Up Close and Personal with SiTF Councilor - Mr Foo Jong Tong

In this special issue, SiTF interviews our newly elected councilor 2007/08 and second term Chairman of Service-Oriented Chapter (SOAC) -Mr Foo Jong Tong.

"My philosophy in life is to honor my commitments with integrity...
I hope that in my little ways, I can contribute towards making
Singapore a vibrant and internationally recognized infocomm industry."
- Jong Tong.

Jong Tong is the General Manager for ILOG Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. Under his leadership, ILOG successfully expanded its business operations into Australia, China, India, Singapore, and South Korea.
He was instrumental in developing and launching the Overseas Training Attachment Program, a joint initiative with the Economic Development Board (EDB) of Singapore and ILOG headquarters.

Jong Tong giving the opening address at
SiTF-SOA Developer’s Day, NYP.

Jong Tong, please tell us more about yourself.

I joined ILOG in 1995 and is currently the General Manager of ILOG, Asia Pacific. I have been in the IT industry for the last 18 years. (ILOG is a Nasdaq listed company that provide software and services that empower enterprise to make better decision faster and to manage change and complexity)

In 1995 , I started the marketing arm for ILOG Asia Pacific and later years taking charge of the alliances and emerging markets and overall sales for the region. I was involved in a collaborative project with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to set up the first Business Rule Management System Centre of Excellence (BRMS CoE) in Asia, based in Singapore.

Philosophy in life

“To honor your commitments with integrity”.

:: Lifestyle :: Jong Tong views on a healthy family life
What are your hobbies and what you do during your free time.

I love to jog, swim and read. I also enjoy the latest electronic gadgets.
As I do travel frequently, during my free time, I would love to spend more time with my family, and my three lovely daughters.

Jong Tong with his family.

Do share with us your interests or involvement with SiTF.

It is my privilege and honor to chair SiTF SOA Chapter. Indeed, it is a fun and rewarding experience on both the personal and professional front. During my time serving as chapter chair, I have the opportunity to work with like minded individuals who have similar passion and commitment to champion the cause of SOA in the IT industry.

I also represented SiTF as Council member for the Singapore Information Technology Standards Committee (ITSC).

Moving forward, how do you see yourself as the role of the councilor, Chairman of SOAC, and working with the SiTF councilors and Secretariat?

As Chairman of SiTF SOA Chapter (SOAC), I work with fellow EXCO members, chapter members and the industry to deliver on SOAC vision and mission. Having SOAC gaining industry recognition and acknowledgement that its indeed made good impact and contributions to the Singapore IT industry, will be a great achievement for the EXCO and myself.

I am delighted to work closely with a deeply committed Secretariat – Ms Erin Wong and Mr Lawrence Lim to steer this cause. Recently, we held a successful event called SOA Developers’ Day at Nanyang Polytechnic. We have about 150 mostly industry participants listening to speakers from BEA, IBM, ILOG, Microsoft, Oracle and Sun and having hands-on lab. (See SOA page , and blog of this recent event of SOA Developers' at NYP)

I hope that in my little ways, I can contribute towards making Singapore a vibrant and internationally recognized Infocomm Industry.

As a councilor of SITF, do share with us your vision/aspirations for SiTF in the coming year.

My aspiration for SiTF is to be the premiere Infocomm club and voice for the
Singapore infocomm industry.

...............................................................................................................

Foo Jong Tong
General Manager, Asia Pacific
ILOG (S) Pte Ltd

Jong Tong is the General Manager for ILOG Asia Pacific, based in Singapore.
He joined ILOG in 1995 and started the marketing arm for ILOG Asia Pacific and headed the sales and marketing arms, as well as the alliances and emerging markets in Asia Pacific. Under Jong Tong’s leadership, ILOG successfully expanded its business operations into Australia, China, India, Singapore, and South Korea. He was instrumental in developing and launching the Overseas Training Attachment Program, a joint initiative with the Economic Development Board (EDB) of Singapore and ILOG headquarters. He also set up the first Business Rule Management System Centre of Excellence (BRMS CoE) in Asia, based in Singapore, in collaboration with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

With 18 years of experience in the Asia Pacific Information Technology industry, Jong Tong has recently been awarded Entrepreneur of the Year - Sales Year 2006 in an ILOG worldwide event held in Paris. Prior to ILOG, he was in the real-time Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence (C3I) business for commercial and defense, of which two years were spent in Sweden working as a Software Specialist and later Project Leader and Manager for one of largest defense contractors in Europe.

He is currently the elected Chairman of SiTF SOA Chapter and serves as Councilor for SiTF 2006/07 and 2007/08. He represented SiTF as Council member for the Information Technology Standards Committee (ITSC) and is also a senior member (SMSCS) of the Singapore Computer Society.

Jong Tong holds a double degree in Mathematics (Major in Computer Science and Statistics) and Computer Science (Honours) from the University of Newscastle, Australia.

Story by: Chai Pei Shan.