Welcome to my space where I share my thoughts as an educator and an entrepreneur.
Me in 10 seconds
I am an educator and an entrepreneur.
I push boundaries and deliver impact in what I do.
My super power is bridging learning and doing in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Professional
- 2019 - Present: Co-Founder and Director of The Biz Lab
- 2016 - Present: Co-Founder and Director of Change Voyage Consulting
- 2000 - 2015: Accenture Singapore, Senior Principal
- 1996 - 1999: Arthur Andersen, Tax Consultant
Teaching Appointments
- 2022 - Present: Adjunct Associate Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology
- 2017 - Present: Adjunct Faculty at Singapore Management University
- 2017 - Present: Executive Education Fellow at National University of Singapore, Advanced Computing for Executives, School of Computing
Academic Qualifications
- 2014 - 2017: PhD in General Management, Singapore Management University
- 1999 - 2000: Masters of Commerce, University of New South Wales,
- 1993 - 1996: Bachelor of Accountancy, 2nd Upper Honours, Nanyang Technological University
Me In 10 Minutes
Teaching Undergraduates | Business Owners | Corporate Executives
What I am working on: I currently teach the following courses:
- The Design of Business Singapore Management University | for Undergraduates
- Innovation Leadership Programme Singapore Institute of Technology | for Business Owners
- Managing Change for Digital Transformation NUS, School of Computing, ACE | for Corporate Executives. Business Owners | Face-to-Face
- Change Management for Digital Transformation NUS, School of Computing, ACE | for Corporate Executives. Business Owners | eLearning
- Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Programme* NUS, School of Computing, ACE | for Corporate Executives | eLearning | *I only wrote the Change Management Module
My Why: My first love is teaching. I subscribe to Carl Rogers' hypothesis that
"A person cannot teach another person directly; a person can only facilitate another's learning" (Rogers, 1951)
Therefore, my courses are designed to scaffold self-discovery and the internalisation of the subject matter.
This approach encourages learners to explore and construct their own understanding, leading to a deeper and more meaningful engagement with the content.
Success to me, is when learners experience a paradigm shift and see a perspective they have not seen before.
This indicates they have truly internalised the material and can apply it in new and insightful ways.
Teaching Awards from the Singapore Management University:
- 2023: SMU-X Excellent Teacher Award
- Acad Year 2021-2023: Dean's Teaching Honour List, School of Business
- 2022: Outstanding Adjunct Nominee
- Acad Year 2020-2021: Top Adjunct Faculty, School of Business
- 2021: SMU-X Excellent Teacher Nominee
- Acad Year 2019-2020: Top Adjunct Faculty, School of Business
- Acad Year 2018-2019: Top Adjunct Faculty, School of Business
Improving Startup Success Through Incubators and Accelerators
What I am working on: Through The Biz Lab, I work with Incubators and Accelerators around the world to implement proprietary data-building tools like Startup Zodiac(R).
With the data collected, such organisations can improve startup outcomes through:
- Tailored support according to profile of startup segments
- Trend analysis within and between cohorts of startups
- Data-driven mentoring based on insights
My Why: Startups around the world face a high failure rate of 70% to 90% (depending on geography, industry etc.).
Whilst “failure” is integral to an entrepreneur’s learning journey, such a high failure rate results in wastage of personal and societal resources.
I often wonder if startup incubators and accelerators, with their resources and data, can help improve these odds significantly.
Based on our experiences working with incubators and accelerators in the past 3+ years, we believe they need more quality data that drives direct interventions that improves startup outcomes.
Success to me, is when incubators and accelerators can provide targeted support according to specific startup profiles or segments, and measure the effectiveness of these efforts.
Driving Breakthroughs For Business Owners
What I am working on: I am working with business owners who are experiencing growth stagnation.
They want to achieve breakthroughs but are unsure where to focus and how to experiment in a structured way.
This isn't a typical consulting project where consultants do all the heavy lifting.
Instead, I work closely with the business owners and their teams using a “Do It Together With You” (DITWY) approach.
Over a 4-6 month period, I scaffold their business transformation through iterative 4-5 week sprints, ensuring capability transfer and measurable results along the journey.
My Why: I spent 15 years as a consultant delivering change management interventions on large-scale IT and business transformation projects.
However, after spending a year or two with clients, I found that most had not acquired sufficient knowledge to sustain the change after the systems were implemented.
When I started my own business, I believed a better approach was to enable business owners to fish for themselves rather than providing them with the fish.
Success to me, is when the client has developed a clear and repeatable system to continue their business transformation journey independently.