NCS Makes Top Hires to Drive Growth

Industry veterans to boost senior leadership team

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SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 2 June 2021 – NCS today announced the appointment of three industry veterans to its Senior Leadership Team to drive its next phase of growth and transformation. Their appointments come as NCS creates a new Corporate Development portfolio focusing on Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and a partner ecosystem, as well as two new Strategic Business Groups dedicated to NCS’ business in the government and telco sectors.

In a strategic review announced last week, NCS was cited as a new growth engine for the Singtel Group which would see NCS expand into the enterprise sector and major markets of Australia and Greater China. Earlier this year, NCS was carved out as an autonomous unit within the Group as a first step towards realising this new remit and ambition.

Commenting on the three new senior leadership appointments, Mr Ng Kuo Pin, Chief Executive Officer, NCS said, “I’m really excited to welcome our three new senior leaders into NCS. They are joining NCS at a crucial time when we are repositioning ourselves, to build a better technology services firm in Asia Pacific for both public sector and enterprise clients. They will help boost our senior leadership team, as we strive to transform NCS into a B2B services champion. The creation of two new Strategic Business Groups for the government and telco sectors underpins our focus to reinvent ourselves to better serve the public sector and expedite growth in the enterprise sector. The next chapter of NCS is about to unfold, and we hope to get support from all in the industry, especially our clients, our people and our partners.”

Howie Lau, Managing Director, Corporate Development and Partnerships

Howie joins NCS from 1 June 2021 as Managing Director of Corporate Development and Partnerships. Howie will spearhead NCS’ efforts in M&A to accelerate its expansion in the key markets of Singapore, Australia and Greater China. Besides inorganic acquisitions, he will review and develop strategic partnerships that will establish NCS as a leader in the digital ecosystem in Asia Pacific. Howie will also lead the marketing and communications function, and drive sustainability efforts to support NCS’ new purpose and aspiration to advance communities across Asia Pacific through harnessing technology.

Prior to joining NCS, he was the Assistant Chief Executive, Media & Innovation Group at the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), with oversight in developing the technology, telecommunications, and media business in Singapore as well as driving technology capability development. Howie brings with him more than 25 years of experience in corporate development and marketing in his previous appointments as Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Consumer Business at StarHub, as well as Vice President of Corporate Development at Lenovo and IBM.

Sam Liew Lien Ban, Managing Director, Government Strategic Business Group

Since its inception, NCS has always partnered with government agencies to deliver reliable, secure and innovative ICT services impacting the lives of citizens and communities. Underpinning NCS’ strategic intent to reinvent its business in the public sector, NCS will set up a dedicated group of practices to build NCS’ digital government portfolio, and drive collaboration efforts to propel NCS as the go-to digital catalyst for governments and smart cities across Asia Pacific.

Sam Liew will join on 1 July 2021 as Managing Director, Government Strategic Business Group to lead this group of practices; which serves the Singapore Public Service, Defence and Homeland Security agencies, and government clients across Asia Pacific. He will focus on the key challenge of helping government agencies digitalise the core of public services to enable holistic public service transformation.

With 24 years of industry experience, Sam is the Managing Director of Technology Group at GIC, responsible for delivering Technology, Data Analytics and Data Science projects and initiatives, across GIC globally. Prior to GIC, Sam was Managing Director for Accenture’s ASEAN Technology business and was part of Accenture’s Global CEO Circle strategy & leadership team. He was also a member of Accenture’s Global Technology leadership council.

Sami Luukkonen, Managing Director, Telco Strategic Business Group

Sami Luukkonen will join on 1 July 2021 as Managing Director, Telco Strategic Business Group, a dedicated group of practices focused on scaling NCS’ business in the Telco sector. Leveraging NCS’ strengths and domain experience as the technology service provider for the Singtel Group, Sami will focus on helping telcos digitalise their operations, and go to market competitively and innovatively. He will co-create at-scale, telco-centric solutions and offerings with telco clients across Asia Pacific.

