Singapore Post announced that Mr Vincent Phang will take over as chief executive of the firm's postal services and Singapore operations from April 1.

He will replace retiring Woo Keng Leong, who will serve as postal adviser to the company to ensure a smooth transition, it was announced yesterday.

Mr Phang, 45, is chief executive of ST Logistics and executive vice-president of global logistics at Toll Group, posts he has held since 2013.

Under his watch, Toll Group has pushed forward with technology, with futuristic solutions such as automated goods movement and tracking on the floor at its new Toll City logistics hub in Tuas.

The five-storey, 100,000 sq m facility cost $228 million to develop. It was officially opened at the end of July.

Before his roles at ST Logistics and Toll Group, Mr Phang was the director of manufacturing and supply chain for Asia-Pacific at BlackBerry for almost two years.

In a separate announcement yesterday, SingPost said it has recorded a surge in parcel volumes during the year-end shopping season as a result of online campaigns such as Singles Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Its courier subsidiary SP Parcels delivered more than 580,000 packages locally last month, a 24 per cent increase over non-peak months and a jump of 25 per cent on the same month last year.

SingPost said SP Parcels increased manpower by 20 per cent, while courier working hours were also extended by two hours during the period.

SP Parcels head Freddy Chang said: "Over the years, we have seen steady growth in parcel volumes as shoppers go online for the best deals during the festive season.

"These numbers represent just the tip of the iceberg, as e-commerce continues to grow in Singapore, as well as in the wider South-east Asian region."