simply knowing their stuff — people who care enough about their stuff to build new frameworks to make it more accessible.
When GudangAda began looking for a new CTO, we looked for passion and determination first.
Luckily for us, Huan showed right up!
So, how did he get to be as successful as he is now? It all began with a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. From there, he began his career in Google’s Ads team in China as a software engineer.
He currently has approximately 14 years of experience in software engineering and management. He has worked with some of the world’s most powerful technology corporations, including Google, Facebook, Uber, and Grab.
In his current role, Huan Yang leads the Technology Department, overseeing the development of software and mobile apps as well as investing in technological innovations to further enhance our products and services to meet the needs of our customers.
The most significant contribution of the tech team, led by Huan, is the development of a full stack of technology solutions that are widely used by external customers and internal business operations.
Impacting millions of SMEs and FMCG stakeholders
For Huan, the most intriguing aspect of GudangAda as an industry is the magic that has happened by combining technology and the FMCG industry. By adopting the technology innovations that GudangAda brings in, FMCG stakeholders have found that sale volume increases, logistics become faster, payment is easier, and business operation is more efficient.
And, as a long-time player in business and organisation development, Huan was drawn to the opportunity to positively impact millions of SMEs and FMCG stakeholders. Despite being the backbone of the Indonesian economy, SMEs and FMCG stakeholders are underserved, and there aren’t enough technology solutions built for them. He’s thrilled to help them with technology and make their lives easier.
During Covid-19, Huan faced one of his biggest challenges as a CTO. It was difficult for him to personally visit our customers and hear their feedback. Fortunately, GudangAda members work as one team, and customer feedback and market learnings are transparently shared internally. As a result of this feedback, the tech team was able to create better technology solutions for our customers.
Which of GudangAda’s values resonates the most with Huan?
“All the five values are equally important,” Huan said. “And these five values are the differential factors making GudangAda unique and the trusted brand for millions of FMCG stakeholders.”
GudangAda’s core values undoubtedly foster a high-performance environment. Integrity guides principle in how we perform our jobs, Teamwork enables and empowers us to achieve more as one team, Growth Mindset helps us fully realise our potential, Respect makes this workplace fun and enjoyable, and Agility shows how eager we are to serve our customers.
Huan believes that if GudangAda Troops adheres to our core values, we will be successful as a team and as a company. As we all know, GudangAda’s mission, values, and performance have earned us the trust of our customers and led to our current success.
GudangAda Troops should never forget how much our customers rely on us to help them succeed in business. It is our responsibility to serve all FMCG stakeholders.