DHL Supply Chain last week announced the appointment of Noel Singgih (above left) as Chief Information Officer and Michael Lai (above right) as Chief Operating Officer for the Asia Pacific region. DHL further added Steve Walker to its regional management board, as Chief Executive Officer for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Both appointments are internal promotions. Terry Ryan, CEO, Asia Pacific, DHL Supply Chain said that Singgih and Lai are experts in their respective fields, and both will play a key role in DHL's strategy going forward. "Noel has been with us for more than ten years now and his capabilities are evident from the digital projects that he has helped to spearhead in the region," commented Ryan. "I'm equally convinced that Michael's experience in optimising operations in different international markets, including Greater China, makes him the perfect choice."

In his new role, Singgih will be handling operations from Singapore and reporting to Markus Voss, Global CIO & COO of DHL Supply Chain. "The pandemic has demonstrated that it's critical to keep a keen eye on the horizon ahead, and accelerate digital transformation to future-proof our customers' supply chains," he said of the approach he plans to take.  

Singgih has been at DHL for almost a decade now. He has held diverse leadership roles at the company, including CIO and subsequently COO for Greater China. Prior to the latest promotion, Singgih played a major role in global strategy for e-commerce and digital warehouse information technology solutions across the region for potential clients.

Lai will focus on operational excellence and enhancing customer experience along with consistent growth of the company. He said: "I'm incredibly honoured and excited about this regional role and look forward to meet with our teams to better understand our operations across the multi-cultural cities in Asia to see where I can add value to existing processes and best practices."

At DHL for almost 18 years now, he has served in a number of different roles and regions. Most recently, he was COO and Head of Solutions and Innovation at SF DHL Supply Chain in China, having spearheaded the strategic partnership between DHL Supply Chain and SF Holding in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. He has held senior management roles based out of Taiwan, South China, Macau, Hong Kong and Germany. He has also been involved in the growth and development of the Deutsche Post DHL Group's global strategy.