Intelligent CIO APAC Issue 22 | Page 80

GET TO KNOW led solutions , which are becoming more important to help businesses across all industries round out their strategic identity solution options to meet changing customer needs .
How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office ?
At ForgeRock , this has manifested in a couple of ways . Early on , ForgeRock took the strategic decision to offer one code for different deployment options , meaning customers can run ForgeRock in different cloud environments , and working in partnership with Google Cloud for the provision of Identity Cloud solutions has allowed us to offer these flexible options .
In my day-to-day life , I try to find the right balance in everything I do . I ’ m a big runner , and I try to run daily – this is often where I do my best thinking . In my spare time , I ’ m also a passionate rugby referee and am lucky enough to have had the opportunity to referee games all over the world , which has taught me a great deal about how to handle pressure .
Aside from sports , I am an avid art collector , and have a particular focus and interest in Indonesian art . When dealing with stress and pressure , making sure I pursue my passions helps keep me engaged and energized , which in turn keeps me focused on my goals .
If you could go back and change one career decision what would it be ?
While there have definitely been times I ’ ve made mistakes , personally I wouldn ’ t go back and change anything . Every decision I ’ ve made in the past has led to some incredible experiences . My career has led me all over the world and I ’ ve been lucky enough to work in Australia , the Philippines , Japan and Singapore . These experiences have given me the opportunity and privilege of meeting , working with and befriending some incredible people around the globe .
Working at ForgeRock both pre-and post-IPO ( ForgeRock went public in September 2021 ) has been a really incredible experience , and has motivated me to continue to build teams and help our customers grow across Asia-Pacific and Japan .
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry ?
In the Identity Access and Management ( IAM ) industry , the biggest investment would have to be in providing end-to-end and cloud-based solutions to meet changing cross-sector customer needs . There is a significant investment in not only building out functionality for both internal and external IAM needs , but also in developing the flexibility of solutions to give customers more elastic deployment options . These solutions are being developed to provide a larger offering of hybrid cloud deployment options or cloud options that ensure data sovereignty needs are met in specific jurisdictions .
What are the region-specific challenges when implementing new technologies in APAC ?
It ’ s difficult to pin down just one or a few challenges for the whole APJ region . The APJ region ’ s diversity reflects a mix of mature and growing economies , each of which comes with nuances and different challenges and needs . The region is also well known as a hotbed when it comes to implementing and experimenting with new technologies to gain a competitive advantage . In this regard , the APJ region is incredibly forward-thinking , and can often be first adopters of new technology .
When it comes to implementing new technologies successfully , the key is patience , cultural alignment , partnership with customers and an unrelenting focus on successful outcomes . Demonstrating the clear business impact of new technologies in a way that addresses country-specific issues can help ease any concerns and build excitement .
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the next 12 months ?
I see two key trends :
• The battle for talent is as fierce as ever , and talent recruitment and retention is critical to successful leadership . With the rise of technology companies quickly outstripping the amount of talent available , particularly in cybersecurity , I expect to see this challenge grow within the next 12 months .
• The demand for Identity and Access Management solutions is rapidly increasing in line with global digitalization . To this point , the importance of easyto-use solutions for consumers is becoming more visible and much more C-level driven as they look to implement these services . p
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