NTUC Enterprise Announces Leadership Change

• NTUC Enterprise Executive Director, Mr Kee Teck Koon, to step down on 1 October 2019
• Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO of NTUC FairPrice, to assume concurrent leadership as Group CEO of NTUC Enterprise

Singapore, 9 September 2019 (Monday) – NTUC Enterprise Co-operative Limited (NTUC Enterprise) today announced that effective 1 October 2019, Mr Kee Teck Koon will be stepping down as Executive Director (ED) of NTUC Enterprise. Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO of NTUC FairPrice Co-operative Ltd (FairPrice), will assume the role of Group CEO of NTUC Enterprise. This will be a concurrent appointment to his current role as CEO of FairPrice.

Mr Kee was intrinsic to the formation of NTUC Enterprise and has been its director since 2012. He assumed the role of NTUC Enterprise ED in January 2017 to ensure continuity in leadership to the NTUC group of social enterprises (SE) after the departure of the previous NTUC Enterprise Group CEO.

During his term as NTUC Enterprise ED, Mr Kee led the acquisition of Kopitiam Investment Pte Ltd (Kopitiam) to boost NTUC Enterprise’s food services offerings, to further fortify its daily essentials cluster comprising FairPrice, NTUC Foodfare and Kopitiam. This would enable NTUC Enterprise to more effectively address the cost of living concerns around daily essentials. He led NTUC Enterprise’s investment in ST Logistics Pte Ltd, and drove the formation of MoneyOwl Pte Ltd in 2018 to raise financial planning awareness and provide advice to the under-served segments in the community.

Mr Kee said, “I am honoured to be able to play a part in the development of NTUC Enterprise and driving its transformation to ensure NTUC Social Enterprises remain relevant to the evolving needs of our workers and the community. I am pleased to hand over the mantle to the capable hands of Kian Peng, a dynamic and visionary leader, who will lead NTUC Enterprise into the next chapter of its transformation journey.”

Mr Kee will continue to serve in the NTUC group of SEs as director on the boards of NTUC Enterprise, NTUC FairPrice and as Deputy Chairman, NTUC Income.

Mr Seah, who has worked in both the public and private sector, first joined the National Trades Union Congress – Administration & Research Unit in June 1996 and was seconded to NTUC FairPrice in February 2001 as Chief Operating Officer. Mr Seah succeeded as CEO (Singapore) in 2010 and CEO, NTUC FairPrice in 2016. (Please refer to the Annex for more info).

Mr Seah said, “NTUC Enterprise’s social mission of doing good and the social impact we create has always resonated with me. To uphold this, we have to ensure we continue to stay relevant and lead in the various industries that we operate in. It is a privilege to be asked to serve as NTUC Enterprise’s Group CEO concurrent with my portfolio at NTUC FairPrice. Building on the strong foundation laid by Mr Kee, together with the support of NTUC, union leaders and members, as well as board members and colleagues from across all our NTUC Social Enterprises, we are well-positioned to enable and empower all in Singapore to live better and more meaningful lives.”

On the leadership change, Mr Lim Boon Heng, Chairman of NTUC Enterprise said, “Teck Koon has strengthened the bench strength of the NTUC Social Enterprises’ boards and senior management, and led the strategic transformation of NTUC Enterprise to meet the challenges of disruption. The Group is now on a stronger footing because of his invaluable contributions and leadership.”

He added, “As Kian Peng steps up to the NTUC Enterprise Group CEO role, I am confident that his active involvement in the industry, his leadership of our people and familiarity with our social objectives will further strengthen our core and expedite our transformation at NTUC Enterprise.”

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ANNEX

Mr Seah Kian Peng is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Limited and the Deputy CEO, Business Synergies of NTUC Enterprise Co-operative Limited. From 1 October 2019, Mr Seah will assume the role of Group CEO of NTUC Enterprise, a concurrent appointment to his current role as CEO of FairPrice.

Mr Seah had previously helmed the Planning & Research Unit of NTUC as well CEO of NTUC Healthcare and NTUC Media.  He has also worked in both the public and private sectors.

Mr Seah first joined NTUC FairPrice in January 2001 as the Chief Operating Officer. Since then, he has worked with the team to transform FairPrice into a multi format retailer, increased significantly its market share and social impact and also strengthened its brand equity. Currently, FairPrice group has a chain of over 350 stores, employs about 10,000 staff with an annual turnover of over S$3.4 billion.

Under his leadership, many new innovative formats were introduced such as FairPrice Xtra, Fairprice Finest, FairPrice Xpress and FairPrice Shop.  More recently, the newly revamped FairPrice Xtra and Unity was launched at Vivocity, ensuring that the social enterprise remains relevant to evolving consumers’ lifestyle and needs.

In the past three years, Mr Seah led the successful merger of Unity into FairPrice and developed FP On as part of the group’s efforts towards becoming an omni-channel retailer of the future. The group’s supply chain capabilities were also considerably strengthened with significant investments in technology and talent.

Mr Seah has also strengthened the bench-strength of the FairPrice senior executive team, embarking Fairprice on its dual transformation journey enabled by digital technology, and championed lean and productivity improvements. Most importantly, he ensured that the social mission of moderating the cost of living remains a key thrust of the Co-operative.

Mr Seah is also a Member of Parliament. First elected in May 2006, he was re-elected in May 2011 and again in September 2015.

Mr Seah did his undergraduate studies in Australia under the Colombo Plan Scholarship. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and also a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors. He was also the founding Chairman of the Harvard Business School Club of Singapore before stepping down in 2018.

Mr Seah is active on the community front. He is currently Chairman of the Marine Parade Leadership Foundation, Vice Chairman of South East Community Development Council and sits on the board of Singapore Olympic Foundation.  He had previously served on the boards of Centre for Fathering, Singapore Centre for Social Enterprises (raiSE) and Singapore National Co-operatives Federation.

Mr Seah is also a board director of The Consumer Goods Forum, a global industry network that brings together the CEOs and senior management of some 400 retailers, manufacturers and service providers across 70 countries.