The Business Times
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BRUNCH

C-suite on demand: Is Singapore ready to embrace fractional work?

The gig economy has reached the top levels of organisations, with executives – known as ‘fractional leaders’ – offering their expertise without full-time costs. Is this the future of jobs?

Summarise
Paige Lim

Paige Lim

Published Fri, Jun 20, 2025 · 02:00 PM
    • From left: Fractional chief marketing officer David Lim, fractional chief HR officer Susan Chen, and fractional chief of staff Mark Mullinix.
    • From left: Fractional chief marketing officer David Lim, fractional chief HR officer Susan Chen, and fractional chief of staff Mark Mullinix. PHOTOS: TAY CHU YI, BT; DR SUSAN CHEN; MARK MULLINIX

    [SINGAPORE] In October 2022, marketing executive David Lim was laid off by his employer HappyFresh, a Jakarta-headquartered online grocery platform that was an early casualty of South-east Asia’s funding winter.

    Lim, who was a senior vice-president of marketing and managing director based in Indonesia, returned to Singapore to figure out his next career move.

    Despite offers of a full-time position as chief marketing officer (CMO), he turned them down in favour of a more unconventional route.

    BrunchC-SuiteGig economySingapore manpowerSingapore jobsJobs and skillsEmploymentLabour MarketSingapore SMEsStartupsConsulting

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