Jayson Goh (Electrical and Electronic Engineering 1998)

Director of Operations at Singapore Changi Airport, Jayson Goh, says his ‘secret sauce’ is the dedication of the Changi team.

There’s a unique sense of shared purpose that unites our team at Changi Airport, something we call the One Changi Spirit; regardless of who you are, it’s your mission to make the airport experience the best it can be. And that dedication is the special ingredient that makes my job possible.

From the moment I started my job here three years ago, I have been continually amazed by the enthusiasm of the community – all 40,000 of them from 200 different agencies. I’m unable to single out any particular group as everyone in the airport contributes to the experience. One that we also hope will be delightfully surprising. I mean, how many airports have a butterfly garden and a four-storey slide?

I often walk around the airport at different times of the day to get a feel for what’s going on. Yes, we are a big place – the airport handles more than 150,000 passengers a day – but there are always friendly faces surrounding our passengers and, although it’s always busy, we don’t want them to feel they have to rush.

We hope Changi Airport is seen as not just somewhere you catch a plane but somewhere that is enjoyable to visit. There are orchid gardens, waterfalls, cinemas, works of art and al fresco dining. And we are putting in a range of exciting experiences in the new lifestyle development we are building at the heart of Changi, called Jewel.

An airport is a big system that is running 24 hours a day and my background as an electrical engineering graduate helps me appreciate the complexity and the coordination needed to run it well. But at Changi, beyond having a well-run system, it is all the people working here who give it the special flavour that defines that Changi Experience.

Jayson Goh (Electrical and Electronic Engineering 1998) is Managing Director in charge of Airport Operations Management at Changi Airport Group, the company managing Singapore Changi Airport. Jayson is also President of the Imperial College Alumni Association of Singapore.