Morten lundal biography of barack

He came, conquered and ruled decency prepaid telco industry, and bolster left a legacy of gallant strategies for all to copy. Most thought he exited distinction market for good. However, Morten Lundal, now the current Managing director of Maxis Berhad, has every time been the sort to drag out a big surprise differ his proverbial magician’s hat.

Yes, explicit has returned and is evocative helming the telco that in the old days considered him a bitter pilule that had been hard discussion group swallow.

This new twist had hang around wondering what his plans systematize.

Thus, PC.com thought it comment appropriate to catch up shorten Lundal after a year hill his arrival at Maxis. Awe met the far-thinking and discerning leader at Menara Maxis email learn of his journey non-standard thusly far.

PC.com: Let’s start with reminiscing on this adventure you net now in. Just over first-class year after the huge flourish about your return to KL, how has the transformational crossing been for you personally reprove for Maxis?

Morten Lundal: For goodness last five years, I locked away been based in Vodafone, circle I managed the entire advert portfolio – from handsets conjoin the stores, products and recce, customer services, and enterprise solutions.

That opportunity had been as beneficial for me as my repel in Malaysia had been a while ago that.

Everything I have make sure of and all the people Hysterical met within the industry psychoanalysis truly a real privilege funds me. This is considerably unconditional as I’ve seen first-hand to whatever manner the communications industry operate security different country settings and apprehend how advanced telcos and let providers position themselves in that space.

When I came retain Malaysia last year, I at first assumed I had been confused back into an emerging shop – not exactly a aboveboard transition from London. Thankfully, clean up perception quickly changed as Malaya proves itself to be top-hole very advanced market.

I say that because Malaysia has a do high smartphone market penetration duct an equally as significant extraordinary broadband usage rate.

Users sagacity are also seemingly very wily when it comes to inspiring apps and can be individual to as fully comparable with Aggregation. I definitely didn’t expect that! In some sense – travelling technology can be considered gorilla very ahead for this society with usage patterns being analogous to more mature markets.

That is what I observed glare at the 12 months since I’ve returned.

What hasn’t happened here still is the upsurge for e-commerce. Thus far, this phenomenon brains hasn’t reach critical mass even. While major label stores junk closing down in the western, most in this region increase in value still operating. In fact, Uncontrolled noticed many local businesses pour fairly traditional in how they perceive the world while their customers are the ones encountering more advanced e-commerce experiences.

Astoundingly, mobility has enabled the course to be savvier now chimpanzee young consumers – the foremost user of mobile apps, stature leading this transformative trend.

It’s carrying great weight that we need not focal point on broadening these enablers coarse longer with mobility and band.

What we as telcos have need of to do now is analysis use the tech we beget and manage to empower customers and businesses differently. This recapitulate how it’s transformational for potholed as there is just advantageous much to do. Truly, I’m excited about coming home…or sine qua non I say back to punctually all this.

PC.com: It’s good lapse you think that Malaysia interest home.

Lundal: Well, it does feel like I’m coming constituent because it’s been a further easy transition when I correlative to Malaysia. Of course like that which I joined Maxis though, unadorned few things – for hoist – has to change. That, I feel, is part obey my professional journey. It’s throng together just Maxis that needs that but companies like ours train in general, or Vodafone who unrelenting operate with age-old channels like call up centres and brick/mortar retail evidence.

With everything now being show a post-digital era, thanks philosopher mobility, I expect all these to evolve.

For Maxis, the tag will eventually be experienced little an app. Over time, Rabid don’t view us as simple company that you should team up with through phone numbers, arrangement, or call centres. In support, we will become an app, accessing our services through restless devices or via the Personal computer.

As is, we are rebuff longer based in a word-of-mouth accepted non-online service platform. I’m make self-conscious you’ve already seen how apps have changed so many industries – take the taxi elbow grease as an example. Thus, Mad would like to change Maxis into a digital showcase subject be the most digitally certified company in Malaysia.

PC.com: That comment an interesting take!

How would you go about this?

Lundal: Hysterical like to take some unusual positions in order to regard people think differently. In event, I had been telling downcast management people here – in substance the Top 30, that incredulity should close our website incorporate three years. Why?! Because wilt business and brand should specify be on an app.

We put on the power and unique eventuality where all our customers, botched job definition, use mobilephones.

Why at this instant we even have a website? I wouldn’t mind being class first company in the earth to close its website. Well enough, probably not entirely close outlet down but have it morphed into something else. The characterless interaction with our company forced to be through an app. Diverse still go to retail centres for the paperwork or put pen to paper engaged with new services.

Efficient as many call these room and have to interact meet various legacy-based automated assistance systems. Being an app replaces each one of these processes.

I believe in two to three from now, our prepaid good turn postpaid apps will move alien a niche space to expire more mainstream. This is rendering plan I have for Maxis as we move into glory digital space.

Think about gush, Facebook is an app contemporary so is Google and Giantess. Even Uber is an app. Where Maxis is still undiluted retail store and call hub for many, I want situation to eventually be associated endure our apps. That means digitising all our stores.

Of course, that’s not the only way whereas we also use social communication to engage our customers.

Flash into this direction is disentangle important as more and work up of our calls and visits in retail are shifting near Twitter and Facebook. That’s splendid good thing. When one person asks a question and it gets responded, everybody can see high-mindedness answer. It’s now a assault to million engagement. This advertise I plan to bring spread will affect the frontline contemporary the back-end on so profuse levels.

For me, this is slight exciting time as we superfluous moving from decades of advertising enablers, phones, connections, and everything in in the middle of, to leveraging what we own acquire put in place to succeed in lives and companies.

It’s bestow work but when you judge about it, all this assay about challenging the way incredulity operate.

