Board of Directors

Kartar Singh Thakral
Chairman

Mr Kartar Singh Thakral is an executive director and the Chairman of the Company. He was first appointed a Director since the incorporation of the Company on 7 October 1993 and was last re-appointed on 24 April 2008. He is a member of the Nomination Committee of the Company.

In addition, Mr Thakral is the Chairman of the Thakral Family Companies, Joint Chairman of Thakral Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as well as a non-executive Director of Parameswara Holdings Ltd and India listed GIVO Limited. He joined the family trading business in 1949. He was a director of the Singapore Trade Development Board appointed by the Minister for Trade and Industry for a period of four years until 31 December 1998 and Chairman of GIVO Limited till 31 October 2006. He was also a member of the Committee to Promote Enterprise Overseas and a member of the Regional Business Forum, both appointed by the Singapore Government. He is a trustee of the Singapore Sikh Education Foundation and Sri Guru Nanak Sat Sang Sabha and was a trustee of Singapore Indian Development Association from 1991 till 31 December 2006.

Natarajan Subramaniam
Vice-Chairman

Mr Natarajan Subramaniam is a non-executive director of the Company. He was first appointed a Director since 15 November 1995 and was last re-elected on 24 April 2008. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the Nomination Committee and Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee of the Company. The Company’s Nomination Committee considers Mr Subramaniam to be an independent director

Mr Subramaniam began his accounting career in 1965 as a trainee with Blackborn Mellstrom & Co, London and subsequently with Ernst & Young, London. He had been a partner of Ernst & Young, Singapore since 1976 and was an associate of the firm from January 1994 until December 2003. His major areas of experience include audit, investigations, IPOs and mergers and acquisitions. He was for a number of years a member of the Accounting Standards Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore and a member of the Accounting and Auditing Standards, Quality Control and Professional Development Committees of Ernst & Young International. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Singapore. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Malaya in Singapore. He is currently a non-executive director of India listed Karthikeya Paper & Boards Ltd.

Inderbethal Singh Thakral
Non-Executive Director

Mr Inderbethal is a non-executive director of the Company. He was first appointed a Director since 12 August 1994 and was last re-elected on 26 April 2007. Mr Inderbethal has over 30 years of exposure in trading and is experienced in conducting business on the Chinese mainland. He joined the family business, Thakral Brothers (Pte) Ltd in Singapore in 1975. In 1980, he moved to Japan to familiarise himself with the operations and business partners there. He relocated to Hong Kong in 1984 to take charge of the Group’s Hong Kong and PRC operations which were engaged in the distribution of consumer electronic products. With China trade becoming an important part of Hong Kong’s business direction, Mr Inderbethal focused on expanding the Group’s business in the PRC and developing trade relations in the PRC and Hong Kong. At the same time, he enlarged the range of brands as well as product lines carried by the Group thereby increasing its share of the consumer electronics market.

Mr Inderbethal was instrumental in the Initial Public Offer of Thakral Corporation Ltd - the holding company of the Group’s Hong Kong, China and Japan operations. Thakral Corporation Ltd was listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Singapore in December 1995, a major milestone in the growth of the Group.

Mr Inderbethal is also a non-executive director of Thakral Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and Chairman of Sahib Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Education Trust, Hong Kong.

Heng Chiang Meng
Non-Executive Director

Mr Heng Chiang Meng is a non-executive director of the Company. He was first appointed a Director on 22 December 1999 and last re-elected on 28 July 2006. The Company’s Nomination Committee considers Mr Heng to be an independent director. He is the Chairman of the Compensation Committee and is also a member of the Audit Committee and Nomination Committee of the Company.

Mr Heng also sits on the boards of Orchard Parade Holdings Limited, Jasper Investments Limited, Keppel Land Limited, Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund Limited and Garratt’s Limited (listed on Australian Stock Exchange, Sydney). He was the Managing Director and Group CEO of Lim Kah Ngam Limited (now known as HLG Enterprise Limited), Executive Director in the Far East Organization Group and Managing Director of First Capital Corporation Limited. His other area of work experience was in the banking and financial sector, having worked 20 years in Overseas Union Bank Group, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Citibank NA.

