SINGAPORE - Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng will be stepping down from his role as group chief executive officer of NTUC Enterprise (NE), as well as the boards of its social enterprises.
This will enable Mr Seah, who was sworn into his new role on Aug 2, to carry out his duties as Speaker with singular focus and commitment, said NE in a press release on Monday.
Ms Adeline Sum, 55, the current deputy CEO, will be appointed to replace him with effect from Oct 1.
The NE group of social enterprises are FairPrice Group (comprising FairPrice, NTUC Foodfare, Kopitiam and NTUC Link), NTUC First Campus, NTUC Health, Income Insurance, NTUC LearningHub, Mercatus and MoneyOwl.
Mr Lim Boon Heng, NE’s chairman, paid tribute to Mr Seah, 61, for his leadership roles in NE and FairPrice Group over nearly two decades.
“Under his leadership, NE and its social enterprises have achieved several notable milestones; especially in ensuring the continued availability of daily necessities during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as in implementing various measures to moderate the cost of living amidst high inflationary concerns,” he said.
During Mr Seah’s tenure, NE also launched its first digital bank, Trust – a collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank and FairPrice Group.
Trust has since crossed the $1 billion mark in deposits, with more than 500,000 customers signing up, said Mr Lim.
Mr Seah, who has worked in both the public and private sector, joined the National Trades Union Congress’ administration and research unit in June 1996.
He was seconded to FairPrice in February 2001 as chief operating officer, and led the group in various capacities.
He became CEO of FairPrice in 2016 and group CEO when FairPrice Group was formed in 2019. That year, he was concurrently appointed as group CEO of NE.
He relinquished the FairPrice Group position in 2022 to concentrate on driving growth and transformation across NE’s social enterprise clusters.
Mr Lim said that Ms Sum, Mr Seah’s successor, is an accomplished leader with a proven track record of success within NE and has played a key vital role in shaping the organisation’s future.
She has more than three decades of experience holding different portfolios across NTUC and NE.
“With a deep understanding of the industry and keen dedication to our employees, customers, and stakeholders – she is in a strong position to take over the reins,” Mr Lim added.
Ms Sum is currently the executive director of Mercatus and Tangram Asia Capital, as well as deputy chief executive officer of strategic alignment at NE.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from the National University of Singapore, a Master of Business Administration in accountancy from the Nanyang Technological University, and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.
Calling it a privilege to serve at NE, Mr Seah said together with its management team, they have developed a sustainable road map to embark on its transformational journey with its social enterprises to ensure that it remain relevant to the community.
“I am confident that through the continued dedication of the management team, NE will grow from strength to strength for many years to come,” he said.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...om-ntuc-enterprise-and-its-social-enterprises
