Edwin Khew

I’m the Chairman, Director and Co-Founder of AirCarbon Pte Ltd, a blockchain based digital platform for trading digital carbon and investing in sustainable projects. I’m also a former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) and currently the Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), an Emeritus President of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES), a Supervisory Board Member of Solar Energy  Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) and a Board member of the Professional Engineers’ Board (PEB) Singapore. I represent SEAS on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Energy for All Partnership’s (E4ALL) Steering Committee as its Co-Chair and Chairman of its Enterprise Development Working Group.

I was awarded the Public Service Medal (PBM) by the President of Singapore during Singapore’s National Day in 2014.

The training I received through the NUS EMBA helped a great deal in understanding the management of projects including its complexities, leadership, managing of organisations, and the confidence to take on such projects which included motivating and incentivising a diverse team to meet tight datelines. Prior to the EMBA, I already had more than 20 years of senior management experience as founder, CEO and MD of a number of small to medium sized companies, but I was managing from gut instincts, and I made many mistakes. On hindsight, with proper formal training undertaking through an EMBA programme, I would have planned, strategised, and managed better, and would have circumvented many of the mistakes and bad judgements which I have made.

The EMBA training also prepared me to lead and chair large associations, corporate boards, and even serve for a term as a Nominated MP in the Singapore Parliament where I was involved in Parliamentary debates and presented papers on issues to do with environmental sustainability, climate change, as well as issues affecting SMEs in the manufacturing sector.

I retired a few years ago from being responsible for bottom line performance of a company, but I continue to serve on boards of small startups to medium sized corporations, advising the CEO and the Board on growth strategies, management systems, market development, regionalisation, sustainability, and government relationships. Many of these qualities of corporate management I brought along with me till today as I serve and lead as the Chairman/President of two associations, one professional institution (IES), and a public-private joint initiative of a large multilateral bank (Asian Development Bank).

I strongly recommend an EMBA programme, especially the NUS EMBA, to C-suite and managers who are keen to improve their management capabilities, corporate planning and strategies for growth and expansion, as well as their confidence in taking on key roles in trade associations, chambers, and community related organisations for voluntary work outside of their corporations. The EMBA also taught me the importance of ethics and corporate governance, and from my various responsibilities, I also learnt to apply social goals to satisfy corporate shareholders in terms of Environment, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG). All this prepares a person to be a well rounded corporate professional executive in today’s world where pandemics, economic sustainability and climate challenges have become a norm. One therefore needs to know how to manage a corporation under these difficult and challenging circumstances, when to close it down or pivot and keep to it alive and viable.