Alex Siow - Leading with It: Lessons from Singapores First CIO

1. Chapter 11

Additional Praise for Leading with IT: Lessons from Singapore's First CIO

Alex has the battle scars from his digital journey, starting from an era of mainframe computing to the current situation where everyone is connected and (almost) everything can be achieved digitally. It is great to have him share his experience and insights in a candid and humble manner.

Saw Ken Wye, CEO, CrimsonLogic

The only constant is change. Without change, an organisation will be made obsolete in a rapidly-evolving ecosystem. Alex Siow's book addresses the challenges and strategies in change management. The lessons in the book are based on experience and are therefore practical and transcend theories. Although the narratives are IT-related, anyone involved in change management can benefit from the examples cited. This book is now part of my reference sources, as all of my roles involve managing change.

Gerard Ee, Chairman, Agency for Integrated Care

Digitalisation has become a crucial driver of competitiveness and survival for organisations. This book is, therefore, an essential read for the C-Suite so that they understand how ICT can transform their organisations and how leaders can leverage digitalisation to serve their stakeholders better.

Peter Lam, Principal and CEO, Temasek Polytechnic

Alex Siow has made such a significant impact on the IT industry and the organisations he has served through his visionary, practical, unassuming, and humorous style of leadership. This book reflects Alex's practical nature of combining stories of his experience and the learnings gleaned from them. A worthwhile read indeed.

Dr. Chong Yoke Sin, President, Singapore Computer Society

It is always pleasant and enlightening when having discussions with Alex Siow. He has vast experience in IT across various roles as a seasoned practitioner and the first CIO in Singapore. Drawing on his lifetime of experience and practices, he offers today's IT leaders a practical roadmap to building an effective digital organisation to face the new challenges arising from the unprecedented rate of change in the world.

Leong Chin Yew, Group Director (Retired), Information Systems, HDB

This is a must-read book for all budding CIOs in Singapore. It portrays the journey of a young civil engineer into the world of IT who becomes Singapore's first CIO. Alex is Singapore's pioneering IT leader who has shaped the CIO profession and has been instrumental for the growth and development of the IT community in Singapore with his leadership in ITMA and the SCS. This is a practical field book for the practitioner CIO.

Yap Chee Yuen, Group CIO, Surbana-Jurong

I have known Alex since his days as a CIO at HDB during the 1990s. He was instrumental in shaping the role of a CIO when the term was at a very nascent stage. Fast-forward to today, and Alex is still very active in shaping the new expectations of a modern-day CIO. Changing mindsets, business models, agility, and resilience are hallmarks of the new IT. The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation efforts and CIOs are at the forefront of this digital revolution. CIOs must recognise that with this new-found power comes great responsibilities. This book is an essential guide for both existing and budding CIOs who wish to make an impact not only in the backroom operations, but also in the business.

P. Ramakrishna, CEO, CIO Academy Asia

Alex Siow is a well-respected pioneer and veteran of Singapore's IT Industry. His journey is rich with experiential stories from having tackled mainframe computing to the current ubiquitous digital world. The book contains great insights and offers very practical tips.

Siew Yim Cheng, Chief Digital Officer, ComfortDelGro

ALEX SIOW

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:

ISBN 9781119797401 (cloth)
ISBN 9781119797418 (ePDF)
ISBN 9781119797425 (ePub)

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Dedicated to cancer researchers worldwide.

(Cancer claimed my parents, wife, and cousin.)

Tan Chin Nam

I WAS GLAD WHEN ONE of my close friends, Alex Siow, asked me if I would write the Foreword to his book, Leading with IT: Lessons from Singapore's First CIO. I first met Alex in 1980 when he came for an interview for an open position in the Systems and Computer Organisation (S&C) at the Ministry of Defence.

Alex had just returned from Germany after completing his engineering degree. He still had to complete his national service stint in the army. I interviewed Alex and a few others. He turned down the offer to join S&C and said he wanted to be a structural engineer in the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

But fate played its hand, and Alex switched his career from engineering to IT in a few years. We kept in touch with each other, and Alex was invited to join as a member of the board at the National Computer Board (NCB) Society in 1998.