The Future Is Now: Lenovo’s George Toh On How Their Technological Innovations Will Shake Up The Tech Scene

As a part of our series about cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing George Toh.

George Toh is Lenovo’s Vice President and General Manager for the Visuals Business in Intelligent Devices Group. Focused on fostering preference for Lenovo’s visuals solutions at a global scale, George is the business and product leader responsible for developing cutting-edge monitors and display solutions that enhance people’s personal and professional experiences.

Prior to joining Lenovo, George has held various senior executive roles including in HP, Nestlé, and most recently as VP and GM for Dell’s commercial displays, contributing to its portfolio’s overall growth in this sector. Additionally, he has extensive experience across other tech product categories and business lines, including in printers, accessories, and personal digital devices.

George is fluent in English and Chinese and holds a degree in Economics from the National University of Singapore. In his personal time, he enjoys staying ahead of the latest tech trends and exploring new innovations — from tinkering with gadgets to testing new tech advancements.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I have always been fascinated by technology, it’s potential and how it can make life more efficient and productive. Growing up, my first wow moment with technology was when my father brought home an Apple II computer. It was initially entertainment for me since I played games on it, but I eventually learnt that it could be used for more productive things. Since then, I’ve been curious on how technology and society intersect and how they continue shaping each other. I’ve always tried to stay informed of tech trends, I enjoy tinkering with the latest gadgets and testing new tech advancements, and while I did not follow a linear or traditional career path, I think my degree in economics and my experience in non-technology companies like Nestlé have enriched my point of view and allowed me to have a more encompassing perspective.

Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on? How do you think that will help people?

Lenovo is committed to innovating and we have a lot of projects in place that we are not ready to share yet. However, we did recently unveil the ThinkVision 27 3D monitor. This glasses-free 3D monitor marks a major milestone in the development of 3D visual technology not only for us, but for the segment since it eliminates major barriers to 3D, including the need for glasses and upgrading the computer. We made this breakthrough possible with several key Lenovo technologies, including a switchable lenticular lens and real-time eye-tracking. These two technologies allow for more natural and fluid 3D viewing without the need of glasses or any kind of head-mounted display.

The ThinkVision 27 3D monitor deliver flexibility and support for hybrid work with easier user adoption, in part, thanks to built-in software compatibility and AI-powered 2D-to-3D conversion. This allows users to experience 3D without the need to swap video cards or computers due to lack of processing power. We also developed our 3D monitor to make collaboration easier with features that improve processes for designing, prototyping and modeling. Through technology such as 2D/3D conversion, remote and hybrid teams can now experience more real-time and collaborative design and workshopping processes. For example, users can now edit in 2D and see their changes reflected in 3D in real-time — this saves time and prevents tedious back and forth, ensuring that the design moves at the speed of your creativity.

How do you think this might change the world?

As the world of work, creation and play transform, our visual technology must also evolve to meet their demands. Our goal is to deliver smarter technology solutions for all, whether intuitive devices for users or scalable systems that support the workloads across different industries and environments. We expect our latest development in 3D visual technology to help transform the future of work and play by making it more approachable and less intimidating. The glasses-free technology and AI-powered 2D-to-3D conversion make the adoption of Lenovo’s 3D monitor as integrated and seamless as its viewing experience. To make 3D even more welcoming, we even created a more intuitive version of 3D Explorer, our software designed to organize a user’s 3D modeling and viewing apps.

Across industries, users will be delighted by the ThinkVision 27 3D monitor. Content creators and graphic designers who traditionally design, build prototypes, review, and revise in 2D, can now design more efficiently with instant 3D effects and make revisions in real-time, saving time and reducing unnecessary costs. For users in the education and training sector, the ease of conversion between 2D and 3D delivers a more comprehensive visualization of materials, making remote learning more realistic. Let’s not even mention engineers and gamers. Can you imagine seeing your design pop out of monitor or gaming in 3D at home and without glasses?

What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?

Despite the excitement around 3D visual technology, the industry still faces barriers to user adoption. Software compatibility, glasses technology, the reliance of 3D performance on content and hardware design, and even 2D and 3D incompatibility can be daunting. However, we are taking steps to address those challenges, and the ThinkVision 27 3D monitor overcomes these barriers.

Fortunately, for creators, designers, engineers and everyone in between, the ThinkVision 27 3D monitor equips users with useful tools like a 3D player for viewing videos and files, supports the majority of design software, and comes with an SDK for developers to build 3D applications. The built-in 3D engine, which manages rendering in the monitor also ensures that users will not need to upgrade existing equipment, lowering the cost of entry. As we continue to advance and refine our design of 3D visual monitors, we are driven by users’ common pain points to make the next generation of visual technology easy to use and adopt.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Different people I’ve met and interacted with have affected me in different ways, and I am grateful towards all of them. However, one of my earliest influences was my middle school running coach, who taught me several important lessons, including the value of diligence, teamwork, celebrating successes and picking myself up to try again. I have been involved in athletics since young and was part of a middle/high school team who trained and competed 3 times a week. Coach Benny was not only a running coach but became an important role model during our developmental years. He pushed and challenged us to test our limits, but also encouraged us to support one another and work as a team.

At that age, both successes and challenges can be magnified, but Coach Benny taught us that friendships and having a support system can keep you grounded and help pick you back up when needed. I carry those lessons with me till today and try to instill it in my team.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“If not now, when?” While I don’t recall where I first heard or read it, it really resonates with me after the last few years. It helps remind me that we live one life, and that time pauses for no one. If there is something worth doing, there should not be any reason to wait.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Readers can reach me on LinkedIn.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.