Board of Directors

Great Eastern Life Assurance
Great Eastern General Insurance
Norman Ka Cheung Ip Board Chairman of Great Eastern Malaysia
Norman Ka Cheung Ip

Chairman, Board Member

Mr Norman Ip was appointed to the Board of Directors ("Board") on 8 August 2014 as an Independent Director and Chairman of the Board. He was re-elected as Director on 12 April 2023. He is also the Chairman of various Great Eastern subsidiaries in Malaysia. On 8 August 2023, he was redesignated as Non-Independent Non-Executive Director.

Mr Norman Ip is currently a Director of QAF Limited and a Member of Securities Industry Council.

Mr Norman Ip was previously the Group Managing Director of United Engineers Limited, Deputy Chairman of Building and Construction Authority, Chairman of Malaysia Smelting Corporation Bhd, UE E&C Ltd, WBL Corporation Limited and Director of Australia Oriental Minerals NL, Great Eastern Holdings Limited, The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited and Great Eastern General Insurance Limited. He is a Chartered Accountant by training and has over 40 years of commercial experience in finance and investments, real estate and managing companies. From 2000 to 2009, he was President and Group CEO of The Straits Trading Company Limited (“STC”), the main activities of which are in real estate, mining and hospitality. Prior to joining STC in 1983, he was with Ernst & Whinney (now known as Ernst & Young LLP).

Mr Norman Ip holds a Bachelor of Science (Econs) from London School of Economics and Political Science. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.

Khor Hock Seng Board Director of Great Eastern Malaysia
Khor Hock Seng

Board Member

Mr Khor was appointed to the Board on 1 March 2016 as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director. He was redesignated as an Executive Director on 3 August 2016. He was re-elected as Director on 18 April 2024. Mr Khor is also a Director of various Great Eastern subsidiaries in Malaysia.

Mr Khor presently sits on the Board of several companies within the Great Eastern Group in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Mr Khor holds a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Actuarial Science and Statistics from Macquarie University, Australia and a Certificate of Actuarial Techniques from the London Institute of Actuaries.

Siew Kah Toong
Siew Kah Toong

Board Member

Mr Siew was appointed to the Board on 1 March 2019 as an Independent Director. He was re-elected as the Director on 13 April 2022.

Mr Siew is currently the Managing Partner of Sekhar & Tan and Senior Partner of Nexia SSY PLT. He is also a Director of Fraser and Neave Holdings Berhad. He previously served as a Director of Wing Tai Malaysia Berhad, Emas Kiara Industries Bhd and Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad.

Mr Siew was involved in the role of Special Administrator for several public listed companies pursuant to the Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Berhad Act, 1998 and successfully restructured them for re-listing. Mr Siew’s area of expertise is in auditing, financial reporting and corporate advisory. He has served as the audit engagement partner on many public listed companies.

Mr Siew is a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (“MIA”), the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“MICPA”) and CPA Australia. He is also a member of the Practice Review Committee of the MIA and the Financial Statements Review Committee and Accounting and Auditing Technical Committee of MICPA.

Ou Shian Waei
Ou Shian Waei

Board of Member

Mr Ou was appointed to the Board on 15 January 2020 as an Independent Director. He was re-elected as the Director on 12 April 2023.

Mr Ou is currently the Chairman and Public Interest Director of Private Pension Administrator Malaysia and Director of FIDE FORUM. He previously served as a Director of Alliance Financial Group Berhad, Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad as well as the Chairman of AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad.

Mr Ou served as CEO/Country General Manager of IBM Malaysia from 1996 to 1999 and was appointed to the same role again in 2007 until his retirement in January 2010. Prior to joining IBM in 1976, Mr Ou was a key member in the Corporate Planning Department of Malayan Banking Berhad that implemented the first online banking system for the bank in Malaysia and also for MBB Singapore.

Mr Ou holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

 

Foong Soo Hah
Foong Soo Hah

Board Member

Mr Foong was appointed to the Board on 1 March 2022 as an Independent Director. He was re-appointed as the Director on 13 April 2022.

Mr Foong previously served as a Director in several companies, including Employees Provident Fund, Malaysia Life Reinsurance Group Bhd, Malaysian Insurance Institute, NV Multi Asia (Hong Kong), Bank Simpanan Nasional, Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia, Sentral Reit Management Sdn Bhd, Aviva Ltd (Singapore) and Private Pension Administrator Malaysia. He was also the past President of the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) as well as the Actuarial Society of Malaysia.

