Former brigadier-general and commander of the Republic of Singapore Air Force Cheng Siak Kian will be returning to Singapore to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) of bus and rail operator SBS Transit starting 1 July.
Cheng joined ComfortDelGro in Sep four years ago, and had spent a year in SBS Transit prior to his appointment in Australia “where he learnt about the bus business and worked with the head of the bus tender committee on the Seletar bus package”.
In a statement on Tue (23 Apr), ComfortDelGro, the parent company of SBS Transit, also announced its appointment of Nicholas Yap as Country Head of ComfortDelGro Australia, with effect from 1 July.
SBS Transit’s COO and CEO posts were previously held by Gan Juay Kiat, with Gan being promoted to the latter position in 2010 after serving as the company’s COO since 2007.
However, following the exposé involving his extramarital affairs last year, Gan, a past SAF scholar, tendered his resignation as CEO of SBS Transit, citing “personal indiscretion”.
The Straits Times reported that ComfortDelGro’s group CEO Yang Ban Seng had also been taking on Gan’s role as an interim measure before the transport giant finds a suitable replacement for the post.
Commenting on the new appointments, Yang said: “The reorganisation is necessary to reflect the growing importance of our Australian operations.”
“As we expand, not just in breadth but in depth, it is apparent that we would need a Country Head to oversee the various businesses,” he added, specifically on Yap’s appointment.