Saw Phaik Hwa (; born 1957 in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

) is a Malaysian-born Singaporean businesswoman. She was the President and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the SMRT Corporation from December 2002 to 6 January 2012. Prior to that, she had 19 years of experience at DFS Venture Singapore (Pte) Ltd.

Education

Saw received an honours degree in biochemistry from the University of Singapore.

Career

DFS Ventures

From 1984 to 2002, Saw served as Regional President for DFS Venture Singapore (Pte) Ltd. She left the company in 2002 as a result of budget cuts.

SMRT Corporation

In 2002, Saw became the President of SMRT. In December 2011, Saw's resignation as the president of SMRT in the midst of public anger over two train breakdowns that caused commuters to be stranded. These breakdowns were the worst since the transit system was started in 1987. On 6 January 2012, Saw resigned as a director of SMRT, following which former Army General

Desmond Kuek Desmond Kuek Bak Chye is a Singaporean former lieutenant-general who served as Chief of Defence Force between 2007 and 2010. After leaving the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Kuek had served as Permanent Secretary for Environment and Water ...

was appointed as the President and Group Chief Executive Officer.

Auric Pacific

On 1 May 2012, Saw was appointed to be the CEO of Auric Pacific, specializing in Delifrance, Sunshine and Topone, including the best-selling

Food Junction Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ing ...

. She retired from this post effective 30 April 2015.

Criticism

During her tenure as head of SMRT, Saw was accused of under-investing in maintenance of trains and tracks. This led to a culmination of train breakdowns, especially in 2015, causing delays to hundreds of thousands of commuters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saw Phaik Hwa 1957 births Singaporean people of Hokkien descent Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) Living people Singaporean chief executives Singaporean women in business