ABOUT US

Fostering Effective Stewardship and Governance Across Asia

 

We, at Stewardship Asia Centre (SAC), are excited to share with you our work and commitment in fostering effective stewardship and corporate governance. Based in Singapore, Stewardship Asia is a thought leadership centre seeking to contribute to institutional capacity building by advocating sound stewardship principles and bringing together leaders for mutual learning and sharing of practical issues facing businesses and organisations today.

 

The Centre collaborates with credible partners globally and works with state-owned enterprises, corporations, family-based businesses, institutional investors as well as non-profit organisations. The Centre promotes and propagates the sharing and mutual learning of concepts and practices that would make a difference to organisations in creating wealth and also contributing to the well-being of the larger community over the long term.

We are committed on this journey with like-minded organisations and leaders to contribute to building businesses that can thrive and grow, and creating the landscape for good stewardship across Asia.

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Our Vision and Mission

Vision

 

To be a reputable thought leadership centre on stewardship and governance in Singapore and across Asia. 

 
 

Mission

 

To promote stewardship and governance, with like-minded partners; in Singapore and across Asia.

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Our People

Board of Directors and Management

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Arnoud De Meyer
Chairman


Arnoud De Meyer is a global academic leader with more than 35 years of experience in top international institutions in Europe and Asia. Until December 2018, he served as President of Singapore Management University (SMU). He is also an internationally recognised empirical researcher with a deep understanding of R&D and Innovation Management, Manufacturing Strategy and International Management.

Before joining SMU, Arnoud De Meyer was from 2006 until 2010 Director (Dean) of the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom). From 1983 until 2006, he was a faculty member at INSEAD and assumed between 1990 and 2006 several management positions e.g. that of Associate Dean of the MBA programme, Associate Dean for Executive Education, and Director of the Euro-Asia Centre. From 1998 until 2002, he was the founding Dean of INSEAD’s very successful campus in Asia (Singapore) and became then Deputy Dean for the whole of INSEAD.

Arnoud De Meyer has been an Independent Director of several companies in Belgium France, Singapore and Australia. Currently he is Independent Director of Viva Energy Pty Ltd (Australia).

A citizen of Belgium, Arnoud De Meyer graduated as an Electrical Engineer from the University of Gent (Belgium), where he also obtained a Master in Management and a Doctorate in Management. He was a visiting fellow at the MIT A.P. Sloan School and has been visiting professor at several Universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Japan.

Arnoud De Meyer
Chairman
Chan Heng Loon Alan
Director


Mr Alan Chan was appointed Chairman of the Land Transport Authority in April 2016.  He holds the appointments of Chairman of the Singapore-China Foundation and SG HSR Pte Ltd.  He is also Dy Chairman of Pavilion Energy Group of Companies.  He is a member of the Public Service Commission and a Board member of AUSNET, an Australian energy company.

Mr Chan retired as CEO of Singapore Press Holdings Ltd after a stint of 15 years.  He had served on the boards of various Statutory Boards, listed and non-listed companies.

Before joining SPH, he was an Administrative Officer in the Civil Service. Some of his appointments included Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Principal Private Secretary to Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

He is a President's Scholar and was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold and Silver) and the Meritorious Service Medal for his contributions to the public service.  He holds a Diplome d’Ingenieur from the Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile and MBA (with Distinction) from INSEAD.

Chan Heng Loon Alan
Director
Chan Wai Ching
Director


Ms Chan Wai Ching joined Temasek in June 2006 and is currently Head, Organisation & People. As part of Temasek’s senior leadership team, Ms Chan oversees all of Temasek’s organisational, human capital and leadership matters. In addition, she also works with and supports the boards of Temasek’s portfolio companies in putting together high calibre boards, appropriate board remuneration framework, and management incentive plans. In this regard, she also sits on the Remuneration Committees of select portfolio companies.

