SATS’ CEO Clement Woon has resigned from his position effective immediately, but he will stay on as advisor until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.
Mr Woon’s impending departure is regrettable given his vast contributions to SATS. Just a year after his arrival, the company made its first major step towards reducing its dependence on the aviation market by acquiring Singapore Food Industries (SFI). Since then, SATS’ exposure to the aviation industry has come down from almost 100% to 60%.
However, we understand that Mr Woon has been discussing the possibility of leaving for some time now with the board of SATS. He has been with the company since November 2007 when he joined from Leica Geosystems, a Swiss multinational corporation. We also understand that the reason for his desire to leave is personal, as he is alone with his son in Singapore while the latter completes his national service. Mr Woon’s wife and daughters have remained in Switzerland since he left for Singapore in 2007.
We do not foresee any adverse impact on SATS despite Mr Woon’s departure. SATS has a deep pool of management talent that has been with the company for many years. It is from this talent pool that the board has tapped Mr Tan Chuan Lye, EVP of Food Solutions, to be the interim CEO. Mr Tan is a veteran of SATS, having being with the company since 1976. His current food solutions portfolio includes executive and operational responsibility for SATS’ inflight catering business, SFI as well as Country Foods.
As for a more permanent replacement, SATS intends to embark on a global search for a new CEO, just as it did in February 2007 when the CEO before Mr Woon, Mr Ng Chin Hwee, left to return to Singapore Airlines. Mr Woon was eventually selected in November after a nine-month search.
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