Vice President & Head of Strategic Partnerships

A proud immigrant, a Pan-Asian senior leader,  an even proud father.

Born and raised in Malaysia, educated in Australia, and shaped by personal and professional experiences across Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America, I bring a deeply global perspective to leadership, innovation, and building meaningful partnerships. My career has spanned more than two decades across financial services, payments, fintech, and technology, with a consistent focus on growth, transformation, and creating value at scale.

Today, I serve as Vice President & Head of Strategic Partnerships at Neo Financial, one of Canada’s leading fintech companies. In this role, I lead strategic relationships across financial institutions, payment networks, insurance providers, merchants, and the broader fintech ecosystem. 

Prior to Neo, I spent nearly a decade in executive leadership roles at RBC (Royal Bank of Canada), Canada’s largest bank and public company. I joined RBC in 2017 to lead their Tech + Operations Innovation Group, where I explored and helped shape the bank’s thinking around emerging technologies including blockchain, digital identity, voice interfaces, and cybersecurity. I later led the growth of RBC’s Merchant loyalty and Strategic Partnership portfolio, helping build and scale major national partnerships with organizations such as Petro-Canada, Rexall, DoorDash, and Hertz. In my final mandate at RBC, I helped lead the Merchant Acquiring and Payments business, supporting hundreds of thousands of Canadian businesses—from small entrepreneurs to large enterprises—in getting paid securely and efficiently.

Before RBC, I spent six transformative years with the PayPal and eBay family of companies. At PayPal Canada and Braintree, I led Market Development and Mobile Strategy, supporting the growth of digital payments and mobile commerce in a rapidly evolving ecosystem. Earlier, in the UK/IRE, I managed strategic channel and mobile partnerships, helping expand product adoption and accelerate market penetration across key segments.

Beyond my corporate roles, I’m deeply passionate about helping build Canada’s innovation ecosystem. I actively advise startups, mentor emerging leaders, and invest selectively in early-stage technology companies, particularly in data, AI, and fintech. Over the years, I’ve contributed to advisory boards and innovation communities including MaRS Discovery District, Copenhagen FinTech, BC Tech Association, TechTO, and Singularity University Canada.

Community leadership has also been a defining part of my journey. I currently serve on the Board of Ascend Global Leaders and previously served as President and Chair of Ascend Canada, North America’s largest Pan-Asian business non-profit. Through this work, I’ve focused on advancing leadership representation, mentorship, and community-building for underrepresented talent.

I’m also a strong advocate for inclusion, neurodiversity, mental health awareness, and early talent development. I believe leadership is not just about driving results—it’s about creating environments where people feel seen, supported, and empowered to do the best work of their lives.

My perspectives on leadership, innovation, fintech, and the future of work have been featured in publications including The Globe and Mail, Financial Times, BNN Bloomberg, BetaKit, and others.

I’m always open to thoughtful conversations with people who care about innovation, equity, and building a better future.

Reach out—I’d love to connect.

The views and opinions expressed here are my own.