He was a Member of the Singapore Parliament for four terms from 1985 to 2001 and is currently a Board member of the National Environment Agency.

Jasvinder Singh Thakral
Executive Director

Mr Jasvinder Singh Thakral is an executive director of the Company. He was first appointed a Director since 15 November 1995 and was last re-elected on 28 July 2006.

Mr Jasvinder joined the Group as Managing Director of Thakral Japan in 1970 and is responsible for the operations of the Osaka buying office. Being born and brought up in Japan, he has extensive experience in Japanese business and work culture and has been in charge of sourcing consumer electronic products directly from Japanese manufacturers. Over the years Mr Jasvinder has strengthened relationships with the Group’s suppliers and has managed to retain their support despite difficult times. Furthermore, he has been the key person in managing the changeover to the current high-end product line that the Group distributes. More recently, Mr Jasvinder has been involved in building relationships with new manufacturers for India and has successfully added Canon, Elecom and Sony to the brands of consumer electronic products that the Group distributes in India.

Lee Ying Cheun
Non-Executive Director

Mr Lee Ying Cheun is a non-executive director of the Company and is considered to be an independent director by the Company’s Nomination Committee. He was first appointed a Director on 15 November 1995 and was last re-elected on 26 April 2007. Mr Lee is a member of the Audit Committee.

Mr Lee held appointments in the Economic Development Board locally and overseas from 1966 to 1984. He was the Deputy CEO of Trade Development Board from 1985 to 1994, Group General Manager of WBL Corporation and Managing Director of Wearnes Technologies from 1994 to 1998 and an Executive Director of Hong Kong listed Vincent Intertrans Limited from 1999 to 2000. He held various executive positions (Asia) in Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc., USA from 2001 to 2006 and was Director and Chairman of FHTK Holdings Ltd until November 2006. Mr Lee relinquished his position as Non-Executive Chairman in Singapore listed Jurong Technologies Industrial Corporation Limited and redesignated as its Non-Executive Vice Chairman and Lead Independent Director in November 2007. He is currently a Director of Jurong Hi-Tech (Suzhou) Co. Ltd, PT. Plexus Manufacturing Indonesia, President and Executive Director of Global EMS Management Pte. Ltd., Corporate Investment Adviser to Bu Chang Pharmaceuticals Group, China and Executive Chairman of HealthTrends Holdings Pte Ltd and HealthTrends Medical Investments Pte. Ltd. In public service, Mr Lee was the Consul General to Osaka, Singapore Trade Representative to China, Singapore Ambassador to Mexico, Brazil and Panama. He is a Patron of Toa Payoh East Citizen Consultative Committee.

Mr Lee holds degrees in Bachelor of Science & Bachelor of Science with Honours (Applied Chemistry) from the University of Singapore. He completed programs in Operations Research (University of Birmingham), Training Methodologies (Turin), Management of Small/Medium Size Enterprises (Osaka) and Advanced Management Programs at INSEAD and Harvard. He was a Chartered Chemist with the Royal Institute of Chemistry, UK and is an Honorary Fellow of the All India Management Association and a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors. Board of Directors Thakral Corporation Ltd Annual Report 2007

Teo Tong Kooi
Non-Executive Director

Mr Teo Tong Kooi is a non-executive director and a member of the Compensation Committee of the Company. He was first appointed a Director since 23 March 2005 and was last re-elected on 24 April 2008.

Mr Teo is also a Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hong Leong Asia Ltd. (“HLA”), the President and Director of New York listed China Yuchai International Limited (“CYI”), Executive Director of Malaysia listed Tasek Corporation Berhad (“Tasek”), a Director of HLGE and Malaysia listed Isyoda Corporation Berhad. During the past 3 years, he was a Director of Malaysia listed Bintai Kinden Corporation Berhad.

Mr Teo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing Management and a Master of Business Administration (both from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California, USA). He has also completed the Executive Management Programme at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He has a wealth of corporate and commercial banking experience with many years in senior management positions where he was Head of Corporate Banking of Deutsche Bank, Malaysia and Chief Operating Officer of Hong Leong Bank, Malaysia.

