ET Tan
Founder, ET Partners
"I work with people who want technology to turbocharge their business"
ET Tan is a highly accomplished technology leader with a proven track record of innovation, mentorship, and industry influence. A graduate of Imperial College (BSc Hons, EE), he has
held key roles at HP, Seagate, and Sony, where he pioneered groundbreaking technologies that are now widely found in today’s tech: proximity-based wireless, backup systems, encrypted storage.
Beyond corporate success, he has mentored startups at Stanford, Beijing, and NUS, and in Malaysia, he drove national tech initiatives as SilTerra VP (championing Silicon Photonics, DNA chips) and as PSDC CEO (bridging industry-skills gaps). He was invited to contribute in national-level initiatives on the future of technology and education reform. As a MIMOS Board Member, he shapes policy on semiconductor strategy and advanced packaging.
With deep expertise in tech innovation, product positioning, and marketing strategy, ET founded ET Partners to advise companies seeking strategic guidance. His global experience, policy influence, and commitment to tech-driven growth make him an invaluable resource for high-impact decision-making.
Frequently quoted by media including Bloomberg, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal and The Edge, ET’s thought leadership is widely recognised, and his articles on Linkedin about technology and leadership command a strong following of executive leaders and subject matter experts.
In 2025, he was awarded the IEM Contribution to Engineering Profession Award.
Some things he's done
What people say
ET is a true lateral thinker, able to make connections across disciplines and develop actionable insights others miss. He is also a truly compassionate and generous human being, who balances his intelligence with integrity and respect for all. A natural teacher and capable leader, ET will be an asset to any organization fortunate enough to work with him.
ET Tan is BagoSphere's Mr Miyagi. I got lucky randomly meeting him in 2012 along side a The Grameen Creative Lab-Yunus event at NUS, and rest was history. The steady guidance that ET provided to me and my team BagoSphere is invaluable, especially holding the space during board level discussion with common sense, creativity and grounded in human-centric values.
Eng was one of the founders in the formation of the IrDA. He generated huge enthusiasm for the technology and was an active and effective member of the community positioning the technology and developing/executing marketing strategies. During the time he was engaged with IrDA he also transitioned from an HP Labs role to a business development role within the product group responsible for IrDA components... and of course continued to maintain an energetic and active role at IrDA.
Eng is truly creative and works hard to pressure-test his ideas and then bring them to reality. I know him best as an individual contributor, though he can run a small team of out-of-the-box thinkers who can follow his lead. He is tenacious when encountering organizational politics and obstacles. He has a true long-term mindset, but will endeavor to hit near-term milestones.