As chief executive of Western Digital, a major hard disk drive (HDD) maker, Irving Tan keeps a
tight schedule.
Splitting his time between Singapore and San Jose, Tan is up from about 4.30 am and starts work within the hour. He steers the company through “extremely varied” issues, from discussions on tariffs and engineering roadmaps to setting out company values and engaging the media
and investors.
“There’s really no typical day, and that’s one of the exciting things about the job. Through a 12-hour day, you toggle across many different things,” said Tan, who is also chairman of inflight
caterer SATS.
An engineer by training and a Lego enthusiast, he relishes problem-solving and having “the mental ability to switch from one topic to the other”.
Tan is this year’s Outstanding Overseas Executive at the Singapore Business Awards. He has had a storied career in the global tech industry – including 13 years at US tech giant Cisco – and is still going strong.
The 55-year-old rose to the helm of Western Digital in February, after the company spun off its flash business to focus on HDDs. Having been through many tech cycles, he is now riding the artificial intelligence (AI) wave – which he cites as a strong tailwind for the data storage industry.