ARTC Management

David is the CEO of ARTC since 2012 and rejoined SIMTech as Executive Director in 2019.

The ARTC adopts a public-private partnership model to bring together industry end users, technology providers and SMEs, with over 95 industry members. SIMTech, most notably, helps several hundred SMEs annually to stay competitive and climb up the value chain through advanced manufacturing capabilities, as well as professional training. 

Prior to his current roles, David was the Chief of Manufacturing Technology at Rolls-Royce Singapore and Group Manager of Machining Technology at SIMTech.

He is a member of the board of governors at Singapore Polytechnic, and an Adjunct Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He is also a Fellow and Chartered Engineer of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). Until 2007, David published 50 journals, patents and book publications for his research in laser materials processing.

David has received the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) Borderless Team Awards in 2007 and 2016 for driving various partnership outcomes. He also received the prestigious Sir Henry Royce Team Award for Engineering Excellence in 2012. In 2022, David received MTI Exemplary Firefly Award (Gold) in 2021 and the Public Administration Medal (Silver).

David is an alumnus of INSEAD, Tsinghua University, The University of Manchester and Singapore Polytechnic. 

Dr Wong Chow Cher is currently the Business Development Director in the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC), of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). His responsibilities in his current role include mapping out technical and business strategies, as well as delivering research outcomes for ARTC’s industry members.

Prior to this, Chow Cher was the Programme Manager in Rolls-Royce Singapore where he had led and developed manufacturing capabilities in the area of surface enhancement for aero-engine components, through Rolls-Royce funded programmes and collaborative research partnerships with local and foreign universities as well as research institutes.

In 2010, Chow Cher worked in the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), A*STAR, where he was a Research Team Leader for metal forming technology, focusing in the area of R&D of modelling & simulation in different metal forming processes.

Throughout his research career, Chow Cher has published over 30 journals and patent publications in the field of metal forming and surface enhancement.

Chow Cher received his PhD and Honors degree (First Class) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt practitioner. He also received his MBA (Merit) from the University of Bradford, UK.

Dr Andy Lee is currently the Director for New Business & Digital in the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology And Research (A*STAR).

Prior to this, Andy worked and managed in various industries ranging from agro-biotech, contract manufacturing, to food & beverage. Andy was trained as a nano-ceramics composite materials scientist with a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, Australia

Mr Chang Thai Nam is currently the Business Development Director for SMEs and Public Agencies in the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Thai Nam has over 21 years of experience in business management, including at least 11 years in senior management. Previously the Vice President of Local Sales from ABB Group, he has lead business transformation and prepared the organisation for new markets. Repositioning the business back to profitable growth was also part of his achievements in his time at ABB.

From 2010 to 2014, he drove an 18% CAGR in the business through strengthened service leadership, product packaging and channel development. Experience he has include integrating newly acquired business and developing business managers which are critical learnings.

Despite the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, he delivered business growth turning around several underperforming businesses in less than 12 months. Thai Nam also has an impeccable track record as business leader, building mainly service business with a CAGR of 25%.

Dr Wang Wei is currently a Coordinating Director for Technical Divisions and the Technical Division Director for Smart Manufacturing in the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre. Before joining ARTC, Wang Wei held his position as Research Scientist with A*STAR's Institute of Materials Research & Engineering for nearly seven years. He then progressed and spent seven years on secondment with Rolls Royce as an Advanced Technologist.

Wang Wei holds Bachelor in Materials Sciences and Engineering and also a Masters Degree in Engineering, Materials Science with Zhejiang University, China. Dr Wang Wei also received his PhD in Materials Engineering with The Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

Mr Christopher Mason is currently the Technical Division Director for Advanced Remanufacturing in the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Prior to his current role, Christopher has held a number of senior management roles for Rolls-Royce Plc. including Manufacturing Manager of Rolls-Royce’s High Pressure Turbine Blade Machining Facility and Civil Large Engine Assembly and Test. He lead the operations team that assembled and tested the first Trent XWB production engines. He has held a number of engineering management roles in Asia, the United Kingdom and Europe for Rolls-Royce PLC and managed teams of up to 60 Engineers to design and implement new products and processes. Prior to his career at Rolls-Royce Christopher worked for Alcoa and programme managed new turbine blade manufacturing technology.

Christopher is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology and received is BEng(Hons) from the University of Hertfordshire and has co-authored a number of technical publications.

Dr Zhang Jing Bing currently serves as the Technical Division Director for Advanced Robotic Applications in the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR)

Prior to joining ARTC, Dr Zhang was a research director at IDC Asia Pacific Singapore. He was largely instrumental in setting up IDC's worldwide robotics research program, and was responsible for leading IDC's Worldwid Robotics and Asia Pacific Manufacturing research programs. In this role, he provided research and advisory services to global technology vendors and end-user clients in the areas of robotics, drones, MES, Industry 4.0, IT-OT, and emerging technologies that are reshaping the future of manufacturing. He was a frequent invited speaker at industrial events, and has been frequently engaged by media to provide analysis and perspectives on robotics and manufacturing.

From 2008 - 2015, Dr Zhang worked for seven years as senior director of engineering at Kulicke & Soffa, Singapore and was responsible for leading the engineering department with 130+ engineers/managers/directors involved in technology R&D, product development, technical support for in-house production as well as field services for customers in semiconductor packaging and assembly industry.

