SPH Media names new CEO

SPH Media has named Chan Yeng Kit, who is permanent secretary for health and formerly the chairman of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), as CEO as Teo Lay Lim retired

According to an article on SPH Media’s flagship newspaper The Straits Times, SPH Media chairman Khaw Boon Wan said Chan is committed to SPH Media’s mission to “help inform and unite people via quality journalism”. “Against the competitive pressure from social media, he will support the newsrooms to tap digital platforms to reach new audiences and build a sustainable commercial model,” said the chairman. He also thanked Teo (pictured left) for kick-starting digital transformation.

Chan (pictured right) previously oversaw the merger of IDA and the Media Development Authority (MDA) to form IMDA in 2016, and continued to steward IMDA as chairman of the IMDA Board thereafter. Chan also led the development of the Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) masterplan during his tenure as CEO and permanent secretary, including the roll-out of Singapore’s fibre-to-the-home Nationwide Broadband Network (NBN). These provided the foundation to help Singapore realise its Smart Nation vision, said IMDA in a statement.

Under Chan, IMDA has also continued to architect Singapore’s Digital Future. It has been rolling out future-ready digital infrastructure vsuch as 5G standalone wireless networks and upgrading the wired NBN for seamless 10Gbps access on broadband.

Teo joined SPH in 2022, and was appointed given her experience as chairman of Accenture Singapore. During her appointment, Singapore Media's chairman, Khaw said Teo 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.

Most recently,SPH Media also unveiled a refreshed brand identity to better reflect its evolution and ambition to be a creator of quality content and experiences, amidst the changing media landscape. According to the company, the refreshed brand includes a new logo that pays tribute to SPH Media’s heritage while capturing the company’s progression.

It also acquired well known technology media company Tech in Asia (TIA) where Willis Wee, CEO, and founder of TIAsaid he was happy to share that the deal was officially concluded and added that he is convinced that the momentum and partnership with The Business Times (BT) will push TIA closer to its mission of building a vibrant tech community.

While Teo was credited to have catapulted the digital transformation within SPH Media, the company faced its own set of challenges in early 2023 as it was thrust under the spotlight for inconsistencies in its circulation data, following a review of internal processes. According to the company, these inconsistencies include subscription contracts.

The discrepancy was of 10% to 12% which is around 85,000 to 95,000 daily average copies across all titles. There was also double counting of subscriptions and destructed copies included in the count. The article added that in another instance, a project account took in additional funding to purchase fictitious circulation numbers. Certain circulation numbers were also arbitrarily derived.