Tote Board welcomes new Chief Executive

Mr Fong Yong Kian will be appointed as Chief Executive – Designate of Tote Board with effect from 15 November 2013 and as Chief Executive effective 1 January 2014. He takes over the helm from Mr Tan Soo Nan, who has served as Tote Board’s Chief Executive since 1 January 2007. Mr Tan will relinquish his appointment on 31 December 2013 upon completion of his term.

Mr Fong Yong Kian has led the Singapore Customs since 2008. Under his capable leadership, Singapore Customs has, over the years, strengthened Singapore’s global trade hub position and brought positive impact in the trade communities, particularly towards driving productivity.

His career in the public sector began in 1989 at the Ministry of Communications (Now Ministry of Communication and Information). Since then, he has undertaken various postings in the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Home Affairs.

Mr Fong has made significant contributions in various public service-wide initiatives, such as the UEN (Unique Entity Number) project, which comprises a common means of identifying establishments across public sector agencies, and the setting up of the first public sector shared services centre, Vital. He was also awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in August 2003 for the role he played in combating SARS in 2003.

With his proven track record in the public service, Mr Fong will play an integral role to further complement Tote Board’s cause of giving towards public, social or charitable purposes, and the advancement of culture, art and sport in Singapore.

In Appreciation of Mr Tan Soo Nan

Tote Board extends its deepest appreciation to Mr Tan Soo Nan for his immense contributions over the past seven years.

With Mr Tan’s able leadership, Tote Board made significant progress in its core grant-making function to better serve the community. He was pivotal in helping Tote Board introduce the Outcome Funding model, to enhance the Board’s traditional donation framework. This funding model encourages non-profit organisations to improve their programmes by tracking outcomes, as opposed to merely measuring outputs. Under Mr Tan’s guidance, Tote Board also propagated further knowledge of this concept through the launch of an Outcome Funding Guide Book.

Mr Tan also led the major push to address social issues through new initiatives that exhibit potential to fill social gaps. This includes providing expertise for the establishment of the two social enterprises – Caring Fleet Services and Social Enterprise (SE) Hub, and the formation of the MicroCredit Business Scheme – Singapore’s first micro-financing scheme, in partnership with POSB and SE Hub.

During his tenure, Tote Board introduced programmes targeted at uplifting capability and capacity in the not-for-profit, such as scholarships for senior management of non-profit organisations, executive programmes for managers in the social service sector and knowledge-sharing of best practices for social services through a series of social capital lectures and case study work.

Mr Tan also led Tote Board in attaining its first ISO 9001:2008 certification for its donation processes in 2010, and subsequent recertification in 2013. He guided the Board towards numerous organisational improvements, including a rebranding exercise and a refreshed set of Vision, Mission and Values as guiding principles for its staff. With his strong expertise in the area of finance and investment, he also helped the Board shape its investment policies, including the prudent investment of its reserves.

Mr Moses Lee, Chairman for Tote Board, said, “Soo Nan has played a pivotal role in expanding the Board’s core grant-making function. This is evident from the successful implementation of various strategic programmes which have benefitted the communities. He has also helped strengthen Tote Board’s organisational capabilities. We wish Soo Nan all the best in his future endeavours and warmly welcome Yong Kian on board.”

The Ministry of Finance press release on the new Chief Executive for Tote Board can be found on Ministry of Finance website.