Leung's contributions to the Alliance, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he supported the development of the NCI Agency's Enterprise Service Operations Centre (ESOC) as a Project Manager, have earned him NATO's most prestigious award, the Meritorious Service Medal.
We sat down with Leung and asked him a few questions.
How did you and your team adapt to the challenges while developing the ESOC facility during a pandemic?
With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we encountered numerous challenges and even had to halt all works by March 2020. In addition, both teams of contractors we were working with came down with COVID at different times and this caused disruptions to the implementation schedule. Due to the global supply shortages of materials at the time, it took much longer to have the key components and materials we needed delivered, and the costs of completing this project went up. I had to work with the various stakeholders to adjust timelines and ask for additional funding and resources to complete the project. Unfortunately, during a global pandemic there is little a Project Manager can do to control things that are out of their control, but I knew the importance of the ESOC facility for NATO. Together with a team of dedicated individuals, we were able to complete this project and the ESOC became fully operational in January 2021.
Why is the ESOC important to NATO and the NCI Agency?
The ESOC is the hub of all activities related to service calls, trouble ticketing and all IT incident and problem resolution. The ESOC provides critical 24/7 capabilities to the Alliance by facilitating an integrated support approach rather than focusing on individual networks or services. Prior to the ESOC, many of our customer support tickets were handled in a 'silo' approach which sometimes caused resolution times to take longer. With the ESOC, Agency experts are now all working in one place along the entire IT Stack to ensure NATO's digital services are operational 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
What do you enjoy most about working at the Agency?
I enjoy working with people from all over world and the dynamic atmosphere to work on different projects when required. During my time at the Agency, I have worked in building up the CSU in Sigonella, supported the New NATO HQ Transition, supported the Logistics Functional Systems, aided the CIS transition for the new Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) HQ, and most recently delivered the new ESOC in Mons, Belgium. There is never a dull moment when working in the Agency!
What advice would you give to someone undertaking a project of high complexity in such difficult times?
Well first, I would recommend that anyone considering starting a complex project during a global pandemic to wait! On a serious note, I would say that building good relationships with your line management and leadership can make a world of difference. Providing honest reports on progress, even when things may not be going in the right direction, helps immensely. No one likes to hear bad news but if you can clearly articulate where you need help and to even propose a solution, you will be surprised at how often people are willing to step up and lend a hand. I had a lot of great support from our colleagues in Finance, Polaris, our Chief Operating Office, the General Manager and the ESOC team to overcome the cost and schedule problems faced during COVID while implementing the ESOC.