 | Alumni Profile: Pah Lam Tan Poh Lam Tan doesn't let himself be constrained by limits - a very useful talent in the marketing field. His ability to see potential in overlooked areas has brought success to his business ventures and transformed him into a major force in the Asian entertainment industry.
Poh Lam's adaptability and diverse interests became evident early in his life. He was on Singapore's national badminton team and completed his national service in the Singapore Navy. After his stint in the Navy, Poh Lam traveled across the world to attend university at Lakehead because he "wanted to do something different and had heard many wonderful things about Canada." Although unfamiliar with Canadian culture, Poh Lam threw himself into academic and social life with enthusiasm. He graduated with a Bachelor of Administration in 1980 and returned to Singapore to begin his career.
Poh Lam's first major job was as Brand Manager for Coca-Cola and 7-Up with the food and beverage company, Fraser & Neave. In 1982, he joined Liebermann Overseas as the Group Product Manager and put his knack for promotion to use marketing European luxury goods. By 1987, however, Poh Lam was looking for a new challenge. He began working for Warner Home Video, the video distribution arm of American entertainment giant Time-Warner. Poh Lam quickly worked his way up the corporate ladder, managing ever larger areas of Asia and the Middle East as the Vice-President, Asia.
His experiences in the entertainment industry made Poh Lam believe that Singapore's home video market wasn’t being fully tapped into, so he left the security of Warner Home Video and formed his own company, Alliance Entertainment Asia (AEA) in 2000. AEA distributes videos for companies such as Warner Bros, MGM and 20th Century Fox and it also operates a chain of Video Ezy movie sale and rental outlets. Poh Lam acquired the franchise rights for Video Ezy, an Australian-based company, in 2001. His gamble paid off and AEA now brings in approximately $12 million US annually.
Not content to rest on his laurels, Poh Lam embarked on a different direction in 2007 when he acquired the Singapore and Thailand licensing rights for various Learning and Motivation Programs for students from Quantum Learning Network USA. QLN conducts SuperCamp, which provides innovative educational programs for children to build life skills and foster academic development. This coincides with Poh Lam’s growing interest in focusing on health and happiness and his wish that his son and daughter "become good and socially responsible people and appreciate that money and material things are not everything."
By taking the unconventional approach and seeing things with a fresh perspective, Poh Lam has found both personal and professional success. He says his sojourn at Lakehead nurtured his career development and "significantly contributed to my confidence and ability to socialize and interact with all kinds of people." It is Poh Lam Tan's combination of an entrepreneurial spirit with a deep commitment to treating people with fairness that has made him such a respected figure in the business world. |
