SINGAPORE: Singapore-based ride-hailing and food delivery giant Grab Holdings announced on Tuesday (Nov 14) that its president, Ming Maa, is set to step down at the end of April 2024. The company clarified that it has no intentions to fill the president role, with Maa’s responsibilities being redistributed among existing Grab leaders.
Maa, who joined Grab in 2016 from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group, cited personal reasons for his departure. In a LinkedIn post, he expressed a desire to prioritize his family, saying, “My children are growing, and I’d like to be there for more of it.”
In an internal email to Grab employees, CEO Anthony Tan likened Maa to Batman, praising his unwavering commitment to the company’s global engagements. Tan highlighted Maa’s readiness to travel extensively for meetings with investors or partners, emphasizing his role in driving positive outcomes for the company.
Ming Maa played a crucial role in Grab’s notable milestones, including the 2018 merger with Uber’s Southeast Asia operations and Grab’s successful public listing on NASDAQ in 2021. Maa, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate with over 12 years of experience in private equity investing across the US and Asia, will focus on his corporate development responsibilities at the firm until his departure.
This announcement follows the earlier decision of Grab Co-Founder Tan Hooi Ling to step down from her operating roles by the end of this year. In the same statement, Grab revealed that its Chief People Officer, Ong Chin Yin, would assume Tan’s role on the board starting Jan 1.
As part of further organizational changes, Grab is expanding its board of directors from six to seven seats and is actively seeking an additional independent director to join the leadership team.