TAN Pheng Hock, the former chief executive of ST Engineering, died on Tuesday (Mar 4) at the age of 68.
The industry veteran, who served as CEO from 2002 to 2016, was instrumental in growing the mainboard-listed group into a global company.
Tan started his career as an engineer in ST Marine in 1981. He rose up the ranks and was appointed to the role of president and CEO of ST Engineering early 2002, against the backdrop of the Sep 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which had cast a shadow on the business environment.
During his tenure, the group had to contend with challenges posed by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2003 and the global financial crisis in 2008.
Under his leadership, ST Engineering grew its business internationally through significant acquisitions and investments across its business sectors. He also set up ST Engineering’s Advanced Engineering Centre, which developed future technologies and capabilities.
Tan stepped down from the position in September 2016.
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At the time, ST Engineering’s then chairman Kwa Chong Seng described Tan as having led ST Engineering to “scale great heights” by developing the group from a Singapore-centric company into an integrated engineering group with a global presence.
In 2014, ST Engineering became the only Singapore company to make it to Forbes’ list of the world’s most innovative companies.
Tan himself received many accolades throughout his career. In 2012, he received the Best CEO Award at the Singapore Corporate Awards. He was also named Asia’s Business Leader of the Year in 2013 by media group CNBC for his efforts in putting ST Engineering on the global map.
More recently, Tan served as a non-executive and independent director at property developer Frasers Property since 2018. He was a member of the group’s sustainability and risk management committee. He retired from office in 2025.
He was also appointed to the board of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, and stepped down from the position in June 2024.
Tan’s friends, who kept in regular contact with him, had reported that he had been unwell recently. He previously suffered a mild stroke in July 2015 during his chief executive term at ST Engineering. He was discharged from hospital in August and went on medical leave until the end of September that year.