Prior to Temasek, Ms Chan’s career in human resources spans 27 years, including senior appointments at Fullerton Financial Holdings, Citibank N.A., Singapore Technologies Pte Ltd, United Overseas Bank and Overseas Union Bank. Ms Chan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the National University of Singapore, a graduate diploma in HR management and completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School in 2012.

Chan Wai Ching
Director
Patrick Daniel
Director


Patrick has had a 3-decade career with Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). He joined SPH in October 1986 as a writer and retired in August 2018 after stints as deputy CEO and editor-in-chief. He also chaired several SPH subsidiaries, including SPH Magazines and SPH Radio.

Patrick is currently non-executive chairman of the ShareInvestor Group, after participating in a management buyout from SPH in Nov 2018. He also serves on the boards of Sembcorp Marine Ltd and EHL (Ecole Hotelier Lausanne) Singapore. He chairs Verdant.sg, his investment holding company.

Patrick graduated from University College, Oxford in 1976 with an honours degree in Engineering Sciences and Economics. He has a Master of Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Patrick Daniel
Director
Simon Israel
Director


Mr Simon Israel was appointed Chairman of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. ("SingTel") on 29 July 2011. He has been a Director on the SingTel Board since 4 July 2003. Mr Israel is also Chairman of Singapore Post Limited and a Director of Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited and Stewardship Asia Centre.  He is also a Member of the Governing Board of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Westpac Asia Advisory Board.

Mr Israel was an Executive Director and President of Temasek Holdings (Private) Ltd. before retiring in July 2011. Prior to that, he was Chairman, Asia Pacific of the Danone Group. Mr Israel also held various positions in Sara Lee Corporation before becoming President (Household and Personal Care), Asia Pacific.

Mr Israel is the former Chairman of Asia Pacific Breweries Limited, Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation and the Singapore Tourism Board.  He is also a former Director of CapitaLand Limited, Fraser and Neave Limited and Neptune Orient Lines Limited.

Mr Israel was conferred Knight in the Legion of Honour by the French government in 2007, and awarded the Public Service Medal in Singapore's 2011 National Day Awards. He holds a Diploma in Business Studies from The University of the South Pacific.

Simon Israel
Director
Ilian Mihov
Director


Professor Ilian Mihov was appointed Dean of INSEAD on October 1, 2013. Prior to his appointment as Dean, Professor Mihov served as Interim Dean and as Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research.

Professor Mihov joined the INSEAD economics area in 1996. He has taught macroeconomics and econometrics in the MBA, EMBA, PhD and many executive education programmes as well as in the Global Leadership Fellows Programme of the World Economic Forum. He has been nominated several times as one of the best teachers in the MBA and EMBA programmes and has won the Outstanding Teacher Award multiple times.

His research is on topics related to monetary policy, fiscal policy and economic growth. He is also a research fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research (London, UK) and a vice president of the Asian Bureau for Finance and Economics Research (ABFER). Ilian is currently a Board Member of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). He was a member of the Scientific Committee of the Banque de France's Research Foundation (2002-2010) and of the Advisory Board of the Bulgarian National Bank. In 2010/11 and 2011/12 he served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Fiscal Crises.

Professor Mihov’s papers have appeared in many academic journals including the American Economic Review and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. He has given interviews for BBC, CNBC Asia, Agence France Presse, Dow Jones Newswire and many other newspapers and magazines. Professor Mihov is a regular keynote speaker, lecturer and panellist at events organised by the PwC, WEF, KPMG, Hewlett-Packard, Bloomberg, Swiss Re, Alstom, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and other companies.

He holds a PhD degree from Princeton University and a B.S. in business administration from the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina where, in 2006, he was recognised as a Distinguished Young Alumnus.

Ilian Mihov
Director
Rajeev Peshawaria
Chief Executive Officer


 

Rajeev Peshawaria is the Chief Executive Officer of Stewardship Asia Centre (SAC). He is an out-of-the-box thought leader on leadership, management and corporate governance, with extensive global experience in leadership development and organizational consulting, as well as developing and delivering business strategy. 

