Thursday, September 6, 2007

Lee Hsien Yang To Head Fraser & Neave Group

Source : TODAY, Thursday, September 6, 2007























AFTER leaving his mark with a giant telco, former SingTel CEO Lee Hsien Yang has chosen a totally different industry for his new career.

Yesterday, mainboard-listed Fraser & Neave Group — a conglomerate of businesses that include food and beverage, properties, and publishing and printing — announced that it has appointed Mr Lee as its non-executive and chairman-designate with effect from today.

Mr Lee, a President’s Scholar and a Singapore Armed Forces scholar, will take over as non-executive chairman when current chairman Michael Fam retires on Oct 15. But Dr Fam will continue under contract upon retirement, for a limited period as an adviser to facilitate a smooth transition.

“Fraser & Neave is a fascinating food and beverage and property company,” Mr Lee said. “It has an Asian and international footprint, strong and deep Singapore roots and a distinguished heritage. I am excited by this opportunity to work with the company to build its businesses.”

Dr Fam said: “I am delighted that a person of Mr Lee’s stature and wealth of international business experience has agreed to take over the chairmanship of the company.”

He added: “With his proven track record of growing Singapore’s largest listed company into a regional powerhouse, I am confident he is the right person to take this company into its 125th year and continue to build on the company’s achievements.”

Mr Lee has been credited for turning SingTel from a $3-billion Singapore operation into a regional multi-market telecommunication giant.

Fraser & Neave Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned management services subsidiary of the group, has also appointed Mr Lee as a consultant for the strategic planning for the group for three years. The appointment, starting Oct 15, will be automatically renewed for another 3 years, subject to Mr Lee continuing as a director or chairman of the company. Under the agreement, he will be paid a $1-million consultancy fee every year. — JOHNSON CHOO

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