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Mr Carlos Nicholas Fernandes
Conferred at the age of 26 years old, Carlos Fernandes is the youngest Young Professional of the Year of the IT Leader Awards.
In 1997, Carlos graduated with a First Class Honors degree in Electronic Engineering from Bombay University and completed a part-time Masters in Information Technology. Soon after, he moved to Singapore to join the Information Technology Institute (ITI) as a Software Engineer. At ITI and then Kent Ridge Digital Labs (KRDL), Carlos developed Traffic.Smart, the web interface for the Land Transport Authority’s state-of-the-art Integrated Traffic Management System. Responding to his entrepreneurial restlessness, in 1999, Carlos joined a KRDL spin-off where he developed an interest in the government’s PS21 initiatives.
Theorizing that the biggest barrier to e-business and e-government initiatives was not simply technology-related, but stemmed from more complex ‘human’ issues, Carlos set out to build a solution that would bridge the human-technology gap. That quest resulted in the patent pending software he invented and commercialized as PerceptiveI SiteVision. Realizing that the technology was stimulating a paradigm shift in e-business, the Tennessee-based giant, Eastman Chemical grabbed the opportunity and licensed the product. When they chose to deploy SiteVision on their Chinese website to support their proactive customer acquisition efforts, what was simply Carlos’ hypothesis until then, became an openly accepted reality.
The innovation also won Carlos a grant from the National Science and Technology Board (NSTB) and the Economic Development Board (EDB). In addition, PerceptiveI was selected from 218 other competing ventures at Startup@Singapore to represent Singapore at the Global Entrepreneurs Challenge at Stanford University, an event dubbed as the Olympics of Business Plan competitions. PerceptiveI hit the global scene when its technology was voted by the California-based RealWare awards as one of the top four Business Intelligence and Customer Interaction applications of 2002.
He has supported the remarkable work of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the National University of Singapore and incessantly promoted the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. With an interest in public service, he has looked forward to contributing towards the Singapore government’s pro-business and pro-enterprise initiatives. The PerceptiveI E-Citizen Interaction Suite is a manifestation of Carlos’ ‘Building a Government with Soul’ vision, to help governments better connect with their citizens, cut red tape and increase productivity.
With a strong belief in affecting social change, Carlos teamed up with his brother and co-founded a non-profit venture, Learning Disabilities Kids Support. The motivation was to spread awareness of the conditions that limit the opportunities and choices for many children today who could go on to make meaningful contributions to society. This is particularly underscored in the Asian region where academic performance is so closely tied to professional opportunities. The effort and impact drew the attention of the global media including the BBC and SKY News. The University of California at Berkeley, recognized his commitment to social venture creation when his plan was selected as one of only two international finalists for the Haas Social Venture Competition.
SCS takes great pleasure in recognizing the dynamic and successful entrepreneur, Mr Carlos Nicholas Fernandes as our Young Professional of 2003.
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