Ex-LTA CEO Ngien Hoon Ping to helm SMRT

SMRT group chief executive Neo Kian Hong is stepping down after just four years at the helm of the transport company, making his tenure shorter than that of his predecessor Desmond Kuek, who stayed for about six years.

Former Land Transport Authority (LTA) chief Ngien Hoon Ping, 52, will succeed Mr Neo, 57, who was hired to replace Mr Kuek in August 2018 after what SMRT said was "a global search".

Mr Ngien left LTA in 2020 to head FairPrice Group's supply chain business. He will join the SMRT board from May 1 and take over the helm on Aug 1, the company announced yesterday.

Mr Neo will stay on as adviser until Oct 31.

The surprise turn of events has been in the rumour mill as early as December, but may have been in the planning earlier than that.

Neither Mr Neo nor Mr Ngien was contactable for comment.

Like most of SMRT's previous helmsmen, Mr Ngien was from the military. He was director of joint operations in the Singapore Armed Forces between 2010 and 2013, and a brigadier-general.

SMRT chairman Seah Moon Ming said Mr Ngien is well placed to lead SMRT forward in an era of disruption with his experience at LTA and FairPrice Group.

An engineer by training, Mr Ngien led LTA from 2016 to 2020 and oversaw infrastructure projects such as the Thomson-East Coast Line and Lornie Highway.

Expressing appreciation for Mr Neo's service, Mr Seah said: "He oversaw a deepening of rail engineering capabilities and consistent delivery of high rail reliability."

Mr Neo was Singapore's seventh chief of defence force, and served as permanent secretary in the education and defence ministries.

Sources said Mr Neo was more task-oriented, while his predecessor was people-centred. There was also tension between Mr Neo and Mr Seah, and staff were often "caught in between", they added.

Mr Neo's tenure had also been blemished by several safety-related incidents, including a technical officer who died at Bishan depot in 2020 when a 5kg metal piece hit him, and a technician who died last year when a bus fell on him after a jack gave way.

Despite a vast improvement in the rail system in recent years, a massive breakdown in October 2020 left more than 6,700 passengers stranded on trains across three MRT lines for up to three hours and affected about 123,000 commuters. It was traced to material faults and human error.

The Straits Times had previously reported on a spate of resignations in SMRT over recent years, which included senior engineers Chia Chun Wah, a senior vice-president of maintenance and engineering, and Mario Favaits, who headed Singapore Rail Engineering.

An SMRT insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said staff are hopeful that the leadership change will see railway professionals get more recognition and leadership positions. "Hopefully, this will be a new beginning for SMRT."

Dr David Leong, managing director of human resource advisory and search firm PeopleWorldwide Consulting, said: "Mr Ngien's former role as head of LTA will be his biggest advantage as he is fully cognisant of the challenges, gaps, troubling issues and compliance matters facing SMRT."

He noted that Mr Kuek had previously mentioned "deep-seated cultural issues" of human error or failure in SMRT, which Mr Neo publicly said do not exist.

Dr Leong said: "Mr Neo may have been too quick to dismiss Mr Kuek's assertion."