Shell S'pore's Lee Tzu Yang to retire as chairman; Goh Swee Chen is first woman chief

Royal Dutch Shell has appointed Goh Swee Chen its first female country head to succeed Lee Tzu Yang (pictured), who will retire at the end of October after 35 years of service in the company. -- PHOTO: ST FILE 
Royal Dutch Shell has appointed Goh Swee Chen its first female country head to succeed Lee Tzu Yang (pictured), who will retire at the end of October after 35 years of service in the company. -- PHOTO: ST FILE 
Ms Goh Swee Chen, a vice-president at Shell, was born in Batu Pahat, Johor, and saved up in her teens to study overseas. She became a Singaporean in 2007. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
Ms Goh Swee Chen, a vice-president at Shell, was born in Batu Pahat, Johor, and saved up in her teens to study overseas. She became a Singaporean in 2007. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

SINGAPORE - Royal Dutch Shell's Singapore unit has appointed Goh Swee Chen as its first female country head to succeed Lee Tzu Yang, who will retire at the end of October after 35 years of service in the company.

Ms Goh, 53, who is vice president for commercial fuels and lubricants for the Asia Pacific, will take charge of Shell companies in Singapore from today, the company said in a statement. Mr Lee will facilitate Ms Goh's assumption of the role over the course of this month.

Ms Goh joined Shell in 2003 and has led businesses in sales and marketing, and information technology. She chairs the Shell Tongyi Board, a lubricants joint venture in China, and was a Director of the Singapore Civil Service College Board from 2011 to 2013. Before coming to Shell, she worked for IBM Australia and Procter & Gamble.

The new chairman holds a degree in Information Science from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and a Master of Business Administration from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Born in Batu Pahat in Johor, the third of six children of a mechanic and a seamstress, Ms Goh became a Singaporean in 2007 and is a mother of three children aged 21, 19 and 16.

Mr Lee, 59, joined Shell in 1979 and worked in operational, commercial and strategy functions in a range of markets and countries before becoming its Singapore chairman in 2000. He was awarded the Public Service Star in 2005, and the Meritorious Service Medal this year.

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