2025 Board Changes at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore

1     The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) today announced board appointment changes at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). These appointments will take effect from 1 April 2025.

Appointment of New Chairman and Retirement of Current Chairman

2     Mr Nicky Tan, Chief Executive Officer, nTan Corporate Advisory Pte Ltd, will be appointed as the Chairman of the IPOS Board. He will succeed Dr Stanley Lai SC, Partner and Head of Intellectual Property Practice and Co-Head of Cybersecurity & Data Protection Practice, Allen & Gledhill LLP, who has served as Chairman since 1 April 2013.

3     As Chairman, Dr Lai played a pivotal role in guiding the transformation of IPOS into a world leading agency that supports Singapore’s innovation economy. His leadership and unwavering commitment propelled Singapore to the forefront of IP and innovation on the global stage. Under his chairmanship, IPOS achieved significant milestones. The IP Hub Master Plan and the Singapore IP Strategy were launched in 2013 and 2021 respectively. IPOS was recognised as the most innovative IP office in the world by the World Trademark Review in 2020. Singapore consistently ranked highly on the Global Innovation Index (GII). Dr Lai’s tenure laid a strong foundation for IPOS’s continued work to strengthen Singapore’s position as a global intangible assets and IP hub.

4     MinLaw and IPOS extend our deepest gratitude to Dr Lai for his outstanding service and contributions.

5     Mr Nicky Tan joined the IPOS Board on 1 April 2019 and has served as the Deputy Chairman of IPOS since 1 April 2020. Mr Tan currently heads nTan Corporate Advisory, a boutique corporate finance and corporate restructuring firm. He is also currently an independent director of Singtel Innov8 Pte Ltd, Chloride Eastern Industries Pte Ltd and Singtel Optus Pty Ltd. A qualified chartered accountant, Mr Tan is a member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants and a former member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Prior to forming his own consultancy firm, he was Partner and Head of Global Corporate Finance at Arthur Andersen Singapore and ASEAN region. Prior to this, he was Partner and Head of Financial Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore and Chairman of Financial Advisory Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers Asia Pacific.

Appointment and Reappointment of Board Members

6     The following have been appointed to the IPOS Board for a term of two years.

• Mr Kok Ping Soon, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Business Federation

• Ms Cindy Khoo, Managing Director, Enterprise Singapore

• Mr Timothy Chin, Senior Director (Americas), Ministry of Trade and Industry

7     Mr Oliver Tan, CEO and Co-Founder, ViSenze Pte Ltd, has been reappointed to the IPOS Board for a two-year term.

Appointment of Ex-Officio Member

8     Mr Tan Kong Hwee, who was appointed as Chief Executive of IPOS from 1 March 2025, has been appointed as a member of the IPOS Board in an ex-officio capacity till 31 March 2028. Mr Tan succeeds former Chief Executive Mrs Rena Lee, who has assumed a full-time position in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Out-going Board Members

9     The following members will be stepping down on 31 March 2025, upon the completion of their current term of office. MinLaw and IPOS would like to extend our appreciation to the members for their dedicated service and invaluable contributions.

• Mr Ted Tan, Enterprise Fellow, Enterprise Singapore

• Mr Harsha Basnayake, Global Managing Partner (Business Administration and Risk), Ernst & Young

• Mr Tan Pei-En, Senior Director (Government Data and Governance), Ministry of Digital Development and Information, and Assistant Chief Executive (Data & AI, Government Technology Office), Government Technology Agency

10    A write-up on the new members and the full list of IPOS Board Members are available in Annex A and Annex B respectively.

MINISTRY OF LAW
28 March 2025

Media Contact:

(Ms) Amelia Leong
Email: Amelia_Leong@mlaw.gov.sg
Contact Number: 9026 6111

Annexes
2025 IPOS Board Changes Media Release Annexes A & B