CEO Succession at Temasek Holdings

Parliamentary Question by Mr Leon Perera:

To ask the Minister for Finance if he can provide an update on the CEO succession process at Temasek Holdings.

Reply by Senior Minister of State for Finance Indranee Rajah:

Madam Speaker, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam had explained in Parliament in 2009 that CEO succession planning at Temasek is a key responsibility of its Board of Directors.

The Temasek Board conducts annual leadership succession reviews as a matter of good governance. As reported annually since 2004 in the Temasek Review, the Temasek Board has a board committee which reviews and makes recommendations to the Temasek Board on management leadership development, and succession planning for key positions.  This includes Board as well as CEO succession plans.

For CEO succession, the Temasek Board reviews and tracks a list of candidates annually.  These include those from within the company as well as those from outside Temasek, both in Singapore and abroad.  This confidential list of candidates ranges from those who can step in immediately, to younger candidates who could be potential successors beyond the 5-year period.  The Temasek Board meets with potential successors regularly to get to know them and assess their suitability - including young potential candidates early in their careers, inside as well as outside of Temasek.
   
The timing and candidate for CEO succession are the purview of the Temasek Board. As Temasek is a Fifth-Schedule Company under the Singapore Constitution, the CEO’s appointment is subject to the concurrence of the President.