Mdm Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, conferred the Honorary Citizen Award on Mr Peter Voser and the Public Service Star (Distinguished Friends of Singapore) award on Mr Ajay Banga during a ceremony held at the Istana earlier today.
Dr Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), said, “Mr Peter Voser and Mr Ajay Banga have contributed significantly to the growth of Singapore’s economy. Under their leadership, their respective companies initiated long-term investments that led to new industrial capabilities and capacities, which strengthened Singapore’s competitiveness. EDB and Singapore have benefitted enormously from their friendship and support.”
Mr Peter Voser
Mr Voser has been the Chairman of ABB since 2015, and the Group Chairman of PSA International (PSA) since 2019. Prior to these roles, he served as the Chief Financial Officer at Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) from 2004 to 2009, and subsequently as the Chief Executive Officer from 2009 to 2013. Over the course of his career, Mr Voser made significant contributions to the Energy & Chemicals and Controls & Automation sectors here.
As the former CEO of Shell, he oversaw the company’s decision to invest more than S$4 billion in the Shell Eastern Petrochemical Complex in Singapore. The integration of Shell’s refinery on Pulau Bukom to a cracker complex boosted the competitiveness of its operations and enabled the company to better address the growing demand for chemicals in Asia. This investment also helped Singapore anchor a range of high value downstream petrochemical plants. Today, Singapore remains as Shell’s only Energy and Chemicals Park in Asia.
As Chairman of ABB, Mr Voser supported the expansion of the company’s activities here and helped to ensure Singapore’s continued relevance to the company under its new operating structure. ABB expanded its innovation capabilities and established the company’s only Industrial Automation Collaborative Operations Centre, Service Robotics Application Centre and the digital innovation team for Motors & Drives in the Southeast Asia region. ABB currently employs around 900 employees in Singapore. Aside from innovation, the company undertakes activities ranging from business development, engineering services and corporate functions.
Under his Chairmanship, PSA achieved a record-high container throughput volume in 2021 and developed new businesses such as supply chain and digital solutions. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, PSA played a critical role in enabling the movement of essential supplies into Singapore and keeping global supply chains open. PSA also contributed to our national COVID-19 efforts by setting up facilities to support the recovery of COVID-19 patients. In addition, Mr Voser personally helped to secure the supply of medical diagnostics units for hospitals here during the early days of the pandemic.
Mr Voser has also been a Director of the Board of Temasek since 2015. His strong business networks have helped Temasek deepen its engagements in markets around the world. In addition, Mr Voser was a key member of EDB's International Advisory Council from 2013 to 2019. With his extensive experience and rich understanding of Singapore’s operating context, he provided invaluable insights and advice to help sharpen our economic strategies.
On being conferred the Award, Mr Voser said: “I am very proud and humbled to receive the Honorary Citizen Award from Singapore, a country close to my heart. It has played a very important role during my life and my career, both at Shell and ABB but of course also at Temasek, PSA International and the EDB. I have been working with many great people here in Singapore and am honoured that together we could contribute to the development of this great country. Singapore has not only established itself as a key industrial player in Southeast Asia, but also as a global financial and logistics hub. The future is definitely bright for the Lion City.”
Mr Ajay Banga
Mr Banga is currently Vice Chairman at General Atlantic, after 12 years at the helm of Mastercard. As the former Chief Executive Officer of Mastercard from 2010 to 2020, and the Executive Chairman of its Board of Directors in 2021, he made signification contributions to the growth of the payment technology industry in Singapore. He was instrumental in the expansion of Mastercard’s activities in Singapore. Mastercard’s presence in Singapore grew from 75 employees in 2010, to over 600 in 2021. Mastercard also deepened its regional headquarters activities here, with the consolidation of its strategic control and decision-making authority for the company’s Asia-Pacific business in Singapore.
Of note, Mr Banga was instrumental in Mastercard’s decision to build up capabilities in Singapore to undertake product innovation. This enabled next-generation payment solutions to be developed and launched out of Singapore. Mastercard Foundry, formerly Mastercard Labs, is the company’s research and development arm and it established its Singapore base in 2012. The company has built up capabilities such as data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning. In 2019, Mastercard set up a Data & Analytics Centre of Excellence in Singapore to help businesses act on proven insights and trends. Mastercard Foundry has also collaborated with over 280 start-ups globally, including local players such as Moneythor, Mintable and Stacs, uplifting the payments and innovation ecosystem in Singapore and the region.
As a champion of talent development in Singapore, Mastercard has hired and trained more than 100 early career professionals over the last 5 years through its Graduate Development Programme. The structured programme includes rotations to different business units, mentorship opportunities, and international work experience for select trainees. Mastercard has also participated in the IMDA Company-Led Training Programme to develop talent in areas like software engineering, data science and analytics, and product delivery.
In addition, Mr Banga was a former member of EDB’s International Advisory Council. His thoughtful perspectives on issues such as cross border data flows, the digitalisation of small and medium enterprises, and geopolitical affairs were invaluable to the Council’s discussions.
On being conferred the Award, Mr Banga said: “It is an absolute honour for me to receive this award today. Singapore has played a unique and critical role in the world for many years. It is a centre of human progress, dedicated to peace and prosperity for its citizens and neighbours as they work to achieve a more inclusive future. This starts at the highest levels of leadership, rooted in a forward-thinking, collaborative and pro-business approach that will deliver dividends for years to come. I have been privileged over the last decade at Mastercard to have a large and talented team in Singapore. They have worked hard and benefited from the amazing environment that Singapore provides - its role as a hub, as a catalyst, as a spark of human creativity and application. All of us are grateful and proud to be a part of the Singapore magic.”
