A*Star, National Research Foundation to get new CEOs

SINGAPORE - National Research Foundation (NRF) chief executive officer (CEO) Beh Kian Teik will head to the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) as CEO-designate from Oct 1 to Nov 7.

He will formally succeed the current A*Star CEO, Mr Frederick Chew, from Nov 8, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a statement on Aug 29. He will also be appointed as a board member of A*Star from Nov 8. 

Mr Beh’s successor at NRF is Mr John Lim, who will be appointed CEO-designate, as well as chief-designate of the Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office (S&TPPO) at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) from Sept 1.

Mr Lim will officially take the reins on Oct 1, and relinquish his current role as deputy secretary of opportunity and resilience at the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) on the same day, the PMO said in a statement on Aug 29.

Mr Beh has been heading NRF since August 2022. He played a key role in shaping the goals and priorities of the Research Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plans, and oversaw the implementation of key programmes.

“He also sharpened the focus on keeping Singapore’s basic research at the cutting edge through NRF’s Foundational Research Capability studies,” the MTI statement said, adding that he had also expanded the foundation’s research partnerships with Britain, France and China.

Mr Beh has also worked closely with NUS, NTU and different economic agencies to further strengthen translational research and value creation.

These included major new initiatives such as the National Gallium Nitride Technology Centre and the National Semiconductor Translation and Innovation Centre.

He championed initiatives to enhance venture financing, strengthen the translational pipeline, and nurture an entrepreneurial mindset. His efforts also helped address gaps in Singapore’s biotech ecosystem. 

His successor, Mr Lim, has been with MSF since September 2016.

He has played a leading role in developing policies and initiatives such as the Enabling Masterplan 2030, ComCare, MSF-funded residential home and shelter services, programmes and services for children and young persons at risk.

Mr Lim was previously the divisional director of higher education at the Ministry of Education (MOE), overseeing policy formation and planning for postsecondary education offered through Singapore’s autonomous universities, polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education and tertiary arts institutions.

While at MOE, he served as a member of the governing boards of five research centres of excellence. These are the Centre for Quantum Technologies, Cancer Science Institute, Earth Observatory of Singapore, Mechanobiology Institute, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering.

He was also on the governing board of Duke-NUS Medical School. 

Mr Beh’s predecessor at A*Star, Mr Chew, has served as the agency’s CEO since April 2019 and concurrently holds the appointment of S&TPPO chief.

At A*Star, he strengthened innovation, enterprise capabilities and efforts to translate basic research to generate better economic, health and societal impact for Singapore and beyond.

He also spearheaded A*Star’s Covid-19 task force’s contributions to Singapore’s pandemic response, including the development of local diagnostics test kits and the setting up of a centralised testing facility, among others.

As chief of S&TPPO, Mr Chew set up a new Centre-of-Government unit under PMO in 2019 to build up science, technology and engineering capabilities across public agencies.

Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, permanent secretary for National Research and Development and S&TPPO, said: “I would like to express our deep appreciation to Kian Teik and Frederick for their many leadership contributions... and warmly welcome John to NRF and S&TPPO.”