Grab poaches Sats CEO Alex Hungate as new COO

GRAB has poached Alex Hungate from Singapore-listed Sats to be its new chief operating officer. Mr Hungate is the chief executive and executive director of the in-flight catering and ground handling company.

From Jan 4 next year, Mr Hungate will take over current COO Tan Hooi Ling, who is also the co-founder of the ride-hailing, food delivery and financial services company. Ms Tan will continue to oversee several pillars of Grab's operations, including corporate strategy, technology and human resources.

The move comes as Grab looks towards strengthening its team as it heads to the public markets. The company is preparing to list via a merger with a US special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) by the end of this year, and has listed over 760 positions on its website to be filled in roles such as business development, sales and operations.

Mr Hungate can “bring together and create greater ecosystem synergies” across the company, Grab said in a statement.

Grab’s business has expanded from ride-hailing into multiple new segments in the last three years, and Mr Hungate is a “proven operator with deep experience running businesses in our related industries of financial services, logistics and food service”, said Grab.

Mr Hungate will be leaving Sats in December after eight years with the company, BT reported last Friday. He joined Sats as an independent director in July 2011, became an executive director in July 2013, and assumed his current role as president and CEO in January 2014.

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He was most recently spearheading Sats' diversification into central kitchen solutions and e-commerce logistics businesses as part of the company's goal of tapping urbanisation in large Asian cities - a goal that Grab is similarly eyeing.

Grab is making several strategic moves ahead of its US listing. In Indonesia, the company is increasing its ownership in mobile wallet operator Ovo to about 90 per cent from about 39 per cent by buying stakes from Tokopedia and Lippo Group.

Ovo's ownership has been hotly debated ever since Grab's competitor Gojek announced a merger with e-commerce platform Tokopedia to form GoTo. Ovo and Gojek's GoPay are fierce rivals.

Ovo said that the transaction with Grab is the first part of a wider exercise to restructure its ownership, according to a Bloomberg report.

"We're working in close consultation with the regulators to complete the ownership restructuring process, and are confident this will allow us to better serve the financial services needs of Indonesians," the company said in a statement.

Grab is in the process of selling part of its Ovo stake to Indonesian investors to comply with regulations, Bloomberg reported based on an industry source. Grab declined to comment.

READ MORE: 

• Diversification is a full meal at Sats

• Sats CEO Alex Hungate resigns