media released photos of the two new directors that he forced his way through.
you know what Sherman is thinking?
The plot thickens. Looks like both father and son tio pussy gong tao max.
https://www.straitstimes.com/busine...ies-with-kwek-leng-bengs-adviser-catherine-wu
CDL’s Sherman Kwek says source of discord lies with Kwek Leng Beng’s adviser, Catherine Wu
Mr Sherman Kwek (right), son of billionaire Kwek Leng Beng (left), revealed that the underlying reason that led to the public fallout at the company was his father’s adviser, Dr Catherine Wu.PHOTOS: CDL, LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE
SINGAPORE - Mr Sherman Kwek, group chief executive of City Developments Limited (CDL) and son of billionaire Kwek Leng Beng, said on Feb 27 that the underlying reason that led to the public fallout at the company was
his father’s adviser, Dr Catherine Wu.
“There has been no attempt by us to oust the chairman,” he said in a statement, referring to his father, who is executive chairman of CDL.
“The primary reason for the dispute relates to a very serious issue of corporate governance within the CDL group arising from the conduct of one Dr Catherine Wu.”
He added: “The chairman’s claim that there is an ‘attempted coup’ by the majority directors to consolidate control of CDL’s board is not only incorrect, it distracts from the nub of the issue, therefore requiring us to respond to present the full picture.”
Although Dr Wu’s official position is adviser to the board of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), a wholly owned and principal subsidiary of CDL Group,
she has been interfering in matters going well beyond her scope, and she wields and exercises enormous influence, the younger Mr Kwek claimed.
“These matters have troubled us as directors. Due to her long relationship with the chairman, efforts that were made to manage the situation were done sensitively, but to no avail,” he said.
His group is proposing a resolution to terminate the advisory agreement that Dr Wu has with the board of M&C, and another to affirm that Dr Wu has no power and authority, among other things, to influence or advise the directors, management and staff of the CDL and M&C groups.
“We considered them to be necessary to protect the interests of the shareholders and relevant staff of the CDL group, and to restore proper corporate governance and accountability,” he said.
These resolutions were passed by the majority of the board on Feb 21.
The application for the injunctions was filed on Feb 25, and the minority directors asked the court to hear them on the merits on an urgent basis, unsuccessfully asking that these resolutions be reversed, Mr Sherman Kwek disclosed.
Dr Wu served as a director at M&C, the hotel subsidiary of Mr Kwek Leng Beng’s business empire, until her service was terminated in January 2024.
She also acted as personal assistant to the older Mr Kwek – though she was not an employee – and was paid directly by him, according to an employment tribunal document filed in London in 2018.
Last August, Dr Wu returned to M&C’s board as an adviser.
Mr Sherman Kwek said CDL’s minority directors, comprising his father, Mr Philip Yeo, Mr Colin Ong and Mr Chong Yoon Chou, served him and four others court papers just after noon on Feb 26 for a hearing that was held only 2½ hours later.
There was little time to respond, he added.
Following a closed-door High Court hearing, Mr Kwek Leng Beng said that
newly appointed directors Jennifer Duong Young and Wong Su-Yen have agreed not to exercise their powers until further court notice.
The older Mr Kwek added that lapses of corporate governance at CDL and its subsidiaries have been halted.
But his son said: “What in fact happened was that because the majority directors did not have the opportunity to present our case, we voluntarily offered undertakings, as defendants often do in such urgent applications, to preserve the status quo until a full hearing where we would have that opportunity.”
The younger Mr Kwek added: “Therefore, despite the attempt to ambush us, the minority directors did not succeed in persuading the court to hear and decide the merits, and in fact ended up on the receiving end of directions themselves and unable to use CDL’s name at the hearing.”
The senior Mr Kwek had
alleged earlier this week that his son and a group of directors bypassed CDL’s nomination committee to push through the appointment of Ms Young and Ms Wong as new independent directors, as well as made significant changes to board committees and governance.
In response, the senior Mr Kwek filed court papers to “restore corporate integrity”, and intends to replace his son as CEO.
CDL said Mr Sherman Kwek will remain as CEO until a formal board resolution is passed to change the company’s leadership.
