Board of Directors

Seated:
Dr Henry Tay

Standing from left:
Mr Michael Tay, Dr Kenny Chan, Mr Kuah Boon Wee, Ms Christine Pillsbury, Mr Lock Wai Han, Mr Jeffry Lee
Mr Liew Choon Wei (absent), Mr Chow Wai San (absent)

Dr Henry Tay
Executive Chairman
Dr Henry Tay was appointed Executive Chairman of The Hour Glass Limited in October 1987, having served as an Executive Director since 11 August 1979.

Dr Tay graduated with a MBBS (Honours) from Monash University, Melbourne and prior to founding The Hour Glass in 1979, was both a medical practitioner as well as partner in Lee Chay & Co., one of Singapore’s earliest watch retail companies.

From 1986 to 2001, Dr Tay was Executive Chairman of a group of companies whose businesses were in the distribution and retail of Burberry in the Asia Pacific region. Dr Tay was an Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Limited. He also holds directorships in several private companies focused on investments and real estate development.

Dr Tay served as a Committee Member of the Community Chest from 1992 and was appointed Vice-Chairman from 1994 to 2004. An active fundraiser for various charitable organisations, Dr Tay has received many public service awards including the Friends of MCDS (Ministry of Community Development and Sports) Award in 2002 and the President’s Social Service Award in August 2005. He also received the Community Chest Special Recognition Award presented by the President of the Republic of Singapore in September 2015.

Dr Tay was the Founder President of the Hong Kong – Singapore Business Association from 1994 to 2000. He also served as a board member of the Singapore Tourism Board.
Mr Michael Tay
Group Managing Director
Mr Michael Tay was appointed as Group Managing Director on 1 April 2015. He first joined the Company in January 1999 as its Business Re-Engineering Manager.

Mr Tay has developed extensive watch industry experience having headed multiple facets of The Hour Glass’ business from specialty watch manufacturing to wholesale channel distribution and greenfield retail development. He is the President of the jury for the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize, a member of the jury for the FP Journe young talent competition, a member of the jury for the Grand Prix d’ Horlogerie de Geneve and, a member of the cultural committee of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie.

He has served on the Boards of the National Heritage Board and the Singapore Tyler Print Institute, was a member of the governing council for the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art and an advisory board member of Art Basel Cities and Art SG; institutions engaged in the advancement of the heritage and visual arts sector. He was also the Chairman of international humanitarian non‑governmental organisation – Mercy Relief. Mr Tay is presently an Independent Non-Executive Director of UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Limited.

Mr Tay graduated from Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom with a First Class (Honours) in Business and International Management.
Dr Kenny Chan Swee Kheng
Non-Independent Non-Executive Director
Dr Kenny Chan became a member of the Board of The Hour Glass Limited on 1 April 2004. He joined as the Group Chief Operating Officer in 2002 and was appointed as Managing Director of the Company on 1 April 2004. In June 2009, he was re-designated to Group Managing Director of The Hour Glass Limited. On 31 March 2020, Dr Chan retired as Group Managing Director. He currently serves as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director.

A graduate of Monash University with a MBBS (Honours), Dr Chan has over 30 years of experience in the luxury goods industry. Prior to joining The Hour Glass, he was the Managing Director of Burberry Singapore and Burberry Australia, companies that formed part of a group that was the exclusive distributor and agent of Burberry.

Dr Chan served as a Council Member of the Singapore Retailers Association until his retirement on 8 July 2020.
Mr Lock Wai Han
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr Lock joined the Board of The Hour Glass Limited on 1 October 2020 as an Independent Non-Executive Director and serves as a member of the Company’s Audit Committee and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. He was appointed Lead Independent Director on 1 January 2022.

Mr Lock is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of OKH Global Ltd. He is also a Non‑Executive Director of ARA Trust Management (Suntec) Ltd. Mr Lock was the Executive Director and Group CEO of Rowsley Ltd and before that, was based in Beijing as the China CEO of CapitaMalls Asia (“CMA”) where he had oversight of a retail mall portfolio that included Raffles City projects and CMA mixed developments.

Mr Lock had served in the Singapore public sector for more than 20 years during which he held various leadership roles including Commissioner of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, Director of the Criminal Investigations Department and Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Communications & the Arts, as well as directorships on various statutory boards.

Mr Lock graduated from the University of Cambridge with Bachelor and Master of Arts (Engineering) degrees. He also holds a Master of Science (Management) degree from Leland Stanford Junior University.
Mr Kuah Boon Wee
Non-Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr Kuah was appointed to the Board of The Hour Glass Limited on 1 April 2011 as an Independent Non-Executive Director. On 1 January 2022, he was re‑designated to Non‑Independent Non‑Executive Director. He serves as a member of the Company’s Audit Committee and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Mr Kuah is the Group Chief Executive Officer of MTQ Corporation Limited. He is an Independent Non‑Executive Director of UOB‑Kay Hian Holdings Limited and Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of its Remuneration Committee. He is also an Independent Non‑Executive Director of Sing Investments & Finance Limited and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and member of its Audit Committee and Loan Committee. He had served as CEO for South East Asia and Singapore Terminals as well as Chief Financial Officer of PSA International Pte Ltd.

Mr Kuah is a qualified chartered accountant from the ICAEW and graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Imperial College of Science and Technology.
Mr Liew Choon Wei
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr Liew was appointed to the Board of The Hour Glass Limited on 1 April 2017 as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He is the Chairman of the Company’s Audit Committee.

Mr Liew is an Independent Non‑Executive Director of FJ Benjamin Holdings Ltd. Mr Liew recently retired as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Frasers Hospitality Asset Management Pte. Ltd. and Frasers Hospitality Trust Management Pte. Ltd., after serving his term of nine years with the companies.

Mr Liew was with an international public accounting firm for more than 30 years before retiring in 2013 as an Audit Partner. He is a retired Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK and a Chartered Accountant of Singapore.
Mr Jeffry Lee
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr Lee was appointed to the Board of The Hour Glass Limited on 1 October 2017 as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He is the Chairman of the Company’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Mr Lee is the Senior Vice-President of HPL Properties Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hotel Properties Limited. Prior to joining HPL Properties Pte Ltd, he was an economic research analyst at Jacob Ballas & Co Stockbrokers.

Mr Lee graduated from Loughborough University with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Ms Christine Pillsbury
Independent Non-Executive Director
Ms Pillsbury was appointed to the Board of The Hour Glass Limited on 1 December 2022 as an Independent Non-Executive Director. She serves as a member of the Company’s Audit Committee and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Ms Pillsbury is a Principal at Hillhouse Investment Management Ltd, a global private equity firm. Prior to joining Hillhouse, she was Partner & Chief Operating Officer for Eighteen48 Partners Ltd, a London-based wealth management firm. Ms Pillsbury has over 25 years of operational and investment experience in Asia Pacific, having served as the Chief Financial Officer for various private equity and health care firms, in addition to working as an investment professional in equity research and portfolio management.

Ms Pillsbury has a Bachelor of Arts degree with Distinction (Cum Laude) from Princeton University and is a CFA charterholder.
Mr Chow Wai San
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr Chow was appointed to the Board of The Hour Glass Limited on 1 August 2024 as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He serves as a member of the Company’s Audit Committee. He is the Managing Director of Aquifer Consulting Pte. Ltd., a boutique corporate advisory firm. Prior to setting up the firm, he was a director at nTan Corporate Advisory Pte Ltd.

Mr Chow graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a Bachelor of Accountancy degree. He is a Chartered Accountant of Singapore, a member of CPA Australia and a CFA Charterholder.

Board of Directors

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