The man 'running' StarHub

by Winston Chai, Apr 24 2009 His unwavering discipline combined with prudent thinking and well-defined goals lie behind its success, says Winston Chai.

Terry Clontz puts in a five-km jog every morning and tries to double the distance at least once a week. Even though he pounds the pavement daily, the modest chief executive of StarHub refuses to be labelled as a hardcore runner.

Instead, he says he knows his limits and has no plans to push past his 10-km comfort zone. 'While I have been running for about 30 years, I run strictly for exercise,' he told BT. 'I know plenty of people who are true avid runners, and I definitely would not put myself in that category. And no, I am not a marathon runner,' Mr Clontz quipped.

What he does do, however, is to set ambitious targets for the shorter races he participates in. 'As for my goal, it is to be able to always complete a 10 km inside the number of minutes equal to my age,' the affable 58-year-old CEO revealed. Mr Clontz reached this goal with five seconds to spare at last year's Singapore Marathon with his 10 km timing of 57.5 minutes.

'It (running) is one exercise that you can do almost anywhere, and the equipment takes up little space in the suitcase. When I run I also find it helps me to focus on current issues,' he said.

It is this combination of unwavering discipline and clear-minded, prudent thinking, coupled with the courage to push himself to the very limit of his defined playing field, which has helped mould StarHub into the fast-growing company it is today.

Since its market entry in 2000, StarHub has been consistently stirring the hornet's nest. It marked its local debut by severing its rivals' lifeline for dial-up Internet services through the introduction of a free, unlimited access package. On the mobile front, it defied the market norm by offering the perk of free incoming calls and per-second billing. Last year, when Singapore Telecommunications hiked its fixed-line telephone subscription fee, StarHub swiftly pounced on the opportunity by offering free residential phone services.

Tough Competition
Such tactics added much-needed vibrancy to a telecommunications market which has long been starved of competition. With the introduction of mobile number portability in June 2008, the competitive flame was further stoked with all three local operators embarking on an all-out marketing offensive.

Despite the dawn of the new mobile regime, StarHub continues to hold its own, successfully growing its customer bases across mobile phone, pay-TV and broadband in a year marked by economic turmoil. To add another feather to its cap, it ended 2008 with record revenues of $2.13 billion. 'Our number one priority this year is to preserve, and grow to the extent we can, StarHub's free cash flow while continuing to create the best customer experience in the market,' Mr Clontz said. 'We are fortunate in that our industry typically doesn't contract as much as most other industries during a recession. However, we are not recession-proof by any means,' he added.

As news of the worsening local economy and layoffs continues to hog the headlines, even employees in a defensive company such as StarHub may feel jittery.

'The unknown is what unsettles people. People naturally want to be sure that they can continue to earn enough to support their household and meet their personal financial obligations so keeping them informed of the health of the company and any plans for adjusting staffing costs is an imperative,' Mr Clontz said.

'Creating a true sense of 'we are all in this together' is the best environmental response to maintaining a higher level of morale in times like these,' he said.