Grab co-founder, Sea founder join EDB board

The founders of two Singapore-based tech companies were yesterday named to the board of the Economic Development Board (EDB).

Ms Tan Hooi Ling, co-founder of Grab, and Mr Forrest Li, chairman and chief executive of New York-listed Internet platform Sea, are two of three new faces joining the EDB board from today.

They will join representatives of more traditional industries who have been reappointed to the 16-member board. They include:

• Mr Gan Seow Kee, ExxonMobil’s regional chairman and managing director;
• Mr Wouter Van Wersch, General Electric’s regional president and CEO for Asia-Pacific;
• Mr Magesvaran Suranjan, president of Procter & Gamble Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa; and
• Mr Alex Hungate, president and CEO of Sats.

Also reappointed to EDB’s board was Mr Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general of NTUC.

Sea’s Mr Li had earlier served on Singapore’s 30-member Committee on the Future Economy, while Grab’s Ms Tan is part of the National University of Singapore (NUS) board of trustees.

Ms Liew Wei Li, deputy director-general of education for schools and director of schools at the Education Ministry, is the third new member of the board.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry added two business leaders to the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) board, effective today.

They are Mr Ravinder Singh, president of ST Engineering Electronics, and Mr Arunjai Mittal, non-executive chairman of integrated circuit design start-up Zero-Error Systems.

Dr Josephine Kwa, director of Barghest Building Performance, and NUS president Tan Eng Chye and his Nanyang Technological University counterpart Subra Suresh, have also been reappointed to A*Star’s board.