Three Senior Promotions and a Retirement at Singapore Airlines

Dark/Light Mode (13/06/23)  Singapore Airlines has appointed Tan Kai Ping as Executive Vice President Operations and Chief Operations Officer, JoAnn Tan as Senior Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer, and Dai Hao Yu as Acting Senior Vice President Marketing Planning.

All three appointments are effective 10 September 2023.

Tan Kai Ping currently works as Executive Vice President Finance and Strategy and Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, he will be responsible for SIA’s Cabin Crew, Customer Services and Operations, Engineering, and Flight Operations divisions.

Mr Tan spearheaded the SIA Group’s successful fundraising efforts during the COVID19 pandemic, leading a multi-year initiative to strengthen the group’s financial resilience, optimise working capital, and build the capacity and capability of SIA’s Finance Division to meet the future needs of the business.

Singapore Airlines A350-900 reg: 9V-SMS. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

He managed the restructuring of the group’s aircraft order book during this time, deferring capital expenditure and re-aligning the delivery stream in tandem with future capacity and fleet requirements.

He has also been extensively involved in the proposed merger between Air India and Vistara, which is a key plank of SIA’s multi-hub strategy.

JoAnn Tan, Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, will be appointed Senior Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

In her current role, Ms Tan led the company’s efforts to restore SIA’s network connectivity and capacity after borders re-opened, a critical move in helping the group to capture the significant pent-up demand for air travel, and deliver its record passenger revenue in FY2022/23.

Ms Tan also drove synergies between SIA and Scoot with respect to network coverage, cross-sales, and customer loyalty.

In addition, Ms Tan has overseen SIA’s adjacent business engines such as KrisFlyer, Kris+, and Pelago through the pandemic, ensuring they grew their business footprint during this time and increased their contribution to the group’s revenue streams.

Under her watch, SIA has also deepened its strategic partnerships with multiple airlines around the world, entrenching its presence in key markets and giving customers more options.

Dai Hao Yu, Divisional Vice President Digital, will be promoted to Acting Senior Vice President Marketing Planning.

Mr Dai joined SIA in 1998 and held overseas positions in several key markets (Manager Eastern Japan, 2007 to 2008; Vice President North West USA and Canada, 2008 to 2011; and General Manager Germany, 2011 to 2013).

Upon his return to Singapore, Mr Dai was appointed Vice President Application Services, Operations (2014 to 2017) and Vice President Application Services, Customer Service (2017 to 2018), before being promoted to Divisional Vice President in 2019.

He has led the SIA Group’s digital transformation in his current role, enabling the group’s adaptive response to the dynamic operating environment, especially during the pandemic.

Mak Swee Wah, Executive Vice President Operations and Chief Operations Officer, will retire on 9 September 2023 after 40 years with Singapore Airlines.

During his tenure, Mr Mak has held a number of senior management roles in Singapore as well as overseas. Following his promotion to Executive Vice President in 2008, he has helmed both the Operations and Commercial portfolios, and was also the Chairman of SilkAir.

Mr Mak chaired the Restart Task Force that played a pivotal role in managing the SIA’s Group’s response to the COVID19 pandemic, helping to ensure that the organisation was operationally ready to be first off the blocks when the recovery eventually came.

“These new appointments reflect the strength of SIA’s management bench, and are a testament to our executives’ ability to undertake a wide range of senior-level responsibilities. Having the right talent in place will ensure that the SIA Group is ready to take on future challenges, and seize the opportunities that come our way,” said Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines. “On behalf of the company, I would like to thank Mak for his long and distinguished service. He has made many outstanding contributions to the SIA Group, and his leadership and experience were instrumental to our success in navigating the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID19 pandemic. Personally, I have benefited much from Mak’s valuable counsel over the years. I wish him a very happy and well-deserved retirement.”

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