Changi Airport Group founding CEO to step down on Jul 1, replacement named

LEE Seow Hiang will step down as CEO of Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Jul 1 after 15 years at the helm.

CAG’s current executive vice-president of airport development Yam Kum Weng will succeed him in the role, said the company on Tuesday (Apr 9).

Lee, the founding CEO of CAG since it was corporatised on Jul 1, 2009, will also step down as a CAG board director, as well as the chairman of its consultancy and investment arm Changi Airports International (CAI) and Jewel Changi Airport Development, which runs the airport’s entertainment complex Jewel.

Yam will be appointed as CAG board director and CAI board chairman with effect from Jul 1, 2024.

Having started his career at the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore in 1990, Yam took on various roles and was appointed director of airport management in 2001, and subsequently director of air transport.

He assumed the position of executive vice-president for air hub development at CAG in 2009 and has since been leading Changi Airport’s key development programmes, including the T4 and Changi East projects.

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Tan Gee Paw, chairman of CAG, noted that the board carefully reviewed its options in considering Lee’s replacement, and believes that Yam is best suited to lead the group in tackling its mega-development programmes and ensuring smooth airport operations as passenger traffic continues to recover post-Covid.

“The board is confident that Kum Weng, as a senior executive with many years of experience leading Singapore’s air hub development and airport management in both the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and CAG, is best suited to anchor the twin challenges of running an operationally-intensive airport while ensuring the success of the Changi East/ T5 programme,” he said.

Tan also noted Lee’s “immense contributions” to CAG, and expressed appreciation for his management during the Covid-19 period, which saw travel demand plummet.

In 2018, Lee was named Outstanding Chief Executive of the Year in the Singapore Business Awards, organised by The Business Times, for leading the continued development of Changi Airport as one of the leading air hubs in the world.