CHAIRMAN of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Chan Yeng Kit, will be appointed to the board of SPH Media Holdings from Mar 15.

Chan, who is currently permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, had announced earlier on Wednesday (Mar 13) that he is stepping down from his post at IMDA.

He will be succeeded by Russell Tham from Mar 15. Tham is the head of emerging technologies at Singapore investment firm Temasek.

Khaw Boon Wan, chairman of SPH Media Trust, said that Chan had a “deep appreciation” of the challenges that digital disruption brings to the media industry.

“His wealth of experience will add much to the board and help steer our team towards sustainable growth,” said Khaw.

Chan has held management roles in the public sector, labour movement and private sector. He was permanent secretary of the then Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts from 2008 to 2012.

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He also served as chairman of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) board in November 2015, where he oversaw the merger between IDA and the Media Development Authority to form IMDA in 2016. He stayed on as chairman of the IMDA board following the merger of the two agencies.

In a press release on Wednesday, SPH Media said Chan had “vast experience” in large-scale projects that involve addressing challenges posed by digital disruption and changing mindsets.

Chan was also awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2022 for leading government efforts to formulate and coordinate plans for Covid-19 safe management measures and the road map to a new Covid normal.

“In his current role, he has led key aspects of the national response by the government and healthcare sectors through the Covid-19 pandemic, adopting and adapting strategies that have widespread impact in Singapore as the public health situation evolved,” added the media group, which publishes news titles such as The Straits Times, The Business Times and Lianhe Zaobao.

In a separate announcement, IMDA said that its incoming chairman, Tham, is not new to the agency. Tham has served as a member of the IMDA board since October 2020, and as the chairperson of its technology subcommittee since April 2023.

The agency added that Tham had been “instrumental” in advising IMDA on new and emerging digital technologies.

“We look forward to Mr Tham’s continued guidance and leadership of IMDA in the coming years.”