Singapore, 19 May 2025 – Business China is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Kwek Poh Heok as Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 July 2025. She will succeed Mr Ho Chee Hin, who will be returning to the public sector. To facilitate a smooth transition, Ms Kwek will assume the role of CEO (Designate) from 27 May 2025.
Ms Kwek brings a wealth of experience from both the private and public sectors. She was previously overseeing global government relations at a NASDAQ-listed global technology company. Prior to this, Poh Heok spent 18 years in the Singapore Public Service and served in different roles and ministries, including the Prime Minister’s Office Strategy Group, where she headed the National Population and Talent Division. She had also served as Deputy Principal Private Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.
Ms Kwek has experience working in China across the government, corporate and public-private contexts. She held roles in Standard Chartered Bank Shanghai and the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development., Ltd, the master developer of the Government-to-Government project. During her public service career, Ms Kwek also worked with government agencies to contribute to high-level bilateral platforms such as the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, Singapore-China Forum on Leadership, and Singapore’s cooperation councils with Jiangsu and Shanghai.
Mr Ho has served as CEO of Business China since January 2023, driving significant organisation improvements. He has been instrumental in the brand refresh project last year which revitalised Business China’s identity and reinforced the organisation’s commitment to its core mandate: connecting communities, empowering bilingual and bicultural talent. Many new youth programmes also started under his watch. They include the Youth Interns Exchange Scheme (YES), the Youth Knowledge Programme (BCYK), and the Singapore Education Scholarship (SGES) and more. In addition, Mr Ho led the team to deliver a remarkable FutureChina Global Forum last year, attracting regional and international participation.
Chairman of Business China, Mr Lee Yi Shyan said, “On behalf of the board, I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mr Ho for his exceptional leadership and invaluable contributions. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours. It also gives me great pleasure to welcome Ms Kwek to the Business China family. With her experience and achievements in the public and private sectors, I am confident that she will lead effectively and help Business China adapt and create value in this evolving operating environment.”