Singapore state-owned fund Temasek has strengthened its senior leadership with several new appointments.

The firm said in a statement on Monday that Gabriel Lim will join Temasek on October 1 as Joint Head, Corporate Strategy.

He is currently Permanent Secretary (Policy) at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and he comes with deep experience in strategy development and stakeholder management, both in the public sector and from his extensive engagements with the private sector.

In this role, Lim will help develop and drive key corporate strategies to support the implementation of Temasek’s 2030 (T2030) roadmap.

This includes differentiating Temasek from its peers, and strengthening its positioning with partners and key stakeholders.

He will work alongside senior management and with teams across the organization to position Temasek for long-term growth and success.

Lim will partner Lim Ming Pey, Joint Head, Corporate Strategy, to oversee the function.

It is noted that Temasek developed its T2030 strategy as a roadmap for the decade, and to serve as its compass in an increasingly complex world.

Temasek will also strengthen its Portfolio Development Group (PDG) team with new senior leaders who bring with them a diverse and complementary set of industry, strategy, and operating experiences.

Joining Juliet Teo, who currently leads PDG, are industry veterans Eng Aik Meng and Dinesh Khanna.

All three will be appointed Joint Heads, PDG, and they will engage and partner our portfolio companies in their respective growth, innovation, and/or transformation journeys.

Eng will join Temasek on September 1. He is a corporate veteran and entrepreneur with over 30 years of global experience in the healthcare and maritime industries.

He comes with strong business and operating experience and a proven track record working with private equity investments that have generated consistent returns and shareholder value.

Khanna, on the other hand, will join Temasek in mid-October 2024.

He has over 20 years of global strategy consulting experience, spanning numerous industries and regions.

Throughout his career, he has worked with leading companies in their business and organizational transformations – to achieve regional and global leadership, and accelerate value realization.

Teo has been part of the PDG leadership team since 2020. She has close to 30 years of investing and portfolio development experience across sectors such as telecommunications, nedia, technology, transportation, logistics, and industrials.

She possesses deep institutional knowledge, and has worked extensively with Temasek portfolio companies in their corporate restructuring efforts over the years.

It is noted that Singapore-based Temasek Portfolio Companies (TPCs) account for approximately 40 percent of Temasek portfolio value and are key in anchoring its resilient and forward-looking portfolio.

Its PDG works closely with these TPCs to pursue value uplift initiatives and increase shareholder value, as per our existing governance framework.

Temasek said to prepare themselves for a rapidly changing world, the firm takes an active approach to ensure that its organization stays agile, its talent is supported in their professional and personal growth, and it has the right capabilities within the firm to adapt and succeed in the future.

It said the firm is constantly strengthening its leadership bench.

According to Temasek, the firm develops and rotates its leaders to allow them to deepen domain knowledge and gain exposure for broader leadership positions.

It said the firm also augmented its internal teams with external hires who bring complementary and/or differentiated capabilities.

It noted its ongoing talent development efforts enable its leaders to gain diverse global experiences, foster adaptability, and inspire creative problem-solving and innovation skills.

The firm also highlighted that younger leaders are rotated across markets, sectors, and functions, and are given the opportunity to participate in management committees for greater exposure to strategy, investment, and non-investment matters.

It added that the firm developed and curated executive development programs for its managers to hone their leadership and management skills, and they are also mentored by its senior leaders to help broaden their perspectives and insights.

“Reflecting on my own leadership journey in Temasek, I benefitted from the multiple roles and exposure gained across our investment, portfolio management, regional market and corporate functions,

“We want to provide our next-generation leaders with the same opportunities to learn and stretch themselves in various appointments and responsibilities,” said Dilhan Pillay, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Temasek Holdings.

According to him, this is crucial in ensuring that Temasek stays agile and adaptable in an era of unprecedented global challenges.

“We have taken a similar approach when developing our younger leaders – such as Jane Atherton, Fock Wai Hoong, Nagi Hamiyeh, Lim Ming Pey and Png Chin Yee, just to name a few,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chan Wai Ching, Chief Corporate Officer of Temasek, said while it is important to develop the firm’s internal leaders, Temasek also brings in external talent to augment and strengthen its bench.

“Dilhan, Song Hwee and other colleagues are examples of talent who had joined Temasek after achieving professional success in other industries and domains,

“People are our greatest asset. We believe in the holistic development of our talent, including instilling in them Temasek’s ethos of doing things today with tomorrow in mind, so every generation prospers,” she added.

Temasek is a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, with a net portfolio value of S$389 billion ($288 billion) as at March 31, 2024.

Marking its unlisted assets to market would provide S$31 billion ($23 billion) of value uplift and bring the firm’s mark to market net portfolio value to S$420 billion ($311 billion).

The firm has 13 offices in 9 countries around the world: Beijing, Hanoi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore in Asia; and Brussels, London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Washington, DC outside Asia.  

Temasek’s net portfolio value rises on year to $288B this financial year