CEO Insights Magazine

In recent years, the telecom sector in Cambodia has been experiencing rapid growth while playing a pivotal role in the country's digital transformation. With a strong focus on implementing innovative strategies and investing heavily in infrastructure, the industry has been empowering individuals and communities with easy accessibility to affordable internet service. An inspiring leader with around 23 years of extensive experience in strategy and business portfolio management, Dylan Quah took over as the CEO of Cambodia-based Telecommunication Infrastructure firm, Telcotech in 2023. Within a short span, the firm, under his visionary leadership, has been experiencing tremendous growth while serving some of the leading Telcos and ISPs both nationally and internationally. In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights ASIA, Dylan sheds light on his overall industry experience, his leadership approach, and much more.

Give a brief account of your professional background and experiences.

I started my career as a System Analyst in a Bank in Kuala Lumpur. In the early 2000s, I jumped onto the dot-com bandwagon and started working for three internet startup companies across Singapore and Malaysia. While it didn't turn out very well, I gathered a vast amount of knowledge and experience from the startup culture. Later, I moved into consulting and started my career in telecommunications with Digi Telecommunications, a Malaysian telecommunications company. During my time at Digi Telecommunications, I honed my skills in project management, program management, and portfolio management, especially in the commercial aspect of business.

After that, I joined Astro, where I headed PMO for the firm's newly launched IPTV department. Later, I was promoted to the Head of Commercial PMO at the firm. My last working experience in Malaysia was with Celcom, where I developed my corporate strategy skillsets from the brilliant German strategists in telecommunications. In 2019, I got headhunted to lead the PMO in Cellcard, one of the largest telecommunications operators in Cambodia. Later, I was promoted to the Director of Corporate Strategy & PMO and I was leading the business turnaround as well as IPO program for Cellcard.

Afterward, Royal Group of Companies, the parent firm of Cellcard, wanted me to look into the turnaround for one of its subsidiary firms, Telcotech. I was able to successfully improve the business to a positive turnaround within 6 months while guiding the firm with a growth strategy for the subsequent years. So, the board members later asked me to head the firm.

Define Telcotech as an organization and its current position in the market.

In April 2023, we made a strategic decision to separate the ISP business from the infra business. In my first year as a CEO at Telcotech, we made a very calculated and decisive move to shake up some areas of the business. So instead of primarily serving as an infra provider for the Royal Group, we gradually transitioned into an independent business. This strategic shift was meant to revitalize the business by positioning Telcotech as an autonomous fiber company and a competitive player in the market while focusing on reducing the cost of goods and operating expenses. This yielded quite excellent results, stemming a successful turnaround for the firm. With increased market and stakeholder confidence, Telcotech has also achieved another historic milestone by successfully listing its public bond of $20 million in the Cambodia security exchange. This marks a significant step for us in terms of advancing fiber infrastructure and expanding networks, enabling us to position ourselves in a greater strength to deliver broader connectivity in the regions.

What are the guidelines or methodologies you follow as a leader?

My leadership approach is a two-step approach of visionary and a mentorship. This means providing my team with a clear vision and executable strategies for the organization for where it should be heading in the next few years. Then I work closely with the team to form individual strategies and plans for their respective departments to support the organizational vision. Throughout the journey, I also help them execute these plans by providing them advice and space for experimental thinking and making mistakes, while constantly encouraging them to overcome challenges together. No matter how small or big, each win is celebrated, which gives the the team a sense of achievement and in-turn, eventually translates into organizational growth. As a leader, I have always believed in nurturing talents by amplifying their strengths while guiding them to overcome their weaknesses.

What are some of the major milestones that you have achieved over the years?

We have always wanted to make our company in line with the government of Cambodia's aspiration to be a digital-first nation. Our continuous effort to expand our coverage footprint as an independent fiber core has allowed us to serve more Telco and ISP customers in Cambodia. In 2023, we managed to win over the account of, one of the largest telcos in Cambodia, for a wide range of solutions. At the international stage, our strategy has always been to focus on IP transit by bridging connectivity border-to-border, especially from Vietnam to Thailand or to Singapore.

With the increasing geopolitical pressures in Vietnam, we foresaw them taking a different route to transit into Singapore rather than Hong Kong or China. So, we have rekindled our relationship with our Vietnam customers and have been effectively marketing this route to them. In early 2024, we won the biggest IP connectivity contracts from Vietnam worth close to $10 million. We also have a lot more interest coming in as this has proven to be one of the brilliant strategies for Vietnam.

For this initiative we even won the Asian Telecom Award 2023 for the Submarine Telecom Company of the Year. And lately, Tecotech was also awarded ‘Leading Telecommunication Service Provider in Cambodia 2024’ by the Global Brands Magazine.

Dylan Quah, CEO, Telcotech Cambodia

An accomplished industry leader with a proven track record of corporate turnaround as well as launching and managing core strategic businesses, Dylan Quah has over 23 years of extensive strategic experience in overseeing the full spectrum of business portfolio management, digital transformation, and customer experience enhancements. He is currently working as the Chief Executive Officer at Cambodia-based Telecommunication Infrastructure firm, Telcotech.