Former Accenture Singapore chair Teo Lay Lim to helm SPH Media Group as CEO

Ms Teo Lay Lim, former chairman of IT services and consulting firm Accenture Singapore, will be the new chief executive of SPH Media Group.

A statement from SPH Media Trust on Monday (Feb 7) said she will take over from interim CEO Patrick Daniel from March 1, ending a leadership succession process for the new not-for-profit media entity that has lasted nearly nine months.

Ms Teo, 58, a Singaporean, faces the challenging task of continuing SPH Media Group's efforts to go digital and attract readership, at a time when media companies worldwide are facing falling advertising revenues and changing reading patterns.

SPH Media Group, which publishes The Straits Times and Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, among other titles, was spun off from Singapore Press Holdings in December last year, after it was decided that a new business model was needed to help its media business secure public and private funds.

SPH Media Trust chairman Khaw Boon Wan said on Monday that Ms Teo is the right fit for the company at this critical juncture.

"Lay Lim brings with her a wealth of experience. She has an acute sense of creating opportunities for commercial growth. Most importantly, she possesses a passion for building and transforming people and organisations for the long term.

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"The group looks forward to working closely with Lay Lim on strategies to underscore its vision and mission to produce trusted quality journalism."

Two weeks ago at a media briefing, Mr Khaw said the new CEO should ideally be Singaporean and be digitally savvy or have media experience.

He or she should be able to take SPH Media Trust into the future as a multilingual digital media organisation, as someone who "understands both East and West and is Singaporean at heart — and be among the world's best", he added.

Ms Teo brings with her more than 30 years of expertise in Ireland-based company Accenture. She has regional experience, as CEO of Accenture South-east Asia from 2011 to 2020, and a familiarity with China, having spent two years based in Shanghai.

SPH Media Trust said she has a track record of building businesses from the ground up. She started Accenture's customer relationship management practice, as well as its analytics and sustainability services, at a time when these were still emerging sectors.

Ms Teo said in a press statement: "I am honoured to be given the opportunity to lead the SPH Media Group as CEO during these exciting times. As we work to keep pace with a very dynamic media landscape, I will be working closely with my colleagues in our transformation journey to create trusted products for our always connected audiences."

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In an interview with The Business Times in March last year, she said she was an avid reader of biographies of historical figures when she was younger — a hobby which translated into a fascination for viewing events through the lens of the individual.

This curiosity and appreciation of each individual's unique qualities guided her approach at Accenture, added Ms Teo, who studied business administration at the National University of Singapore.

She is a member of the Future Economy Council — chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat — set up in 2018 to help implement recommendations to prepare Singapore's economy for the future.

She was appointed an independent director of UOB on Jan 1 this year.

In his statement, Mr Khaw thanked Mr Daniel for coming out of retirement to oversee SPH Media Group's smooth restructuring.

Mr Daniel, who had retired in 2017 as deputy CEO of SPH, said: "It has been my privilege to lead the transition team overseeing the smooth restructuring of the SPH media business as a not-for-profit entity. I am happy to hand over the reins to Lay Lim.

"I have every confidence that under her leadership, the SPH Media Group will succeed in its mission."

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.