Passion and Perseverance

A few words about yourself?

I come from Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia and moved to Singapore at 18 to pursue my engineering studies. I've stayed in Singapore since then. After my graduation, I spent about one year in Germany for my first job, in a small consulting firm focusing on energy efficiency for the industry. The plan to start an office in Singapore did not work out and I was then hired by Cofely as an energy efficiency engineer in 2014. In the same year, I met with the founder of the Singapore Lab. One of the topics that he identified to be of interest for the region was energy efficiency for industry and I was asked to work with him and with several experts from Crigen to meet customers in the APAC region and to develop business leads together. 

In 2016, I moved to the Lab in order to focus on building this activity. I wanted to acquire the expertise that we have in Crigen, in the Future Industry Lab, and see how we could transfer the knowledge and leverage on that in the region.

In the first few years at Lab Singapore, we were working like a startup and we had to do everything: setup the company, build projects, talk to the entities and explain what is R&D,  what is a lab.  A lot of efforts were around setting our feet on the ground and finding a place in the vastness of the Group. 

Finally, in 2019, ENGIE South East Asia decided to build a team dedicated for industry and I was part of this founding team to start the activities. Within a year, we achieved commercial successes and it is now one of the key activities for the region. 

I then had the opportunity to come to France for my current mission in Lab Crigen. 

You started Lab Singapore with only 2 or 3 people. How many are there now? 

18 people. We lead the research program for Green Data Centre and we are also developing our capabilities on cooling topics to go hand-in-hand with the regional strategy. And of course we have the flagship project of Lab Singapore, the REID-SPORE platform, which demonstrates the energy grid of tomorrow with the integration of green electrons and molecules and serves as a platform for the development of ENGIE’s Energy Management System. 

That's a lot of work for a small team. But I heard that the team in Singapore is really committed and enthusiastic.

Yes, in addition to delivering the research roadmap, as we sit right next to the BU, we receive questions and requests on new and emerging topics everyday. We need to be dynamic and be ready to respond but  given the breadth of the topics, we also cannot afford to become experts on each and that’s when we need to work closely with the rest of the Labs in Europe. Even if it can be demanding at times, we appreciate the proximity and market visibility we gain with the BU which in turn benefits the research vision and projects. 

Can you summarize in one sentence what your mission is?

My mission has changed since a year. Right now I'm focusing more on the general management of the Lab Singapore to prepare myself for the succession in the lab management. I still try to preserve part of my time to participate in technical projects with the Future Industry Lab. 

It's important that I am here because of the different topics that I have to take care of. You see me in the communication team, which is totally not an area of my expertise, in the HR community, in finance, in security, health and safety and innovation. I am a bit everywhere to get a more global vision about the lab operations, get to know the colleagues in each functions and basically learning how to run a lab.

What do you particularly like in what you're doing now?

I learn and I grow. 

I have so much exposure and there are always opportunities to see and try different things. So it's just a question of whether I am ready to grab them or not. This job gives me the power to build and to develop within the company.

I guess that’s what kept me in the Group for almost a decade, which is quite long for someone my age. I spent most of my career now with ENGIE. I know it's very common for colleagues in France but in Asia it’s not.

What do you like to do when you're not working?

Outside work, I like to do yoga. It’s an activity that addresses both physical and mental health, which has been  essential in keeping my sanity in check to cope with all that are going on in work and life. The one hour window is when I can detach my mind from the chaotic world. 

Aside from that, I like to play badminton which is not too accessible in Paris.

And of course I love to travel. Last year alone, I visited 7 countries, more than usual, maybe too much, but I enjoy the discovery.

And in France, I really appreciate the culture in striving for better work life balance.  There is a clearer boundary between work and personal time and it has given me more room to experience my life here outside of work. The best part of the scene in France is the food and though I don’t appreciate the transport, I accept it in exchange for the French gastronomy!

How are research and innovation important for the group / for the world.

Whether it’s important should not be the question anymore. Without research and innovation we are doomed.

We are in a world where existential issues are right in front of us and we are already late to tackle them. So to me it's no longer a question of importance, but it is something we have to do. 

How do you imagine the future of energy?

The future of energy is going to be diverse and uncertain. To me, it is very clear that there is no silver bullet. And it’s most certainly more than just a question of science and technology, but also includes geopolitics and of course economics. 

The importance of geopolitics struck me last year with the war in Europe. I witnessed how geopolitics could have such an impact on energy, the pulse of a country, but it was a shock to realize that although we are working day to day on energy transition, a big part of the equation is totally out of our control. 

It raises a lot of questions: Is there really nothing we can do about this? Who is addressing the larger problem, do we have the good government, the good politicians, the good leaders that we can put our hopes on to guide us in the right direction ?

3 words related to research and innovation.

3Ps: Progressive, Passion and Perseverance. 

Progressive:  No research breakthrough happens overnight. Only after getting involved in R&D did I learn that all these so called breakthroughs are achieved through progressive, gradual advancement from numerous cycles of conception, testing, failing, learning and improving. 

Passion: We need to be critical in assessing what are the research and innovations that we are working on with respect to the issues we are facing. Once determined, we must remain firm and focused even if we could be tempted to jump on more “trendy” topics.

Perseverance: The path of research and innovation is bound to be bumpy, full of challenges and it takes time to come to fruition. A topic may not be in demand today but if we only work on it when it is, we shall be too late in the game. 

Is there a quote or a saying that is important to you?

“Stay hungry, stay foolish” said Steve Jobs in his Stanford commencement address in 2005. It is a constant reminder to me that there will always be someone better, smarter. So instead of wasting time in the rat race of comparing myself to others, what is more important is the growth that I experience and gain for myself. Am I better than my old self? Have I grown in the process?