SPH Media Says 21 People Hired For Senior Leadership, Appointments Came After Careful Evaluation

SPH Media Addresses Appointments Of Senior Leadership Positions

Recently, many concerns were raised about SPH Media Trust’s (SMT’s) appointment of senior management positions.

This came after former Straits Times (ST) editor Leslie Fong compiled a list of former Accenture staff now in these positions.

In response, the organisation shared in an internal memo that three of the 21 people hired for senior leadership roles were from Accenture. Each member was appointed after careful evaluation, reported The Straits Times (ST).

Ex-ST editor points out hiring of former Accenture staff

On Saturday (5 Mar), ex-ST editor Leslie Fong shared a Facebook post listing out former Accenture staff who are now in senior management positions at SMT. Accenture is an information technology services and consulting company.

Source: Leslie Yin Leong Fong on Facebook

The list, which comprised seven individuals, included SPH Media chief executive (CEO) Ms Teo Lay Lim, who was former chairman of Accenture Singapore, as well as chief financial officer (CFO) Andy Hui, chief technology officer (CTO) Kaythaya Maw, and chief transformation officer David Pang.

The former editor questioned, “Coincidence? You draw your own conclusions, my friends”.

He stated that the board of a company funded by taxpayers did not seem to have a problem with the composition.

The post led to the public’s concern about SMT’s hiring approach.

SPH Media’s senior leadership chosen with careful evaluation

In an internal memo, SPH Media said it has hired 21 people for senior leadership positions since its formation in 2021.

Amongst the hires, three came from Accenture. Meanwhile, another three had experience at Accenture at some point in their careers. ST reported that the remaining 15 hires came from other organisations.

Head of human resources Maureen Wee said, “All staff appointments are undertaken after careful evaluation”.

Stressing that the company ensures each individual can contribute effectively to SMT, she noted that they will continue to recruit individuals with “different perspectives, skills, and experience to augment and enrich” their talent pool.

Additionally, Ms Wee also said all members of SPH Media are valuable, regardless of their tenure with the organisation.

“Everyone has a role to play as we navigate the future together,” she said.

Concerns after media trust turned into a not-for-profit entity

SPH Media Trust was formed as a not-for-profit entity back in December 2021. On 1 Mar 2022, Ms Teo took over the role of CEO.

Since then, there have been many questions about its future as well as the government’s funding of the media trust.

Earlier, the government committed to funding SPH Media up to S$900 million over five years.

On 6 Feb, Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo said this decision will not change.

The matter was addressed in Parliament after inconsistencies were found in its circulation numbers.

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