Honestbee names Ong Lay Ann as the new CEO

Grocery and delivery start-up Honestbee has announced the appointment of its new chief executive, Ong Lay Ann. His appointment was effective as of July 15.

Ann takes over from interim CEO Brian Koo, whose family controls South Korean technology giant LG. Koo was named interim CEO in May following Mr Sng's departure.

In his new role, Ann’s key priorities are to restructure the company's capital structure and resolve its debt.

Ann currently serves as a director for Australia-listed Weststar Industrial, and ISDN Investments, the investment and trading arm of mainboard-listed precision and motion control engineering firm ISDN Holdings.

Ong has close to two decades of leadership experience in IT, commodities, real estate and infrastructure. 

Koo, who was named board chairman when Mr Sng left Honestbee, shared, "Lay Ann is an exceptional business leader who has been brought on board due to his tremendous track record in turning ailing businesses around.

He further shared that, “We have confidence that Lay Ann has what it takes to restructure the business, build consumer confidence and employee morale, repair relationships and bring the brand to greater heights."

Business-wise, the company is struggling as in April, the home-grown company said it was suspending some of its operations in Asia and cutting its global headcount by 10 per cent as part of its strategic review. Further in May, Honestbee announced that it was ceasing its food delivery service in Singapore.

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