Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has appointed two senior executives as deputy chief executive officers, as the media and property group grooms its next leadership slate and seeks new growth opportunities.
Mr Patrick Daniel, 61, currently editor-in-chief of the English/ Malay/Tamil Media (EMTM) group, and Mr Anthony Tan, 43, currently executive vice-president of the Chinese Media group (CMG) and head of the media strategy and analytics (MSA) division, will assume their new roles on Friday.
They will report to SPH chief executive Alan Chan, 63.
Succeeding Mr Daniel as EMTM editor-in-chief will be Mr Warren Fernandez, 50, who will also continue as editor of the group's flagship daily The Straits Times.
The two deputy editors of The Straits Times will move to new roles as well. Ms Sumiko Tan, 52, will become the paper's executive editor, while Mr Ignatius Low, 43, currently also The Straits Times' managing editor, will be appointed managing editor of EMTM.
The changes, announced yesterday, are part of SPH's succession planning, said Mr Chan.
"Both Patrick and Anthony are key members of the senior management team. Patrick is a media veteran with 30 years of experience in SPH while Anthony brings with him fresh perspectives and new ideas," he said.
"I have every confidence that they will be able to work closely with me to address the challenges and opportunities in our industry and steer SPH to greater heights."
Mr Daniel, who joined SPH in 1986 and became EMTM editor-in-chief in 2007, will oversee the EMTM group as well as other key divisions including marketing, digital and information technology.
He said his top priority is to put SPH's core media operations on a firm footing so that the group can be among the winners in the global media business.
"Our media business has withstood the onslaught of many waves of digital change and innovation," he said. "But we have to speed up our transformation into a truly multimedia, multi-platform organisation that delivers value to our many customers."
Mr Tan, who left his role as deputy secretary (policy) at the Health Ministry to join SPH last year, will continue to helm CMG and the MSA division.
He will also oversee other divisions including production, circulation and corporate development. He said: "I am happy to be able to work with a wonderful SPH team to deliver better and more relevant products to our audience going forward."
As the new EMTM editor-in- chief, Mr Fernandez said he looks forward to working closely with Mr Daniel and Mr Tan "to build on our position of strength in the media industry".
EMTM comprises newspapers such as The Straits Times, The Business Times, The New Paper, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu, as well as book publishing arm Straits Times Press, financial data company ShareInvestor, and radio stations Kiss92 and One FM 91.3.
CMG publishes three Chinese newspapers - Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News - and operates radio station UFM100.3 and Focus Publishing, which produces a range of books and magazines, including U-Weekly.
