An Analytical and Conceptual Thinker
“As a leader, you have strong convictions and you generally prefer a fast pace. You prefer to think theoretically, and you can be reserved or lively. As an Analytical and Conceptual thinker, you can be intimidating, as you are not afraid to ask tough questions, even if doing so put others on the spot. You probably have a vision that extends ten years into the future, and you expect others to share your enthusiasm for the overall concept or goal.”
A reminder for myself, extracted from the report …
“Keep in mind that your preference for abstract thought may make it hard for some people to understand what you expect of them, so it is important to utilize your ability to adapt your Expressiveness to convey your true intentions.”
As you can see, I find it hard to describe about myself without data. Hence, I will share with you what others think about me. 😂
Testimonials from my bosses
Chai Chin Loon - GovTech - Government CISO and my mentor
“An enterprising cybersecurity leader that has demonstrated his abilities to bring together the technical depths of various cybersecurity areas and balance with fast changing business needs. He has managed to bring his experiences from his stint in Silicon Valley into the public services successfully in GovTech, building up a fast growing team of like minded cybersecurity professionals.”
Zheng Bu - Ex-Sequoia, Didi Chuxing, FireEye - Serial Entrepreuner and Investor
“It is my great pleasure working with Ronghwa for close to 4 years all together at FireEye. He is first a domain expert, with sharp handson reversing skills, yet great understanding on the whole threat landscape and attack life cycle. He is one of the few in the world, who can run a top notch detection operation with unmatched efficiency and efficacy. Talented and very result oriented, Ronghwa establishes himself a super star at FireEye and FireEye labs, through years of solid delivery record. I would highly recommend him to everyone.”
Testimonials from my peers
Gerry Chong - Deloitte Executive Director, Board Member & Lecturer - Executive & Expert in Cyber & Emerging Technologies
“I have had the pleasure of knowing Rong Hwa for the past several years and every interaction has been a valuable learning opportunity and inspiration.
He is a rare gem in the professional world, showcasing deep technical and engineering skills, while also recognizing the importance of leading a culture of growth and change within his team and the tech community at large through his role with the Singapore Computer Society.
Rong Hwa is not one to accept the status quo, and has a keen eye for identifying innovative opportunities amidst the hype of emerging technologies. I am excited to continue learning from Rong Hwa in the years to come!”
Bernard Tan - GovTech Cybersecurity Director and MHA Ex-CISO
“It has been great partnering Rong Hwa in defending our Govt system. His strong analytical skill in teasing out the crux of the issue shine light to discussion that can go often off tangent when the red and blue team comes together. 😉
Furthermore, staying focus on the objective (why) and outcome (what) are one that he has hold firm precision and latitude to drive (how) towards the targets set.
As a whole, he is a great working partner, collaborative team mate and a good-hearted father who warms hearts. Glad to have bro walking together and continuing learning from one another in this enduring cybersecurity journey!”
Abhishek Kumar - Trellix Senior Director, Security, Cloud Email Protection
“I have known Rong Hwa to be someone with excellent technical depth in cyber security domain, very responsive and very sincere and determined in his work. He has been at the forefront of researching, resolving and mitigating cyberthreats at FireEye, built a team from scratch and has taken the fight to cyber attackers. Rong Hwa is also a very cordial person to work with, ready to step up and help different teams whenever required. He has been a leader at FireEye and will be at whichever task he takes up. “
Omer Coskun - Sr. Security Engineer - Reverse Engineer & Whitehat Researcher
“Rong Hwa is an exceptionally talented security researcher and strategic thinker whose work products are innovative and insightful. He is possessing in depth technical knowledge in particular; reverse engineering, OS internals, antivirus sandboxes, APTs, incident response, penetration testing, machine based code and building applied tools for threat research. I would recommend him to anyone looking to put a top dog A-player on their research team. He also combines his technical and management skills with a disarming personality that fosters collaboration and will make anyone a pleasure to work with.”
Abdul Salam - Ebryx, VP Engineering
“RongHwa is a dedicated security professional who leads by example. He has been adding great value to the malware detection through behaviour based heuristics. He and his team have been successfully analysing and detecting different APTs. RongHwa has bundle of positive energy which reflects on his team and people around him. My interactions and work experience with RongHwa has been extremely pleasant.”
