SPH veteran Geoff Tan takes chief ideas officer role in property industry

Following his exit from Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH) in June, Geoff Tan has resurfaced at B2B property management platform Really Singapore. Taking on the role of chief ideas officer, Tan will be responsible for reshaping and re-defining innovative engagement strategies relating to digital experiences within the real estate scene. He will work closely with company founders, CEO Joerg Zeugner and COO Davin Wang, and will be taking on a member position in the leadership executive team. 

In his new role, Tan (pictured) will spearhead the creation of omni-channel experiences for a highly diverse real estate community consisting of end-users across a motley of profiles. This ranges from various tenant and resident types, user types, age groups and job scopes.   

Tan was last with SPH, where he was head of its creative and content marketing arm agency Sweet. He was also previously the managing director of SPH Magazines’ luxury business. Tan left his role after 34 years with the company. In his time with SPH, Tan was also in charge of luxury titles The Peak and ICON. He also oversaw SPH Magazines’ portfolio of custom publications, including SilverKris, the travel magazine of Singapore Airlines.

Commenting on his new role, Tan said he jumped at the opportunity to empower the property industry with digital solutions that deliver value, cost efficiency, and convenience. "I cannot wait to start effecting change and future-proof the real estate ecosystem," he added. 

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Tan said as chief ideas officer, he is not tied down to a specific set of deliverables. Instead, he is given a freehand across Really Singapore's full suite of solutions and offerings, to think up innovative concepts that will deliver a heightened level of value and benefits to its audiences.

When asked what prompted Tan to enter the real estate industry, he said innovative thinking is no respecter of industry and cuts seamlessly across every spectrum of what people do and how they live. He added that his past involvement with SPH Plug and Play Media Accelerator Programme where he mentored teams triggered an deep-seated interest to delve further into the start-up world and eco-system. "I've taken four months off for what I call a ‘recalibration retreat’ and am now back and recharged to deliver to a whole new set of objectives," he added.

Tan's appointment at Really Singapore comes as the B2B property marketplace looks to create digital experiences with its platform as the vehicle to drive the elevation of overall end-user experiences across various stakeholders, such as asset owners, tenants, project managers and trade suppliers. 

Zeugner added that Really Singapore seeks to redesign and enhance the relationships between residents and property management through the creation of new engagements. "With his breadth and depth of experience, Tan is well poised to take on the challenge of digitally transforming not only the way businesses interact with real estate, but also to revolutionise the way businesses adopt and grow with this digital paradigm shift as the industry raises technology-enabled buildings," he said. Zeugner was previously the CFO, COO, and head of services with Allianz.

Founded in 2019, Really Singapore aims to simplify and automate real estate project management processes. According to its website, the company does this through data-driven integrated property and facility management platform with B2B marketplace for landlords and tenants, property managers and vendors within the real estate industry. 

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