Norah (Qingwen) Guan
Master of Business and Management
Business entrepreneur Alan Chew is the founder of Houston Technology Group, an IT services company known for its pioneering work with disruptive and advanced technologies.
Founder at Houston Technology
Malaysia
Hamilton
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Business entrepreneur Alan Chew is the founder of Houston Technology Group, a pioneering IT services company that specialises in disruptive, cutting-edge technologies.
He started his successful company in Hamilton in 1986, then added a second branch in Tauranga.
The Waikato Management School graduate put his energy and talents to good use during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
“At the start of lockdown, like a lot of people, I thought there must be something I can do to help,” says Alan.
We knew that contact tracing is vital during a pandemic, so I thought I could lend my technology know-how to the cause.”
Alan and his team at Houston Technology developed a prototype for a QR code Covid tracer app, then gifted the design to the New Zealand government free of charge.
While the government’s official Covid tracer app was developed separately by RUSH Digital, the Ministry of Health has put a special thanks to Alan on their website, acknowledging his important contribution.
Alan credits his success as a business entrepreneur to his family’s strong focus on education. His father, Chew King Loon, was illiterate but taught himself how to read and write in Chinese.
Alan is a strong advocate of education as the shortest and most reliable pathway out of poverty, and he tries to help others by giving up his time and knowledge.
His company employs several Waikato graduates, and he sits on a variety of community and commercial boards. He spent nine years as a trustee for Trust Waikato and was elected to the board of WEL Energy Trust in 2020.
Alan remains close with many other Malaysian alumni who studied at Waikato with him in the 1970s. He also chairs the Waikato chapter of the NZ Malaysian Business Association.
“I know many alumni in Malaysia and further afield with successful careers, all giving back to their communities in one way or another, and almost all of them can trace it all back to their time at Waikato,” says Alan.
“So many of us received a great education at Waikato and we feel it’s important to pay it forward.”
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