Terminal operator PSA International has ended its six-month search for a new chief executive with the appointment of prominent oil man Tan Chong Meng.
Tan, executive vice-president for Shell's global commercial business, will take over in October from Eddie Teh, who announced his resignation in January this year, the Straits Times reported.
Teh will stay on as special adviser to PSA chairman Fock Siew Wah.
Fock announced the new appointment in a two-page memo to PSA staff yesterday. He said Tan, who has more than 20 years of experience at Shell, was chosen after a "rigorous and systematic screening and interview process lasting several months".
"We interviewed many candidates, checked their references, probed their values and principles, and sought to understand the motivation behind their aspiration for the position," Fock wrote.
While Tan, a Malaysian with three children, comes with no port industry background, his strengths appear to be his global experience and success in talent management, which propelled him to one of Shell's top executive positions.
Fock said that "while Chong Meng is known for keeping a laser-sharp focus on profitability, he is equally balanced in people development", as he led Shell's talent council for Asia.
Tan has worked in Houston, London and Beijing, and was the most senior Shell executive based in Singapore. He headed six of Shell's global businesses - marketing and selling fuels and speciality products to customers in major industries including aviation, marine and liquefied petroleum gas.
Tan, who takes over on October 1, is the first man to helm the PSA top post who was not directly recruited from the industry or the civil service.
Teh was a former executive at Hong Kong-based port rival Hutchison Whampoa. Fock will act as interim CEO after Teh steps down at the end of August.
Divay Goel, Asia director of Drewry Shipping Consultants, said what is important for PSA, the world's second largest port operator, is that the CEO has experience of growing a business in Asia.
"It makes a lot of sense for somebody who has a strong sense of the growth of Asian markets to be part of PSA," he said.
"Somebody who has strong regional experience, because growth in container ports is likely to be much better in Asia than in Europe or the United States."
Goel added that Tan would have to deal with the many challenges facing the port operator.
One is the uncertainty in the global economy, as Europe continues to battle its debt crisis, while the US economy remains mired in slow growth and China faces a slowdown, all of which will have an impact on trade flows and container port volumes.
PSA will also have to continue its expansion away from Singapore - its key market contributing about 40 percent of its container volumes - to develop ports in areas with growing cargo volumes.
Tan will have to build on what Teh has achieved for PSA in the near nine years he was with the company. Teh played a key role in leading the operator's growth from 15 to 29 projects in 17 countries, and was also instrumental in sealing a 20 percent stake in Hutchison's port assets for US$4.4 billion in 2006.
Fock said: "A new chapter begins at PSA when Chong Meng comes on board, building on the strong foundation that has been laid."
Tan, executive vice-president for Shell's global commercial business, will take over in October from Eddie Teh, who announced his resignation in January this year, the Straits Times reported.
Teh will stay on as special adviser to PSA chairman Fock Siew Wah.
Fock announced the new appointment in a two-page memo to PSA staff yesterday. He said Tan, who has more than 20 years of experience at Shell, was chosen after a "rigorous and systematic screening and interview process lasting several months".
"We interviewed many candidates, checked their references, probed their values and principles, and sought to understand the motivation behind their aspiration for the position," Fock wrote.
While Tan, a Malaysian with three children, comes with no port industry background, his strengths appear to be his global experience and success in talent management, which propelled him to one of Shell's top executive positions.
Fock said that "while Chong Meng is known for keeping a laser-sharp focus on profitability, he is equally balanced in people development", as he led Shell's talent council for Asia.
Tan has worked in Houston, London and Beijing, and was the most senior Shell executive based in Singapore. He headed six of Shell's global businesses - marketing and selling fuels and speciality products to customers in major industries including aviation, marine and liquefied petroleum gas.
Tan, who takes over on October 1, is the first man to helm the PSA top post who was not directly recruited from the industry or the civil service.
Teh was a former executive at Hong Kong-based port rival Hutchison Whampoa. Fock will act as interim CEO after Teh steps down at the end of August.
Divay Goel, Asia director of Drewry Shipping Consultants, said what is important for PSA, the world's second largest port operator, is that the CEO has experience of growing a business in Asia.
"It makes a lot of sense for somebody who has a strong sense of the growth of Asian markets to be part of PSA," he said.
"Somebody who has strong regional experience, because growth in container ports is likely to be much better in Asia than in Europe or the United States."
Goel added that Tan would have to deal with the many challenges facing the port operator.
One is the uncertainty in the global economy, as Europe continues to battle its debt crisis, while the US economy remains mired in slow growth and China faces a slowdown, all of which will have an impact on trade flows and container port volumes.
PSA will also have to continue its expansion away from Singapore - its key market contributing about 40 percent of its container volumes - to develop ports in areas with growing cargo volumes.
Tan will have to build on what Teh has achieved for PSA in the near nine years he was with the company. Teh played a key role in leading the operator's growth from 15 to 29 projects in 17 countries, and was also instrumental in sealing a 20 percent stake in Hutchison's port assets for US$4.4 billion in 2006.
Fock said: "A new chapter begins at PSA when Chong Meng comes on board, building on the strong foundation that has been laid."