IBM appoints Martin Chee as general manager of ASEAN

Martin Chee has been appointed general manager of IBM ASEAN, the company announced today, which he will take on in addition to his current role as general manager of Singapore.

Chee succeeds Patricia Yim, who will move to the role of technology leader for IBM Asia Pacific.

As part of his new, hybridised role, Chee will oversee IBM's business growth in both Singapore and the broader ASEAN region. He will be based in IBM ASEAN's headquarters in Singapore, and will report to IBM Asia Pacific general manager Brenda Harvey.

Chee will be responsible for business growth and leadership of IBM in Singapore and ASEAN, as well as bolstering the company's presence and collaboration with partners and clients through the adoption of emerging technologies to drive digital transformation.

A law graduate from the National University of Singapore, Martin began his career as an IP lawyer before switching to IT. He joined IBM in 1997 as legal counsel for Lotus Development which IBM acquired and has held various leadership roles in Software, Services and Enterprise business before being named General Manager for Singapore in April 2020.

"ASEAN continues to advance with tenacity as it navigates the global health pandemic by leveraging on technology as a key lever to growth," says IBM Asia Pacific general manager Brenda Harvey.

"Our clients recognise the power of open hybrid cloud and AI platforms to stay competitive and relevant. I am confident that Martin's regional leadership experience, solid track record and passion for helping clients bring technology to life will serve him well in this expanded role.

"His strategic mindset will be invaluable in developing a diverse ecosystem of alliances in ASEAN.

IBM's executive shake-up comes a month after the company announced a significant collaboration with Samsung Electronics to develop edge computing, 5G, and hybrid cloud solutions.

The companies aim to develop new solutions for mobile edge computing and end-to-end private 5G networks that run on open architecture and empower workers through 5G-enabled Samsung Galaxy devices.

This planned collaboration will combine Samsung's Galaxy 5G mobile devices and advanced end-to-end enterprise network solutions with IBM's network management, hybrid cloud, and edge computing offerings, as well as its industry solutions driven by artificial intelligence, and Red Hat's open architecture.

The goal is to develop open, hybrid cloud solutions that enable enterprises to draw greater insights from data at the edge to improve operational performance, increase worker safety, and minimise downtime.