Desmond Kuek Bak Chye is a Singaporean business executive and former army general.
Education
Kuek received his secondary and pre-university education in Anglo-Chinese School and Anglo-Chinese Junior College respectively. He was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1982. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in engineering science from the University of Oxford, as well as a Master of Public Administration degree in macroeconomics and statistics from Harvard University.
Kuek also attended the Command and Staff Course at Camberley Staff College in the United Kingdom in 1991.
Career
He was the sixth Chief of Defence Force of the Singapore Armed Forces from 2007–2010 and held the rank of Lieutenant-General. He is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of SMRT Corporation. Kuek enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1981.
On 23 March 2007, he succeeded Ng Yat Chung as the Chief of Defence Force (CDF).
Kuek relinquished his appointment as the CDF on 31 March 2010 and was succeeded by Neo Kian Hong. After leaving the military, Kuek served as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources from 1 July 2010 to 30 September 2012.
During his tenure, he co-chaired the Environment and Water Technologies (Clean Water) Executive Committee and the Steering Committee on CleanTech Park. He sits on the Civil Service College Board and chairs its audit committee.
He also held directorships on the boards of the following companies: Housing and Development Board, from 2001 to 2003.
International Enterprise Singapore, in 2005. Joint Technical Committee Corporation, from 2007 to 2010. Defence Science and Technology Agency, from 2007 to 2010.
System Technologies Engineering and its various subsidiaries, from 1994 to 2010.
Kuek became the President and Chief Executive Officer of SMRT Corporation on 1 October 2012. They have two children.
Membership
He was also a member of the Centre for Strategic Futures Advisory Board and the Advisory Group for Civil Service Governance & Leadership (Human Resource).