Trading of CDL shares was
temporarily suspended due to the boardroom dispute, though business operations remain unaffected, a company spokesperson said.
After news of the boardroom discord erupted, DBS Group Research cut its target price for CDL to $6.70 from $10.50. UOB Kay Hian downgraded the stock to a “hold”, with a target price of $4.60, while HSBC kept its “hold” call.
JP Morgan downgraded CDL to “neutral”, with a price target of $4.85, and Morgan Stanley reiterated its “underweight” call on the counter, with a price target of $5.
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Who is Catherine Wu, adviser to CDL’s Kwek Leng Beng?
Mr Kwek Leng Beng reportedly met his long-time adviser, Dr Catherine Wu, at a dinner party in Taiwan in 1992.PHOTOS: ST FILE, SPH FILE
SINGAPORE – Mr Kwek Leng Beng’s long-time adviser Catherine Wu came under the spotlight when his son Sherman Kwek, group chief executive of City Developments Limited (CDL), said on Feb 27 that
she was the underlying reason behind the family’s public rift.
The pair met in Taiwan in 1992 at a dinner party, according to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao.
Here are some details about her.
1. Dr Wu has been Mr Kwek Leng Beng’s adviser for the past three decades
She served as a director at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), a wholly owned and principal subsidiary of the CDL group, the hotel arm of Mr Kwek Leng Beng’s business empire.
Her service was terminated in January 2024, but she returned to M&C’s board as an adviser seven months later.
Dr Wu, who is in her 60s, also acted as personal assistant to Mr Kwek – though she was not an employee – and was paid directly by him, according to an employment tribunal document filed in London in 2018.
When she moved to Singapore from Taiwan in 1992, she had the opportunity to be placed under Mr Kwek Leng Beng’s tutelage.
In a 2024 interview with Zaobao, she said that in her role, she learnt the ropes of hotel management, which included accompanying Mr Kwek to meetings and overseeing hotel decoration and inspection processes.
She is known to be single and has five older brothers. Mr Kwek is married to Madam Cecilia Kok, and they have two sons, Mr Sherman and Mr Kingston Kwek.
Dr Wu served as a director at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels until January 2024.PHOTO: SPH MEDIA
2. She is musically trained
At 15, her parents reportedly sent her to San Francisco Conservatory of Music to pursue her music studies. She won a scholarship and went on to further her studies at The Juilliard School in New York. In the Zaobao interview, she spoke about the pressure she faced and the stressful nature of her academic journey.
“Entering The Juilliard School is like studying law at Harvard University. All my classmates are very talented and competition is fierce,” she said in the interview.
After completing her studies in the US, she returned to Taiwan – where she is originally from – to release her own music albums.
Dr Wu studied music in the US and went on to release her own albums in Taiwan.PHOTO: SPH MEDIA
3. She entered the early childhood industry
When she moved to Singapore, she joined the early childhood industry and ran her own kindergarten business. Marrying her passion for music and education, she told Zaobao that she would write and direct a musical each year for the children to perform at their graduation ceremony.
She sold the business after a decade in the industry and dedicated more of her time to various aspects of hotel management.
4. She was involved in a tribunal related to a hotel employee in London
She was reportedly close to hotel employee Tan Chee Hwee, who was the senior vice-president of global procurement at the Gloucester Millennium Hotel in Kensington, according to British tabloid The Daily Mail.
When he lost his job in 2017, he made a string of claims and complaints against Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, saying he felt “harassed and offended” when others referred to him as a “diva”.
While Mr Tan claimed he was not friends with Dr Wu, the tribunal heard they were “close confidants” and had attended a show by comedian Graham Norton together.
5. She was interested in cyber security
In 2024, she was interviewed by radio station Money FM 89.3 about cyber-security threats during her stint as a secretary-general of GeekCon International, an inaugural conference held by security research institute Darknavy.
“I think most importantly, we should recognise the threats and that the vulnerabilities can never be totally eliminated. We know our bodies and when we get sick... Through self checks, you know when something becomes less protected... It is better to take a proactive approach,” she said.
Dr Wu and CDL’s Mr Kwek at GeekCon in Singapore in May 2024.PHOTO: GEEKCON