Bal Singh

Bal Singh is a Silicon Valley veteran with more than 20 years of experience at the executive and officer levels managing product quality; global operations and advanced manufacturing, sourcing and supply chains at venture-backed startups and Fortune 100 companies serving the electronics industry.

Bal has held leadership responsibility for corporate teams across the United States; China, Japan, and Europe tasked with developing and executing outsource contract manufacturing initiatives with clearly-defined business objectives.

Bal is an innovative thinker; team motivator, and coach to executives on management and style. It is Bal's interpersonal communications skills and his ability to motivate others that lead to Bal delivering a commencement address to the 2006 graduating class of South Asian students at the University California at Davis.

Bal has a bachelor of science in electrical engineering and a bachelor of science in business management.

EMS companies I have worked with

Solectron, Flextronics, Sanmina, Wistron, Action, Jabil, quanta, Mitec, Asustek, Foxcon and others

The skills I often see lacking in the EMS industry today

Systems planning, deep domain knowledge, cultural education, strong program managment, clarity of visabilty into the progress of projects.

What I think about some of the emerging EMS markets or regions

I think that China is not going to remain the golden child; I think that the EMS world with the energy crisis is going to go through a very serious change. I think that places like Mexico will come back into the picture for the US.
Vietnam will also come into focus much more for the Asia markets.

What I think about low-cost manufacturing

I would phrase is differently, more as value cost manufacturing. I think when a company is looking to outsource they ought not to look for the low cost manufacturer but rather one that can provide a value, not just as straight cost but from point of view of quality, fit and scalability and overall service package that is being offered.
All these cost additives.

A book I recommend to others or am currently reading

The Fifth Discipline (the art of Practice of a learning Organization) by Peter Senge.
I think its a book every CEO ought to have in his office.