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SunVic Chemical Holdings made history today appointing a 26 year old as CEO, possibly the youngest CEO of a listed company in Singapore, as reported by The Business Times.
26 year old Sun Xiao will take over from his father, Sun Liping. Sun Xiao graduated from Curtin University of Technology more than two years ago and joined the company as an intern. He became deputy CEO last May.
I think it comes as no surprise that people think Sun Xiao is somewhat young for the job. How often do we hear of an employee with only 2 years of working experience being promoted to the position of CEO?
Mr. Mak Yuen Teen of NUS Business School said that it is the job of the nominating committee to justify the decision. Why is Sun Xiao the best person for the job? How was he chosen?
See what they said:
"The nominating committee and the board have after considering the relevant industrial experience of Mr. Sun Xiao, found him suitable for the position of CEO and have approved his appointment with immediate effect." Duh...
Sun Liping has almost 62% interest in SunVic. Other shareholders can be unhappy and object until the cows come home but this is definitely one of the things which minority shareholders of family controlled companies could possibly have to live with.
Remember my recent blog post? Who you know is important, isn't it?
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Discrimination: Get real!
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