SINGAPORE - Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) will have a new person at the helm from March 1.
Ms Cindy Khoo, currently the deputy secretary of the Strategy Group in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), will succeed Mr Jeffrey Siow as managing director, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Feb 14.
Ms Khoo, 43, started her career in the Singapore Public Service at MTI as a trade officer. She has also held various positions in the Ministry of Health, PMO, Public Service Division and the Ministry of Education.
She joined the Strategy Group in PMO in 2019, where she oversaw functions such as strategic planning, futures and organisational development, before taking on her current role as deputy secretary in September 2021. Ms Khoo will step down from her position at PMO to fully assume her responsibilities at EnterpriseSG on April 1.
Mr Siow, who is also EnterpriseSG’s chief operating officer and has been with the agency since September 2021, deepened relationships with trade associations and chambers, standards and accreditation bodies, unions and business leaders during his tenure, said MTI.
The 45-year-old also led EnterpriseSG’s digitalisation efforts and expanded the agency’s global reach by strengthening connections to foreign governments and business organisations.
As chairman of Seeds Capital, EnterpriseSG’s investment arm, Mr Siow led government investments in Singapore-based early-stage start-ups, overseeing a fund size of over $500 million and more than 150 portfolio companies.
Mr Siow was appointed second permanent secretary for manpower on Jan 1. Prior to these roles, he was principal private secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He has also held positions at the ministries of Transport, Education and Manpower.
The new managing director appointment comes after EnterpriseSG announced that it will change its leadership model from having a non-executive chairman and a chief executive to one that will have an executive chairman and a managing director.
MTI said in a statement on Jan 24 that the new leadership model will enhance the agency’s strategic engagement with business counterparts and advance Singapore’s economic interests and the interests of Singapore companies.
Dr Beh Swan Gin, Permanent Secretary for Development at MTI, said: “I would like to thank Jeffrey for his leadership at EnterpriseSG, and for his many contributions to the advancement of local enterprises and transformation of key industries.
“I also warmly welcome Cindy. With her extensive experience and achievements in the public sector, I look forward to her leadership in furthering Singapore’s competitiveness and fostering business growth, both locally and on the international stage.”
MTI has also appointed seven new members and reappointed seven members to the board of EnterpriseSG. Their appointments will take effect on April 1.
The new members include lawyer Ameera Ashraf, head of antitrust and competition practice at WongPartnership; Temasek Polytechnic principal and CEO Peter Lam Kok Wai; and Thakral Investments Holdings director Satveer Singh Thakral.
Other new board members:
- Cindy Khoo, incoming managing director, EnterpriseSG
- Michael Muller, president, Vitol Asia
- Png Chin Yee, chief financial officer, Temasek
- Sim Feng-Ji, deputy secretary, PMO, Smart Nation and Digital Government Office
Reappointed board members:
- Cham Hui Fong, deputy secretary-general, National Trades Union Congress
- Kelvin Lim, group chief executive, Durapower Holdings
- Lim Ming Yan, chairman, Singapore Business Federation
- Candice Ong, chief operating officer, Xora Innovation
- Phyllis Ong, group chief executive, Armstrong Industrial Corporation
- Helen Wong, group chief executive, OCBC
- Zhou Lihan, co-founder and chief executive, Mirxes
