Khaw Boon Wan to step down as SPH Media Trust chairman

SINGAPORE: SPH Media Trust chairman Khaw Boon Wan will step down from his role after five years at the helm, SPH Media said in a statement on Thursday (Sep 10).Mr Khaw, 73, will step down as chairman of SPH Media Trust and SPH Media Holdings.SPH Media CEO Chan Yeng Kit will take over as chairman, subject to regulatory and formal approvals. Mr Chan was appointed CEO in July 2024."Board and leadership renewal is part of good governance practices in any organisation," said SPH Media. "Mr Chan will continue with his current responsibilities alongside his new responsibilities. We will provide more updates, if any, in due course."The leadership transition is expected to take effect from Oct 1, The Straits Times reported.Former Cabinet minister Khaw was appointed chairman in May 2021 following the restructuring of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which hived off its media operations into a non-profit entity.SPH Media was set up as a company limited by guarantee that owns SPH's news media titles, including The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu.Mr Khaw then said that he accepted the "heavy responsibility" of the chairmanship with "some anxiety", and that while the role would "disrupt" his retirement, he could not "allow a Singapore institution to go into decline".He had retired from politics ahead of the 2020 General Election. Before that, Mr Khaw was coordinating minister for infrastructure and transport minister, and had entered politics in 2001 after a career in the public service.