New CEO Koay Peng Yen will take over the destiny of the low cost carrier Tiger Airways from August 2012.
SINGAPORE- Tiger Airways Holdings is appointing Koay Peng Yen as Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from 10 August 2012. Mr. Koay will take over from Mr. Chin Yau Seng who will be returning to Singapore Airlines. Mr Chin was at the helm of the low cost carrier since July 2011.
Tiger announced its search for a Group CEO to succeed Mr Chin in February 2012. Mr Koay was chosen following a global selection process. Mr Koay was Executive Director of Pacific Carriers Limited and PaxOcean Engineering Group, Kuok Group companies involved in the marine and offshore engineering, offshore services, and shipping industries. Prior to this, he was the Group CEO of IMC Corp Limited, an industrial and supply chain group. He earlier spent 18 years with the NOL Group in various senior management roles, including as President of Greater China. He has a Master of Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“We welcome Peng Yen to the Tiger team,” said Tiger Chairman J Y Pillay, “Notwithstanding that he is entering the airline industry for the first time, the Board assesses that his proven leadership and strategic skills, capacity for incisive thinking and facility for building cohesive teams are able to propel the Group to greater and sustainable heights.”
Group CEO designate Mr Koay said the task ahead is formidable but he looks forward to the opportunity to take Tiger to greater heights. “It is a privilege to work with Tiger with the opportunities it offers for business expansion and brand development. There is great potential for Tiger to soar as we drive growth in air travel in Asia, and make our presence felt,” said Mr Koay, “We aim to build an Airline that prides itself on offering good deals with great reliability to flyers. In doing so, we intend to maximize shareholder value for our investors as we take Tiger into a new phase of growth across the skies.”
Tiger Airways has currently a fleet of 35 A320 aircraft with an average age of under three years. It also has two A319s that are operated independently by SEAir in the Philippines under a Partner Airline program. The Airline will build its fleet to 68 aircraft by December 2015. Operating from Singapore and Australia, Tiger Airway’s network extends to over 30 destinations across 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
