1 Mr Poon Hong Yuen will be appointed Chief Executive Officer (Designate) of the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) with effect from 1 November 2026 and will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer on 1 December 2026. Mr Poon succeeds Mr Hao Shuo, who will leave SNEF to take up a new appointment within the public service.
2 Mr Poon brings extensive public-sector leadership experience. He is currently Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and previously served as Deputy Secretary (Workforce) at the Ministry of Manpower and Chief Executive of then SPRING Singapore. His experience in workforce policy, enterprise development and advancing Singapore’s digital economy positions him well to lead SNEF amid rapid technological and economic change.
3 Mr Kuah Boon Wee, President of SNEF, said: “SNEF Council is pleased to welcome Hong Yuen as SNEF’s next Chief Executive Officer. His leadership experience and contributions to workforce policy, enterprise development and the digital economy will be invaluable as SNEF champions employers’ interests, strengthens tripartism and helps businesses harness emerging technologies for workforce transformation and sustainable growth.”
4 Mr Hao joined SNEF as CEO in December 2024 and worked closely with employers, unions and the Government to review employment policies and laws, strengthen SNEF’s support for employers and advance workforce transformation.
5 Under Mr Hao’s leadership, SNEF enhanced its policy, research and communications capabilities, deepened engagement with employers, and grew its membership to more than 4,000 corporate members employing approximately 900,000 employees. More than 700 employers also participated in workplace and workforce transformation programmes administered by SNEF, benefiting over 3,200 employees.
6 Mr Kuah added: “On behalf of the Council, I would like to express our appreciation to Hao Shuo for his leadership and contributions to SNEF and tripartism. He led the Secretariat in working effectively with the Ministry of Manpower and the National Trades Union Congress on important policy reviews, including the review of the Employment Act and the tripartite work on advancing senior employment. He also advanced key initiatives within SNEF such as SNEF’s Advisory, Resource and Consultancy Centre and the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package which provided tangible support to employers embarking on their transformation journey. He also helped SNEF strengthen its management team for the future. We thank him for his time at SNEF and wish him every success in his future endeavours.”
7 Under Mr Poon’s leadership, SNEF will build on its strong foundations to shape a more competitive, resilient and future-ready economy — working with tripartite partners to turn workforce and technological change into new opportunities for businesses and workers.
About Singapore National Employers Federation
The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) is a trade union of employers. Our mission is to advance tripartism and enhance labour market flexibility to enable employers to implement responsible employment practices for sustainable growth. SNEF has a membership of more than 4,000 companies with a combined workforce of around 900,000. For more information, please visit www.snef.org.sg.