Hoh Weng Ming
(Alternate to Teo Tong Kooi)

Mr Hoh Weng Ming is appointed as an Alternate Director to non-executive director, Mr Teo Tong Kooi since 5 May 2008.

Mr Hoh holds a Bachelor of Commerce and MBA from University of Canterbury and Massey University, (both in New Zealand) respectively.  He is a member of New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

Mr Hoh is currently the Chief Financial Officer of CYI.  Prior to re-joining CYI, he was the group controller of the Industrial Product Group division for Hong Kong-listed Johnson Electric Industrial Manufactory Limited, a leading industrial electric motor producer from 2005 to 2008, the deputy general manager and financial controller for two of HLA’s subsidiaries: Henan Xinfei Electric Co., Ltd. from 2003 to 2005 and CYI, from 2002 to 2003, and a management consultant from 2001 to 2002.  Prior to this, Mr Hoh was the Managing Director for the Simplex Group in Asia from 2000 to 2001 and its Finance Director from 1998 to 2000, both positions based in Hong Kong.

Ting Sii Tien @ Yao Sik Tien
Non-Executive Director
 
Mr Ting Sii Tien @ Yao Sik Tien is a non-executive director of the Company. He was first appointed a Director since 5 May 2008.  Prior to his appointment as non-executive director, he was an Alternate Director to Mr Teo Tong Kooi of the Company.

Mr Ting is currently Group Chief Financial Officer of HLA since 2002. He has over 25 years of experience as a financial controller in various companies including Deutsche Bank AG (Singapore), Bank of Montreal Singapore and is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. 

Mr Ting is a Director of Tasek and Alternate Director to Mr Teo in HLGE.  He was Chief Financial Officer and a Director of CYI.

Andrew James Schwartz
Non-Executive Director

Mr Andrew James Schwartz is a non-executive director of the Company. He was first appointed a Director on 02 May 2007 and was last re-elected on 24 April 2008. Mr Schwartz is currently Babcock & Brown’s Head of Property for the Asia Pacific region including their activities in Australia comprising Real Estate Principle & Investment business, funds management and advisory activities. Since joining Babcock & Brown in 1997, Mr Schwartz has specialized in high end value asset financing, cross border real estate financing, project financing, acquisition and advisory work, and has been successful on numerous high end value government bids and major projects.

Prior to joining Babcock & Brown, Mr Schwartz was with AIDC Ltd, an Australian government owned financier, as Director – Risk. He was a Senior Manager at Bank of America prior to his employment with AIDC Ltd. Mr Schwartz sits on the board of a number of Babcock & Brown related companies and is a non-executive director of Australian listed Babcock & Brown Communities Ltd (formerly known as Primelife Corporation Limited).

Mr Schwartz holds a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University, Australia and is a registered Certified Public Accountant with CPA Australia.

Eytan Michael Uliel
(Alternate to Andrew James Schwartz)

Mr Eytan Michael Uliel is Alternate Director to Non-executive director, Mr Andrew James Schwartz. He was first appointed as an Alternate Director on 2 May 2007. Mr Uliel is currently the Head of Asia, Corporate Structured Finance Group of Babcock & Brown Securities (Singapore) Pte Ltd. He joined Babcock and Brown in 2006.

Prior to joining Babcock & Brown, Mr Uliel was with Carnegie, Wylie & Company, an Australian-based direct investment and advisory firm, where he was most recently a Managing Director and Head of their Singapore office, responsible for the firm’s Asian activities. He commenced his career as a corporate lawyer, with leading Australian law-firm Freehills. Mr Uliel has been involved in a number of private equity investments, including several investments in the South-East Asia region. He has significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings and general corporate advisory work, having advised government and various leading companies on a range of corporate situations.

Mr Uliel also has significant experience in public and private company board duties. He is currently a director of a number of private companies in Australia, Israel, Singapore and The Netherlands. Mr Uliel is former Non-executive Chairman and Audit Committee Chairman of Australia and Singapore listed China Education Limited (formerly known as Easycall International Limited) and a former director of Australia listed CH4 Gas Limited (now known as Arrow Energy Ltd) and Singapore listed Jasper Investments Limited.

Mr Uliel holds a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia and was admitted as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia in 1997.