Ng Kuo Pin (NCS)
Ng Kuo Pin has been appointed as CEO of Singtel wholly-owned subsidiary NCS, six months after joining the technology provider as deputy leader.
Ng - who was previously managing director of Accenture - will officially take on the position from 1 August, succeeding Chia Wee Boon, who will retire after 10 years with the company.
“Kuo Pin’s deep ICT experience will be invaluable as he leads NCS’ 2.0 transformation journey, driving its longer-term strategy, global expansion plans and service transformation,” said Bill Chang, CEO of enterprise at Singtel.
“He has worked closely with Wee Boon since he joined, to reshape the transformation agenda for NCS, attracting senior ICT talents in the process to bolster its bench strength. We are confident that Kuo Pin and his team will up the ante and lead NCS to greater heights."
Ng has been with NCS since February 2019 after spending 24 years with Accenture, most recently holding the position of managing director with initial responsibility for the communications, media and technology (CMT) business in Singapore and China, and more recently, head of consulting for CMT Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
“I am honoured to be tasked with leading NCS at a time that is critical for governments and enterprises to go digital,” said Ng. “NCS has long been a stalwart partner of both the public and private sectors and I look forward to strengthening these trusted relationships.
"As we accelerate our own digital transformation, we have never been in a better place to support our partners as they recalibrate their processes and business models."
Ng’s predecessor, Chia, has a track record of success as the CEO of NCS, growing revenues by 60 per cent to S$1.8 billion.
Furthermore, Chia was responsible for leading NCS in serving the national interest through key projects such as the Schools Standard ICT Operating Environment (SSOE) project, which saw over 120,000 devices rolled out to 351 Ministry of Education (MOE) schools across Singapore.
He was also involved in Singapore’s next-generation Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system, which uses satellite navigation technology to help manage road congestion in Singapore.
Furthermore, Chia developed NCS’ IP and technical capabilities through the data and video analytics and artificial intelligence corporate lab in Nanyang Technological University and with the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre in the field of Internet of Things and robotics.
NCS also expanded its offshore development centre in Pune to complement its capabilities in Singapore and help scale the business.
“Wee Boon has led NCS solidly for the past decade, significantly strengthening its leadership position in the public sector,” said Chang. “On behalf of Singtel’s management, I wish to thank him for his dedication and contributions in building and bringing NCS to where it is today.”
Chia will transition from CEO to an advisory role in Singtel’s Group Enterprise business to work on special projects.
In late 2018, Singtel unveiled plans to bring together and integrate all security offerings under the Trustwave brand, bringing together the capabilities of subsidiaries Optus and NCS to create a cyber security ‘powerhouse.’
However, in early 2019, Channel Asia reported that around 7,700 people had inaccurate healthcare and intermediate and long-term care subsidies issued to them due to a computer system error administered by NCS.
According to NCS and the Ministry of Health in Singapore, the error was due to a software version update on a server, with NCS having traced the cause to a server used by the means-test system, which happened when the system was migrated to another government data centre in September 2018.
