Alumni Spotlight Stories: Chung Heng Han

Chung Heng Han graduated in 1992 and embarked on a 26-year corporate journey with IBM and Oracle. He believes in mentoring young people through corporate programmes.

Q: Can you share your background with our readers?

I ventured into the tech industry through pure serendipity. In those days, campus recruitment was popular and career talks held in the Lecture Theatres were a welcome break from the monotony of lectures and tutorials. The snacks and gifts from participating corporations was a great incentive for us as well! It was such an afternoon, at the end of my 2nd year. After an afternoon nap at the Hon Sui Sen Library, on my way to a coffee break, IBM was there at the career talk. I attended the talk, indicated interest, applied for a Marketing Representative Role, and the rest is history. I spent 23 years in IBM, and more than 3 years in Oracle. While in IBM, I spent 6 years in Shanghai and Beijing on an International assignment. I am 50 years old this year, and have 3 children.

Q: What was your ambition?

I have always wanted to work in a Multinational Corporation. Aspiring to be a corporate executive on the fast track to the top! Exposed too much of that in the movies! To get there, the best way in my mind was to graduate with a Business Degree. It was a practical decision as a Business Administration course offered what I thought would be close to an MBA. Additionally, the course provided some level of specialization, which I did, in Corporate Finance. While I sent my resume to a few banks as well, a popular choice amongst BIZADers, I jumped at the first offer that came, from IBM (International Business Machines). I was told later that there were 5000 applicants, shortlisted 500, and eventually hired 50 in 1992.

Over the years, I learned a lot about the corporate world, travelled the world, learned to manage and lead teams, developed talents and established enduring friendships. I am fortunate to be part of the industry transformation, and is still is participating in this exciting era of the Digital.

Q: How were your first few years working in IBM like?

There were two career tracks, you could either go down the Sales or Technical route. My path was Sales. As a Sales professional, you could also have different paths, Direct Sales or Channel Sales. I was assigned as a channel sales representative and this gave me the opportunity to learn about the go-to-market strategy for volume and SME market. This helped me grounded on the importance of the ecosystem. I was assigned to a software vendor (ISV) who was a partner of IBM. Although I was a fresh graduate, the corporate branding and IBM name card opened many opportunities for me to interact with and learn from the senior management which helped me to gain deep insights into business operations and KPIs. One will learn the difference between selling to MNCs and SMEs. The former focuses on account management and customer value creation while the latter places more emphasis on partnerships and value co-creation.

Q: What made you stay on in IBM during the 1993 crisis?

In time of crisis, there will always be people speculating about the future of the company. The fear, uncertainty and doubt that the era of the mainframe boom for IBM was over. Well you never know how new advancements in technology will disrupt the industry and in fact transformation was already happening. So instead of joining in the speculation, I focused on how I could be part of the transformation.

The 90’s was the era of Personal Computer and Client/Server Computing. IBM used to focus on large systems but it was a declining segment as customers were migrating from large systems to client servers. I was assigned to work in the Personal Computing Business Unit, a small but exciting team. The unit was like a start-up, IBM placed new graduates there for exposure in the emerging technologies where skills can be easily picked up. I was determined to do well, it was a tough transformation, it was hard work but we made it through. Being part of the 3rd Industrial Revolution was thrilling on hindsight, we didn’t know better then. I experienced first-hand the transformational shifts from Mainframes and Mid-range computers to the rapid adoption of Personal Computers, Laptop, Internet, e-business, mobile, social and Cloud technologies. I never imagined that the 4th Industrial Revolution would come so quickly, but it did. We are entering into the next era, the 4th Industrial Revolution! This is the era of the Smart. Digital Transformation will be accelerated with the emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, IOT, BlockChain, Robotic Process Automation, Digital Twin etc.

Q: Since internships were not popular in the 1990s, what did you do to ensure that you gain enough exposure and experience during the summer holidays?

The place you intern at may not be the place that eventually hires you, so you should enter internships with the aim of learning as much as you can. My first internship was in Citibank doing data entry. As an undergraduate, they don’t give you important projects to work on. But even general assistance to the bank officers and routine data entry, I learnt how to meet deadlines and get used to the 9 to 5 office work life.

Besides official internships, I also worked various temp jobs during school vacations. This includes selling magazines (Times, Newsweek etc) to Junior Colleges, working as a promoter in a departmental store and also selling pre-owned cars. Till now, I can still tell the model and make of cars out there. Those “summer jobs” taught me how to deal with customers and how to close sales. The value selling skills helped me tremendously later on in my job progression.

One of the main takeaways from my work experiences is that you must have a good working attitude, keeping to deadlines and going above and beyond. You must learn to handle long hours with a positive mind set. You must be patient with mundane activities, but yet have the initiative to turn them into interesting things. The experience in Citibank doing data entry work, where I was entering thousands of data records daily, trained me to be attentive to detail, meticulous and analytical.

Q: Why did you eventually leave IBM?

It may be hard to imagine in this age of the “gig economy”, that one could work longer than 20 years in one company! For some of us Generation X children who grew up in the 80s, lifetime employment was valued. My father worked in the same company till his retirement! You know the system, you rise through the ranks, made friends in the company and thrive in the comfort zone. Those are factors often holding one back from venturing out, and to consider if there is life outside. I was in the same situation. The industry is disrupted and is transforming as we speak. Changes are required and having been in the same company for 23 years, that legacy became somewhat of a baggage as you knew what works and what doesn’t. Changes become difficult and if you can’t change, perhaps someone with less baggage will.  The same is true when you look outside!

