The president of Rolls-Royce South-East Asia, Pacific and South Korea, Bicky Bhangu is also president of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore and an adjunct professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Bhangu’s role at the helm of the aerospace giant is to oversee the regional strategy, external-relations governance and communications of all operational activities across the British company’s key business sectors of civil aerospace, defence and power systems.

Bhangu is nothing if not qualified for the role, with a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Nottingham, a PhD in Advanced Machines and Drives from the University of Sheffield and an MBA in Technology Management. He has a keen interest in innovation: in 2017, Rolls-Royce and the government scientific agency A*Star invested $8m in a joint lab to develop smart manufacturing technologies. The British company also boosted its partnership with NTU with an $88m stake in the second phase of the Rolls-Royce@NTU Corporate Laboratory in 2019. The joint initiative is aimed at helping develop future power and propulsion systems, and improving manufacturing operations in Rolls-Royce’s Singapore and other international sites.

Bhangu is greatly involved in advancing Singapore’s aerospace, marine and high-value manufacturing sectors. He is a member of the Future Economy Council manufacturing sub-committee; sits on the council of the Singapore National Employers Federation, promoting tripartism between the government, employers and workers; and is vice-president of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, promoting SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) business opportunities with the region and beyond.

Bhangu is also a board member of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore.