IBM’s former chief Ginni Rometty: why Singapore stands out as a global business hub

Q: What makes Singapore stand out as an attractive destination for global businesses?

GR: Three factors stand out to me – trade, the regulatory environment and education. In my mind, Singapore stands for free and open markets, which is so important when you’re building a business. The success Singapore has had proves this.

The second thing of importance is regulatory environments – not just about having one, but one that is predictable, regular and transparent. I can’t tell you how important that is to a business.

Finally, Singapore is a country with a commitment to lifelong education. It understands that the skills people need change over time. That makes it a great place to get great talent for your firm.

Q: How can tech companies benefit from the access that Singapore offers to regional opportunities?

GR: Southeast Asia is going to be a dynamic powerhouse of growth over the next decade. Singapore has a lot of multinational companies that have grown up here in Singapore, and they are a wonderful set of partners for companies who come here in hopes of growing into the rest of Southeast Asia.

Q: How do you think Singapore is implementing lifelong learning with the SkillsFuture initiative?

GR: SkillsFuture in Singapore is a great example of a country embracing a paradigm and sending a message to everyone in the country that you have to keep changing and building and growing your skills. It doesn't even matter exactly which area, as long as you continue to do so, regardless of your age. Forget about the old way of once and done for education for all of us. It's going to be a lifelong cycle of learning and practicing for the rest of our lives. This is important in the tech world, because the lifespan of a skill is now down to just a small number of years before you have to refresh yourself.
 

Q: ESG and sustainability have been hot topics within the business community. How do you think the tech industry has responded to the notion of tech for good?

GR: First, it is the job of the tech industry, and those of us that use tech, to usher in new technologies into the world safely. This means that we can’t just look at their upsides. We have to address what their downsides are in parallel. By doing this, you also build trust in technology.

Second, you have to prepare society to want to thrive and have a better future with those technologies. That means not just focusing on building the technology, but also taking the time to educate the population, training them, and doing whatever is required so that people can have a better future because of those technologies.
 

Q: How do you think tech companies in Singapore can implement these measures and balance profit and purpose?

GR: Any company has to balance profit and purpose if they want to exist for a long time. I always say that society can revoke your license to operate if you don’t balance those over the long term. In Singapore, it is a perfect environment to cultivate the skills of the population to both contribute to technology and also benefit from it. Businesses can also work with the government through public-private partnerships to build the rules of the road around how these technologies can operate safely in the country.

Q: Singapore has a higher percentage of women in tech versus the global average – 41% versus 28%. However, why do you think there is still a gap in terms of female representation on boards?

GR: Why does Singapore have such a great percentage of women in tech versus other countries in the world? I would attribute that to one factor, which is the inclusive nature of this country and its culture. I think that that has paid dividends for decades, and how people feel about working here and being equal.

Then why aren't there more women in corporate boards? Well, I think we have to solve another problem for that to happen. To be appointed to a board, women have to stay in the workforce for a very long time through their career and through different promotions. What I see happen, for various reasons, family and otherwise – women step away. We have to work on policies that make it possible for women to stay in the workforce or return to the workforce. I always say the most important thing you can do for diversity at the highest levels is keep women – or help them get them back into the workforce.
 

Ginni Rometty served as the executive chairman of IBM from 2012 to 2020. A passionate champion for skills-first learning, she co-founded OneTen, a coalition of companies and educators committed to upskilling, hiring and promoting one million Black Americans by 2030. She currently serves on multiple boards, including JPMorganChase and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, and is the author of her memoir, Good Power. She is a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council. Read her comments on how Singapore can seize opportunities in AI.