​Singapore, 30 August 2024 – SingHealth today announced a key leadership change at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). Professor Kenneth Kwek, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SGH, will pass the leadership baton to Associate Professor Tan Hiang Khoon who will be appointed as CEO (Designate), SGH, from 1 October 2024, and assume the role of CEO, SGH, with effect from 15 January 2025. Prof Kwek will remain in his role as Deputy Group CEO (Digital Health), SingHealth.

Under Prof Kwek's astute leadership over the past seven years, SGH has advanced in its innovative clinical services, transformative education and cutting-edge research, enabling the delivery of holistic and comprehensive patient-centred care. Building on the strong foundations laid by past leaders, SGH has grown from strength to strength as the nation's foremost acute tertiary hospital and a leading global Academic Medical Centre (AMC). This is evidenced by SGH's consistently high rankings among "World's Best Hospitals" by Newsweek since 2018 – notably as the world's third best hospital in 2019 – and as the fourth best AMC in the 2024 Brand Finance world's global hospital ranking.

Prof Kwek's advocacy for a digital-first and mobile-first approach has driven a hospital-wide service transformation, with the introduction of video consultations, counter-less clinics with online registration and payment, scaled-up medication delivery service, and bedside tablets for patient access to care information. These initiatives not only prepared SGH to manage the COVID-19 pandemic effectively but also set new standards that were adopted by the nation's hospitals and the wider community.

Prof Kwek has been deeply involved in conceptualising and future-proofing healthcare infrastructure and technologies as envisioned in the SGH Campus Masterplan. His relentless pursuit of clinical care advancement and excellence, establishment of the SGH Research and Innovation Office, and guidance in the adoption of population health initiatives and new care models, including the SGH@Home and the Mobile Inpatient Care-at-Home (MIC@Home), have significantly improved healthcare delivery.

"We are deeply grateful to Kenneth for his stalwart leadership and unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation, which have been instrumental in elevating the reputation of SGH as a medical powerhouse on the national and global stage," said Professor Ng Wai Hoe, Group CEO, SingHealth. "As the Deputy Group CEO (Digital Health), SingHealth, Kenneth will fully focus on piloting SingHealth through its digital health journey and navigating the cluster towards its One Digital SingHealth vision, including the successful implementation of a new electronic medical record system to transform care delivery across the cluster."

Associate Professor Tan Hiang Khoon is a visionary clinician and unifying leader with a proven commitment to enhancing patient care and driving positive change. In his previous roles as Chairman, Division of Surgery and Surgical Oncology and Academic Chair, SingHealth Duke-NUS Surgery Academic Clinical Programme, Prof Tan led the integration of SGH's Division of Surgery and NCCS' Division of Surgical Oncology, fostering a unified approach to advanced surgical care for enhanced patient outcomes. Notably, he also established the first cluster-wide disease centre, a new model of care that harnessed the diverse talent and strength of SingHealth institutions, and served as the inaugural Head of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Head and Neck Centre.

As Deputy CEO (Future Health System), SGH, Prof Tan has been instrumental in creating and piloting future health system models to address an evolving healthcare landscape. His focus on healthcare innovation and technology has ensured that SGH can respond effectively to these changes with a nimble and adaptive workforce. Additionally, he led the Steering Committee for Phase 2B of the SGH Campus Masterplan, successfully rallying colleagues in the collaborative co-creation of a new SGH. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he spearheaded a cluster-wide effort to set up and manage 3,700 beds in two Community Care Facilities. Concurrently, as Group Director, International Collaboration Office (ICO), SingHealth, and Director, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute (SDGHI), Prof Tan aligned global health strategies and fostered wide-ranging partnerships, securing over $9 million in extramural funding to scale impactful projects and support new research and initiatives to advance health outcomes in Asia.

In his new role as CEO of SGH, Prof Tan will leverage his extensive leadership experience and strategic insight to build on the strong foundations laid by past generations of leaders, driving SGH to new levels of clinical, education, and research excellence while keeping patients at the heart of all we do. Prof Tan's new appointment will run concurrently with his roles as Group Director, ICO, SingHealth, and Director, SDGHI. He will relinquish his appointment as Deputy CEO (Future Health System), SGH, from 15 January 2025.