David Hope decided early on that he wanted to work in Asia rather than back home in Australia. The idea first took root when his father’s job in mining exploration saw the family move to the Philippines for 11 years up to the early 1980s.
But it became the motive force in his career after a spell in Japan as a management trainee with a top trading house. The experience convinced him you have to choose your own destiny and then show the drive and determination to make it happen.
“I studied international business at university in Sydney and was passionately keen about getting back to Asia,” says Hope, who is now president of Asia-Pacific and Japan for Workday, a company specialising in enterprise cloud applications that support clients’ finance and HR operations. “Even as a kid in Manila, I could sense the economic opportunities and wanted, somehow, to be part of that.”
His first job after graduating was with trading company Itochu. He was learning the coal and steel business, but also pushing whenever possible for a transfer from Australia to the head office in Tokyo. In itself, that was a groundbreaking departure from usual group policy, which was to place Japanese trainees and managers overseas, rather than vice versa. But when the call came, he had no hesitation.
“Moving to Tokyo in 1992, I was the guinea pig,” he says. “It was absolutely fascinating – and a major adjustment – opening my eyes to a world I didn’t know existed. The company’s objective was to train me up and base me back in Australia. But the experience reinforced my desire to stay in Asia, so I kept my eyes and ears open, scanned the job ads, and spotted an opportunity for a marketing director with a manufacturing firm in Singapore.”
The employer, a subsidiary of Alcatel, made back-up power supplies and equipment. The role served as an effective springboard for a subsequent shift into the tech sector. What followed was a succession of posts with regional responsibility for implementing new solutions and steering fast-paced expansion.
Hope’s interest in IT developed from the manufacturing side, where he first became familiar with systems for enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management, and on-premise solutions. But the wider possibilities seemed exciting, and he was soon actively searching for a route into the industry. It came through a connection with IBM, which was targeting growth in the manufacturing sector and needed someone with relevant experience to identify potential clients and create the bridge.
“I was fascinated by the growth of technology and how fast companies in the sector were expanding,” Hope says. “I had a real sense of excitement about that sector and saw it as the one to move into. So, I knocked on doors, leveraged contacts and got my lucky break. At first, with so many acronyms, it was a completely different world. But the company provided training and development support, so I soon got up to speed. It was also critical to keep reading tech-specific publications to educate myself, and that became a hobby.”
As in any fast-evolving industry, a combination of personal and corporate ambitions ensured regular change and frequent new challenges over the next 20-odd years. From IBM, Hope went to Intentia, a Swedish tech company, and ran their Asia-Pacific business for five years before an acquisition took him to Lawson Software. His achievements there caught the eye of Infor Global Solutions, who invited him to oversee revenue generation in markets stretching from India to New Zealand through direct and channel sales, supporting more than 3,000 customers.
In due course, an offer came from Pitney Bowes Software, with responsibility for driving growth across the Asia-Pacific region. And as it became increasingly clear that the cloud was the future, set to transform not just IT but most other industries too, there was only one way to go.
“I knew the founders of Workday and had followed developments from day one,” he says. “The company was 100 per cent ‘born in the cloud’ and, in the back of my mind, I had said this is a team I would love to be part of.”
In essence, the firm provides analytics applications so clients can make better use of their financial management and HR-related data. What they learn has major implications for everything from cost savings and operational efficiencies to organisational structure and recruitment policies.
For Hope, the main challenge is to understand the diverse issues clients face and present suitable cloud-based solutions. But a big part of that is building a strong corporate culture which values initiative, collaboration and individual expertise.
“I see myself as a facilitator, a sounding board and a motivator of teams,” Hope says. “I am totally open to feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Also, in a region with different cultures and languages, I think you can never over-communicate. So I catch up with as many people as possible on a one-to-one basis and make sure the whole leadership team pulls together and has the same vision of where we want to be.”
When commitments allow, Hope referees junior teams for the Singapore Rugby Union, coaches, and runs the technical area at the city’s international sevens event. “As a ref, it takes so much focus to deliver a successful outcome for each game,” he says. “You are thinking on your feet all the time. But I also love reading about military history, with the fall of Singapore a speciality. In fact, two years ago, I was interviewed about that on the History Channel.”
STAIGHT TALKING
David Hope’s tips for the tech-inclined.
Look around “The beautiful thing about the tech industry is that it provides opportunities for people from all sorts of backgrounds. There are openings in sales, marketing, HR, finance and communications, not just jobs for software developers or computer science graduates.”
Show heart “In our company, passion and enthusiasm are absolutely critical. Applicants must be keen to learn and, as in any industry, relevant experience makes a difference.”
Put clients first “Whatever your role, you must care about customers and what they want. In that sense, we are all in sales and must see the broader picture of how it all fits together.”
Work as one “This industry is very dynamic, with new people coming in all the time. Therefore, you must be ready to collaborate, engage, and focus on building success together. That is the mentality we look for.”
Prioritise protection “These days, security is a major consideration for everyone. Besides having the right technology to defend the core solution, we ensure individuals have the necessary standards and certifications.”
This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Keeping it clear.
