Dr. Karthik SO Kumar

"Everyone sees what you appear to be; few experience that thou art." Niccolo Machiavelli, 16th Century CE.

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." Winston Churchill, 20th Century CE

This is a site about me.

I am a proud Singaporean - I was born here; I went to school here, served my National Service. Now I work and live here with my wife and 2 kids.

I currently work as the Global Materials Science and Innovation Manager at Halliburton Completions Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., based in Singapore. Prior to this, I worked in the medium-sized family owned German electronics firm Rohde & Schwarz Asia Pte. Ltd., where I was the Head of R&D in Systems Software Development and as an Advisor to the MD, responsible for government relations and tech forecasting. Before that I worked as a venture capital investor in early stage deep-technology ventures at Temasek International Pte. Ltd., a Singapore government-owned but privately managed balance-sheet investor with a focus on early stage deep-technology ventures along the pillars of NetZero Technologies, Future of Compute and Cognition, and Disruptive Materials. My longest stint was in the Singapore Public Service, where I spent 22 years, having served  in a variety of roles, most recently as a research and innovation investment portfolio development professional.  I was awarded The Commendation Medal as part of the Singapore National Day Awards in 2019 by the Singapore Government as a recognition of my efforts in the Singapore Public Service. I was also awarded the distinction of being the Signals Formation National Serviceman of the Year 2020.

I am a Scientist.

This site describes my roles over the years and areas in which I have deep expertise (polymathy). Please feel free to browse through. You can find my biography and publications list available for download in the Downloads section. I am contactable either via LinkedIn or via the contact function below.

Please click here to find out more about my personal leadership philosophy.