Thomson Medical defends retaining independent director for over 9 years

THOMSON Medical is defending its appointment of Dr Lam Lee G as an independent director for an aggregate period of more than nine years, in response to queries from the Singapore Exchange.

As disclosed in a Monday (Oct 18) filing, the bourse queried Thomson Medical on whether the company had subjected Dr Lam's term to "particularly rigorous review", and why he should be considered independent despite his long tenure.

According to past annual reports of the company, then called Rowsley, Dr Lam was appointed an independent director in June 2002. He resigned in April 2018 and was re-appointed to the board in May 2019. Rowsley became Thomson Medical after acquiring the healthcare business in 2018.

In its response to SGX, Thomson Medical noted that it appointed a new management team following its 2018 healthcare acquisition. "When Dr Lam was re-appointed to the board on May 2, 2019, he was working with a completely new management team and a refreshed board of directors," the company said.

Its re-appointment of Dr Lam was based on his "expertise, experience and the requisite qualifications", Thomson Medical added. Dr Lam does not own shares in the company

"The Nominating and Remuneration Committee had further carried out a rigorous review, and considers Dr Lam independent based on the substance of his professionalism, integrity and objectivity, and not the number of years he had served on the board," it said.

Shares of Thomson Medical closed flat at S$0.092 on Monday.