Eugene Lam, SVP of HR, shares how purpose, agility, and cultural clarity help people leaders deliver results across diverse markets
With over 27,000 employees and a presence spanning defence, aerospace, marine, smart city and digital solutions, ST Engineering operates at a global scale that few engineering technology companies can match.
Its progress has been fueled by organic and inorganic growth, and in the US alone, its major operations span over 52 cities in 21 states, making the “people and culture” agenda an exciting opportunity as well as a constant challenge.
Across geographies and business areas, HR leaders understand the significance of ensuring that people leadership remains a force multiplier, not a bottleneck.
It’s no longer enough for policies to look aligned. Leaders must drive performance while creating workplaces where trust, accountability, and collaboration thrive.
Eugene Lam, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at ST Engineering, has spent decades building HR strategies across Asia Pacific, Latin America, and EMEA.
Now based in the US for an international assignment, he leads HR for the company’s Smart City and Digital Solutions cluster and shares how ST Engineering is equipping leaders to scale and enable people and culture with intention.
Leading with purpose and clarity of direction
When asked what differentiates effective people leaders, Eugene immediately returns to the fundamentals: purpose and clarity.
“If you have leaders who can imbue a sense of purpose… That’s leadership,” Eugene says, and he adds, “It’s not just about KPIs or targets, those are just numbers. The question is: how do you excite your organisation to say, ‘Here’s where we are, here’s what we can achieve, what do we want to be?’”
For Eugene, purpose becomes tangible through behavior, not slogans. “You set culture not merely by words,” he explains.
“When a leader comes to the office every day at 8 am, it says a lot. He doesn’t have to put it on the wall to say, ‘Come to the office early.’”
Building alignment after acquisitions
ST Engineering’s portfolio spans highly across various sectors, from marine and aerospace to robotics and satellite communications.
Acquiring such a wide range of companies, Eugene says, has made alignment across business units complicated.
“Some entities that we have acquired are over 80 years old, others are less mature, and the business revenue size varies,” he explains.
“Each business is different, and the companies come with their own history and culture. This is where it gets challenging and interesting.”
To build alignment in corporate culture and direction in such an environment, Eugene emphasizes the need for a common thread.
“That’s why I started with purpose,” he says. “You need to find a common thread that pulls people together, starting from the leaders.”
The company’s vision — to be a global technology and engineering powerhouse — anchors its leadership messaging.
But more than words, it’s an aspiration that seeks to build alignment across our diversity.
“One of our leadership focus areas is business growth through collaboration,” Eugene adds. “Because if you want to succeed in this VUCA world and beat the competition, we must work together. As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, go alone... If you want to go far, go together. If we collaborate, we go fast and far!”
Developing strong leaders through a common language
Eugene supports over 200 people managers across his cluster, and one of the platforms that his team has developed to strengthen people leadership is through a curated learning forum for leaders conducted biannually.
“There are four leadership dimensions that ST Engineering professes,” he shares.
“Drive performance, drive innovation, think global, engage and inspire.” Developed in 2019, these leadership dimensions are now central to the company’s leadership strategy and values.
The SCDS Leadership Forum, as the workshop is now called, was launched in 2024, and it started with ‘engage and inspire’.
“We had keynote speakers, panels, and case studies... It was modeled based on a ‘leader teaching leaders’ approach. We wanted a session that allowed for open conversations and peer-to-peer sharing, so managers actively participate and learn more effectively.”
“The fact that they take half a day, and these are our senior leaders, just to come together with managers to discuss leadership… To me, that says a lot,” he adds.
How top leaders model culture and accountability
Senior executives play a pivotal role in reinforcing culture, and Eugene sees this reflected in the actions of leaders within his cluster.
“One of our senior leaders was interviewed in a magazine,” Eugene recalls. “She was asked about her achievements for the year, and instead of talking about multimillion-dollar deals, she spoke about the Leadership Forum that was started in her cluster and the impact it made on developing great leaders.”
It was a telling moment for Eugene. “That’s a leader setting the tone.”.
Her leadership style also blends empathy with accountability. “She’s respectful, but she’s also direct, holding her leaders accountable for business performance and people decisions.”
Adapting to shifts in technology and social norms
Eugene believes leaders today must learn to respond to evolving realities, whether driven by technology, market shifts, or social change.
“You need leaders who understand and are agile technologically,” he says. “You don’t have to be a techie… But you need to be appreciative of digitalization and its implications for your products and services.”
Eugene adds that shifts in technology, demographics and social norms have reshaped workforce expectations in the aspects of career, staff engagement and the future of work.
“You now have polarized topics that are being talked about, and with the rise of social media, news and opinions go around very quickly. Today’s leaders will need to learn how to discern and respond to these polarized viewpoints.”
The ability to listen, adapt, and respond with clarity, without alienating stakeholders, is quickly becoming a critical skill.
What jazz taught him about listening and agility
Eugene, a passionate jazz guitarist, sees music improvisation as a leadership principle in action.
“Jazz is an expression, and in playing this genre of music as a band, you need to appreciate that one instrument isn’t better than the other. You have to listen to where your fellow players are going. When it’s time for you to solo, you express, and you do so listening to what the rest of your bandmates are playing. And when it’s time for others to solo, you step back.”
This philosophy extends into his leadership style, especially when leading through ambiguity.
“You can’t keep the same rhythm and lines. You need to be agile and make the changes.”
