Singapore Post (SingPost) has appointed Paul William Coutts (60) as the new group chief executive, ending a year-long search by the Singapore postal authority following the abrupt
resignation of Dr Wolfgang Baier in December last year.
He will also join the postal and e-commerce group's board as a non-independent director on that date.
Coutts, who is British, joins SingPost on June 1 next year from Toll Global Forwarding, one of the five divisions of logistics player Toll Group, where he has been CEO since February 2013 in a
global role based in Singapore. Australia-based Toll Group is owned by Japan Post, which paid US$4.9 billion in 2015 for the logistics company.
Before joining Toll in 2013, Coutts also served as regional director of Asia Pacific Global Customer Solutions at DHL Express (USA).
Simon Israel, chairman of SingPost said of Mr Coutts: "Given his seniority and the experience he brings from an extensive logistics and postal career including global leadership roles, Paul is
well positioned to provide overall leadership to the transformation of the Group, integrate SingPost's eCommerce logistics platforms and build out a globally competitive business.”
SingPost steering back into calmer waters
Channel News Asia (CNA) said Mr Israel acknowledged that SingPost's reputation and share price had suffered from a very public crisis surrounding its board governance. In the past year, chairman
Lim Ho Kee and director Keith Tay exited the company, as well as deputy chairman Goh Yeow Tin.
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority also launched a probe into SingPost over possible breaches of the Companies Act, CNA said. The company has since adopted recommendations for
management succession, conflicts of interest and disclosures, and processes for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and market disclosures after a corporate governance review.
Nol van Fenema
Write a comment