The 45-year-old who was previously the chief executive officer of computer services firm Singapore Computer Systems before he quit last October, will be responsible for the day-to-day operations at StarHub, reporting directly to its chief executive officer Terry Clontz.

Prior to joining SCS, which was acquired by SingTel last year, Mr Tan was the CEO of Internet service provider PacNet. He was also formerly the general manager of StarHub Internet.

Mr Tan's 'track record, experience, and industry knowledge (makes him) uniquely qualified to serve as StarHub's COO,' said Mr Clontz.

'Also, his special insight will be critical as we evolve our business to capture the opportunities from the high-speed next-generation broadband network currently being built.'

The COO position has been vacant for over two years since StarHub's previous COO, Mr Yong Lum Sung, quit in September 2006.

Last July, StarHub announced that its president Mike Reynolds would be leaving the company to join another foreign, unnamed telco.