Desmond Kuek

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Desmond Kuek Bak Chye
Desmond Kuek.jpg
Singapore Armed Forces Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Desmond Kuek, at the National Day Parade in 2009.
Born (1963-08-28) 28 August 1963 (age 58) Singapore
Allegiance Singapore
Service/branch Singapore Army
Years of service1981–2010
Rank10-RSA-OF08.svg Lieutenant-General
Commands held
  • Commanding Officer, 41st Battalion Singapore Armoured Regiment
  • Head of Defence Studies Department, Ministry of Defence
  • Commander, 4th Singapore Armoured Brigade
  • Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Operations)
  • Commander, 3rd Division
  • Director, Joint Intelligence Directorate
  • Chief of Staff, General Staff
  • Chief of Army (2003–2007)
  • Chief of Defence Force (2007–2010)
Awardssee below
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
Harvard University
Spouse(s)Claudel Kuek
Other worksee below
In this Chinese name, the family name is Kuek.
Desmond Kuek Bak Chye
Simplified Chinese郭木财

Desmond Kuek Bak Chye is a Singaporean business executive and former army general. He was the sixth Chief of Defence Force of the Singapore Armed Forces from 2007–2010 and held the rank of Lieutenant-General. He was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Environment and Water Resource from 2010–2012. He was the President and Group Chief Executive Officer of SMRT Corporation until 31 July 2018.

Education[]

Kuek studied in Anglo-Chinese School and Anglo-Chinese Junior College.[1][2] He was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1982. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford, as well as a Master of Public Administration degree (Macroeconomics and Statistics) from Harvard University.[3]

Career[]

Singapore Armed Forces (1981–2010)[]

Kuek was enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1981. He attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course in Fort Benning, USA and was awarded the Distinguished Allied Leadership Graduate in 1985. He was the top student at the Army's Company Tactics Course in 1987 and Battalion Tactics Course in 1989, held in SAFTI, Singapore. He also attended the Command and Staff Course at Camberley Staff College in the United Kingdom in 1991.[4] As a scholar, he rose rapidly through the ranks, receiving the following appointments:

  1. Commanding Officer, 41st Battalion Singapore Armoured Regiment;
  2. Head of Defence Studies Department, Ministry of Defence;
  3. Commander, 4th Singapore Armoured Brigade;
  4. Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Operations);
  5. Commander, 3rd Division;
  6. Chief of Staff, General Staff;
  7. Director, Joint Intelligence Directorate;
  8. Chief of Army (2003–2007).[3]

On 23 March 2007, he succeeded Ng Yat Chung as the Chief of Defence Force (CDF).[5]

Kuek relinquished his appointment as the CDF on 31 March 2010 and was succeeded by Neo Kian Hong.[6]

Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (2010–2012)[]

After leaving the military, Kuek served as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources from 1 July 2010[7] to 30 September 2012.[8] During his tenure, he co-chaired the Environment and Water Technologies (Clean Water) Executive Committee and the Steering Committee on CleanTech Park.[citation needed]

SMRT Corporation Limited (2012–2018)[]

On 1 October 2012, Kuek was appointed President and Group CEO of SMRT Corporation Limited (SMRT),[9][10] a transport company providing rail, bus, and taxi services.

As group CEO, he was also responsible for taking the company private by selling it to Temasek Holdings on 29 September 2016.[11]

In a press statement on 18 April 2018, SMRT announced that former Chief of Defence Force (CDF) Neo Kian Hong will replace Desmond Kuek as group CEO from 1 August.

Kuek led SMRT's rail transformation effort to renew and improve the ageing North-South and East-West Lines, Singapore's oldest, longest and most heavily-used MRT lines . The multi-year, multi-project renewal effort spearheaded by Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) involves six major components and will stretch into the early 2020s. These are the six major components that SMRT has been working on together with LTA:[12]

  1. Sleeper replacement: 188,000 wooden sleepers were replaced with concrete sleepers.
  2. Power rail replacement: Some 200 km of Third Rails (Power Rails) and insulators were renewed.
  3. Re-signalling project: The legacy Westinghouse fixed-block system (used since the late 1980s) was replaced by a communications-based train control system supplied by Thales.
  4. Power supply system renewal
  5. Track circuit replacement
  6. Introduction of new trains

Working in partnership with LTA, three of the six projects were completed under Kuek's watch. These are the projects to renew the sleepers and power rails, and the re-signalling effort. A project with Otis Elevator Company to renew NSEWL escalators throughout the network began in August 2016 and is expected to be completed in the early 2020s.[13]

In his review of Kuek's tenure, the Straits Times Senior Transport Correspondent Mr Christopher Tan noted that Kuek led SMRT "during what was probably its most tumultuous period".[14]

Tan wrote: "But even though his tenure was marred by incidents such as track deaths and tunnel flooding, he was part of the team – along with SMRT Trains chief Lee Ling Wee – which rebuilt the reliability of the North-South and East-West lines. As of the end of March this year, the North-South Line clocked an average of 604,000 train-km before a delay lasting more than five minutes; for the East-West Line, the figure was 272,000 train-km. These were some 10 times better than the lines' performance in 2011. The number of major breakdowns – those lasting more than 30 minutes – on Singapore's two oldest lines has also decreased to just one in the first quarter. At their worst, the two lines chalked up nearly one such breakdown each month. The Circle Line, which is likewise operated by SMRT, also posted a tenfold improvement in reliability over the same period to 1.8 million train-km between delays."

