"Coordinating Minister" is the buzzword this week as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong introduced three Coordinating Ministers to oversee related Ministries and to mentor junior Ministers.

It appears that the spirit of leadership mentorship has also caught on in government investment company Temasek Holdings.

Ho Ching, current Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek, will concurrently be appointed as Chairman of Temasek International (TI) on October 1 2015. She will return from her part-time sabbatical in late October.

TI is Temasek excluding Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Temasek. This type of structure is similar to global international investment companies. It is a way to separate the liabilities of each entity.

Who will be the CEO of TI then? 

Lee Theng Kiat, the current President of TI, shall be appointed CEO of TI on October 1. Prior to Temasek, Lee was the President and CEO of ST Telemedia and held various senior positions in Singapore Technologies Pte Ltd (ST).

In layman terms, the company structure will look like this on Children's Day:

Lim Boon Heng, Chairman of Temasek (plus 12 other board members)

Ho Ching, Executive Director and CEO of Temasek, and Chairman of Temasek International (also one of the board members)

Lee Theng Kiat, CEO of Temasek International

Here is the full press release:

As a forward looking institution, Temasek Holdings (“Temasek”) regularly reviews and repositions itself for the future.

As part of Temasek’s evolution as an active investor, Temasek International (“TI”) was formed in 2011 as the wholly owned management arm of Temasek, to manage and build our capabilities in anticipation of a growing and increasingly global portfolio. All Temasek staff, except for the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Temasek, were transferred to TI in 2011, in line with global best practices of international investment companies. TI management and staff are entrusted to support Temasek in achieving its corporate and business objectives.

We are pleased to announce that Mr Lee Theng Kiat, President, TI, shall be appointed Chief Executive Officer, TI, with effect from 1 October 2015.

As CEO of TI, Mr Lee will be responsible for Temasek’s role as an active investor and shareholder. He will oversee Temasek’s commercial strategies and portfolio, and build up the management and operational capabilities at TI to support the next phase of Temasek’s development and deliver sustainable long term returns.

Ms Ho Ching, who will return from her part-time sabbatical in late October, remains as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek. She continues to oversee our stewardship role, including the constitutional responsibility to protect Temasek’s past reserves.

Ms Ho shall concurrently be appointed Chairman, TI on 1 October 2015. Mr Lee will work closely with Ms Ho to oversee and strengthen Temasek’s foundation as a forward looking institution.

Temasek’s portfolio has more than doubled from S$103 billion in 2005, and grew from S$193 billion in 2011, to reach S$266 billion as at 31 March 2015. Its portfolio, anchored in Asia, has delivered a one-year total shareholder return of over 19% as at 31 March 2015.

In case you are wondering what Ho has been doing during her sabbatical, we noticed that the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has been reading Mothership.sg and a few of its FB posts during General Election:

Example 1

Example 2

In fact, she commented on Mothership.sg Facebook posts and used infographics to engage critics.

Hope she still have time to read Mothership.sg when she returns to Temasek in late October.

Top photo from Ho Ching Facebook.

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