Yeo Hiap Seng CEO departs, Coca-Cola VP to take over

MELVIN Teo is resigning as chief executive of beverage player Yeo Hiap Seng (YHS) from March 2020, and will be replaced by Samuel Koh, a vice-president at the Coca-Cola Company.

In a Monday announcement after market close, YHS said that Mr Teo is leaving to pursue other interests. He had joined the company as an executive director in early-2015, and became its chief executive a few months later.

The new appointee, Mr Koh, will be serve as group CEO-designate from Jan 14, 2020, and subsequently take over as CEO on March 14. After his departure, Mr Teo will still remain as an adviser to the YHS till July 13 to ensure an orderly transition.

"Melvin indicated some time ago that he would like to pursue other interests ... The board commenced an executive search and identified Samuel, a progressive leader with rich consumer industry experience," said Daryl Ng, chairman-designate of YHS's board, in the press release.

Mr Koh most recently served as vice-president of Coca-Cola's Greater China and Korea business for the past two years, where he led new business ventures and investments in emerging beverage players.

Between 2015 and 2017, he was chief financial officer of COFCO Coca-Cola Beverages, a prominent Coca-Cola bottler in China, where he took charge of acquiring new bottling territories.

Prior to this, Mr Koh served in strategy, business development and finance roles in Coca-Cola's Asean Business Unit, and at Yum! Brands and Unilever.

Shares of YHS closed at S$0.945 on Monday, down 1.05 per cent.