Lee Hsien Yang to step down as CAAS chairman
(Left) Mr Edmund Cheng Wai Wing will be taking over as chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore from Mr Lee Hsien Yang.
SINGAPORE — After nine years at the helm, Mr Lee Hsien Yang will be stepping down as chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) with effect from July 1.
He will be replaced by his deputy, Mr Edmund Cheng Wai Wing, who is also the deputy chairman of Wing Tai Holdings and the chairman of Mapletree Investments and the Singapore Art Museum, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said on Thursday (June 21).
In a press statement, MOT said it would like to put on record its appreciation to Mr Lee “for his many years of dedicated and distinguished service to the CAAS”.
Mr Lee has served as CAAS chairman since 2009. He also served nine months as Pro-Tem Chairman prior to the restructuring of CAAS and the corporatisation of Changi Airport on July 1, 2009. Following the corporatisation, he was appointed the first chairman of the reconstituted CAAS.
“Mr Lee has played an instrumental role in the development of Singapore as an aviation hub. Today, more than 7,200 flights per week connect Singapore to 400 cities worldwide. Passenger and airfreight traffic have grown by 65 per cent and 15 per cent respectively since 2008,” the ministry said.
Airfreight throughput crossed the 2-million tonne mark for the first time, reaching 2.13 million tonnes last year. MOT added that under Mr Lee’s stewardship, CAAS embarked on several initiatives to “enable a future-ready aviation hub”.
These include the modernisation of the aviation safety regime, the master planning for Changi East, the establishment of Singapore as a Centre of Excellence in Air Traffic Management and the establishment of a new Unmanned Aerial System regulatory framework.
“CAAS has also established a strong and credible voice in regional and international aviation,” MOT noted.
Previously, Mr Lee was the chief executive officer of Singtel from 1995 to 2007, and a non-executive director and chairman of Fraser and Neave between 2007 and 2013.
His successor at CAAS, Mr Cheng, has been deputy chairman of the authority since Dec 1, 2016. He had previously served as chairman of SATS from 2003 to 2016, as well as chairman of the Singapore Tourism Board from 1993 to 2001.
He was also chairman of the National Arts Council and served on the boards of the former Construction Industry Development Board, the Urban and Redevelopment Authority and Singapore Airlines.
“Mr Cheng’s strong private and public sector board experience will greatly benefit CAAS’ mission to grow a safe, vibrant air hub and civil aviation system,” MOT said.
