SATS CEO Alex Hungate gets on board Grab as COO

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Alex Hungate, CEO and executive director of the in-flight catering and ground handling company, SATS has joined ride-hailing company, Grab as its new chief operating officer, confirmed Grab in a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. Hungate will take on the role from 4 January 2022. Grab added that Hungate is "a proven operator with deep experience running businesses" in Grab related industries of financial services, logistics and food service. "Grab’s business has expanded from ride-hailing into multiple new segments in the last three years, and Hungate will bring together and create greater ecosystem synergies across Grab," the statement added.

With over 25 years of global leadership experience, Hungate first helmed the role of executive director in SATS in 2013, before assuming his current role of CEO and executive director in January 2014. According to his LinkedIn, prior to joining SATS, Hungate was the CEO of HSBC Singapore. He first joined HSBC in 2007 as group managing director of personal financial services and marketing, based in London. Meanwhile, Tan Hooi Ling will still oversee several areas of Grab's operations, reported The Business Times, including HR, tech and corporate strategy.

According to her LinkedIn, Tan was in charge of overseeing various pillars of Grab’s operations, including corporate strategy, technology, customer experience and people operations. Prior to Grab, she helmed the role of senior director for pricing intelligence and monetisation at Salesforce, working at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. She was also a consultant with McKinsey & Company, advising global corporations in Southeast Asia, North America, Latin America and Australia on corporate strategy and operations.

Earlier this year, Grab has unveiled its strategy to go public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company Altimeter Growth Corp, raising about US$4.5 billion in cash and valuing Grab's shares at US$39.6 billion. According to the company, this is expected be the largest-ever US equity offering by a Southeast Asian company. Pursuant to the proposed transactions, Altimeter Growth and Grab will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of a new holding company.

Despite COVID-19, the decision to go public was driven by the strong financial performance in 2020, said Grab. The company posted a gross merchandise value (GMV) of approximately US$12.5 billion in 2020, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and more than doubling from 2018.

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