MANY young people do not know what they want to do in life. Andrew Tan Teik Wei was no exception, when he was younger.
But today, aged 64, he is the group managing director of Silverlake Axis Ltd, a pioneer tour de force that delivers state-of-art solutions to industries worldwide, namely, banking and finance, airline, utilities, retail and insurance.
Tan, from Ipoh, liked and had excelled in chemistry in his A-levels, so naturally he decided to major in the subject at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. He also chose geology because he had always been fascinated with dinosaurs and Mother Earth.
"I was clueless what I wanted to do in life at that time and during my three-year programme, I got to explore England's geological landscapes and I really enjoyed that. The late 70s and 80s saw the oil and gas boom and anyone with a degree in geology and chemistry was guaranteed employment.
"However, I was not ready to work yet, so I decided to pursue a MBA (Business Administration) at the University of Aston, UK.
"Upon graduation in 1983, I found a job in Arthur Andersen (AA), which was a Big 8 accounting firm at the time. The company later morphed into a leader in IT consulting," he said.
In order to get on board, new recruits had to sign up for an intensive 12-hour bootcamp that was held for about two months, where only those who passed could secure a job in AA.
Tan said the company looked for candidates with good character, their problem solving skills and how well they excelled in programming and coding.
"In the bootcamp, I met people from all over the world. It was here that I found my passion in life, and when I was in AA I was tested to the limit when I was given challenging, global assignments and working at that kind of pace --- looking back, I'm so glad for the foundation years," he said.
After 11 years with AA, Tan became the managing partner of the company's advisory division in Asean and was based in Singapore. Tan was instrumental in the 2002 merger of AA Singapore business advisory team with BearingPoint, an independent multinational management and technology consulting firm.
He was the managing director of BearingPoint from 2002 to 2004, after which he joined Deloitte Caspian region as a partner where he was the head of consulting.
He joined Silverlake Axis in 2018 and grew the group's core banking business.
In 2019, Tan was appointed as the group managing director. Silverlake Axis recorded an 18 per cent increase from RM626 million in the last financial year to RM736.5 million this year.
On how Silverlake Axis navigates the rapidly changing banking landscape and mushrooming of new fintech startups, Tan said the company is a Big Brother in the finance and banking industry, and has been serving the Systemically Important Authorised Institutions (SIBs) for over 30 years.
"We are not only a solutions provider, our revenue also comes from the service we provide. Every bank needs a core banking platform and we are able to tweak our solutions to cater to their different marketing needs," he said.
The company's software project service revenue increased 39 per cent to RM90.9 million this year due to the ongoing implementation of two new MOBIUS contracts. Total recurring revenue comprising maintenance and enhancement services, among others, increased by six per cent to RM540 million this year.
Over 40 per cent of the top 20 largest banks in Southeast Asia use Silverlake Axis' core banking solutions.
Tan has been married for 30 years and is the father of two girls. He is the eldest son in a family of four boys and three girls. Both his father, aged 88 and his late mother were strong believers in education.
"I love working with young people as they are full of passion and are hungry to learn. I look for people who have individuality and strong character in my team members. Learning is important. One should never stop learning. Everyone has something that they are good at. Team up with others, leverage your skills and create a situation where everybody wins.
"Have confidence in yourself. Stretch your capabilities. See how far you can go," he said, adding that he values people who are smarter than him.
"Team members should know the roles they play in advancing the company and achieving their own goals. But if they have their own agenda, that is where I draw the line," he added.
As to how this corporate high flyer handles stress, Tan described himself as a pragmatic and practical person who believed that stress is something that can be managed.
"Things don't always work out the way they do. There will always be good and bad days. Don't let the bad days take control. Focus on things that work. When a problem that you have no control over comes along, put it in a box and park it aside. Over time, a new scenario will present itself and the solution will show up," he said.
* The writer was a journalist with the New Straits Times before joining a Fortune Global 500 real estate company. This article is a collaboration between the New Straits Times and Tradeview, the author of 'Once Upon A Time In Bursa'.