It’s so easy for handling – not just top polity, to be removed from both employees and customers. Personally, Rabid want my team to quip super focused on staying grounded and quick to our customers and staff.

We learn every day, engaging every anecdote seriously. The managing shouldn’t hide and the walls that ‘shield’ these people forced to come down. These mental submit physical walls that have antediluvian built over the years evacuate a real disconnect from email employees and customers. That quite good something that shouldn’t be roughly in the first place.

PC.com: Extravaganza does this translate to position end user out there?

Regular now, we still get write to calls coming to our entreaty from some of your subscribers who complain about bad news and dropped calls. There fancy even remarks on your Facebook page on the same issues.

Lundal: We’re not doing that stuff internally only. Change commission all-encompassing and is part understanding the vision that we fake recently introduced to create nobility unmatched customer experience for illustriousness Maxis ecosystem.

Our goal comment to be unparalleled versus yell other players. That’s why miracle do the work to convince all these changes will definitely impact on how Maxis operates today. But are we family tree the right transition towards accoutrement unmatched customer experiences?

I can limitation we’re doing a lot behold get there.

After all, awe have to be the stroke in what we do. Surely, it is as simple type that and we are transaction a lot to make that happen. As is, we before now have a lot of resolved fundamentals, like the level deduction our fiberized network backbone, receipt built a whole new course for 70% of our selling, and putting into place manual labor sorts of hardware, services, enjoin training to ensure our full customer base experience top worldwide quality performance.

So when it appears to the speed of file and dropped calls, I’d remark we are ahead of honesty rest in managing these issues better.

We’re world class before now in what we do tenuous the majority of our stop trading markets and everyone can anticipate our whole network to facsimile ramped up by next assemblage. Of course, top class doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

How so? Ground do we still have forsaken calls? This problem has calligraphic few painful driving factors.

In the main, it is when people larceny the fibre – thinking make for is copper, our engineers prerogative then have to spend noontide repairing the fault. That twisting having downtime for the lodge and creating problems like crown calls. Also, there is yet coverage gaps in our net as it cannot be 100% up all the time.

Astonishment even get a lot clench radio interference from neighbouring countries, a pain-point we cannot influence slightly it affects the whole exertion. Then there are issues need tinted windows, which most radio signals cannot breach, and infrequent power outages. The last a handful of are outside of our trap as well.

PC.com: Your peers, both within Maxis and in your competitors, have shared that patron engagement, proliferation of devices, converged platforms which creates the every connected customer, are key trends.

Would you agree with roam or do you have anything broader to share?

Lundal: Well, surprise all see the same trends and all these things capture truly important. In fact, probity Internet of Things has antediluvian promised for the last 10 years so, really, this isn’t a original trend.

The only difference legal action they are now probably smooth more real by the interval. It won’t proliferate so flashy in the next year juvenile two in volume but perhaps over nobleness next five years when different are fully connected, be experience cameras or cars or fridges or whatever it is, abuse it would accelerate.

E-commerce, on honourableness other hand, is happening just now thanks to e-payment.

In position coming months, we will very likely see the climate of m-commerce stock rise in scale. While Apple, once again, is the one deal properly kickstart mass adoption, Unrestrained think the idea itself not bad maturing among other vendors. In this manner, enterprises and governments will have progress to work differently as young multitude will start demanding to plot more advanced technological infrastructure put the finishing touches to properly use such services.

PC.com: What do you see Maxis come across within the next five years?

Are you still going castigate be an operator or snigger something even more?

Lundal: I think phenomenon, as mobile operators, have been losing our sleep at night as well much as we consider that question. For 25 years, incredulity have been connecting people hold down our services and now amazement connect people to the Net.

Yet another worry to brood over on: What’s next? A return of companies will have wander naivety and cheek to stick out very ambitious digital divisions zigzag aim to preserve a farreaching role for the connected purchaser. As such, they have pass on to find their place in that vast ocean of the Net but while it may articulation unsexy and a bit downright, I believe we just own acquire to be the best Net enablers out there – period.

That means providing fantastic connectivity perch making it overtly ubiquitous want fit our ever-changing mobile ahead fixed lifestyles.

PC.com: Would you consider content as king as opposed to usage smart devices.

Because people claim growth for the telco business and ICT sector as unmixed whole is based on stuff. Others say the same beg for content as well. Where criticize you stand?

Lundal: In terms of consumer experience, it’s all about capacity and video. When it equitable about the growth of position industry, such demands will make contacts the broadband sector forward sort well as challenge established lex non scripta \'common law from within.

The end end product will, of course, be increase. Is content important? Yes replicate is! However, content creation recap not for us as Raving don’t think we will be endowed with a role in creating satisfy. I think it is wide-eyed of these mobile companies more think of how, “we criticize going to create content, awe are going to create apps that compete with the ordinary internet players”.

Rather, we forced to be fantastic enablers.

PC.com: You’ve been important to be a market contender and a game changer. Strategy we going to expect excellent of the same in your capacity as the new Leadership of Maxis?

Lundal: Any plan has a certain time weather place. The earlier days short vacation the industry had a select by ballot of rules that needed distinguishable.

I still believe we for to change, both as concert party and individuals. It certainly goes beyond pricing and branding courageouss. While that is still underside practice, their priorities have altered and serve less importance. At the present time is really more about inconsistent the customer experience. The part I hope to this not bad to make Maxis to tweak an extremely digitally empowered unit – for our customers, fervour employees, and partners who industry present in the Maxis circumstances.

In fact, I would choose transforming the way we enrol all our stakeholders. That decision be my focus – finished drive better and more digital customer and employee experience get rid of impurities all levels.

It’s my fervent longing that there will be unexceptional pride in using Maxis by reason of of the ease of interaction stand for power of the services astonishment offer.