EuroCham held its first C-Suite Networking Lunch yesterday at Artemis Grill & Sky Lounge with special guest Desmond Kuek, Divisional Vice Chairman, UBS Global Wealth Management. Prior President & Group CEO of SMRT Corporation Ltd and Prior Chief of Defence Force, Singapore.
These C-Suite Lunches target business leaders of European MNCs in Singapore for engagement sessions to discuss thematic topics within business development. For each session, EuroCham brings in a special guest speaker with the relevant expertise to contribute to the session. Guest speakers include thought leaders, best-in-class practitioners or business players, and consultants or researchers with niche offerings, especially new knowledge and progressive science.
The C-suite sessions target C-level senior management of European MNCs in Singapore. These engagement sessions will gather business leaders to review and discuss Regional HC challenges, developments in HC management and their strategic impact on talent management and business development.
Each roundtable will have a theme and features a set of key components: thought leadership, facilitated dialogue and talent networking.
For each session EuroCham will bring in a special guest/speaker with the relevant expertise to contribute to the roundtable sessions. Guest speakers include visiting thought leaders, best-in-class practitioners or business players, and consultants or researchers with niche offerings, especially new knowledge and progressive science.
Meet the special guest:
Mr Desmond Kuek, Divisional Vice Chairman, UBS Global Wealth Management
Desmond Kuek (DK) joined UBS on 18 Feb 2019 as Divisional Vice Chairman for Global Wealth Management.
DK has held pinnacle leadership positions in the corporate world, public sector and military service over a career span of more than 35 years. Prior to UBS, he was President & Group CEO of SMRT Corporation Ltd from 2012-2018, where he steered the multi-modal transport company on a path of sustainable business growth, system renewal and service quality. He successfully privatised the company in a deal affirmed by Asset Triple-A as Best Privatisation M&A. In 2016, he was named Executive of the Year by the Singapore Business Review.
As Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment & Water Resources from 2010 to 2012, he was responsible for developing policies to enhance national environmental sustainability and livability.
He was promoted to the highest rank of Lieutenant-General in the Singapore Armed Forces, and served as Chief of Defence Force from 2007 to 2010, Chief of Army from 2003 to 2007 and Director of Joint Intelligence from 2000 to 2003. In these roles, he led the transformation to a network- enabled integrated force capability and strengthened the armed forces’ human and knowledge capital.
Over the years, DK has served on the Boards of International Enterprise Singapore, Housing & Development Board, Jurong Town Corporation, Defence Science & Technology Agency, Civil Service College and Singapore Technologies Engineering. He is the founder and chairman of Genium & Co, a leadership consultancy firm incorporated in Singapore.
DK holds a Master of Arts (Engineering Science) from Oxford University, a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University, and is an alumnus of IMD Switzerland.
He was awarded the prestigious Meritorious Service Medal and Public Administration Medal (Gold) from the Singapore Government; and conferred the title of Datuk Paduka Seri by the Sultanate of Brunei as well as top military awards from France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States of America.
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