Q: Can you describe your current scope of responsibilities at Symantec?

A: As managing director of the Malaysian operations, my focus is on driving Symantec’s business in Malaysia as well as augmenting the company’s position as market leader in security, storage and systems management software solutions.

My favourite part of this job is spending time with customers. We have a diverse set of customers from various market segments, but regardless of whom I talk to, I hear one essential challenge – the need to secure and manage an enormous amount of information and doing so in a holistic way. This is an area where Symantec can help, and I always enjoy working with customers to understand the challenges they’re facing and figuring out how we can work together to overcome them.

Q: What would you consider a significant achievement in your work life?

A: My work life at Symantec has been exciting and given me valuable insight and experience, working in a variety of functions and across different cultures and language barriers throughout the Asia South region.

Immediately preceding my current appointment, I was director of strategic market development for the Asia South region at Symantec, serving as country manager for the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and the rest of the Indochina countries, spearheading the company’s growth in these emerging markets. It was an exciting time for me and the company, as we grew our business in these countries from strength to strength. It was fulfilling to see the company’s business and presence in the region grow substantially during this time. These achievements are milestones in my career.

Prior to my role as country manager for these emerging markets, I was director of marketing and had the opportunity to lead the Asia South marketing organisation and subsequently the Asia-Pacific enterprise segment marketing organisation.

It was at that time the team and I crafted and executed marketing plans that generated record leads and built respectable corporate and product brands in the region. Through these efforts, we successfully launched and escalated the company’s regional brand and presence, and I am pleased to have been involved in that.

Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?

A: I prefer to focus on the present and what I can be doing today. Recognising the existing market potential, I believe that Malaysia will remain a strong contributor to the Asia-Pacific/Japan growth for Symantec. I hope to grow together with the company and continue contributing positively where my skills are needed within the company and to an equally important extent, the industry.

Q: What is your management philosophy?

A: I believe that people are the most valuable asset in any company. The extent of our market reach and growth depends largely on our people.

People reach their fullest potential when their strengths are fully utilised in the right area of work. My desire is in working together with each person in my team towards realising their individual potential.

I encourage my team to create a balance between their work and personal lives, as a well-balanced work-life ratio results in a happy and productive worker.

I am proud of the culture that has evolved within the company. Because we have a tradition of welcoming new talent and technology, we actively seek out and embrace new ideas and better ways of doing business.

Q: What are your hopes for information and communications technology (ICT) for the country in terms of the sector, technology development and usage?

A: It is my hope to drive Symantec’s commitment to work with the Government and enterprises in Malaysia in growing the ICT industry.

Today, many organisations are dealing with challenges in securing valuable information in the fast- changing threat landscape and growing complexity of the IT infrastructure. With increasing connectivity and the proliferation of mobile devices, information theft and leakage is more prominent these days.

To help address these issues, Symantec has been and will continue to innovate around securing the digital lifestyle of consumers, and helping large enterprises and governments to grow their business by managing cost, complexity and compliance, enabling them to have confidence in their IT infrastructure.

Biodata
Suzie Tan joined Symantec through the company’s merger with Veritas Software, where she was marketing director for the Asia South region. Apart from managing the local operations, Tan is Symantec’s country manager for the Philippines. She is responsible for driving the company’s sales and business development efforts in both countries.