SINGAPORE - The leadership choices made by SPH Media Trust (SMT) show that it is open to all kinds of talents, regardless of gender, said Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 15).
She was responding to Ms Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC), who had highlighted the appointment of Ms Teo Lay Lim as the new chief executive of SPH Media Group. Ms Soh then suggested that the Ministry of Communications and Information urge the SMT to consider being a role model for encouraging more women to enter, stay on and progress with the new not-for-profit media entity.
Ms Teo, a former chairman of IT services and consulting firm Accenture Singapore, will take over from interim CEO Patrick Daniel from March 1.
Mrs Teo said her ministry would be more than happy to convey Ms Soh's recommendation.
"Looking at the leadership of SMT all the way from its chairman, to its CEO and to its senior team, I have no doubt that they are open to all kinds of talents, whether men or women," she said. "And that they would do everything they can to hold as many of them in this organisation and help to propel its forward transformation."
Ms Soh's fellow Marsiling-Yew Tee MP Alex Yam had also asked how the Government through its funding support would ensure fair treatment of SMT's workforce, as it continues its digital pivot.
"The best thing I think we can do to retain talents within SMT is to provide them with the support to make that transformation," said Mrs Teo. "Talents everywhere, including journalistic talents in media companies, want to know that they have a future.
"It is the main reason that they will stay on, invest their time and effort to produce quality journalism," she added. "And the only way we can do so is if the digital transformation is not a start-stop process, not a half-hearted process, but one that is taken with great commitment and passion; energises them, and this is what makes them want to stay."
Mrs Teo acknowledged that there was intense competition for talent at the moment, with SMT and other media companies striving to retain their talent.
"Against this backdrop, it would be most unwise if SMT or any other media company were to be perceived by their employees of unfair treatment," she noted.
"It is in their own interest to ensure that they paint a realistic vision of the future, and they commit the resources to help their talents grow and develop along with the organisation's transformation.
"So I've confidence in SMT that they are minded to look after their people because they are committed to the public to provide quality journalism, which cannot be achieved without the talent within their fold," said Mrs Teo.
