Alvin Ho

Although he spent his early years in the engineering field, Alvin Ho, decided to venture into what he was deeply passionate about – health and fitness. After gaining valuable industry experience, Alvin equipped himself with an MBA degree from SIM-University of Birmingham to deepen his knowledge. He went on to take up the position of chief operating officer position at Vitacare Medical Group and currently runs an online platform Fitvate to empower individuals to lead a healthy lifestyle.

01 Oct 2020

3 min read

Paving the Way to Better Health

Tell us about your experiences that have led you to your current role as a chief operating officer at VitaCare Medical Group.

I started my career as an aerospace engineer for six years. Driven by my passion for health and fitness, I founded a company that specialises in online fitness and wellness coaching in 2016.

I eventually left the entity in 2018 intending to go back to the corporate world. A chance meeting with the medical director of VitaCare Medical Group, whom I had past project collaborations with, led to an offer for an operations role. VitaCare consists of a group of General Practice clinics helmed by seven anchor doctors, located mainly in the northeastern part of Singapore.

My responsibilities not only encompass the overseeing of back-end processes but to also help in its expansion strategies. In 2 years, we successfully opened two additional locations, taking our current clinic count to four in total.

What motivated you to pursue the SIM-University of Birmingham’s Master of Business Administration?

While I was an aerospace engineer, I was fortunate to be accepted into my company’s scholarship programme. I chose to pursue the MBA programme as I wanted to broaden my understanding of the intricacies of managing a business.

How has the programme been advantageous?

The programme has a well-thought-out flexible schedule that factors in the busy lives of working professionals. It enabled me to strike a balance between work-life, family, studies and even my hobbies.

The delivery of the programme by professors from the University of Birmingham gave us a wholesome academic experience. The network of friends I made from the group projects gave me a deeper understanding of the various industries outside the realm of aerospace engineering.

Lastly, the strong relevance of the subjects allowed me to relate to actual business management scenarios in my workplace and to think out of the box when implementing solutions.

What inspired you to start Fitivate?

Fitivate Pte Ltd was founded together with the medical director, Dr Chen of VitaCare Medical Group. We initially organized health and fitness events for SMEs, MNCs and government agencies. Eventually, we focused our resources, developed and launched an online holistic wellness platform in April 2020.

The platform delivers comprehensible medical, fitness, nutrition and mental wellness content to the masses. Our objective is to give back to the community by equipping them with the notion of healthy living through simple lifestyle changes and flexible and easy-to-follow fitness regimes. This platform is entirely free to access and specially created for individuals on the go.

Who is your hero and why?

My heroes are the frontline healthcare workers who are continually battling the pandemic at this very moment. The world would have spiralled into an irredeemable situation, if not for their dedication and sacrifice towards caring for the sick, educating the community and fighting at the forefront to curb the effects of the pandemic.

#SIM-UoBGraduate #GlobalHero

Click here to learn more about the programmes awarded by University of Birmingham.

Posted online, 01 Oct 2020