April 2010 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

Interview
Interview with
Pieter Idenburg
Text Frank Kuijsters
Photos Suntec Singapore
Since when do you live in Singapore Pieter, and what
made you move to Singapore?
I have been living in Singapore periodically for 20 years.
My wife is a Singaporean and so when I was offered an
opportunity to return in 2004, I immediately received
a ‘thumbs-up’ from my wife. I came from the services
industry, having worked in management positions in hotels
and airlines.
From a career perspective, to be part of a senior
management team running a successful venue such as
Suntec was an offer too good to refuse, from both a
personal and professional point of view.
When did you join Suntec Singapore, and what is your
position at Suntec Singapore?
I joined Suntec Singapore in 2005 as Senior Director of
Business Operations. In early 2007, I took over as Chief
Operating Officer and a year later took up the role as CEO.
What do you like and dislike about your role at Suntec
Singapore?
No role is 100% perfect. What I really like about my role
at Suntec Singapore is that we are a “local” company in a
global business. We are in the convention and exhibition
business, and everyday there is something new happening
at our Centre.
I also enjoy the people I work with -- the team is an
enthusiastic bunch with a “can-do” attitude.
These are professionals who have been in the business
for a long time, and who understand how to do business
in Asia, while at the same time engaging clients in Europe
and the US. We are very customer-centric, and this is the
ethos and the mantra that has been etched into the team’s
mind, and is translated into our sales initiatives, marketing
principles and hiring efforts. What I dislike, however, is
that there are never enough hours in a day! We have a
good, enthusiastic team with great ideas, but as in all
management efforts, we must prioritize what we can and
cannot do depending on available resources.
Can you tell us more about Suntec Singapore; what is the
core business, who are the owners, how many people are
working for Suntec Singapore etcetera?
Suntec Singapore is a venue provider for the meetings,
incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry.
We are an award winning centre that has been in operation
since 1995 and has been the proud host for many major
events that include World Trade Organisation Ministerial
Meetings, IMF-World Bank Annual Meeting 2006, and
recently APEC 2009. In addition to various meeting spaces
that range from boardroom to convention halls, we have
two F & B outlets that are managed and operated by us.
In 2009, we hosted 1400 events and had more than 6.7
million visitors to the building.
We are in the core business of providing meeting
space. Meetings are an integral part of doing business and
a necessity to keep trade and commerce going. Meetings
are also important for business exchange and business
generation.
We have our own in house catering team that services
all events that we host. This way we ensure that the food
quality is of a high standard, and we are able to customise
10