BORN
1957

INDUCTED
2014

CATEGORY
Business & Enterprise

THE HONOURED INDUCTEES TO THE SINGAPORE WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME

Chua Sock Koong

Head of Asia’s leading communications group

Chua Sock Koong, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), appears in many lists of the most powerful women in business. She is one of the few women in the world to run a major communications group.  SingTel, Asia’s leading communications group, is the largest listed company on the Singapore Exchange by market capitalisation.

Sock Koong completed her education at Raffles Girls School and Raffles Institution and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Accountancy (First Class Honours) degree from the University of Singapore in 1979. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Fellow of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.

Joining SingTel in 1989 as Treasurer, she rose rapidly through the ranks and in 1999 she was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO). She then held the position of Group CFO and CEO, International from February 2006 to October 2006, before being promoted to Deputy Group CEO.

On 1st April 2007, Sock Koong was appointed Group CEO of SingTel. She is responsible for the SingTel Group’s three key businesses – Group Consumer, Group Digital Life and Group Enterprise. The Group served 486 million mobile customers across 25 countries, as at September 2013.

Under Sock Koong’s leadership, SingTel has won numerous accolades for good corporate governance, including the top spot in Singapore’s Governance and Transparency Index for three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012. SingTel was also awarded the Best Managed Company in Singapore, Best Corporate Governance and Most Committed to a Strong Dividend Policy in Asia’s Best Managed Companies 2013 poll by FinanceAsia.

Sock Koong sits on the Boards of Bharti Airtel Limited, Bharti Telecom Limited and key subsidiaries of the SingTel Group. She is also a member of the Singapore Management University Board of Trustees and the Public Service Commission. She is a former Board member of JTC Corporation and the Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore, and also a former member of the Corporate Governance Council established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Fortune Magazine has listed Sock Koong in their annual global ranking of the Most Powerful Woman Leaders in Business since 2005. She has also been listed in the power women rankings by Forbes and the Financial Times.

As of 2 Jan 2019, Sock Koong becomes the first woman in Singapore to be appointed to the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA). The CPA was established to advise the President in exercising custodial and discretionary powers in safeguarding the Government’s past reserves and the integrity of the public service.

Chua Sock Koong

Head of Asia’s leading communications group

BORN 1957  INDUCTED 2014
CATEGORY Business & Enterprise

Chua Sock Koong, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), appears in many lists of the most powerful women in business. She is one of the few women in the world to run a major communications group.  SingTel, Asia’s leading communications group, is the largest listed company on the Singapore Exchange by market capitalisation.

Sock Koong completed her education at Raffles Girls School and Raffles Institution and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Accountancy (First Class Honours) degree from the University of Singapore in 1979. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Fellow of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.

Joining SingTel in 1989 as Treasurer, she rose rapidly through the ranks and in 1999 she was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO). She then held the position of Group CFO and CEO, International from February 2006 to October 2006, before being promoted to Deputy Group CEO.

On 1st April 2007, Sock Koong was appointed Group CEO of SingTel. She is responsible for the SingTel Group’s three key businesses – Group Consumer, Group Digital Life and Group Enterprise. The Group served 486 million mobile customers across 25 countries, as at September 2013.

Under Sock Koong’s leadership, SingTel has won numerous accolades for good corporate governance, including the top spot in Singapore’s Governance and Transparency Index for three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012. SingTel was also awarded the Best Managed Company in Singapore, Best Corporate Governance and Most Committed to a Strong Dividend Policy in Asia’s Best Managed Companies 2013 poll by FinanceAsia.

Sock Koong sits on the Boards of Bharti Airtel Limited, Bharti Telecom Limited and key subsidiaries of the SingTel Group. She is also a member of the Singapore Management University Board of Trustees and the Public Service Commission. She is a former Board member of JTC Corporation and the Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore, and also a former member of the Corporate Governance Council established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Fortune Magazine has listed Sock Koong in their annual global ranking of the Most Powerful Woman Leaders in Business since 2005. She has also been listed in the power women rankings by Forbes and the Financial Times.

 

“As the CEO, I take a much more holistic approach in business. I play a very important nurturing role. I want to encourage new ideas, innovation, and see how I can develop people as well. A large part of my time is spent on talent development.”

Sources:

Profile last updated: 11th March 2021