After 31 years with Singtel, group CEO Chua Sock Koong will be retiring on January 1, 2021. Upon her retirement, Yuen Kuan Moon, currently the CEO of Singtel’s Singapore Consumer Business and the Chief Digital Officer, will be succeeding her as Group CEO.
Yuen is a Singtel veteran who has been with the group since 1993. His appointment comes after a global search was conducted that considered both internal and external candidates for the job. Yuen holds a First Class Honours degree in Engineering from the University of Western Australia and a Master of Science in Management from Stanford University.
Chua, on the other hand, will stay on as senior advisor to the chairman to assist with the transition.
Under her leadership as Group CEO for 13 years, Singtel added Optus in Australia to its portfolio, building an unrivaled footprint across Asia, with stakes in all the lead telecom players in India, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.
In 2012, Chua led the group on its digital transformation, which included the digitalisation of its core telecom business as well as the growth of new digital businesses. This has seen the building out of its global cyber security business which continues to scale.
Most recently, Chua led Singtel on its 5G investment plans.
Meanwhile, the search for a new CEO of Singapore Consumer Business for Singtel is still ongoing and Singtel says that it will make an announcement on the replacement of Yuen's current role soon.
Lee Theng Kiat, chairman of Singtel says, “On behalf of the Board, I want to acknowledge Sock Koong’s demonstrated leadership and outstanding contributions to Singtel.”
“Sock Koong is one of Singapore’s most successful CEOs and has played a key role in making Singtel the operationally and financially strong company it is today. Joining when it was still a statutory board, she has led the company through its corporatisation, market listing, market deregulation in Singapore and regionalisation.”
“Her strength in developing talent has created an excellent management bench that has allowed the Board to choose an internal candidate for succession. She leaves the Group well-primed for growth in its next phase and we are fortunate she will stay on as Senior Advisor to ensure a smooth leadership transition,” adds Lee.
Chua says, “With Singtel well-positioned for the future, it is a good time for me to retire and I’m glad to be passing the baton to Moon whose unflagging commitment to managing and growing the Consumer business has earned him the respect of his peers and colleagues. As part of the management team, he has been exposed to all areas of the business and heavily involved in key operational decisions.”
