American Express has opened a new Decision Science Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Singapore, its third after the US and India.
The CoE will focus on data science applications in the areas of credit and fraud risk model development and production, says the company on Dec 8. These models will help the company decide how much credit to extend to potential customers and whether certain transactions are fraudulent.
The Singapore centre, the first in Southeast Asia, will deliver global data-driven solutions for the organisation, says American Express. The New York Stock Exchange-listed company is in the process of hiring 80 data scientists tol be based in the Singapore centre.
The company is seeking candidates with master’s degrees or PhDs in the areas of mathematics, engineering, finance, computer science, or other equivalent technical programs for data scientist and artificial intelligence/machine learning researcher roles.
The two other centres in the US and India have around 700 colleagues.
“Singapore is a recognised world-leading financial and technology hub,” says Changbin Wang, managing director for the American Express Singapore Decision Science Centre of Excellence. “Setting up a global innovation centre in Singapore reflects our commitment to continue investing in this country, and we are confident the country’s exceptional and diverse talent will help fuel American Express' next wave of innovation to better service our global card member base.”
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New country manager
On Nov 8, Amex announced the appointment of Marlin Brown as its Singapore country manager, responsible for its corporate, small business and consumer card businesses.
Brown was most recently the country manager for Thailand. Since joining American Express in 2011, he has held several roles across the company’s consumer teams and worked in various locations including New York and Hong Kong.
He was also a part of the American Express finance organisation leading the controllership teams across China, Hong Kong, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
Fredrik Sauter, senior vice president and head of American Express’ growing markets cluster and international card services, says: “Singapore is an important part of American Express’ overall strategy, and we want to not only accelerate our growth in the country, but also reinforce our leadership in the premium space. With Marlin’s knowledge, understanding of the business and the region, his solution-focused approach and strategic perspective, I’m sure our Singapore business will grow from strength to strength.”
Brown says: “We have a great brand in Singapore, known for our exceptional customer service and being a trusted partner to our card members. Together with my team, we are excited to continue our focus on growing, especially in the premium space, by continuing to evolve with our card members as they expand their lifestyle and experiences beyond travel.”
Before joining American Express in 2011, Brown was a senior manager with KPMG’s national office in New York City. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds an accounting degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.
