IT WAS the turn of the millennium. The Y2K threat had receded, unnoticed.
As CEO of Singapore Technologies, I had been reviewing a list of potential CEO successors annually with the board. When Peter Seah became available, it was an opportunity not to be missed. No stranger to Singapore Technologies, Peter would bring a wealth of experience.
Various difficult decisions had already been set in motion, including some sticky personnel challenges. This would give Peter a good start, with a clean, strong and unencumbered hand.
I was ready for an early retirement and a different cadence of life.
Then, I got a call from S Dhanabalan, then Temasek chairman. Dhana wanted me to join Temasek as CEO.
I demurred. I had had a good run, and considerable fun, since my start as a newly minted defence engineer in the Ministry of Defence in 1976, before moving to the defence industries as Director of Engineering in 1987.
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By the early 1990s, I had pivoted to head the newly formed Singapore Technologies Ventures (STV), shepherding an eclectic collection of start-ups. All were loss-making. My plea to include at least one profitable unit fell on deaf ears. Tough, but what to do?
Concerned colleagues had earnestly dissuaded me: STV was a suicide mission, with added political repercussions if I were to fail.
STV was a tough turnaround. Singapore Technologies later was another transformation at scale. Thank goodness for all the mothers who step in selflessly to help their working daughters mind their kids and supervise the household.
So, I was intent on taking life easy when Dhana’s call came. Eventually, I compromised – I would join as an executive director, but not as CEO.
Quek Poh Huat, former president of Singapore Aerospace,