SINGAPORE-BASED tech executive Lim Chin Hu has been appointed to the board of Australian telco Telstra.
Mr Lim, 54, is managing partner of venture capital firm Stream Global. His appointment as a non-executive director comes as Telsta, which has a market capitalisation of A$61 billion (S$69.5 billion), is expanding into Asia.
Telstra chairman Catherine Livingstone said Mr Lim would add to the firm's depth of Asian expertise and help it weigh up technology opportunities.
His experience in Asian businesses, including technology, health-care and venture capital operations, would be useful to the telco, she added in a statement.
Mr Lim said his appointment was highly aligned to his business experiences: "Telstra is a successful Australian telecoms and technology company developing its presence across Asia and I'm delighted to become part of that expansion."
He started his career in Hewlett-Packard before joining Sun Microsystems, which was sold to software company Oracle in 2010.
Mr Lim held sales, marketing and management positions in both companies in Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. He was also director and chief executive officer of Frontline Technologies and BT South-east Asia.
He is on the boards of the Changi General Hospital and Integrated Health Information Systems, a health-care IT service solutions provider for public hospitals here.
His other board appointments include semiconductor equipment assembly manufacturer Kulicke & Soffa, which is listed on Nasdaq, and G-Able, an IT systems integration and professional services company in Thailand.
Mr Lim will have to stand for election at Telstra's annual general meeting in Sydney on Oct 15.
He is one of a handful of Singaporeans who have been appointed to the boards of international tech corporations.
They include Ms Tan Yen Yen, an independent director of global digital security firm Gemalto, which is based in Amsterdam.
Ms Tan, who is also on the board of Singapore Press Holdings, is senior vice-president (applications) for Oracle. Previously she was with Hewlett-Packard.
chngkeg@sph.com.sg