SINGAPORE - Transport giant ComfortDelGro Corp has appointed former senior civil servant Choi Shing Kwok and Australia-based corporate heavyweight Russell Stephen Balding to its board.
The new directors, who will join the board on Aug 1, bring with them a wealth of experience in local and international relations as well as extensive first-hand experience in the land transport industry, the group said in a statement on Thursday (July 28).
Mr Choi, 63 is currently chief executive of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and chairman of SP Services. He was previously permanent secretary at the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.
Mr Choi, who retired from the civil service in 2017, also serves on the National Records Advisory Committee in the Ministry of Communications and Information, and the Management Board of the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative in the National University of Singapore.
As transport permanent secretary, he "contributed significantly to strengthening Singapore's transportation connectivity and developing the public transport sector", ComfortDelGro said.
Mr Choi's appointment to the Singapore-listed international group comes amidst a management restructuring ahead of the retirement of veteran chairman Lim Jit Poh and group chief executive Yang Ban Seng.
ComfortDelGro's other newly-appointed director, Mr Balding, 70, is its first overseas-based director.
From 2014 to 2016, he was chairman of Cabcharge Australia (now A2B Australia Ltd), which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
During his tenure, he also served on the boards of ComfortDelGro Cabcharge and CityFleet Networks (UK).
Mr Balding, who is based in Sydney, is currently chairman of Racing NSW, a director of Racing Australia Ltd and a director of the Trust Company (Sydney Airport) Ltd.
ComfortDelGro chairman Mr Lim said: "I am confident that both Shing Kwok and Russell, whom I have worked with in the past on other directorships, will be valuable assets to the group as we continue to pursue new avenues of growth.
"Shing Kwok, as a former top civil servant, brings with him strong regulatory and governmental experience which is useful as we continue to navigate the very political land transport business.
"Russell, who is a stalwart in corporate Australia, will bring valuable insight to us as we continue to expand our Australian footprint, which ranks as our largest overseas destination to date, with over S$1 billion invested."
Mr Lim, 82, will step down as chairman next year, while Mr Yang, 65, is also expected to hand over the reins to deputy chief executive Cheng Siak Kian, 52, next year.