Mr Foong has close to 4 decades of experience in the insurance industry having started his career as an actuarial assistant in a leading international insurance company in Hong Kong. He had served as Chief Executive Officer of British American Life Insurance Berhad (currently known as Manulife Insurance Berhad). In 1996, he joined Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad as its CEO and retired in 2009 as a Director and CEO of Great Eastern Capital Sdn Bhd.

Mr Foong holds a Master of Actuarial Science from Northeastern University, Boston and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Mathematics from Universiti Malaya. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, USA. He was commissioned as a Registered Financial Planner (RFP) and Shariah RFP, as well as awarded as a Fellow of the Malaysia Financial Planning Council.

Mimi Sze Ho
Mimi Sze Ho

Board Member

Ms Mimi was appointed to the Board on 1 March 2024 as an Independent Director. She was re-appointed as the Director on 18 April 2024.

Ms Mimi was a Director in The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited, Great Eastern General Insurance Limited and Great Eastern General Insurance (Malaysia) Berhad until 31 December 2023. She was also the Principal and Director of Regulatory Professional Pte Ltd until December 2020, a Director of Partner Reinsurance Asia Pte Ltd and Central Provident Fund Board, a Director and Member of the Finance Committee of Assisi Hospice as well as an Executive Director with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) from March 1998 to September 2008 in various capacities including Insurance Supervision, Capital Markets Supervision, Financial Markets Development and Chief Representative for MAS in New York and London. Ms Mimi was also a Member of the Disciplinary Committee for Casino Regulatory Authority. Prior to that, she was the Chief Financial Officer and Appointed Actuary for Prudential Assurance Company Singapore Pte Ltd from February 1994 to February 1998.

Ms Mimi holds a Bachelor in Mathematics and Master in Mathematical Statistics, both from Columbia University. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, USA and also a Financial Industry Certified Professional (FICP) for Compliance.

 

Tan Ley Ley
Tan Ley Ley

Board Member

Ms Tan was appointed to the Board on 1 August 2024 as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director. 

Ms Tan had an extensive career in the banking industry over a span of more than 35 years and held various positions in Treasury which include Foreign Exchange Trading, Asset Liability Management (Conventional & Islamic), as well as Acting Treasurer within the OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad before retiring as the Head of Asset Liability Management.

Ms Tan holds a Bachelor of Economics (majoring in Business Administration) from University of Malaya. She is a Chartered Banker of Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers.

Norman Ka Cheung Ip Board Chairman of Great Eastern Malaysia
Norman Ka Cheung Ip

Chairman, Board Member

Mr Norman Ip was appointed to the Board of Directors ("Board") on 8 August 2014 as an independent Director and Chairman of the Board. He was re-elected as Director on 18 April 2024. He is also the Chairman of various Great Eastern subsidiaries in Malaysia. On 8 August 2023, he was redesignated as Non-Independent Non-Executive Director.

Mr Norman Ip is currently a Director of QAF Limited and a Member of Securities Industry Council.

Mr Norman Ip was previously the Group Managing Director of United Engineers Limited, Deputy Chairman of Building and Construction Authority, Chairman of Malaysia Smelting Corporation Bhd, UE E&C Ltd, WBL Corporation Limited and Director of Australia Oriental Minerals NL, Great Eastern Holdings Limited, The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited and Great Eastern General Insurance Limited. He is a Chartered Accountant by training and has over 40 years of commercial experience in finance and investments, real estate and managing companies. From 2000 to 2009, he was President and Group CEO of The Straits Trading Company Limited ("STC"), the main activities of which are in real estate, mining and hospitality. Prior to joining STC in 1983, he was with Ernst & Whinney (now known as Ernst & Young LLP).

Mr Norman Ip holds a Bachelor of Science (Econs) from London School of Economics and Political Science. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.

Khor Hock Seng Board Director of Great Eastern Malaysia
Khor Hock Seng

Board Member

Mr Khor was appointed to the Board on 1 March 2016 as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director. He was redesignated as an Executive Director on 3 August 2016. He was re-elected as Director on 12 April 2023. Mr. Khor is also a Director of various Great Eastern subsidiaries in Malaysia.

Mr Khor presently sits on the Board of several companies within the Great Eastern Group in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Mr Khor holds a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Actuarial Science and Statistics from Macquarie University, Australia and a Certificate of Actuarial Techniques from the London Institute of Actuaries.

Madam Tan Fong Sang
Madam Tan Fong Sang

Board Member

Mdm Tan was appointed to the Board on 10 March 2017 as an Independent Director. She was re-elected as Director on 13 April 2022. She was also a Director of Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad from March 2017 until July 2019.

