SINGAPORE - Telecommunications firm StarHub announced last Friday (Dec 18) that it had appointed Mr Nikhil Eapen as its new chief executive officer.

Mr Eapen's appointment will take effect on Jan 1, 2021.

The 48-year-old Singaporean has served as the deputy chief executive of parent company ST Telemedia, a strategic investor in communications and media, data centres and the infrastructure technology businesses.

He previously worked as an investment banker with Citigroup for over 18 years at the company's Hong Kong, New York and South-east Asian offices.

StarHub chairman Terry Clontz said: "This appointment is the result of a rigorous and extensive global executive search.

"As an experienced executive with a proven track record of regional achievements and broad industry knowledge, my fellow directors and I are confident that he is well qualified to lead StarHub in managing the challenges that operators face today, and to pursue new opportunities."

Mr Eapen will take over from Mr Peter Kaliaropoulos, 61, who stepped down on Oct 31 and returned to Sydney due to serious health issues of a close family member.

StarHub said that key criteria in selecting its new CEO included strong leadership, senior executive experience in telco and adjacent industries and an understanding of the new market dynamics around intense competition.

The firm added that the new CEO would also need to show a strong track record of successful corporate transformation, with enterprise and merger and acquisition backgrounds to grow the business.

Experience in leading diverse teams to deal with rapid changes in this highly competitive environment was also required.

StarHub noted: "Mr Eapen brings 20 years of experience in the global information and communications technology sector working with senior executive teams to drive growth and make synergistic investments in infrastructure and enterprise communications and technology, most recently building and acquiring cloud-centric platforms in IT, cybersecurity and enterprise software."

From 2008 to 2015, Mr Eapen was the managing director and head of Asia-Pacific technology, media and telecommunications, as well as corporate and investment banking at Citigroup.

He was based in Hong Kong, where he led capital markets and merger and acquisition transactions across South-east Asia, Greater China, India and the United States.

He holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Economics from University College London.

Mr Eapen is married and has two daughters and a son.