Founder, Genium & Co (2018 – present)[]

On 24 November 2018, the Straits Times reported that Kuek had founded a leadership consultancy called Genium & Co. The company is helmed by two former SAF officers, Mr Fred Tan and Mr Ang Yau Choon, who serve as managing directors. Mr Tan headed the Singapore Armed Forces' Centre for Leadership Development while Mr Ang, 51, served as commander of the SAF Commando Training Institute. Genium's principal activities are in organisational transformation, strategy execution, crisis leadership, experiential learning and performance excellence.[15]

UBS (2019)[]

Kuek joined Swiss investment bank UBS on 18 February 2019 as its Singapore-based divisional vice-chairman for global wealth management. UBS announced Kuek's appointment in a statement issued on 4 February 2019.[16]

Miscellaneous[]

He was a member of the Centre for Strategic Futures Advisory Board and the Advisory Group for Civil Service Governance & Leadership (Human Resource).[citation needed] He sits on the Civil Service College Board and chairs its audit committee.[citation needed] He is currently a member of the Advisory Board at SAP Asia Pacific & Japan, Engineering College Advisory Board at Nanyang Technological University, and International Advisory Committee at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).[citation needed]

He also held directorships on the boards of the following companies: Housing and Development Board, from 2001 to 2003; International Enterprise Singapore, in 2005; JTC Corporation, from 2007 to 2010; Defence Science and Technology Agency, from 2007 to 2010; ST Engineering and its various subsidiaries, from 1994 to 2010.[1][17]

Awards[]

  • Public Administration Medal (Military) (Gold), in 2002.[1]
  • Meritorious Service Medal (Military), in 2009.[18]
  • Commander, Legion of Honour, USA in 2010.[1]
  • Order of Resplendent Banner with Grand Cordon, Taiwan in 2009.[citation needed]
  • Legion D'Honneur (Commandeur), France in 2008.[citation needed]
  • Panglima Gagah Angkatan Tentara (Kehormat), Malaysia in 2008.[citation needed]
  • Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant, Thailand in 2008.[citation needed]
  • Darjah Paduka Keberanian Laila Terbilang Yang Amat Gemilang Darjah Pertama, Brunei in 2007.[citation needed]
  • Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Utama, Indonesia in 2006.[citation needed]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Desmond Kuek". Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Desmond Kuek". AboutMe Profile. 9 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Change of Chief of Defence Force and Service Chiefs". MINDEF. 6 February 2003. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Change of Chief of Defence Force and Chief of Army". MINDEF. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  5. ^ "New Chief for the SAF". MINDEF. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Change in Chief of Defence Force and Chief of Army". MINDEF. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Press Release – New Permanent Secretaries for Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and the National Climate Change Secretariat" (PDF). Public Service Division, Prime Minister's Office. 1 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Press Release – CHANGES IN PERMANENT SECRETARY APPOINTMENTS" (PDF). Public Service Division, Prime Minister's Office. 1 June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  9. ^ "SMRT's New CEO – Desmond Kuek Bak Chye" (PDF). SMRT. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  10. ^ "SMRT CEO – Desmond Kuek Bak Chye". SMRT. 9 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Shareholders say yes to SMRT privatisation". Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  12. ^ "SMRT Trains Operations Review 2017" (PDF). SMRT Trains Operations Review.
  13. ^ "SMRT refurbishing escalators at 42 train stations". Channel News Asia. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  14. ^ Tan, Christopher (1 August 2018). "Former chief of defence force Neo Kian Hong starts as new SMRT head". The Straits Times.
  15. ^ Abdullah, Zhaki (24 November 2018). "Ex-SMRT boss Desmond Kuek opens leadership consultant firm". The Straits Times.
  16. ^ Seow, Joanna (4 February 2019). "Former SMRT chief Desmond Kuek joins Swiss bank UBS as a divisional vice-chairman". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  17. ^ "Board of Directors" (PDF). ST Engineering. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  18. ^ "MINDEF, SAF Personnel Receive National Day Awards". MINDEF. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
Government offices
Preceded by
Ms. Saw Phaik Hwa 		Chief of SMRT Corporation
1 Oct 2012 – 31 Jul 2018 		Succeeded by
Mr. Neo Kian Hong
Preceded by
Lieutenant-General Ng Yat Chung 		6th Chief of Defence Force
23 Mar 2007 – 31 Mar 2010 		Succeeded by
Major-General Neo Kian Hong
Preceded by
Major-General Ng Yat Chung 		Chief of the Singapore Army
1 April 2003 – 20 March 2007 		Succeeded by
Brigadier-General Neo Kian Hong
Retrieved from ""