An Interview with Tan Yen Yen
Vice-President & Managing Director
Hewlett-Packard Singapore
Location: Singapore
Graduated from HSE EE in 2006
Tell us more about your role in Hewlett-Packard and Sitf.
I am working as the Vice President and Managing Director of Hewlett-Packard Singapore. I provide the country leadership for the business functions and business groups in Singapore. I am also responsible for spearheading the sales, marketing and operations for our Technology Solutions Group, and delivering on the financial commitment, talent development, and customer satisfaction.
I am also serving as the Chairman of the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) which is Singapore’s association for more than 400 infocomm members from multinational companies and local enterprises. Wearing the SiTF hat, I work closely SiTF councilors and members, so that we provide the voice of the industry to government agencies and trade associations; and work on local and international events that provide platforms for knowledge sharing, networking and showcasing our local innovations, products and solutions. My focus in SiTF is to make it a springboard for new market creation for our members locally and abroad. This includes looking at set up of solutions centres for our Singapore infocomms companies to penetrate overseas markets. We work with foreign partners to venture beyond our domestic market and help our Singapore ICT companies grow overseas.
What has been critical to your ability to grow as a woman leader in a male-driven environment?
Be yourself. I think it’s important to be comfortable in your own skin. Only when you are grounded and confident can you focus outwards. By outward focus, I mean building external relationships or embracing new experiences, and moving out of one’s comfort zone. I have raised my hands for different assignments, and have been lucky to be given the opportunities to move across varied roles from sales and marketing, channels development to running a business unit in the region, and now country management. That’s been both a fulfilling as well as humbling experience.
I say humbling because there’s still so much learning I have to do. In the technology sector that I am in, every day is a fresh learning and challenging experience – whether it is a new technological development, client negotiation or team management. I find that only when you admit that there are things you don’t know, and are willing to learn, can you evolve and reinvent yourself and broaden your thinking.
Regardless of our gender or industry, I find that it’s important to work hard and prove yourself, only then will opportunities come your way. There is no breakthrough or greatness achieved without hard work. In that, I belong to the old school of thought.
I would like to think that as a woman leader, I am more self-aware, more collaborative and empathetic in the way I manage my relationships. I devote a lot of energy to knowing my customers and team members well, and playing to their strengths so that they are on top of their game. I am equally passionate about helping them achieve their goals. We spend a good three quarters of our day at work, so it’s best to enjoy the process and the people we work with.
What have you gained from the HSE EE program that has made a difference to how you strategize, act and lead?
I signed up for the Masters program for the simple joy of learning. I had heard so much about HSE EE Executive MBA from my friends who went through the program that the schedule was flexible, and the core modules were interesting with up-to-date course content. That’s why I chose HSE EE, and I have never looked back since then. When I was doing my Executive MBA, I was traveling a fair bit so the availability of weekend classes and the school’s emphasis on applied study suited me.
The biggest benefit of the course was gaining a network of friends. For me, it was about learning as much from my peers as possible.. I got to learn from a lot of bright individuals from different lines of business. The open sharing of their life experiences, the emerging trends in their industries and applying these real cases to the theories was very enlightening. The different perspectives that my course mates shared have opened up new lines of thinking for me, and helped me hone some of the strategies I now apply at work. I am now better able to look at things from different and richer perspectives, and this has influenced the way I lead my team.
A lot of my leadership and teamwork skills had to do with people I met and what I learned from them. What I think really distinguishes HSE EE is its alumni network and I am thrilled to be a part of this community.
What do you have to share with anyone who wishes to have a career in the technology industry today?
The Information and Communications Industry is exciting because you are always at the forefront of technology innovations. And the technology changes constantly, so you are continuously on the treadmill of change and there’s not one boring moment.
Infocomm straddles multiple disciplines from the life sciences field with bioinformatics, health care with electronic medical records, the media industry with 3-D stereoscopic rendering and geography with geographic information systems and location based services. You don’t have to be a computer science graduate to get into this industry. There are multiple roles to play from sales and marketing, venture capitalism specializing in the infocomms industry, R&D to technical support to product development.
Personally, I have always enjoyed the IT industry because it presents a structural approach to problem solving. You have to be both creative and rational. Technology is pervasive in our lives, and there is so much that can be done to enhance our work, life and play. I think to get into the industry you have to be open-minded, to embrace everything and have a voracious thirst for knowledge. At the same time, you should be anchored in how you frame your thoughts and deductions. The attitude of being open and wanting to learn more will determine your success in this industry.
What's the future for you like?
This is a tough year in terms of economic outlook. I hope in this challenging time, I can steer the HP Singapore team to deliver to corporate expectations, and make it a great place for our employees. A place where they look forward to going to work because of the friendships forged a stimulating environment where they are continuously challenged for the next great idea and a place where they feel they can grow because the company trusts and respects them.
For the IT industry, these challenging times also presents opportunities for members of SiTF to band even tighter together. I believe in tough times, SiTF has an even bigger role to play as the voice of the industry, and be that platform for driving innovation and market creation for the infocomm companies. As an association, we hope to work closely with the government agencies to help accelerate infocomm technology adoption amongst small and medium sized enterprises and startups, I am a believer that technology can cut your operating costs, and reach out to new customers and revenue streams.
What about the home front you may ask? I will continue to spend quality time with my kids and family. Personally, I hope to do my first Olympic Distance Triathlon by this year-end.