THE STB BOOSTS ITS E-COMMERCE AND RETAIL CREDENTIALS WITH TWO NEW BOARD MEMBERS

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is strengthening its retail and e-commerce resources around the board table to meet the needs of the new millennium traveller.

Two new members with experience in these fields joined the board from 1 January 2001. Mr Anthony Chan, Group Managing Director of the Chan Brothers International Ltd, and Ms Saw Phaik Hwa, Region President of DFS Venture Singapore (Pte) Ltd.

Chan Brothers International's flagship company Chan Brothers Travel is one of the largest travel service providers in Singapore. Mr Chan has led the group on a fast-track transformation process, spearheading several e-commerce initiatives.

Ms Saw joined DFS Venture Singapore (Pte) Ltd as Vice-President General Operations in 1986 and was appointed Region President in 1998. Under her stewardship, she launched the first thematic entertainment store in Asia, & Experiencing Singapura8, at the DFS Galleria store in Millenia Walk which won the STB Best Retail Concept Award last year.

The STB's Chairman Mr Edmund W Cheng said the new millennium also marks a significant turning point for the Singapore Tourism Board.

"With record visitor arrivals and exciting prospects ahead for the coming year, we have shown that we have risen to the challenge of keeping Singapore a dynamic, must-see destination. Our focus for the next year is to ensure that our visitors have a top quality experience in Singapore and that we continue to find new and innovative ways to reach out and appeal to our target markets. I am confident these two new board members on our team will help us achieve our goals even faster."

Three board members standing down are Dr Henry Tay Yun Chwan, Mr Lee Liat Cheng, and Dr N Varaprasad. Dr Henry Tay has served the Board since 1 January 1997 while both Mr Lee and Dr Varaprasad started their term in January 1999.

Mr Cheng remarked that the retiring members had made significant contributions as members of the Tourism 21 Status Review. He said while Dr Henry Tay was an integral member of the Steering Committee, Dr Varaprasad and Mr Lee provided excellent direction and drive as Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively of the Tourism Manpower and Image Positioning Sub-Committee.

Mr Cheng said, "I would like to personally thank the outgoing members for their tremendous contribution to the progress we have made so far. I am also looking forward to seeing our new members add further impetus to the STB's vision of making Singapore a tourism capital."

New board members

Mr Anthony Chan, Group Managing Director of Chan Brothers International Limited. An honours graduate from the London School of Economics, Mr Chan joined the group in 1983 as General Manager when it was just a fledging travel agency business. Mr Chan was also the STB's Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year in 1995 and was awarded the Travel Gazette and Air New Zealand Young Executive Award in 1991. Today, Chan Brothers International flagship company Chan Brothers Travel is one of the largest travel service providers in Singapore with a growing regional network of agents in the Asia Pacific region.

Ms Saw Phaik Hwa, Region President of DFS Venture Singapore (Pte) Ltd. She graduated from the University of Singapore with an honours degree in biochemistry. She joined DFS as VP General Operations in 1986 and in 1997 moved to Hong Kong as Vice-President Operations for Hong Kong, Vietnam and Macau. She was appointed Region President in 1998 and her present responsibilities include developing new and current businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India. She is also a Council Member of the Singapore Retail Association.

Current board members

Mr Frank Allan Brown is President of MTV Networks Asia. He was a member of the Economic Development Board in 1998 and was named one of the top 100 international marketers by Ad Age magazine in 1992.

Ms Jennie Chua is President and Chief Operating Officer of Raffles International Limited and General Manager of Raffles Hotel. She is a Director of 28 companies, including the Board of Singapore International Chamber of Commerce. In addition to being Chairman of Singapore Film Commission and Chairman, Community Chest Singapore, Ms Chua serves on 10 other community and government organisations.

Mr Abdul Rahim Tahir is Managing Director, FedEx Logistics, South Pacific. He has 17 years experience in the logistics industry and has been recognised with numerous awards in one of the leading global logistics companies, FedEx.

Mr Anthony Lee is American Express International's Area Manager, Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia, and heads the Consumer Services Group. He is also a Senior Executive in American Express Bank,s personal financial services business in Singapore. An accountant by profession, Mr Lee has held a variety of management positions in banking, in Singapore, Taiwan and New York.

Mr Kuok Khoon Ean is Chairman of South China Morning Post and a director of three other companies including the Singapore Management University.

Mr Sunil Sreenivasan is Country Corporate Officer of Citibank, N. A. He has 24 years banking experience in senior executive positions in London, New York, Greece and Southeast Asia, specialising in shipping and transportation.

Mr Yeo Khee Leng, Chief Executive of the STB and Director of the National Arts Council, the Hotels Licensing Board and Sentosa Development Corporation. He is also a member of Temasek Polytechnic's Board of Governors.

Dr Tan Chin Nam, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Manpower and Chairman of the National Library Board. Dr Tan was the STB,s Chief Executive from 1994 to 1997.

Retiring board members

Dr N. Varaprasad, Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Polytechnic.

Dr Henry Tay Yun Chwan, Executive Chairman of The Hour Glass Ltd and Chairman of Burberry (S) Pte Ltd. He is honorary President of the Hong Kong Singapore Business Association and Vice-chairman of the Community Chest of Singapore.

Mr Lee Liat Cheng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Anglo-French Travel Pte Ltd. Mr Lee is President of the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore.