Chin Hu Lim to join Telstra Board

The Telstra Board today announced the appointment of Chin Hu Lim, 54, as a nonexecutive Director. Mr Lim is based in Singapore and will bring almost 30 years of experience in the technology sector across the Asia Pacific region.

Mr Lim is managing partner of venture capital firm Stream Global and has a professional history including Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems and BT Global Services.

Telstra Chairman Catherine Livingstone said Mr Lim would add to Telstra’s depth of Asian expertise as well as contributing to the company’s consideration of technology opportunities.

“Chin Hu Lim has a significant range of skills and experience to bring to the Telstra Board from the perspectives of technology, geography, healthcare, venture capital and broader pan-Asian business,” Ms Livingstone said.

“It is essential the Board continue to evolve its skills and diversity base to reflect the needs of the business and the interests of shareholders. We are very pleased Chin Hu will join us.”

Mr Lim said the Telstra position was highly aligned with his business experiences and appreciated the opportunity to join as the company extended its regional footprint. “Telstra is a successful Australian telecommunications and technology company developing its presence across Asia and I’m delighted to become part of that expansion,” he said.

Mr Lim’s firm, Stream Global is appointed by Singapore’s National Research Foundation to provide seed funding for technology startups. His current Board positions include Kulicke & Soffa Inc (NASDAQ: KLIC), a semiconductor equipment assembly manufacturer; G-Able, an IT systems integration and professional services company in Thailand; Changi General Hospital and Integrated Health Information Systems, a healthcare IT services solutions provider for public hospitals in Singapore. He serves as a council member in the Singapore Institute of Directors and Infocomm Development Authority – Personal Data Protection Advisory Committee. Previous directorships include Director/CEO of Frontline Technologies and BT South East Asia.

Mr Lim started his career in Hewlett Packard and held various sales, marketing and management positions with HP in Singapore, Melbourne and south-east Asia. He was previously Managing Director for Sun Microsystems in Singapore and country director for Sun in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.

He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from La Trobe University in Melbourne and a Diploma in electrical and electronics engineering from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore.

Mr Lim’s appointment is effective 9 August 2013. He will stand for election by shareholders at Telstra’s next annual general meeting in Sydney on 15 October.

Upon this appointment, the Telstra Board will comprise Chairman Catherine Livingstone, CEO David Thodey and directors Geoffrey Cousins, Russell Higgins, Chin Hu Lim, John Mullen, Nora Scheinkestel, Margaret Seale, Steven Vamos and John Zeglis.