1. SPRING Singapore strengthens its leadership team with the appointment of a new Deputy Chief Executive and an Assistant Chief Executive on 1 June 2009.

2. Rear Admiral Tan Kai Hoe, currently Chief of Staff – Naval Staff, Republic of Singapore Navy, will join SPRING Singapore as Deputy Chief Executive on 1 June 2009. He will drive SPRING’s efforts in innovation and entrepreneurship, spearhead the development of technology innovative enterprises, and oversee quality & standards initiatives.

3. Ms Choy Sauw Kook, Group Director for Enterprise Capabilities, will be appointed as Assistant Chief Executive on the same day. She will oversee SPRING’s strategic planning, and enterprise resource and capabilities programmes.

4. The appointments come two months after Mr Ted Tan, formerly Deputy CEO of IE Singapore, joined SPRING as its Deputy Chief Executive. Mr Tan is responsible for industry clusters, growth enterprise and market development initiatives in SPRING.

5. Mr Png Cheong Boon, Chief Executive, said the appointments are part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the leadership team, as SPRING seeks to step up its efforts in developing competitive local enterprises and strengthening Singapore’s quality and standards infrastructure and capabilities.

6. RAdm Tan, 42, a President’s Scholar, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cambridge University and holds a Master of Science degree in Management from Stanford University in the United States. During his career in the navy, RAdm Tan has won numerous awards, including the Public Administration Medal (Silver) (Military). He is also a member of the Institute of Technical Education Board of Governors and a Director of Unicorn International Pte Ltd, under the Singapore Technologies stable of companies.

7.  Ms Choy holds a Bachelor of Engineering – Civil (Hons) degree from the National University of Singapore and a MBA (Nanyang Fellows) from the Nanyang Technological University. During her career with the Board, she held various portfolios in workforce skills development, enterprise resource and capabilities programmes, and industry cluster development. Most recently, she was instrumental in the development and implementation of the enhanced SME financing schemes as part of the Resilience Package announced during Budget 2009.