Temasek & Its Bank CEOs

What is it about Temasek and its banks CEOs. One or two resignations may be coincidence, but the number of frequent "resignations" by Temasek owned bank CEOs may hint at something very wrong with the way Temasek manage their units.



Temasek has lost billions during the crisis. Their Bank CEO in India was pressured into leaving. Their Indonesian CEO (Bank Danamon) also recently resigned under pressure, and now Bridget Lai.

The DBS Bank CEO position is also a hot seat. The Asian-American's predecessors - Frenchman Philippe Paillart and American John Olds - each didn't last more than 2 years. It's not bad that Jackson Tai managed to stay in the largest bank in ASEAN for six years. Still one can't help but think why the rapid changes. Were they "pressured" to resign?

The problem I think stems from the way Temasek wields its power. Its the inability to "let go" and empower their CEOs. Its also they way they appoint "people onto the boards of the bank". Those appointed are probably "too beholden" to Temasek, and rather than having a synergistic board, you have a board that continuously watch over and second guess every major decision by the CEO.

Temasek better change their ways. You live or die with the CEOs you appoint - once you have appointed them, unless they do something drastically that impairs the value of the bank, then you do something. You look at the entity they are managing and then sit down to set reasonable targets on metrics to be achieved, then leave them to do it. No one in the CEO position wants their every move to be second-guessed, no one in those position wants to have "micro bickerings" and "fine tuning suggestions" every month from the top.

Temasek do pay top dollar, so compensation is not an issue. Temasek needs to re-evaluate how they do things. Temasek has shown that they have been very poor in reading macro signals, very poor in digging deep on financials when buying those large banks. They have been too driven by "top strategy decisions to get into big banks and big financials" in a big way without proper understanding of business cycles or a decent understanding of the various underlying business models of the big banks.

Then they get too "close" with the smaller banks and their CEOs, to the extent of frustration for many of these CEOs. The board is no help to the CEOs as they act like sheriffs for Temasek rather than a cohesive board.

Temasek have proven that they cocked up royally when investing in big banks. Now with smaller banks, where they can appoint most onto the boards, they have also shown a great affinity to piss off CEOs.


p/s photos: Rina Chinen

Temasek's Team Under Ho Ching

I guess in an attempt to deflect criticism that it is a one-woman team, the cynical me would try to see through the "approved media blitz" via The Straits Times on the Temasek's senior management team. See how easy it is to twist words and intentions. It can be an exercise in transparency or propoganda to rebuild goodwill.

1 Charles Ong
Senior managing director and chief strategist

Formerly Temasek's chief investment officer in charge of overseeing all investment decisions, he became chief strategist in December 2006 while Temasek was grappling with the fallout from its takeover of Shin Corp earlier that year. Mr Ong, formerly with Lazard Freres & Co in New York, joined Temasek in 2002.

2 Tow Heng Tan
Senior managing director and chief investment officer

A chartered accountant, Mr Tow took over as chief investment officer after Mr Ong's replacement, Mr Jimmy Phoon, quit in 2007. Mr Tow also sits on the boards of Keppel Corp and ComfortDelGro, and was formerly senior director of DBS Vickers Securities.

3 Gan Chee Yen
Senior managing director and co-chief investment officer

The former director of finance for Singapore Technologies, Mr Gan joined Temasek in 2003 and heads the transportation and logistics investment group. He has served on the board of other companies, including Neptune Orient Lines.

4 Manish Kejriwal
Senior managing director, investment, international and India

A former partner at McKinsey and Company, Mr Kejriwal holds an MBA from Harvard University and was named a Baker Scholar, the top academic honour at Harvard Business School. He joined Temasek in 2004 and is in charge of investments in India and in financial services.

5 Cheo Hock Kuan
Senior managing director, corporate development and special projects

She joined Temasek in 2002 from Singapore Technologies, where she was head of executive resources and corporate human resources. A former military officer, she now oversees leadership dynamics, board governance and compensation for executives and board members, among other things. She is also a director of Fullerton Financial Holdings.

6 Leong Wai Leng
Chief financial officer, senior managing director (corporate development)

Appointed Temasek's first chief financial officer in 2006, she studied engineering at Cambridge University. She moved to Temasek after leaving Raffles Holdings - where she was the deputy chief executive and chief executive of Raffles International- after Raffles sold its hotel business.

7 Goh Yong Siang

Managing director, international and strategic relations

The former chief of the Singapore Air Force, Mr Goh retired in 1998 and went to work in the United States, first as president of ST Engineering and then in private equity. He was a partner in and chief executive of a Dallas, Texas-based charter airline, Patriot Air, which filed for bankruptcy less than two years after it was formed. Mr Goh joined Temasek in 2006 and was asked to head the Thai office that Temasek opened following the Shin Corp debacle.

8 Simon Israel
Executive director since 2006

Mr Israel is the chairman of the Singapore Tourism Board and sits on several other company boards, including SingTel, NOL and Fullerton Financial Holdings. A Singaporean, Mr Israel was previously Danone Group's Asia-Pacific chairman and spent 22 years with the Sara Lee Corporation.

9 Hiew Yoon Khong
Senior managing director, special projects

Previously CFO of CapitaLand and CEO of its commercial and financial units, Mr Hiew joined Temasek in 2003 and is now also the executive director and CEO of Mapletree Investments. Prior to that, he was managing director of Temasek's private equity investment funds portfolio.

10 Ng Yat Chung
Managing director, corporate

Less than four months after stepping down as Chief of Defence Force in 2007, Mr Ng joined Temasek in the newly-created position of managing director of portfolio management. A Cambridge University graduate, Mr Ng was also previously Chief of Army.

11 Michael Dee
Senior managing director, international

Formerly a Morgan Stanley investment banker and regional head, Mr Dee was recruited to join Temasek's newly-formed international division last year. He advised Temasek-backed Singapore Power when it bought the Australian business of energy giant TXU for $3.7 billion in 2004.

12 Vijay Parekh
Senior managing director, special projects

After 18 years with American Express, Mr Parekh joined Temasek in 2005 and became a director of Fullerton Financial Holdings in October 2006.

13 Jimmy Phoon
Senior managing director, strategy

Mr Phoon joined Temasek in 1999 but resigned in September 2007, less than a year after he was made chief investment officer following the Shin Corp incident. Formerly from Standard Chartered Merchant Bank Asia, Mr Phoon rejoined Temasek on Nov 1 last year.

p/s photos: Moe Oshikiri