Zaqy Mohamad

Zaqy Mohamad, 31, is a Regional Director with Avanade, a multinational joint venture of Microsoft and Accenture.

He is responsible for the firm's strategic development of its services portfolio, client base and business partnerships in South-East Asia.

Zaqy plays an instrumental role in expanding the business in the region.

Prior to his current appointment, Zaqy worked as a business consultant with Arthur Andersen and subsequently, IBM.

His principal focus was to work with government agencies and multinational corporations to be more efficient and competitive; and promote innovative approaches in the use of technology.

His international business exposures enabled him to understand the impact of global trends on businesses and management imperatives.

Hence, Zaqy is attuned to the importance for workers to be able to adapt to changing needs of the global market and technological advancements.

As such, Zaqy appreciates the importance of a dependable social support structure to assist the unemployed and low-income families get back on their feet promptly during difficult periods.

Over the last 10 years. Zaqy has committed himself to community service - first as a student, and as a young professional .

His keen interest developed during his two terms as Student Union President in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) championing student welfare and financial assistance programs for needy students.

Upon graduation in 1999, he continued to serve the community, expanding his efforts to the residential community in Kampong Ubi.

Through the Meet-the-People Sessions and other community projects, Zaqy gained hands-on working experience on issues concerning low-income families, the elderly and other heartland concerns.

Kampong Ubi's residential profile also enabled Zaqy to gain insights in tackling social issues pertaining to the Malay community.

Today, he serves in the Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC), progressively extending his grassroots involvement.

At a macro-level, Zaqy dedicates his time to the Social Development Feedback Group, Feedback Unit to reflect the challenges and improvement opportunities in executing Government policies on the ground.

Over the 2 years he has worked on issues relating to the effectiveness of Singapore's social, safety nets in reaching out to the needy as well as issues concerning low-wage workers.

Zaqy was educated in Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Engineering in NTU of which one year was spent in France on industrial attachment in R&D as well as academic exchange.

He furthered his studies in NTU obtaining a Masters degree in Financial Engineering and a Certificate in Computational Finance from Carnegie Mellon University.

As a firm believer of the family unit as a fundamental building block of society, Zaqy devotes much of his remaining time with his family.

Zaqy is married with 2 children, aged 5 and 2.

Source: PAP