Distinguished Practitioner Fellows

MEMBERS

Ms Chan Lai Fung

Ms Chan Lai Fung served as an Adjunct Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy from March 2024 to March 2025. She retired from the Singapore Public Service in October 2023. Prior to her retirement, she was Permanent Secretary at the National Research Foundation. She also held concurrent appointments as Permanent Secretary (Science & Technology Policy and Plans) at the Prime Minister’s Office and Board Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research. She has also served as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Law; and as Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Trade & Industry and the Ministry of Environment. Her other previous appointments include Board Chairman of the National Institute of Education, Board Chairman of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, and Board Chairman of the Energy Market Authority. Currently, she is Chairman (Designate) of PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency; Chairman (Designate) of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University; Deputy Chairman of NTUC Health; and a member of the Board of Trustees, Nanyang Technological University. She is an independent Director of SATS Ltd.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan

Mr Khaw Boon Wan is the Chairman of SPH Media Trust. Mr Khaw served 42 years in the public service where he held various key cabinet appointments in Transport, National Development, and Health. He retired in 2020 as the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister. As the Transport Minister, Mr Khaw sought to enhance public transport and made it possible for Singaporeans to embrace a car-lite lifestyle. This required public transport to be accessible, reliable, convenient and affordable. In particular, he expanded the MRT network and invested in rail maintenance. Singapore’s MRT network is now among the most reliable in the world. As the National Development Minister, Mr Khaw worked to ensure that public housing remains accessible and affordable for all Singaporean families. During his term, he stabilised the housing market and achieved a soft-landing of the market through a series of cooling measures. Mr Khaw has a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the National University of Singapore. He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Newcastle in Australia under the Colombo Plan scholarship. He was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1997 and the Medal of Honour by National Trade Union Congress in 2019. Mr Khaw is a Buddhist and married with three daughters and 5 grandchildren.

Mr Lim Siong Guan

Mr Lim Siong Guan has been a Professor of Practice in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, instructing on leadership and change management. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Singapore Civil Service College. Siong Guan was the Group President of GIC from 2007 to 2016. GIC is the fund manager for the foreign financial reserves of Singapore. He was the Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board from 2006 to 2009. The Board is the Singapore government’s lead agency for planning and executing strategies to enhance Singapore’s position as a global business centre. Siong Guan served 37 years in the Singapore Civil Service, from 1969 to 2006. He was the Head of the Singapore Civil Service from 1999 to 2005. He has been the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence (1981-1994), the Prime Minister’s Office (1994-1998), the Ministry of Education (1997-1999) and the Ministry of Finance (1998-2006). He was the first Principal Private Secretary to then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew from 1978 to 1981. In every appointment, he introduced innovative policies and practices which enhanced the drive, capacity, capability and performance of the organization. Siong Guan has co-authored two books with Joanne H. Lim. The first was “The Leader, The Teacher & You – Leadership Through the Third Generation,” a book on leadership and national governance. It won the Singapore Literature Prize for non-fiction in 2014. The second was "Winning with Honour in Relationships, Family, Organisations, Leadership, and Life,” a book on winning in life and work. He has authored a third book, “Can Singapore Fall? Making the Future for Singapore,” based on three public lectures he delivered as the fourth S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore. Siong Guan is the founder chairman of Honour (Singapore), a charity that seeks to promote the culture of honour and honouring for the well-being of Singapore. He is also the lead independent director of Wilmar International Ltd., a leading agri company in Asia and Africa, and a Senior Advisor to Insignia Ventures Partners, an early-stage technology venture capital firm focused on building great companies in Southeast Asia.

Mr Lim Swee Say

Mr Lim Swee Say joined public sector in 1976. Before entering politics, he held leadership positions in Singapore’s National Computer Board and the Economic Development Board. Mr Lim firmly believes that the end objective of exploiting technological advances and achieving economic progress is to enhance the standard of living and quality of life of the people. He joined the Labour Movement in 1996 and entered politics in 1997 to serve in various capacities including Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology, Minister for Environment, Second Minister for National Development and Minister in Prime Minister Office. He also served as the Secretary General of NTUC from 2007 to 2015, and was appointed Minister for Manpower in 2015. He stepped down from the Cabinet in 2018, and retired from politics in 2020.