Sami has more than 25 years of extensive experience in the Communications, Media and Technology (CMT) sector. He was a Senior Managing Director at Accenture as the Europe Strategic Sales across all industries and led Accenture’s Electronics & High Technology business global strategic initiatives which encompasses its acquisition strategy and ecosystem plays within the CMT industry globally. Sami is a thought leader in various international forums and served as the chairman of Research and Innovation select group for Confederation of Finnish Industries.

APPENDIX A – EXECUTIVE PROFILES

Howie Lau

Managing Director, Corporate Development and Partnerships, NCS

Howie brings with him years of deep experience and thought leadership in the Info-Communications and Technology (ICT) sector. Prior to joining NCS, he was the Assistant Chief Executive, Media & Innovation Group at the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which has oversight of developing the technology, telecommunications and media business in Singapore as well as technology capability development.

Prior to IMDA, Howie was the Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Consumer Business at StarHub, and Vice President of Corporate Development at Lenovo. He has more than 25 years of experience in corporate development, business leadership and marketing in Lenovo and IBM across Asia Pacific, China, India and Latin America.

Howie serves on several advisory committees and boards, including the Governing Council of the Singapore Institute of Directors and board of Science Centre Singapore. He was recognised as IT Leader of the Year 2020 by Singapore Computer Society and received the Philip Kotler Marketing Excellence award in 2018.

Sam Liew Lien Ban

Managing Director, Government Strategic Business Group, NCS

Sam Liew will join NCS on 1 July 2021 as Managing Director, Government Strategic Business Group. With 24 years of industry experience, Sam is the Managing Director, Technology Group at GIC. As Director of Technology and Division Head of Business Partner and Solutions, Sam is responsible for delivering Technology, Data Analytics and Data Science projects and initiatives, across GIC globally. Sam is also a member of GIC’s Corporate Management Committee, Group Risk Committee, and the Technology Business Group.

Prior to GIC, Sam was Managing Director for Accenture’s ASEAN Technology business. Sam was part of Accenture’s Global CEO Circle strategy & leadership team, Global Technology leadership council, ASEAN Geographical leadership council and APAC Technology leadership team.

Sam contributes his time and expertise across several boards, committees and industry associations such as: board director at Gardens by the Bay, council member of IT Standards Committee at Enterprise Singapore and vice president at the Singapore Computer Society where he is a conferred fellow.

A keen contributor to developing talent in the ICT industry, Sam is a board member at the Singapore Management University (SMU) School of Computing and Information Systems, advisory committee member at Singapore Polytechnic School of Computing and sits on the data analytics advisory board at the SMU School of Accountancy.

Sami Luukkonen

Managing Director, Telco Strategic Business Group, NCS

Sami has extensive experience in the Communications, Media and Technology (CMT) sector where he has worked for over 25 years. Prior to this, Sami was a Senior Managing Director at Accenture as the Europe Strategic Sales across all industries and led Accenture’s Electronics & High Technology business global strategic initiatives which encompasses its acquisition strategy and ecosystem plays within the CMT industry globally.

Sami is a CMT industry thought leader who shares in various international forums, and has a passion for the next industrial revolution and the disruption opportunities resulting from customer intimacy, 5G, digital, AI, robotics, IoT, machine learning, etc. Sami also served prior global roles such as the regional lead for CMT Nordics region, the global lead for Electronics, High Tech, Aerospace and Defense industries, and the Asia Pacific lead of CMT Strategic Sales.

His career has taken him across the globe to Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. Sami served as the chairman of Research and Innovation select group for Confederation of Finnish Industries. He was also an advisory board member of ICT 2015 initiative, a special program to reinvent the ICT industry in Finland launched by its prime minister.

About NCS

NCS is a member of the Singtel Group and the leading information, communications and technology (ICT) service provider with presence in the Asia Pacific region. NCS delivers end-to-end ICT and digital solutions to help governments and enterprises realise business value through digital transformation and the innovative use of technology. NCS invests in NEXT capabilities of digital, cloud, platform and cyber while continuously strengthening its core offerings of Applications, Infrastructure and Engineering. NCS also believes in building a strong partner eco-system with leading technology players and research institutions to support open innovation and co-creation.

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