SingTel unveils new chief
SINGAPORE--The search is over for SingTel's top honcho exactly two months after the local carrier announced its group CEO Lee Hsien Yang has resigned from his post.
 Chua Sock Koong |
In a shock move announced Jul. 21, Lee gave no reason behind his decision to leave a post he has helmed for more than a decade.
According to a statement released today by SingTel, Chua Sock Koong, SingTel's current group CFO and CEO of international business, is expected to formally assume the group CEO post from April next year.
Today's announcement brings an end to "an extensive and rigorous global search" for the right candidate, one where "experience and potential" played a key factor, SingTel said.
Chua joined the company in 1989 and is currently responsible for driving SingTel's global business and investments, and also oversees its IT services subsidiary NCS.
Lee said, in the statement: "[Chua] has been instrumental to developing SingTel's strategy over the past ten years, and has played a significant role in SingTel's major acquisitions, divestments and partnerships."
SingTel had successfully inked several deals in a bid to extend its presence in the region, including investments in India's Bharti and Indonesia's Telkomsel and the high-profile purchase of Australia's Optus for A$14 million (US$10.3 billion) in 2001.
Chua holds an accountancy degree from a Singapore university.