For a small nation state, I encourage Singaporeans to have some regional exposure in order to expand the scope of the market you cover and experience. I have been fortunate to work in many regional roles and covered markets in Southeast Asia, Australia & New Zealand, India, Greater China Region, Korea and Japan. When an Oracle executive recruiter called and offered me an opportunity to lead a line of business that covers a larger geographic territory, I took the opportunity. The change not only pushed me out of my comfort zone, it gave me a platform to be more agile and the opportunity to see the world in a different perspective. The new role also allows me to expand my reach to cover some of the largest markets in Asia, and even some new frontiers.

Q: What was your experience like working in Greater China?

Opportunity awaits those who are prepared, how true! China market was fast growing and investments were pouring in. Growing up in Singapore and seeing how we transformed from a third world nation into a first world nation, I have always wanted to work in China to experience and participate in similar transformation, but at a much larger scale. Those days, China would send delegates to learn from Singapore I recalled. So I jumped at the opportunity when there was an opening. In 2005, Asia Pacific region was growing and at that time, IBM’s Asia Pacific HQ was established in Shanghai, China. Together with my family, we moved to Shanghai and began a wonderful journey as an Expat in China. Witnessing the phenomenon growth and transformation of China was amazing, but understanding the culture, the business, the political system, and making friends there was the most fulfilling for me. We are bilingual, but our spoken Mandarin wasn’t adequate enough to engage in proper business discussions, as we think in English and write in English. My tip for anyone who wants to improve Chinese is to live in China, that way you can learn the way the locals conduct business and speaking the business language fluently. Today, I can deliver speeches fluently both in English and Mandarin! Yeah!

We spent a great 6 years in China, living in two cities, moving to Beijing at a later stage. We lived through harsh winters and scorching summers, but also beautiful springs and romantic autumns. My kids (twins) were only 4 years old when we moved to China. They had experienced very different education system than Singapore. I knew then that the biggest challenge would be assimilating my children back into the Singapore system. We either stay for another 5 years, until they finished high school, or we have to go home before it was too late. So after 6 years, I had an opportunity to move to a new role, which is based in Singapore, so I brought my family back and my kids are now back on the “streaming and stress” track, LOL!

Q: Can you share three impactful moments during your career journey with us?

In my 23 years in IBM, my first impactful moment was when I was one of the few “Team Blue” or fresh graduate hires who got promoted to a manager in just five years. I was fortunate, and I learnt how to manage a team at a young age. Some of my team members were my peers who joined at the same time as me and some were seniors. Shouldering responsibility is the fastest way to grow, but to become a young manager at 27 was challenging because I lacked managerial maturity and industry experience, but you learnt how to juggle. For me, it is more important to be a good leader than a good manager. In those days, we don’t have access to mentors that could help you in the early stages of your management role, which is why I believe in giving time to younger leaders, mentoring them when I can.

My second impactful moment was when I was leading one of the Line of Business Unit in China. I had to turnaround the business that was in decline. I had to make a tough call and potentially “career Limiting “decisions that challenged global direction on product and pricing strategy that would have affected our competitive position in the China market. Even though it was the right thing to do, many China executives feared deviating HQ decision and would rather sit on the fence. Instead of being politically correct, I chose to do what I was tasked to do, i.e. turnaround the business. I stood firm on my decision, took my case to HQ and committed on the outcome. It was a success! That line of business in China was successfully turnaround and reached the peak in 2012. We all knew that doing the right thing will never be wrong, but the key is to have the courage to do it!

The final impactful moment would be making the jump to Oracle. Given that I stayed in IBM for 23 years, stepping out of my comfort zone was a tough decision. Many people doubted that I would survive, as an IBM veteran, more than 6 months in Oracle. I believe there was even a wager on that! LOL! There is indeed life outside if you have the courage to venture out. The shelter you are in may keep you dry from the rain and sun, but you may not be able to catch that rainbow out there after, if you stayed at the same spot. I knew what I wanted, and I wanted to know if I can be agile and adapt in the VUCA world, the only way is to explore out. Today, I am the most senior Oracle executive based in Singapore, and in fact the most senior Singaporean, in Oracle Corporation. I run one of the largest line of business covering Asia Pacific, Japan, Western Europe, Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, which we called International Market.

Q: With your vast experience in the region, do you have any advice to share with your juniors?

You need to respect and be able to navigate between cultural differences. Don’t just read from books, but interact with empathy. In Japan, it is very hierarchical. They might say yes but to get things going, you must build rapport and gain their trust. Do what they do, drink Sake after office hours and you will see them opening up. In Korea, similar to Japan, it is hierarchical and they give due respect to their seniors. In China, everyone aligns to the leaders, so working in cross functional teams requires a lot of collaboration to avoid conflicts and power play. In Singapore and most of Asia Pacific, we are highly compliant but we should not take that for granted as not every country operates in the same way as we do. Be open, listen and observe. Earning their respect and trust, are all key to working effectively in a team of diversity.

Finally, continuous learning is extremely important regardless of age. After years of working in the same environment, you tend to stop learning. Avoid that – you must continue to enrich yourself and listen to your customers and staff. They are the reason for your existence. If you are able to do that, you will be able to excel. Let me leave you with this quote:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”
– Charles Darwin.

All the best!