Varian's APJI president recognised as an outstanding leader at the SBR Management Excellence Awards

Kenneth Tan is hailed for creating equitable human-centric organisations and accelerating purposeful digitalisation in the health tech industry.

 For over 70 years, Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, has developed, built, and delivered innovative cancer care technologies and solutions for their clinical partners around the globe to help them treat millions of cancer patients each year.

Adopting an "intelligent cancer care" approach, Varian is harnessing advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics to enhance its cancer treatment and expand access to care.

Since 2021, Varian and Siemens Healthineers have combined to offer a complete suite of cancer therapy-focused diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology solutions.

Varian's President for Asia Pacific, Japan, and India, Kenneth Tan, is part of the global leadership team that established a new purpose, culture, and ambition for the combined company. 

Kenneth leads a team of more than 1,300 employees in Asia Pacific, Japan, and India (APJI).  He has endeavoured to build a learning and resilient culture where employees feel empowered to take on new challenges.  His leadership style is to be passionate about purpose, compassionate with people, and dispassionate about strategy.  Qualities are vital in times of uncertainty and volatility. 

By centring his team around purpose and culture and embedding it into his organisation's strategies, decisions, and actions, he has increased employee engagement during a time of internal transition and macroeconomic volatility.  His business delivered on its financial commitments and exceeded growth expectations during a challenging fiscal year

With a mission to 'create a world without fear of cancer,' employees are encouraged to ensure customers can treat cancer patients with the latest innovations and raise the standards of care locally.  In the past year, a new AI-guided radiotherapy technology was made available in markets across Asia. 

Kenneth is also the DE&I executive sponsor for APJI, where he feels that equity requires more awareness and attention, and that inclusion is the foundation of good decisions. He also believes that leadership should extend beyond the corporate realm and that leaders must hold themselves accountable for creating a broader impact beyond delivering on corporate targets.

Together with four other executives in healthcare in Singapore, Kenneth co-founded the Asia Mentors Circle (AMC), a not-for-profit senior executive mentoring network focused on accelerating the growth of global healthcare leaders tenured in Asia Pacific.  He believes leaders with extensive tenure in the region will have deep insights and are better equipped to grow businesses and address the demand for high-quality and affordable healthcare in a socio-economically diverse region.

AMC aims to mentor 100 healthcare leaders by 2026, developing purpose-centred business leaders who will transform healthcare in the Asia-Pacific region. 

For continuously leading innovation and growth, Kenneth Tan received the Executive of the Year Award under Healthcare Technology in the Singapore Business Review Management Excellence Awards 2022.

Now in its 8th year, the annual award recognises excellent executives, innovators, and teams, as well as HR and company initiatives that promote the well-being of employees.

The SBR Management Excellence Awards is presented by Singapore Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2023 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's employee engagements and management initiatives, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].