CPF Board and SIM get new chief executives

Singapore

THE Central Provident Fund Board (CPF Board) and Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) are both getting new chiefs soon.

Augustin Lee, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), will take over from Ng Chee Peng as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the CPF Board on April 1. Mr Ng steps down from the post as he prepares to leave the Singapore public service after 30 years.

On May 1, Seah Chin Siong will start work as the new president and CEO of SIM. Mr Seah is the current CEO of Singapore Pools, a role he has held since January 2015.

MOM's Mr Lee, the deputy secretary since 2010, has previously held various appointments in the Ministry of Health as well as the Ministry of Trade and Industry. He was also principal private secretary to then-senior minister Goh Chok Tong.

"Under Chee Peng, the CPF Board has provided members greater assurance in their retirement, improved members' service experience, enhanced the board's digital shopfront, and extended and deepened its engagement with members," said MOM permanent secretary Aubeck Kam.

Mr Ng, who became CPF Board CEO in March 2015, spearheaded the implementation of policy initiatives recommended by the CPF Advisory Panel.

These included options to help CPF members grow their retirement savings and receive payouts that better meet their retirement needs, as well as greater flexibility to transfer their CPF balances to loved ones.

He also led the board's digital transformation journey, enabling the board to be the first government agency to implement the use of PayNow in its services.

He implemented call authentication for its call-services in March 2017 to allow for greater convenience and security in receiving personal information over the phone.

During his tenure, the board's my cpf mobile application and my cpf eServices profile page were revamped to provide an enhanced user interface and personalised experience to members.

According to the CPF Board, Mr Ng also played a "pivotal role" in extending and deepening the board's engagement with members. This is through annual CPF retirement planning campaigns and roadshows, as well as new social media channels to reach out to Singaporeans.

On Mr Seah's appointment as SIM's new president and CEO, SIM Governing Council chairman Euleen Goh said Mr Seah's experience will provide the impetus to steer SIM ahead with a "renewed relevance and focus".

It will leverage technology to deliver programmes that enable effective continuous learning and equip workers with "life-long deep skills training", she added.

Before joining Singapore Pools, Mr Seah was the founding chief executive of IDA International, a subsidiary of the then-Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.

He was also formerly managing director of Accenture's public service operating Group for Asia-Pacific, and country managing director of Accenture Singapore.

SIM operates under its two brands of SIM Global Education and SIM Professional Development. SIM University, which it also created, was renamed Singapore University of Social Sciences and became an autonomous university under the Ministry of Education in 2017.