Teo Swee Lian to succeed Simon Israel as SingPost chairman

SINGAPORE: Singapore Post on Wednesday (May 21) appointed Ms Teo Swee Lian to the board as chairman-designate.

She will succeed Mr Simon Israel, who is retiring after nine years, SingPost said in a media release on Wednesday. Mr Israel has been at the helm since 2016.

Ms Teo appointment "comes at the conclusion of a search by the SingPost board" to find a successor and she will assume the role the company's next annual general meeting. The date for the meeting has yet to be announced.

Ms Teo previously held board and directorship roles with Singtel and AIA Group. She is currently the chairman and a non-executive independent director of CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust Management. She is also holding directorship positions at HSBC and Clifford Capital.

"She also brings with her over 27 years of financial services experience with the Monetary Authority of Singapore," SingPost said.

“Swee Lian's appointment concludes the board renewal process, and she will lead the board in the ongoing strategic reset of the group," Mr Israel said.

He noted that the company was undergoing a "significant transformation to adapt to the evolving postal, eCommerce, and logistics landscape".

Ms Teo's experience "will contribute to the board’s oversight and direction for the new strategy", he added.

SingPost said of Mr Israel: "The board wishes to thank him for his dedicated and tireless service over the last nine years."

In December last year, SingPost fired three senior executives after a probe into a whistleblower's report found "grossly negligent" behaviour in their handling of internal investigations. 

The three executives, group CEO Vincent Phang, group CFO Vincent Yik and the chief executive of SingPost's international business unit Li Yu, have said they would contest their sackings.

In a filing to the Singapore Exchange then, Mr Israel said that the decision was "carefully considered" by the SingPost board.

It "reflects the board's unwavering commitment to governance principles, prioritising what is right – even when it is more challenging in the short term – in the best interests of the company", he said .

Amid a restructuring exercise to "right-size and devolve corporate functions to its business units" that the company said was unrelated to any previous incidents or whistleblowing reports, SingPost announced a layoff of 45 employees in February.

The restructuring exercise also involved the departures of five key executives, including SingPost's group chief information officer and group chief people officer.

SingPost reported reported a full year net profit of S$245.1 million (US$188 million) for the financial year ended Mar 31.

This figure, more than double last year's, was due to the divestment of its Australia business.