Former Mediacorp group chief executive officer and veteran banker Ernest Wong, 70, will take over the reins of the media company's board in July.

Mr Wong was group president of United Overseas Bank from 1990 to 2000. He left the bank to become group CEO of Mediacorp and held the post from October 2000 to September 2005. He was also a non-executive director of the Mediacorp board from April 1994 to September 2000.

Mr Wong currently chairs Temasek Holdings' wholly owned subsidiary Fullerton Financial Holdings, which invests in and operates financial institutions in emerging markets. He will take over from current Mediacorp chairman Teo Ming Kian.

Mr Teo, 64, will have served for six years as chairman of the company by the time he steps down.

He is credited with Mediacorp's move from Caldecott Hill to its new premises in one-north.

The 12-storey building was opened by the Prime Minister in December last year, and will eventually house nearly all of Mediacorp's 2,800 staff.

In a media release yesterday, the company said Mr Teo "instilled a culture of innovation across the company". Under Mr Teo's watch, the company launched a programme to nurture start-ups that had the potential to strategically fit into the company's businesses.

It also invested in KapanLagi Network, one of Indonesia's largest digital media companies.

Mr Wong thanked the outgoing chairman for his contributions, adding that he was honoured to assume chairmanship.

"Under (Mr Teo's) able leadership, Mediacorp embarked on an intensive transformation journey and created tremendous opportunities for its continued growth and success," he said.

Mr Teo said Mr Wong was "best suited" to take over.

"His past experience as CEO and director of the company - especially in driving crucial decisions during some challenging years - places him well to guide the management in navigating an increasingly complex media landscape," said Mr Teo.

Danson Cheong