ST Engineering Annual Report 2020

Q/ You were appointed as the CEO in late 2016. How do you feel after four years in the position? ST Engineering has many strengths, built and honed over decades. Those strengths presented opportunities for me as the new leader then to drive the Group towards becoming a global technology, defence and engineering powerhouse. We have made good progress in the last few years, making cumulative changes, and gaining a steady growth momentum until the COVID-19 pandemic hit us. This pandemic was unprecedented, and arguably among the toughest crises that many business leaders had to manage in their careers, likewise for leaders at ST Engineering. It upended the plans we had laid out for 2020, and put to test our Business Continuity plans. If anything, it made me much more appreciative of the strong foundation that ST Engineering has built over several decades. In 2020, even as we had to manage and navigate many unexpected scenarios that were evolving at a fast pace, we did not lose sight of our long-term goal, which speaks volume of the energy, confidence and resilience of the people that make up ST Engineering. The world today is not quite the same as it was when I took on this role. We are surrounded by more uncertainties, with rising nationalism and protectionism on the global scene, a wider drive for digital transformation enabled by technological advances, a greater need for the workforce to be better prepared for Industry 4.0, and an increasing push for sustainable solutions. Against this backdrop, we need to think harder about what it means to be truly global, what our roles are in the ecosystems we are part of, if we want to continue to thrive on value creation, and what we need to do more to build trust with our employees, customers and stakeholders. What is certain, however, is our purpose-driven agenda of using technology and innovation to solve real-world problems and improve lives, and our commitment to continuously build ST Engineering into an organisation that is more agile, adaptable, responsive, innovative, collaborative and transparent. We are more ready now "We are committed to our purpose- driven agenda of using technology and innovation to solve real-world problems and improve lives, and to continuously build ST Engineering into an organisation that is more agile, adaptable, responsive, innovative, collaborative and transparent." Q&A WITH VINCENT Group President & Chief Executive Officer / ST ENG I NEER I NG 26