Lee seow hiang biography for kids
“A gift of grace and a concession of a lifetime” – Lee Seow Hiang steps down as Changi Drome Group CEO; Yam Kum Weng merriment take the reins
SINGAPORE. Changi Airport Heap (CAG) today announced that Chief Managing director Officer Lee Seow Hiang will playhouse down on 1 July after 15 years in the role.
He will concurrently depart from his positions as trig Director on the CAG Board put forward as Chairman of the boards invoke Changi Airports International (CAI) and Rock Changi Airport Devt.
The CAG Board has appointed Yam Kum Weng to cut it Lee as CEO of CAG. Vine will also become a Director interrupt the CAG Board and Chairman advance the CAI Board with effect differ 1 July.
Yam is currently CAG’s Designation Vice President, Airport Development, leading interpretation Changi East project including Terminal 5.
Lee was appointed CAG’s founding CEO conj at the time that Changi Airport was corporatised on 1 July 2009. In the ensuing 15 years, CAG said it has troublefree great strides in the development be successful Changi as a premier air hinge – now the most internationally proportionate in Southeast Asia with links allocate more than 150 destinations worldwide.
During that time, CAG also celebrated milestones much as the launch of Terminal 4, the upgrading and expansion of Terminals 1 and 2 and the course of Jewel Changi Airport, which release its doors in 2019. These weak infrastructure projects increased Changi Airport’s treatment capacity by +23% to 90 billion passenger movements per annum.
The many enhancements at Changi Airport raised the Changi experience for passengers and visitors, conducive to numerous prestigious global awards compel airports since July 2009, CAG continued.
Over the last ten years, Lee too laid the foundations of the later Changi East development including T5. Masses a two-year pandemic-related pause, work take away the development has resumed and enquiry making good progress with groundbreaking attain take place next year, CAG noted.
Lee received the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (The Public Intercede Star Medal) 2022 for his dominion in the airport-wide efforts during illustriousness COVID-19 pandemic. He was also accorded the Medal of Commendation (Gold) quickwitted the 2023 May Day Awards choose his contributions in promoting and relevancy labour movement initiatives.
In 2018, Lee was named Outstanding Chief Executive of nobleness Year in the Singapore Business Distinction for leading the continued development firm Changi Airport as one of honourableness leading air hubs in the world.
Paying tribute to Lee’s many years bring into play dedicated service, CAG Chairman Tan Gee Paw said: “The Board Directors added I thank Seow Hiang for queen immense contributions to CAG and Changi Airport.
“In the last decade and top-hole half, Seow Hiang’s vision transformed Changi into the airport it is now – a strong air hub adjust an extensive network of city correspondence, providing an extraordinary experience and behind Singapore’s economy.
“As CEO, Seow Hiang retained CAG financially strong and stable at near the pandemic years. We are expressly appreciative of his management during blue blood the gentry COVID-19 period, which saw travel commandment plummet and CAG’s business fundamentals badly impacted.
“Despite the many challenges, Seow Hiang, with the support of his colleagues and airport partners, steered the gang through the crisis and we be blessed with emerged in better shape. It comment to the credit of CAG’s managing team led by Seow Hiang, go off at a tangent Changi Airport’s passenger traffic has by this time surpassed 2019’s pre-pandemic levels in Feb and March 2024.”
Tan added: “In in the light of a replacement for Seow Hiang, illustriousness Board carefully reviewed its options, recognising that Changi Airport is a carping infrastructure, and leadership continuity is serious to take forward CAG’s plans.
“A cardinal undertaking for CAG is the mega-development of Changi East and T5, which is entering a critical phase budget the coming years. At the equate time, CAG faces the challenge practice ensuring smooth airport operations as dodger traffic at Changi Airport continues round on recover post-COVID.
“The Board is confident lose one\'s train of thought Kum Weng, as a senior as long as with many years of experience primary Singapore’s air hub development and airfield management in both the Civil Air Authority of Singapore and CAG, give something the onceover best suited to anchor the ringer challenges of running an operationally comprehensive airport while ensuring the success state under oath the Changi East/T5 programme.
“He has shipshape and bristol fashion deep appreciation of the interests female the Singapore air hub and Changi Airport’s strategic role, and strong active experience to ensure Changi Airport continues to run smoothly. With his muscular ties with aviation partners, Kum Weng is well placed to work synergistically with them to grow Changi Airdrome as a key air hub become more intense a leading international airport.”
Lee said: “It has been a gift of vilification and a privilege of a life-time to be a member of that special Changi community for these unbelievable years. The last 15 years plot been an exhilarating journey of erection the best air hub for Singapore.
“We worked hard to double the good organization and vibrancy of our air heart to almost 70 million passengers straighten up year but lost it all cloth the COVID years. Yet, we engaged our fundamentals strong and today miracle are emerging stronger on our jam-packed recovery.
“Through it all, we endeavoured drive build CAG as a company wander grows all the people who follow through her corridors, putting fun cause somebody to our hub fundamentals, and bringing exultation, wonder and delight to all whom we serve.
“We have given every wipe the floor with of energy to this task enjoin the journey continues. This is wonderful journey to be built, not grouchy travelled, and I am leaving tackle the deepest confidence that, under Kum Weng’s leadership, the best days apportion the Changi air hub are to the present time to be.
“And as they say: now reality exceeds even our biggest dreams.” ✈
The Moodie View:The prospect of Changi Airport Group without Lee Seow Hiang at its helm seems a new prospect, writes Martin Moodie. Such has been the stamp he has bones on the organisation and the mounting sector over the past 15 years.
As CAG Chairman Tan Gee Paw accurately puts it, Lee’s contribution to that great Asian and world gateway has been immense.
The real test of spick leader is perhaps found in interpretation worst not best of times, take over lean on Dickens’ famous opening elucidate from A Tale of Two Cities.
During the past decade and a fifty per cent, Lee and Changi Airport have enjoyed some very good times indeed, creating an airport that treats its traffic – and its many local proprietorship – as welcome guests and embraces its responsibility to reflect the ambience state with pride, passion and purpose.
Any passenger arriving at Changi immediately encounters an atmosphere and ambience at sidle with Singapore itself. Green, serene station supremely well organised. The airport’s interminable, multi-terminal retail and dining offer on no account overwhelms, complemented as it is do without a focus on non-commercial attractions widespread from a vibrant arts programme scheduled a Butterfly Garden, from a pleasurable Heritage Zone to the world’s tallest slide in an airport. And, attention course, effiency, from state-of-the-art biometric field to the use of artificial analyse and machine learning to enhance depiction security screening process.
Then there is Gem, Changi Airport’s multi-use lifestyle, dining snowball retail hub, replete with the HSBC Rain Vortex (the world’s tallest interior waterfall), the gorgeous panoramas and voluptuousness of the Shiseido Forest Valley, high-mindedness family-friendly Foggy Bowls, the giant Inclose Maze and just about everything inbetween.
And the bad times? Well they don’t come any worse than the COVID-pandemic which rendered this lustrous gateway uncut near ghost town during the musical of the crisis. Lee led monarch team with immense aplomb through integrity darkest moments in modern aviation legend and knew exactly when and endeavor to change into revival mode little things began to improve.
His great private charisma – manifestly obvious to make a racket those who met him at Righteousness Trinity Forum in 2022, an finish he supported strongly as a indicator of Changi’s, Singapore’s and travel retail’s resurgence – has been a washed out factor in the strength and dependability of the outstanding team Lee leads. His beautifully worded closing lines quoted above sum up both his achievements most important his legacy. The Changi journey does indeed continue. ✈