"In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance.
In victory: magnanimity. In peace: goodwill."
These famous words from the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill strike a chord with Mr Gooi Soon Chai, President of Agilent Technologies in Singapore and Malaysia.
It is not surprising, therefore, that Mr Churchill is a major role model for the corporate chieftain, 44, who admits to being an avid history buff, as well as somewhat of an Anglophile.
During a phone interview with Recruit, he showed himself capable of quoting Churchill off the cuff. He attributes this to his years of attending school in Britain. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical/electronic engineering from London University and a master’s degree in computer engineering from Imperial College.
United States-based Agilent is a world leader in providing electronic and bio-analytical measurement tools to engineers, service providers, researchers and scientists in several fields, including electronics, communications, and life sciences. It employs 21,000 people globally and enjoyed revenues of US$5.1 billion (S$8 billion) last year.
In 1999, it was spun-off from global electronics powerhouse Hewlett-Packard, which Mr Gooi joined as an IT analyst in the early 80s upon completing university.
During his time at Hewlett-Packard and Agilent, Mr Gooi worked in an array of different businesses, including IT, engineering, production, supply chain management, procurement, and even design development. Achieving this "depth and breadth", he says, is essential if one is to have a good career in the technology field.
By depth, he means starting one’s career as an expert in a specific technological discipline, and then working in other job functions to get a more well-rounded view of a company’s business. It is also important to work with different product lines - Mr Gooi also has extensive experience in the competitive semiconductor business in different countries. He has worked in the US, Europe and different parts of Asia.
One of his career highlights was 10 years ago, when he moved from an operational role to become a global business manager in the semiconductor business with full profit-and-loss responsibility.
"The first part of my career was more internally focused on production management and supply chain management," he says. "I was very focused on the efficiencies of the company itself."
"In the new role, however, I had to worry about competition and do a great deal more traveling, but one of the most exhilarating things I can remember was cutting my first deal." Although the deal was relatively small, it gave him a terrific sense of achievement.
Aside from his interest in history, he says his other major interest is gadgets, which is more in keeping with his career in technology.
"I’m a gadget freak. I always want the latest camera, the latest phone or the latest game machine. I would say that I’m genuinely what they call an early adopter."
As for his passion for history, he enjoys visiting museums and is fond of Cambodia’s famed Angkor Wat temples. He also plans to visit Peru’s Machu Picchu one day.
Mr Gooi stressed that flexibility is essential for a career in technology. "The industry moves very rapidly, so generally, the market dynamics change very quickly, and this makes speed very critical," he says.
"The technology industry also has a global value chain. The product may be designed in the US, with a prototype made in Taiwan, the chip manufactured in Korea, the final assembly in China, with the entire world as the market."
For those already working in technology, he says one way to get ahead is to move beyond one’s comfort zone.
"One thing I notice about engineers is that they tend to be very focused and stay in their comfort zone. They could do a better job looking externally. Technology changes quickly. What you learn now may not be applicable a few months down the road. One needs to be flexible and willing to innovate."
"Teamwork and partnership are also very important," he adds. "In the technology field, companies cannot survive individually. There must always be partnerships with customers and suppliers because these will add a great deal of value to your business."