Why Koh Boon Hwee fired himself at Sunningdale Tech

SINGAPORE (Aug 15): Koh Boon Hwee overcame big crises during his four-decade career as a company executive. He led a national airline through the SARS epidemic in 2003, and steered Southeast Asia’s largest bank in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapse.

But what the veteran Singapore entrepreneur, businessman and technology investor found most difficult was telling staff their time was up.

“People run out of steam or they allow themselves to be left behind,” Koh, who chaired the boards of some of Singapore’s most iconic firms before becoming a financier, said in an interview in the city-state. “I’ve got to talk to this person and essentially remove this person from that job. I always struggle with those.”

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