CapitaLand announced that Chong Lit Cheong will assume the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) position at CapitaLand Commercial Limited (CCL) with effect from Feb 10.

He will take over from Ee Chee Hong, currently on a six-month sabbatical leave and who will assume a new appointment within the CapitaLand group upon his return.

Liew Mun Leong, President & CEO of CapitaLand Group, says: “I am pleased to welcome Lit Cheong to the CapitaLand team from next month. The group is continuing its efforts to acquire quality sites after divesting eight aging commercial buildings in 2006 and 2007 at unsurpassed prices. Lit Cheong has a long, proven track record in Singapore and overseas, and with his considerable experience and fresh perspective, will lead our commercial business to ride the next growth cycle.”

Chong brings with him almost 30 years of professional and leadership experience. He will oversee the group’s commercial properties in Singapore and is also responsible for overseas markets including Malaysia, India and Japan.

Before joining CapitaLand, Chong was the CEO of International Enterprise Singapore, an agency under Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry which promotes the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade. Prior to that, he was the CEO of JTC Corporation and the Managing Director of the National Science and Technology Board (now called A*STAR). Earlier, he served in the Singapore Economic Development Board and was posted to Suzhou, China, to lead the development of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park project.

Chong, who is 55 years of age, is a Mombusho (Colombo Plan) Scholar and holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics) from the University of Tokyo. He also completed the Tsinghua Executive Program in Shanghai, China, in 2004 and an Advanced Management Programme at Insead in France in 1994.