Mdm Tan is currently a Director of Fraser & Neave Holdings Berhad and OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad. She was previously a Director in several subsidiaries of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (“OCBC”),  namely e2 Power Sdn Bhd, OCBC Credit Berhad, OCBC Capital (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and OCBC Advisers (M) Sdn Bhd. She held various executive positions in OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, including the Chief Financial Officer, a position which she held until her retirement in 2012.

Mdm Tan holds a Bachelor of Accounting from the National University of Malaysia. She is a Chartered Accountant registered with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

 

Mr Lai Chin Tak
Mr Lai Chin Tak

Board Member

Mr Lai was appointed to the Board on 1 November 2019 as an Independent Director. He was re-elected as Director on 13 April 2022.

Mr Lai was previously a Director of G3 Global Berhad. He held various leadership roles in Malaysia and the region, moving from a marketing role with Oracle Malaysia before joining mobile telecommunications provider Celcom (now known as Celcom Axiata) as its Senior Vice President in 2002 to 2005. Subsequently, he went on to head TM Net Sdn Bhd as its Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) from 2005 to 2006. He then assumed the post of CEO of Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (P1) from 2007 to 2013. From 2013 to 2015, he was the President Director/CEO of Innovate Indonesia (now known as MyRepublic Indonesia) and assumed the post of Group Director of Singapore-based MyRepublic Group from 2015 to 2017.

Mr Lai holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the Queen's University of Canada and Master's Degree in Business Administration from the Oklahoma State University, USA.

Mr Tong Hon Keong
Mr Tong Hon Keong

Board Member

Mr Tong was appointed to the Board on 1 July 2023 as an Independent Director. He was re-appointed as Director on 18 April 2024.

Mr Tong is currently a Director of Great Eastern Takaful Berhad and Chairman of BOS Wealth Management Malaysia Berhad.

Previously, Mr Tong was a Director of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad where he served as the Chairman of the Risk Management Committee and Member of the Board Audit Committee. He was also a Director of OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad.

Mr Tong built his career at Maybank over a span of more than 30 years, where he lead various functional areas, including Planning, Information Systems, Central Operations and Management Information Services. He served as Senior Executive Vice President of Strategy and Transformation, for Business Banking/SME Banking from 2010 to 2013.

Mr Tong holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) Degree from the University of Malaya. He is an alumnus of the Advanced Management Program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Mr Gan Kim Khoon
Mr Gan Kim Khoon

Board Member

Mr Gan was appointed to the Board on 1 September 2024 as an Independent Director.

Mr Gan is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of I-Berhad and Supermax Corporation Berhad.

Mr Gan began his career in December 1982 with KPMG Malaysia. He then joined the Internal Audit Department of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad (“SCB”) in 1989 which was his first exposure to commercial banking. After 2 years, he was transferred to the Corporate & Institutional Banking Division of SCB as the Financial Officer. Mr Gan transitioned to the investment banking industry in January 1994, starting as a Senior Investment Analyst with HSBC James Capel (Malaysia) and other roles before progressing to the position of Regional Head/Director of Equity Capital Markets with prominent investment banks, namely OSK Investment Bank Berhad and RHB Investment Bank Berhad. He retired in July 2023 and his last held position was Executive Vice President/Head, Equity Markets at AmInvestment Bank Berhad.

Mr Gan holds a Master of Business Administration from University of Wales, Bangor and Manchester Business School, United Kingdom. He is a Chartered Accountant registered with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants. He is also an Associate of the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers and a holder of Capital Markets Services Representative’s License from the Securities Commission Malaysia.

Mr Ng Hon Soon
Mr Ng Hon Soon

Board Member

Mr Ng was appointed to the Board on 1 September 2024 as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director. He was previously on the Board of the Company from November 2014 until his retirement in July 2019 to comply with the requirement on minority common directors among the Great Eastern affiliates, pursuant to Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”) Policy Document
on Corporate Governance, which took effect from 3 August 2019.

Mr Ng is currently a Director of Bond Pricing Agency Malaysia Sdn Bhd. He had previously served as a Director of Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad, Pac Lease Berhad and RAM Rating Services Berhad.

Mr Ng was with BNM for 10 years before joining Nomura Advisory Services in 1994. He joined Pacific Bank Berhad in 1995, and was appointed as General Manager in 2001 to head PacificMas Berhad (renamed from Pacific Bank Berhad following the sale of its banking business). He was seconded by PacificMas Berhad to Pacific Insurance Berhad as its Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) in 2002 and was later appointed CEO of PacificMas Berhad from 2004 to 2012.

Mr Ng has over 40 years of experience in the financial industry, including in banking (conventional and Islamic), insurance (life and general), hire purchase, trustee services, and fund management.

Mr Ng holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Computer Technology) from Universiti Sains Malaysia and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University, USA.