Ho Ching to retire from Temasek Holdings

Ho Ching is set to retire as the chief executive officer of Temasek Holdings on Oct 1, making way for Mr Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara.

According to a statement by Temasek Holdings on Tuesday (Feb 9), Mr Pillay will succeed her as CEO and executive director on the same day.

The statement also added that Mr Lee Theng Kiat will continue as Temasek Board Member and Chairman of Temasek International.

Chairman Mr Lim Boon Heng said: “Ho Ching has been very much part of this process. Indeed, she has been very active, working over the years to identify various potential successors both inside and outside of Temasek. She has also played a key role in nurturing a strong leadership bench in Temasek, several of whom have gone on to CEO appointments beyond Temasek”.

He added that Mr Pillay joined Temasek 10 years ago and along with several other critical roles, he served a two year stint as Head, Americas, based out of New York. He was also appointed CEO of Temasek International in 2019.

Temasek’s portfolio stood at S$90 billion mostly in Singapore when Ho Ching was first appointed CEO in 2004. The portfolio has since tripled to over S$300 billion, notwithstanding the impact of the Global Financial Crisis and now Covid-19, Mr Lim said.

Mdm Ho, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that she is happy to be passing the leadership baton and added, “Dilhan and his current team have that same character and sense of purpose. They have already been making a huge difference in embracing a future that brings both threats and opportunities: threats that have been accentuated by this pandemic, but also opportunities which are greatly expanded and even accelerated by Covid”.

“I know Dilhan will take Temasek to the next level. He brings solid values, a decade of experience in the firm, on top of a wealth of experience prior to joining Temasek. More importantly, he has also brought fresh ideas that are essential to sustaining any organisation. I have full confidence in Dilhan and his team to transform Temasek once again, to be more than it is today”, she continued in the statement.

Mr Pillay thanked the board, Mdm Ho and Mr Lee Theng Kiat “for laying down a strong foundation for Temasek as it navigates a world of continuous change, increasing complexity and ambiguity”.

The full statement can be found here. /TISG