New CEO has tough job of reviving StarHub's fortune

Annabeth Leow

Published Tue, Feb 23, 2021 · 05:50 AM

NIKHIL Eapen has inherited a company in a tough spot: Mainboard-listed telco StarHub last week reported a 15.2 per cent fall in full-year net profit, with structural disruption in the telecom industry worsened by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since two chief executives ago, StarHub has been expanding into the low-margin but high-growth enterprise business - and Mr Eapen will oversee that ongoing transformation.

Cybersecurity, enterprise 5G and, most recently, regional infocomm technology (ICT) services have helped to beef up the enterprise wing.

But the struggling consumer mobile segment is still StarHub's largest single business unit, making up 36.4 per cent of service revenue in 2020.

As such, new CEO Eapen - who comes from enterprise tech-focused parent ST Telemedia - must reassure investors that he also has a finger on the pulse of the consumer segment…