Mr Peter Ong Boon Kwee

Mr Peter Ong Boon Kwee was awarded the Colombo Plan Scholarship to pursue his Bachelor of Economics at the University of Adelaide, Australia and graduated with first class honours. He graduated top of his Masters in Business Administration class from Stanford University, USA in 1993 as Henry Ford II and Arjay Miller Scholar. Mr Ong retired from the Administrative Service on 1 September 2017. Prior to his retirement, Mr Ong was Head of Civil Service, a position he held since 2010. In 2016, he was also concurrently appointed as Permanent Secretary (Prime Minister’s Office) (Strategy) where he established and oversaw the PMO Strategy Group to support the Prime Minister and his Cabinet in establishing priorities and strengthening strategic alignment across Government. Mr Ong also previously held the positions of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, the National Security Intelligence Co-ordination Secretariat, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Defence. Other previous postings include stints at Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited – a Government investment holding company, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Ministry of Home Affairs. Mr Ong was also Chairman of several statutory boards in the course of his career, viz. Enterprise Singapore (where he was the inaugural Chairman), Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Maritime and Port Authority and Defence Science and Technology Authority.  He also sat on the boards of listed companies like SingTel, DBS and ST Engineering. Mr Ong currently sits on the Board of the Monetary Authority of Singapore where he also chairs as the Board’s Risk Committee. He was conferred the (Honorary) Knight of the Most Distinguished Order Of The Crown by The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Malaysia XIV on 2 June 2012 (the award carries the title “Tan Sri”). He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2010 and the Distinguished Service Order in 2024.

Mr Ravi Menon

Mr Ravi Menon serves a portfolio of work in sustainability, innovation, and inclusion. As Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Adviser to the National Climate Change Secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Menon plays a leading role in Singapore’s efforts to foster collective action internationally and public-private partnerships locally to drive the transition to a low-carbon future. Mr Menon is also Chairman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Asia-Pacific Advisory Board and a member of the GFANZ Principals Group. Mr Menon is Senior Mentor to Elevandi, a FinTech platform for international technology collaboration across the public, private, and people sectors to create economic value and social good. He is also a Trustee of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Chairman of its Innovation and Enterprise Committee. Mr Menon is a Trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association, a community self-help group. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Civil Service College where he conducts a workshop series on the themes of sustainability, innovation, and social inclusion. Prior to his current roles, Mr Menon served for 36 years in the Singapore Public Service. As Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade & Industry (2007-11), Mr Menon helped to steer the economy during the global financial crisis. As Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (2003-07), he oversaw fiscal policy and government reserves. As Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (2011-23), Mr Menon oversaw monetary and macroprudential policies, reformed the financial regulatory framework, and developed Singapore as a green finance centre and a global FinTech hub. On the international front, he served as Chairman of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board Standing Committee on Standards Implementation. Mr Menon is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal from the Singapore Government, the Distinguished Alumni Award from NUS, and the Distinguished Leadership and Service Award from the Institute of International Finance in Washington. Mr Menon holds a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Economics from NUS.

Professor Yaacob Ibrahim

Professor Yaacob Ibrahim is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, an Advisor to the President of Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and the founding Director of the Community Leadership and Social Innovation Centre (CLASIC) where he oversees the University’s efforts in community-related projects and initiatives, and the nurturing of social advocate leaders who are grounded in research and community development. Prior to his current positions at SIT, Yaacob served as a Minister in the Ministries of Communications and Information (2011 – 2018), Environment and Water Resources (2004 – 2011) and Community Development and Sports (2002 – 2004). Throughout the 16 years as a Minister, he was also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs. Prof Yaacob was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2020. He holds a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Singapore, a PhD from Stanford University, and advises AI Singapore. Yaacob sits on the board of several research institutes, private companies, and unions. He is Chairman of the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory (SJINML). He is on the Council of Advisors for the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union (BATU) and is a Board Member of Surbana Jurong Group and Singapore Power. He is also an independent director of Oceanus Group Limited.