Testimonials from my battle field comrades
Terence Teo - GovTech Department Head for Security Testing Teams and Adjunct Lecturer
“Rong Hwa is an influential and authentic leader, one who inspires trust, confidence and loyalty. He is very driven and passionate in doing what is right. In this ever changing society, he not only challenges himself to acquire new knowledge and skills but also the people around him to be the best of their abilities. Wherever possible, Rong Hwa is always willing to help, provide guidance and never hesitant to appreciate an individual for the good work. It is my great honour to be working with him and have him as my mentor.”
Eugene Ng- GovTech Department Head for Cybersecurity Product Teams
“Rong Hwa is an outstanding leader that walks the talk. He sees the potential in people, identifies their strengths and weaknesses, and brings out the best version of themselves.
I’ve had the opportunity to come under his leadership for the past 1+ year and have experienced firsthand what it means to continually push the boundaries both at a technical level and otherwise. Furthermore, he embodies the values of integrity, humility, perseverance and generosity which is an inspiration to those around him.
No matter how busy, Rong Hwa makes it a point to make time for each division member, and is constantly thinking of ways to bring his division to greater heights. He is a valuable asset to any organization, and it is my privilege to work under his guidance.”
Rex Plantado - Microsoft Principal Security Research Lead
“Rong Hwa is a “buddy” type of manager and it works like a charm for the team. He has a rare combination of strong technical skills and superb leadership. He’s very output oriented person but very reasonable when setting up goals and expectations. Rong Hwa’s focus and discipline is second to none. He’s smart and sharp and can learn anything and everything he wants to be added on his arsenal, from reverse engineering, coding & automation, pentesting to machine learning and big data analytics. One thing I like from him the most is: He genuinely cares about his team and strives to create an environment where his team mates can thrive and deliver exceptional results and be successful. “
Shaun Thium - Deloitte Manager (Risk Advisory, Cyber Cloud)
“Rong Hwa is an extremely capable, focused and disciplined leader, and a top-tier, first-class manager. I had the pleasure of working with Rong Hwa as one of his reports. Rong Hwa is always firm but fair, with a keen focus on always ensuring that results are delivered, but never compromising on the quality of work. Rong Hwa is highly adept at managing stakeholders of different levels, and ensuring that everyone is able to work together to deliver on the organisation’s aims effectively. At the same time, Rong Hwa is a friendly and personable manager, willing to invest much time and effort in the team’s culture and character, with the result being a team of camaraderie and bonding. Through Rong Hwa’s firm insistence on ensuring a strong team culture fit for all who join the team, the team is a high-performing, cohesive and bonded team, willing to help each other grow to greater heights together. Rong Hwa is also a leader with great vision and drive, able to come up with not just ideas, but also step-by-step plans and means to execute them. Working with Rong Hwa pushes you to constantly perform at your best, but is an extremely rewarding experience where one is able to grow, learn and accomplish many things.”
Joseph Zeng - Horangi, Offsec Head
“I first met Rong Hwa when he was in FireEye. During that time, Rong Hwa demonstrated deep understanding and passion for the technical details. Since then, I continued to see this when I work under Rong Hwa in GovTech in the team that develops capabilities to detect and minimize vulnerabilities in the Singapore Government. I have also observed first hand that his decision are guided by presented evidence and his own technical understanding, a decision making methodlogy that our public service continues to benefit from.”
Goi Sihan - GovTech, Lead Cybersecurity Specialist
“Rong Hwa belongs to a rare breed of leaders who has a blend of technical, management and leadership skills. He genuinely cares for the people he leads, empowers and challenges them to perform to the best of their abilities, and continually pushes them to improve and upgrade themselves. On top of this, he allows them to take ownership of their tasks in order to build their personal brand, all the while providing the necessary support required for them to shine. He also has razor sharp vision and foresight, knowing how to prioritize the team’s efforts to maximize efficiency, and manage external stakeholders appropriately. Lastly, he walks the talk by actively upgrading himself as well, and being very candid yet tactful about his opinions, and at the same time open to critiques.”
Special Thanks
Thanks to everyone who I have crossed path with in my life. It is my blessing to have known you.