THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Thursday (Oct 5) said it appointed Claire Perry O’Neill, a former minister in the United Kingdom, as an independent non-executive director to its board.

Her appointment follows the conclusion of the exchange’s 24th annual general meeting.

O’Neill was a cabinet minister overseeing climate change and energy in former prime minister Theresa May’s government from 2017 to 2019 and served as a Member of Parliament for nine years in the Conservative Party.

According to O’Neill’s LinkedIn profile, she is currently a part-time director on a hybrid basis at Houston-based energy company Oxy. She is concurrently also a part-time adviser on a hybrid basis to several companies – including consultancy McKinsey, investment firm Hambro Perks, smart carbon manager Terrascope and Singapore-headquartered carbon marketplace Climate Impact X.

In a bourse announcement last month, SGX noted that O’Neill does not have prior experience as a director of a company listed on the exchange. It added that it will make arrangements for her to attend relevant seminars and courses by the Singapore Institute of Directors on the roles and responsibilities of a director of an SGX-listed company.

Meanwhile, Chew Gek Khim, executive chairman of Straits Trading, has stepped down from the board after having served more than 10 years, SGX said. Accordingly, she is no longer a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee (NGC) and the Remuneration and Staff Development Committee.

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There are several other changes at the sub-committees. These include the appointment of Samuel Tsien, adviser to the board of OCBC and the bank’s former group chief executive, to the Audit Committee and NGC.

SGX shares rose S$0.03 or 0.3 per cent to close at S$9.69 on Thursday.