Dr Zhang also worked for 16 years (1992 - 2008) at SIMTech with increasing responsibilities as senior scientist, manager of various research groups/programs, director of the research liaison office (RLO) and member of the SIMTech Management Committee.

He earned his Ph.D. degree from Loughborough University, UK; his MBA (Distinction) degree from the University of Birmingham, UK; and his B.Eng. degree from Tsinghua University, China.

Dr Zhang is a senior member of IEEE, and AdCom member of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, and currently serves as a voting member of IEEE P2805 Working Group (WG) on Edge Computing Node Standards. He previously served as an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, chair/vice-chair of IEEE Singapore IE Chapter, and general chair/ technical chair/ financial chair of multiple IEEE conferences.

Dr Gary Ng is currently the Acting Director of the Research Liaison Office of the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC), driving knowledge creation and collaboration with Institute of Higher Learnings and Research Institutes. He is also the Group Manager for Additive Manufacturing Industrialisation at the ARTC to spearhead industrial adoption. Since 2019, he also holds an external appointment with the ASTM AM Centre of Excellence Singapore as an R&D Lead to drive national efforts in the standards development for additive manufacturing.

Prior to this, Gary was a Scientist at the Research Institute of Singapore Manufacturing Technology, during which he focused his research on Laser Machining Technology. Before coming to Singapore, he was a Project Leader at the TWI, U.K., during which he focused on laser metal deposition and laser welding for aerospace applications.

Gary received his PhD and Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), now known as The University of Manchester. He received his Executive MBA from Nanyang Technological University.

Mr Chia Kiang Sum is the Director of Project Management Office (PMO) in the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC). He has responsibility over the ARTC project executions & its governance processes.

Kiang Sum has taken on multiple management roles in the R&D environment with Hewlett-Packard, Dell & Honeywell prior to joining ARTC. He manages the R&D team in those companies through their product development cycle from concept to launch & ensures quality designs meeting product regulatory compliance requirements. In Honeywell, he manages the printer PMO team comprises of Program Managers from different continents to deliver product design across the various R&D centers & ensuring execution rigors are in place across the cross functional teams.

Kiang Sum graduated from Nanyang Technology University with a Bachelor of Engineering–Electrical.

Dr Bertil Brandin is currently the Strategic Development Director of the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

He spent over nine years in Asia developing the engineering and maintenance services business of ABB, a leading international OEM, holding various service related management positions. He implemented ABB’s new service strategy across the South Asia, significantly increasing its service business. In China, Bertil started-up the outsourced maintenance businesses of ABB, winning and executing the first external outsourced maintenance contract for one of the world largest pulp and paper production lines at the time.

Bertil joined ABB in 2008 from Siemens Medical Solutions, where he held various management positions, including Business Manager Clinical Chains, European Sales, and General Manager Health Services, Italy. Previously, Bertil worked at Siemens Corporate Research in Munich, successfully leading the development of a new software verification technology.

His background is in engineering and information technology across multiple sectors including industrial automation, automated manufacturing, maintenance services, healthcare and R&D. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto, Canada, a Bachelor degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and an MBA from IMD, Switzerland. He is a member of the Electrical Engineering Advisory Committee of Singapore’s Ngee Ann Polytechnic Council and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He has authored over thirty-three refereed papers in international journals and conferences, and has been granted six patents.

Mr Beng Cheah is an experienced Team Builder with a strong track record in Business and Operations in the ICT and R&D industry. He is also skilled in Strategic Planning, Business P&L, Business Development, Engineering Management, Project Management, Software Development, as well as Cross-cultural and Cross-functional Team Leadership.

Projects he has had hands-on experience with include New Zealand North Island Main Trunk Electrification (NIMTEL), a Control system for a 250Km multi-fuel pipeline in Java, Indonesia, traffic signal gantry controllers for Auckland Harbour Bridge, New Zealand, radio Telephone communications network for SCADA system, Rotorua, New Zealand and many others.

Mr Derrick Lim is currently the Corporate Services Director of the Singapore Insitute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Prior to his current role, Derrick was the Director for Infrastructure Engineering in Salesforce.com managed an intercultural team with members from cross-functions, providing the infrastructure design, build, deployment, automation, level 2 and 3 supports in a 24x7 environment globally and ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction. He travelled extensively when he was in Salesforce, primarily the United States.

His team in Salesforce Singapore contributed to the buildout of the new datacenters in London, Dallas, Phoenix and Frankfurt. The team had led the Infrastructure build and operations for Salesforce since 2013. The number of datacenters and pods the team built in just 2.5 years had exceeded what the company had built 15 years before.

Derrick had also held various senior management roles in companies like Hewlett Packard and OPUS IT Services.

Ms Tan Lee Hia is currently a Deputy Director for Organisational Development and Engagement (ODE) of the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). She manages a portfolio relating to organisational development and engagement. Prior to the appointment at ARTC, she spent 6 years at A*STAR HQ HR overseeing policy reviews and operations relating to payroll, benefits and claims management.

Lee Hia graduated from the University of Calgary, Canada with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She has more than 25 years of relevant experience in the area of human resources managing the different spectrums ranging from learning and development, recruitment, performance management to work life integration, benefits management and staff well-being.