Maybank Singapore appoints new chairman

Maybank Singapore announced on 1 October 2024 that Datuk Yee Yang Chien had been appointed Chairman of the Board with immediate effect, succeeding Datuk R. Karunakaran who retired on 30 September.

Datuk Yee is a non-independent non-executive director on the Maybank Group board, having been nominated in November 2023 by Permodalan Nasional Berhad, one of Malaysia's largest investment management companies which is a substantial shareholder of Maybank Group.

Prior to joining the Maybank board, Datuk Yee spent eight years as the President and Group CEO of MISC Berhad, one of Malaysia's largest shipping lines and the operator of the world's largest LNG fleet. He stepped down from that role in 2022. In total, he spent almost 20 years with MISC and held various senior leadership positions including Vice President of Corporate Planning and Chief Operating Officer.

During his tenure with MISC, Datuk Yee led and was closely involved with several major strategic developments including a number of significant acquisitions, the company's exit from the liner business in 2011 and the divestment of its non-core businesses over the next six years, and its joining of the Global Maritime Forum.

An accountant and economist by training, Datuk Yee is expected to bring extensive experience with large-scale transformations to his new appointment. Maybank Singapore has hinted for some time that it is working on  considerable transformation efforts, including during the appointment of current CEO Alvin Lee who began his role on 1 January 2024.