SingPost must quickly find a new group CEO to deliver it from its troubles

NATIONAL postal-service provider Singapore Post (SingPost)  is facing a slew of challenges. And, without a leader at the helm, it could be tough for the group to navigate its way out of its troubles.

SingPost said last week that it would lay off 45 employees “in the coming months” in a move to restructure the company amid prolonged macroeconomic challenges, including intense competition.

The news came just two weeks after it announced the exit of its Singapore chief executive officer (CEO), Shahrin Abdol Salam.

That was the fourth departure among SingPost’s senior executives in two months.

In late December 2024, group CEO Vincent Phang, group chief financial officer (CFO) Vincent Yik, and CEO of international business unit Li Yu, were fired over the alleged negligence in the handling of internal investigations into a whistle-blower’s report.

SingPost has since appointed former Singapore CEO Neo Su Yin in a newly created group chief operating officer (COO) role. Following Shahrin’s resignation, she will double-hat as Singapore CEO.

Meanwhile, SingPost has appointed Isaac Mah as its group CFO. He was formerly CFO of SingPost’s Australia business, Freight Management Holdings.

SingPost said that both Neo and Mah will take guidance from board chairman Simon Israel.

SingPost’s leadership shakeup is especially worrisome against the backdrop of a domestic postal sector that has been languishing as the industry continues its secular decline.

The recent high-profile departures would be expected to have created a dent in staff morale. Shahrin joined SingPost only in May last year, and his resignation came hot on the heels of the headlines over the firing of the trio last December.

Neo, with her now-enlarged plate, could well handle the impending layoffs and the high-level departures, but noticeably, the mainboard-listed logistics player has yet to find the replacement for the group CEO.

More importantly, SingPost has yet to update investors on its strategy to replace the sizable revenue from the impending sale of its top profit contributor – its Australian business.

The business generated a profit of S$20.3 million (including discontinued operations that have not been disposed of, and before the deduction of income tax and non-controlling interests) in the first half of FY2025 to September, or 66.1 per cent of the group’s S$30.7 million for the period.

SingPost’s strategy following the sale of the Australian business would influence the slate of candidates applying for the top role, as well as its choice for the helmsman.

Leaders make or break a company. It is why companies painstakingly seek out candidates of high calibre, and investors keenly watch out for succession plans and scrutinise the appointee.

Ismail Gafoor, executive chairman, CEO and co-founder of PropNex , was crystal-clear in a recent interview with The Business Times about the qualities that future leaders of the property brokerage should have.

For one, the CEO of the real estate agency with a sales force of 13,000 would not be parachuted in, but must have worked his or her way up as an agent.

“If you have never gone through the sales path, you cannot be a CEO. To me, the CEO must have gone through the baptism (of fire) – understanding the sales persons’ pain, struggles, training, the negotiation, so that you can continue to develop strategies and value-add to how we can be more effective,” he said.

Even though he co-founded the brokerage, his children would not be able to take over the reins from him unless they have earned their stripes as agents and been elected by their peers to be their leader.

Indeed, SingPost’s next group CEO may not come from among its postmen. But without a strategy to chart the way forward, what would serve as a compass to help the board nail down the ideal candidate?

Thus, it is imperative for SingPost to decide without further delay on its new strategy – and the person to execute it.