Prior to joining SAC, Rajeev was the CEO of the Iclif Leadership & Governance Centre based in Malaysia. With diverse experience across various industries including banking, financial services and FMCG, Rajeev has held executive roles including Chief Learning Officer at both Coca-Cola and Morgan Stanley, and senior positions at American Express, HSBC and Goldman Sachs. At Goldman, Rajeev helped found Pine Street - the firm’s acclaimed leadership academy - and headed Pine Street for Europe and Asia. 

Rajeev is the author of Wall Street Journal and Amazon best sellers Open Source Leadership (McGraw Hill 2017), Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders (Simon & Schuster 2011), and co-author of Be the Change (McGraw Hill 2014). A sought after international speaker and a leadership consultant, Rajeev was named one of Top 100 Global Thought Leaders for Trustworthy Business by ‘Trust Across America’ in 2014 and 2017.

Rajeev graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Bombay, India, and holds an MBA from Webster University, Vienna, Austria.
 

Rajeev Peshawaria
Chief Executive Officer

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FAQs About Stewardship

What is stewardship?

Stewardship is about ensuring that a business can thrive and sustain growth while enhancing the wealth of its stakeholders and the well-being of the societies in which it operates over the long term.

How can organisations benefit from good stewardship?

In a world where the ownership of firms is increasingly fragmented, and investment structures are more and more complex, the time horizons of investors, executives and owners do not always coincide. Stewardship is an inspiring way of managing competing interests to find the right balance between short and long term considerations. It encourages business leaders to shift mindsets, to creatively engage their organisations and other societal actors, and to enhance wealth creation for all.

How does stewardship promote sustainable business practices?

A well-stewarded organisation is focused on not only delivering current performance without compromising future impacts in terms of earnings but also ensuring the continuity of the capabilities and relationships that form the basis of its ability to create future value. Success can, therefore, be measured as the net positive impact on future generations in terms of economic, social and environmental performance. When needed, these organisations are willing to sacrifice short-term profits to secure longer-term benefits for the organisation.

How can stewardship safeguard an organisation's legacy?

One of the hallmarks of well-stewarded companies is that they balance their actions to benefit and sustain not only the present generation but also future ones. This comes from a deeply-held understanding and conviction that casts business leaders as custodians, as stewards. As attached as they are to their organisations, and as much as they desire to guide it onto a path of sustained success, in the grand scheme of things their mandate is only temporary and will one day expire. Therefore, as trusted and responsible stewards, they (owner, board and management) seek to be able to hand over a thriving business and organisation in better shape than what they themselves took over when they assumed their roles to the next generation or to their successors.

Who are some steward leaders in Singapore and Asia?

SAC's first book, "Inspiring Stewardship", cites many steward leaders from around the region. These include:

  • Mr Ratan Tata, who revitalized his family's company and built it into India's leading Tata Group that we know for its social and national economic impact today
  • Mr Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, who inherited control of the Ayala Group, the Philippines' oldest and most influential industrial conglomerate, and committed the company to help build and improve communities
  • Mr Makihara Minoru, who took over Japan's huge Mitsubishi Corporation in 1992 and successfully globalised the company over the next decade
  • And of course in the context of national stewardship, our own late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who against the odds transformed Singapore from a third world to a first world economy

How is Stewardship Asia Centre supporting business leaders?

Stewardship Asia Centre is committed to fostering effective stewardship and corporate governance across Asia. The Centre collaborates with credible partners globally and works with state-owned enterprises, corporations, family-based businesses, institutional investors as well as non-profit organisations. Through its forum and knowledge platforms, the Centre promotes and propagates the sharing and mutual learning of concepts and practices that would make a difference to organisations in creating wealth and also contributing to the well-being of the larger community over the long term.

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