Tan Chin Nam

Tan Chi Nam has worked for 33 years in the Singapore Public Service, where he held a number of key positions before completing his term as Permanent Secretary in 2007.

He held several senior public leadership positions, including as Director General and Chairman, National Informatics Board, Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Board, Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Board of Singapore, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Permanent Secretary, Minister of Information, Communications and Arts, Chairman of the National Library Board and Chairman of the Media Development Authority. He played a leading role in the development of Singapore’s information technology, economy, tourism, labour, libraries, media, arts and creative industries.

El Dr. Tan is now a senior corporate advisor who holds management positions at several companies, including Yeo Hiap Seng Ltd, Raffles Education Corporation Ltd and Gallant Venture Ltd. He is Chairman of Global Fusion Capital Pte Ltd and Senior Advisor to Salim Group and Zana Capital Pte Ltd. He is also a member of the Board of the Centre of Liveable Cities Advisory and of the Board of Trustees of the Bankinter Innovation Foundation. His previous corporate appointments include: Chairman of Temasek Management Services Pte Ltd, Chairman of the one-north Resource Advisory Panel, Senior Adviser of Singbridge Corporate Pte Ltd and board member of PSA International Pte Ltd, Stamford Land Ltd and Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City Investment and Development Co Ltd.

El Dr. Tan holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and economics from the University of Newcastle, Australia and an MBA from the University of Bradford, UK. He also holds two honorary doctorates from both universities. He attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. El Dr. Tan holds four Singapore Public Service Medals. He is an Eisenhower Fellow, an Honorary Fellow of the Singapore Computer Society, and a Distinguished Fellow of the EDB Society. He is also a member of the Singapore Institute of Engineers and the Singapore Institute of Directors.

Tan Chi Nam is inducted into the Computer Society Hall of Fame in Singapore and was named by UK’s Television Business International as one of the world’s 20 media personalities and the only Asian to “have an outstanding 2006”. In 1997, he was named Best Travel Personality of the Year by PATA Travel News and Travel Trade Gazette. In 2012, the Singapore Alumni Association and the Australian Government awarded him the Eminent Alumnus Award.