Desmond Kuek

Singapore Armed Forces (1981 – 2010)

Kuek was enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1981. He attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course in Fort Benning, USA and was awarded the Distinguished Allied Leadership Graduate in 1985. He was the top student at the Army's Company Tactics Course in 1987 and Battalion Tactics Course in 1989, held in SAFTI, Singapore. He also attended the Command and Staff Course at Camberley Staff College in the United Kingdom in 1991.^[4] As a scholar, he rose rapidly through the ranks, receiving the following appointments:

1. Commanding Officer, 41st Battalion Singapore Armoured Regiment;
2. Head of Defence Studies Department, Ministry of Defence;
3. Commander, 4th Singapore Armoured Brigade;
4. Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Operations);
5. Commander, 3rd Division; Director, Joint Intelligence Directorate;
6. Chief of Staff, General Staff;
7. Chief of Army (2003–2007).^[3]

On 23 March 2007, he succeeded Ng Yat Chung as the Chief of Defence Force (CDF).^[5]

Kuek relinquished his appointment as the CDF on 31 March 2010 and was succeeded by Neo Kian Hong.^[6]

Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (2010 - 2012)

After leaving the military, Kuek served as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources from 1 July 2010^[7] to 30 September 2012.^[8] During his tenure, he co-chaired the Environment and Water Technologies (Clean Water) Executive Committee and the Steering Committee on CleanTech Park.

SMRT Corporation Limited (2012 - 2018)

On 1 October 2012, Kuek was appointed President and Group CEO of SMRT Corporation Limited (SMRT),^[9][10] a transport company providing rail, bus, and taxi services. As group CEO, he was also responsible for making the company private by selling it to Temasek Holdings on 29 September 2016.^[11]

Addressing the media on 16 October 2017, a week after Singapore experienced its worst train disruption and first-time flooding of MRT tunnels, Kuek blamed "deep-seated cultural issues" within the organization and "human error" as factors that contribute to the litany of train disruptions. Without elaborating how, he said he took full responsibility for all that has happened under his watch as group CEO.^[12]

In a press statement on 18 April 2018, SMRT announced that former Chief of Defence Force (CDF) Neo Kian Hong will replace Desmond Kuek as group CEO from 1 August. Kuek‘s tenure was marked by increased rail breakdowns and numerous incidents such as falsification of maintenance records that resulted in unprecedented MRT tunnel flooding and consequent 20-hour service disruption, train collision that injured 38 people and safety lapses that resulted in the death of two SMRT trainees who were struck by a train while doing an inspection.^[13]

Miscellaneous

He was a member of the Centre for Strategic Futures Advisory Board and the Advisory Group for Civil Service Governance & Leadership (Human Resource). He sits on the Civil Service College Board and chairs its audit committee. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board at SAP Asia Pacific & Japan, Engineering College Advisory Board at Nanyang Technological University, and International Advisory Committee at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

He also held directorships on the boards of the following companies: Housing and Development Board, from 2001 to 2003; International Enterprise Singapore, in 2005; JTC Corporation, from 2007 to 2010; Defence Science and Technology Agency, from 2007 to 2010; ST Engineering and its various subsidiaries, from 1994 to 2010.^[1][14]