Koh Lin-Net to be new MDA CEO

SINGAPORE: Ms Koh Lin-Net will be the CEO of Media Development Authority from 1 November.

She succeeds Mr Aubeck Kam, who will relinquish his position on 31 October.

The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) announced the changes on Monday.

Ms Koh, 43, joined the Economic Development Board (EDB) in 1991.

She was with the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (now Singapore Tourism Board) from 1994 to 1997.

After obtaining her Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1999, Ms Koh held concurrent positions in the EDB and Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore, before moving to Biomedical Research Council at the former National Science and Technology Board (now A*STAR) in 2000.

From 2001 to 2004, she was concurrently the director for Intellectual Property Policy Division as well as Strategic Planning Division in the Ministry of Law.

In 2004, Ms Koh was posted to MICA as director of arts and heritage development.

In 2007, she was appointed as the deputy secretary (infocomms, media and the arts) at MICA.

While at MICA, she conceptualised the visions, positioning, budget and management structures for two major national projects - the School of the Arts (SOTA) and the National Arts Gallery.

Ms Koh is currently the Deputy Secretary (Trade) at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, a post she has held since 2008.

As deputy secretary, she is responsible for Singapore's trade and economic relations, including the negotiation and the implementation of free trade agreements with Singapore's key trading partners.

She also oversees the promotion of Singapore's interests at regional and multi-lateral forums such as ASEAN, APEC and the World Trade Organization.

Ms Koh was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2009.

MICA also highlighted the contributions of Mr Kam, 42, who has been CEO of MDA since 1 November 2010.

Under his leadership, MDA made significant contributions to the development of the media industry, said MICA.

The MDA grant schemes were revamped to provide greater and more flexible support to the media sector, at the same time placing greater emphasis on the development of quality content, talent upskilling and raising productivity.

Singapore's plans to fully switch over from analogue to digital broadcasting by 2020 were also kick-started during Mr Kam's tenure.

MICA said Mr Kam was pivotal in enhancing MDA's regulatory capability, implementing the cross-carriage measures and harmonising film and television classifications.

With the setting up of the Media Literacy Council, Mr Kam strengthened MDA's partnership with the community, as well as media literacy and cyber wellness efforts.

He also played a key role in enhancing support for public broadcasting and spearheaded the implementation of quality public service broadcast programmes to be delivered across different media platforms in step with changing consumer habits.

Mr Kam served in the Singapore Police Force from 1989 to 2002 and from 2004 to 2006.

Between 2002 and 2004, he was at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where he was Singapore's deputy chief negotiator for the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and the chief negotiator in the ASEAN-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

Mr Kam was with the Ministry of Manpower as deputy secretary from 2006 to 2010 where he helped formulate and implement national manpower policies, ranging from workforce development to income security and retirement adequacy for workers.

He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2007.

Sourced: channelnewsasia