Les Amis group appoints new CEO

FOUNDER and chairman of the Les Amis Group Desmond Lim will take a back seat in running the homegrown F&B company with the appointment of its first CEO, the group announced on Apr 4.

Although Lim will still be "very much involved in the business", Tycen Bundgaard takes over the day-to-day operations as part of the group's long term "management renewal and succession plan". He officially joined on April 1.

The US citizen is a permanent resident who has lived in Singapore for the past 14 years, and has a Singaporean wife. New to the F&B business, he brings a financial background to Les Amis, starting out as an investment analyst at Merrill Lynch in 2006 and subsequently at McKinsey and Company for the past 14 years. From 2015 to 2022, he was a partner heading its Telecommunications, Media and High Tech, and Private Equity Practices in Southeast Asia.

"I'm excited to join the team and have the opportunity to lead this company as we build upon its legacy," said Bundgaard.

Together with group chief operations officer Betty Wong, they are part of a new direction that Lim wants the group to go in. "With our current size of 38 outlets spread over 28 different concepts employing close to 500 staff in Singapore alone, we think it is vital to adopt a more disciplined, organised and professional approach to managing our business," Lim said.

When Lim and his partners founded Les Amis in 1994, it had been more a labour of love by food-loving friends. Fast forward to now, and the flagship Les Amis restaurant now holds 3 Michelin stars, and the group is one of the largest restaurant operators in Singapore spanning all price ranges. Besides Singapore, the group has expanded regionally through joint ventures in Hong Kong and Vietnam, with over 40 restaurants spread across 12 concepts.

"After 28 years of overseeing the growth of the company from a single outlet in 1994 to its current size today, I felt it was an opportune time to bring in a younger, more dynamic full-time CEO to lead the group," said Lim.

"I am still very passionate and love this restaurant business, but the F&B industry has changed and so has the group since its early days in the 90's. It's time for someone new at the helm; who is more in tune with the current times and servicing a younger generation of customers. (My partner) Check Low and I will continue to guide the group from behind the scenes, but would leave the running of the group in the capable hands of our management team, led by Tycen and Betty. I am confident that they will perform admirably, and will help steer the group to greater heights."