Kuok Khoon Hong, the chairman and CEO of Wilmar International, was named the CEO with the “most favourable mentions” in 2020, according to CARMA Asia’s annual CEO Brand Report.
CARMA ASIA is short for Computer Aided Research & Media Analysis.
The media intelligence solutions company in a Nov 9 statement, says Kuok outperformed other CEOs in terms of favourability following the palm oil giant’s record positive performance in 2020, and its $7 million donation to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund in May 2020.
Other CEOs in the report include DBS Group Holdings’ Piyush Gupta, who had the most visibility in terms of volume of media mentions due to his frequent communication around the bank’s efforts to navigate the Covid-19 crisis and the issues surrounding the status of his citizenship as DBS’s CEO.
OCBC’s Samuel Tsien, UOB’s Wee Ee Cheong and Singtel’s Chua Sock Koong were also named amongst Singapore’s most visible CEOs for their “prompt responses to the Covid-19 crisis” and assurance of the companies’ financial positions.
Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong, who received the most engagement on social media with discussions on his leadership, was commended for his timely announcement of the news surrounding SIA which included staff layoffs, as well as the airlines’ prompt response to the backlash on its ‘Flight to Nowhere’ initiative.
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“In a period that has shaken confidence, the pressure on CEOs to provide guidance and reassurance to shareholders, employees and customers has intensified,” says CARMA Asia’s managing director Andrew Nicholls, who spoke about the importance of CEOs being vocal during times of crisis.
