Trailblazer Barbara Humpton

Humpton has also spoken publicly about the importance of finding a work-life balance – a personal interest of hers, as she navigates the balance between CEO responsibilities and duties as a grandma.

To spread her message and influence more widely, she leads her podcast The Optimistic Outlook, which explores the link between technological innovation and the mission to tackle social issues. Episodes have covered a variety of topics, from ‘What falling ill during Covid-19 taught me about leadership’ to one of the most recent episodes on ‘Accelerating America’s electric future’. In her discussion with CEOs from multiple US companies (including United for Infrastructure, Duke Energy and GoTriangle) about electric vehicles (EV), Humpton explains how Siemens’ commitment to a national EV charging network will accelerate the accessibility and equitability of EV for people across the US.

A role model for #WomenInTech

Prior to her twelve years at Siemens, Humpton held multiple leadership roles at various US companies, including overseeing border security and managing programme performance at the Department of Justice and Homeland Security.

Since 2011, Humpton has dedicated her career to the Siemens technological mission. Starting out as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) for her first four years there, Humpton soon proved her ability to deliver the most effective and efficient processes to Siemens’ federal customers in infrastructure, energy and healthcare. She was then promoted to President and CEO of Siemens Government Technologies for a further three years, where she led the production and promotion of Siemens’ technologies and services for the federal government.

“I’m passionate about diversity, STEM education and what I call a work-life blend”

Since 2018, she has served as the US CEO of Siemens, leading strategy and operations in the company’s mission to digitise its largest market: the US. As well as acting CEO of Siemens, she is also the Chairperson for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), a policy research institute that advocates new ways of thinking about international competition and defence.

ROHIT ROHIT JHA JHA

Rohit Jha is the CEO and CoFounder of Transcelestial. With his team, he is designing and implementing the next generation of wireless fibre optics. Their technology offers the speed, dependability and easy implementation required to cater to the world’s everincreasing connectivity demands

Q. WHAT IS TRANSCELESTIAL’S POINT OF DIFFERENCE AS A BUSINESS?

»Communication technology in Singapore, as it is around the world, is dominated by two types of technologies: fibre optic cables and radio waves. While these technologies have helped build our communications infrastructure, there are challenges that remain in providing connectivity for all.

Transcelestial's vision is to improve the connectivity experience for the next billion people. To build on this, we have developed a high-speed (up to 10Gbps) wireless laser communication device. The device we’ve developed, CENTAURI, transmits the lasers through the air instead of through fibre optic cables. This allows for a far more rapid deployment than deploying the standard underground fibre infrastructure.

While the concept of using lasers to power connectivity is not new, there has been a major gap in getting it to the market. Our technology and IP make it possible for industry players everywhere to utilise next-generation lasers, which are the best in class (when compared on a price-to-performance basis). Transcelestial’s technology can be deployed in multiple industry applications including, but not limited to, telecoms, ISPs, large campus environments, ports and maritime.

“IF YOU HIRE SMART, MISSION-DRIVEN PEOPLE AND EMPOWER THEM WITH THE RIGHT GOALS, THEY WILL PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT’S POSSIBLE”