Mr Lawrence Wong, heir apparent to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said at a recent conference that he is present to serve as well as to lead.
“I believe that I’m here not just to lead but also to serve, and I see myself very much as a servant leader, doing my best to serve Singapore and Singaporeans,” he said at the 20th Forbes Global CEO Conference gala dinner at the Ritz Carlton on Monday (Sept 26).
Mr Wong, who is Singapore’s Finance Minister as well as Deputy Prime Minister, fielded questions about when he might begin his term as PM.
While he said “It’s quite clear that we have settled the succession issue in our team… I’m honoured by the choice,” he also said that when exactly this will take place hasn’t been decided.
“The Prime Minister has said that he would like it to be sooner and he never fails to remind me that this is something that’s on his mind. But I have also said that we will do it at a time when we are ready… We will let Singaporeans know in due course,” Yahoo!News Singapore reports him as saying.
He also told the audience of C-level executives that he does not overly concern himself with the question of legacy.
“You know, I don’t go into a job thinking right away about what my legacy will be,” he said.
On his Facebook account on Tuesday (Sept 27), Mr Wong said that he had a “fruitful dialogue” at the conference.
“I was asked about what might be Singapore’s defining attributes or brand – for me, it is trust. We are fortunate in Singapore to be a high-trust society – there is a high level of trust within Singapore and also with our international partners. We must continue to strengthen our social compact, to build up this reservoir of trust, and to be a reliable and trusted node in the changing global order.”
The Forbes conference had gathered together around 400 prominent business leaders from around the globe, with this year’s theme being: “The Way Forward.”
“The world is looking for a way back to normal. Recovery from the pandemic is underway for much of the globe. Yet markets gyrate on every economic, geopolitical and Covid update, while investors keep a wary eye on inflation and rate hikes. Global tensions escalate between major economic powers, with ripples felt worldwide.
Amid all these uncertainties, some 400 leading CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders will convene at the 20th Forbes Global CEO Conference to share insights, spotlight opportunities and stake out the way forward,” Forbes said.
At a chat moderated by Mr Rich Karlgaard, Forbes Media’s Editor-at-Large, Mr Wong said that each leader has a different style and approach that must “be suited to the circumstances and needs of society or the organisation of that time.”
He mentioned however that he aspires to “build a Singapore that lasts and endures, and thrives, for generations to come.” /TISG