Board of Directors
(From left) Ho Kwon Ping, Ariel P Vera, Chia Chee Ming Timothy, Fang Ai Lian, Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara & Elizabeth Sam
Our Board of Directors is responsible for the overall management and direction of the Group. The Board meets on a quarterly basis or more frequently as and when required to review and monitor the Group’s financial position and operations.
Each member of our Board possesses extensive experience in his or her chosen profession and as a Director of public listed companies. Our four Independent Directors play a key role, contributing invaluable legal, financial and business expertise, and providing strong, independent oversight. They also chair and/or sit on the Audit & Risk Committee and the Nominating & Remuneration Committee.
Ho Kwon Ping
Executive Chairman
The Founder of our Group, Mr Ho is responsible for its overall management and operations. He has been a Director since 5 July 2000. He was designated Executive Chairman on 1 March 2004 and was last re-elected on 26 April 2007.
Mr Ho is also Chairman of Laguna Resorts & Hotels Public Company Limited, Thai Wah Food Products Public Company Limited, Singapore Management University, MediaCorp Pte Ltd and the Asia-Arab Forum. He is a member of the Asia-Pacific Council of The Nature Conservancy, Asia Regional Advisory Board of London Business School, International Council and East Asia Council of INSEAD, International Council of the Asia Society, and Management Board of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore.
Mr Ho previously served as a Director of Singapore Airlines Limited and Air Seychelles Limited. He was also a Director of Standard Chartered PLC for about ten years from 1996, and a Board Member of the Singapore Tourism Board in 2004. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the then University of Singapore and an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration in Hospitality Management from Johnson & Wales University, USA.
Ariel P Vera
Group Managing Director
Mr Vera was designated Group Managing Director on 1 March 2004, assuming overall responsibility for the corporate well-being of all the companies in our Group. He became a Director on 11 April 2000 and was last re-elected on 28 April 2008. He is concurrently the Managing Director of Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts Pte. Ltd., where he started as Vice President, Finance in 1995. He is also a Director of Laguna Resorts & Hotels Public Company Limited.
Prior to joining us, Mr Vera was Director of Finance and Administration of Asian Resorts Pte Ltd from 1992 to 1995, and Vice President, Finance, of Tropical Resorts Limited from 1995 to 1997. He has over 24 years of experience in the hotels and resorts industry, having previously worked with, amongst others, the Hyatt and Regent hotel chains.
A Certified Public Accountant in the Philippines, Mr Vera holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of the East, Philippines, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the National University of Singapore.
Chia Chee Ming Timothy
Lead Independent Director
Mr Chia was appointed as an Independent Director on 8 June 2001 and became Lead Independent Director on 28 February 2007. Last re-elected on 26 April 2007, he is also Chairman of the Nominating & Remuneration Committee.
Mr Chia is Deputy Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Hup Soon Global Corporation Limited. From 1986 to 2004, he was a Director of PAMA where he was responsible for private equity investments and served as President from 1995 to 2004. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of the Investment Department of American International Assurance Company Limited from 1982 to 1986 and as President of Unithai Oxide Company Ltd
from 1980 to 1981.
Mr Chia sits on the boards of several other private and public companies, including Fraser and Neave Ltd, SP Power Grid Limited and Singapore Post Limited. In 2009, he was appointed Vice-Chairman – Asia for UBS Investment Bank. Since January 2004, he has also been a Trustee of the Singapore Management University. He was previously a Director of The Hour Glass Limited, Magnecomp Precision Technology Public Co Ltd (Thailand), Meritz Securities Co, Ltd (Korea), Macquarie Pacific Star Prime REIT Management Limited and F J Benjamin Holdings Ltd. He holds a Bachelor of
Science cum laude degree, majoring in Management, from the Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA.
Fang Ai Lian
Independent Director
Mrs Fang was appointed as an Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit & Risk Committee on 1 May 2008.
She is the Chairman of Great Eastern Holdings Limited and its insurance subsidiaries in Singapore and Malaysia. A Governing Council Member of the Singapore Institute of Directors, Mrs Fang is a director of Singapore Telecommunications Limited, Metro Holdings Ltd, MediaCorp Pte Ltd and OCBC Bank. She also sits on the boards of statutory boards such as the Public Utilities Board and International Enterprise Singapore, and is a Member of the Income Tax Board of Review and the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Tax Academy of Singapore.
In addition, Mrs Fang is Chairman of the Charity Council, President of the Home Nursing Foundation and the Breast Cancer Foundation, and a Trustee of the ElderCare Trust of NTUC Eldercare Co-Operative Ltd. She sits on the boards and advisory committees of Singapore Management University and the National University of Singapore.
Previously, Mrs Fang was with Ernst & Young for over 30 years, where she became Managing Partner in 1996 and Chairman in 2002. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London in 1973 and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara
Independent Director
Appointed as an Independent Director on 1 March 2004, Mr Pillay was last re-elected on 28 April 2008. He is a member of both the Audit & Risk Committee and Nominating & Remuneration Committee.
Mr Pillay is the Managing Partner of WongPartnership LLP. He has 20 years of experience in the legal services sector. Mr Pillay is a Trustee of the Singapore Management University as well as a member of the Advisory Board of its Law School, a Council Member of the Law Society of Singapore and a Board Member of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore and Sentosa Development Corporation. In addition, he holds a number
of directorships in public and private companies including CapitaRetail China Trust Management Limited, Hup Soon Global Corporation Limited and SMRT Corporation Limited. He was previously on the boards of SP Services Ltd and The Ascott Group Limited.
Mr Pillay also serves as a member of the Steering Committee appointed by the Minister of Finance to undertake a complete review of the Singapore Companies Act and was until recently a member of the Design Committee for the Corporatisation of Changi Airport and Restructuring of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.
After graduating from the National University of Singapore, Mr Pillay attended the University of Cambridge on a Cambridge ODA Scholarship, where he obtained a Master of Law. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1989.
Elizabeth Sam
Independent Director
Appointed as an Independent Director on 23 March 2004, Mrs Sam was last re-elected on 28 April 2006. She is a member of both the Audit & Risk Committee and Nominating & Remuneration Committee.
Principally engaged in management consultancy, Mrs Sam is also a Director of Boardroom Limited, SC Global Development Ltd, AV Jennings Ltd, KasikornBank, ST Asset Management Ltd and The Straits Trading Company Limited. She has over 40 years of experience in the financial sector, having held the positions of Executive Vice President and Deputy President of OCBC Bank from 1988 to 1998, Board Director of Mercantile House Holdings plc (a company listed on the London Stock Exchange) from 1981 to 1987, and Chief Manager of the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1976 to 1981. She was a Director of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange until its merger with the Stock Exchange of Singapore, and served as its Chairman. She was also previously a Director of Nippecraft Limited. She has also been a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors since April 1999.
Mrs Sam holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Economics from the then University of Singapore.
