Kenneth Lim: linkedin.com/in/kenneth-lim-2118237

R: Hi Kenneth, as our Guest of Honor, we would like to kickstart our “Bridging the Gap” interview series with an interview from yourself.

K: Thanks Ryan.

R: Can you tell us about your journey in the maritime industry and what led you to your current position or role?

K: I was seconded from GovTech to MPA in 2017 as CTO and grown to love the maritime industry. It’s an industry where we moved the world’s supply chain and all our essential goods are mainly sea transported. I was building up the innovation ecosystem in maritime Singapore, where start-ups, researchers, tech partners can work hand in hand with our shipping industry to reimagine our work.

In 2021, I was promoted to Assistant Chief Executive in MPA to take on broader scope of work in growing our international maritime center, business capability and transformation, in addition to the innovation ecosystem.

R: What message or advice would you like to convey to the professionals in the maritime community?

K: I have a recent LinkedIn post that sums up my sentiment – that one strand of thread does not make a rope, and one tree does not make a forest. Maritime community is an ecosystem of value chain partners who need to collaborate with one another to raise our impact to economy and society. This is especially so for areas such as digitalisation, decarbonisation and talent development.

R: I know you are very busy, so I'll ask one last question, what role do industry events like "The Bridge" play in fostering collaboration and innovation within the maritime community, and how can attendees make the most out of such events?

K: Having industry events organised provide opportunity for maritime community to network, and through the conversations, to foster a greater sense of purpose of maritime and seek out opportunities to collaboration and learning from one another.