VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS
KENNETH TAN TITLE : PRESIDENT – ASIA PACIFIC & JAPAN COMPANY : VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS INDUSTRY : MEDICAL DEVICE LOCATION : SINGAPORE
EXECUTIVE BIO
Science has been integral to Kenneth Tan ’ s life from a very young age . Biology and
Chemistry captured his curiosity because of their relevance to daily life , and at the age of 19 he graduated with a Diploma in Biotechnology , served two and a half years of full-time National Service in the Singapore Police Force , and then went on to complete a degree in Business Administration .
He describes healthcare as his “ calling ”. “ Few people are blessed to be in careers that allow them to apply their academic knowledge in what they do daily ; I have not looked back since I started my first job as a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative selling cardiovascular drugs ,” he says .
After this he moved into MedTech , joining Boston Scientific just when Drug-Eluting Stents were about to revolutionize cardiology . Following this , he joined Covidien , who was a leader in surgical instruments ; their technology drove the widespread adoption of minimally-invasive laparoscopic surgery . Covidien was acquired by Medtronic in 2014 , and Kenneth served as the Managing Director of their Thailand and Indochina business before joining Varian in January 2017 .
“ In my 20-year career , I have lived and worked in many countries and I have learnt that ethical , fair , kind and transparent leadership transcends boundaries ; be it language or culture .” he says . “ The power of diverse teams is undisputed ; we unlock this power when everyone is made to feel included as an equal .”
At Varian , he encourages teams to go out and inspire all cancer care-providers to treat as many patients as possible with the best quality care possible . “ I call this ‘ Inspiring Customer Success ’. We are only successful when our care-providers are successful at delivering the best possible care to the cancer patients they serve in their communities .”
“ Everything we do at Varian is driven by our vision , mission and culture , which includes a strong belief in people coming together and taking care of each other to achieve the company ’ s objectives . We put the patient at the centre of everything we do , and we measure our success by the number of cancer patients ’ lives touched annually .”