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He is also the Chairman of GlobalTix, a Singapore-based provider of e-ticketing solutions for the travel and tourism industry.[2]In addition, he is the Chairman and Co-founder of Sandbox/Figiam, a UK-based global digital learning company with Liberty Global and Napster as co-investors. Most recently, Tan was appointed Chairman of Outpost Entertainment, a Singapore-headquartered company focused on delivering cross-cultural content and entertainment between Korea and Southeast Asia, targeting audiences across the region.
In August 2024, he became Executive Chairman of K Wave Holdings.[3] Under his leadership, the company achieved a successful listing on NASDAQ (ticker: KWM), later rebranded as K Wave Media Ltd.[4] Following the listing, Tan stepped down from his executive role.
Tan has a Bachelor of Accountancy degree, graduating with Second Class Upper Honours in 1995 from NTU. He has a Master of Business Administration from Yale University and completed a postgraduate course at Harvard Kennedy School. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and is both an Australian- and a Singapore-registered Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He was also a President of the CFA Society Singapore.[5]
Business career
Tan started his career in 1995 at Keppel Corporation's treasury division, where he traded proprietary Asian equities and fixed income. Between 1999 and 2001, he ran the proprietary credit portfolio for DBS Bank before becoming a managing director at Amaranth Advisors. Later, he joined Apollo Global Management and founded its Asian operations. In 2015, Tan announced his retirement from the finance industry.[6]
Between 2016[7] and March 2024, Tan served as the Asia-Pacific CEO of Trafigura, a Global Fortune 500 company,[8] becoming the first Asian to hold this position.[9] In 2019, Trafigura was the largest amongst only three Singapore companies to appear in the Fortune Global 500 list and was ranked top 22 globally.[10] In 2024, Trafigura was recognised as the 12th largest company in the world.
In May 2020, Tan was appointed to the Emerging Stronger Taskforce (EST) set up under the Future Economy Council (FEC)/Prime Minister’s Office. The government-led task force, comprising key industry representatives, has been formed to explore new sources of economic dynamism and ensure Singapore remains resilient in the post-COVID-19 era.[11] Tan also co-led the Emerging Stronger Taskforce's Alliance for Action on Supply Chain Digitalisation and EduTech, and is a member of the Sustainability working group.
In 2023, Tan was appointed as Chairman of the Energy Supply Resilience Advisory Panel under Singapore's Energy Market Authority (EMA).[12] He was also nominated as a member of the Trade & Connectivity Standards Committee under the Singapore Standards Council (SSC)/MTI, which facilitates the development, promotion and review of standards in Singapore.
Tan has and continues to serve on the boards of various organisations both in the public and private sectors. The positions he has held include being a member of the Resource Panel for Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance and Trade and Industry; Monetary Authority of Singapore's Finance Centre Advisory Panel;[13] and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's International Maritime Centre (IMC) 2030 Advisory Committee.[14]
He is a board member of JTC where he is Chairman of the Finance and Investment Committee; also of Singapore Press Holdings and Azendian Solutions, an AI, Data Science and Operations Technology company developing sustainability solutions in the built environment. Tan is also a non-executive and independent director of Keppel REIT (until June 2017)[15] and a member of the Grab Inc advisory board.
With a strong commitment to mentorship and an advocate for education, Tan is a member of the Advisory Panel for Youth Corps Singapore; member of the Advisory Panel for the Ministry of Education; member of the Advisory Panel for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth;[16][17] and sits on the Hwa Chong Institution EXCO of Board of Governors as well as EXCO of Board of Directors. He is also a member of Nanyang Technological University's board of trustees; Lien Aid Limited (Singapore); the endowment fund for KK Women's and Children's Hospital;[18] and an advisory board member of Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance.
Tan has been an Academy Member of the Global Teacher Prize since its inception in 2013 and is involved as a judge in the award of the US$1 million “Nobel” teaching prize. He took up the International Olympic Committee Financial Advisor role from March 2016 to December 2019.
Family office
Tan is an active investor in technology and makes personal investments through his family office vehicle.[19] Tan is an early investor in South Korea's largest e-commerce company, Coupang. In 2018, Coupang raised $2billion from SoftBank Vision Fund valuing the company at $9billion.[20] Tan has been actively involved with K Enter Holdings Inc., a Delaware, US-based company that announced a $610 million merger deal with a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company in 2023.[21]
Academic career
Tan and Thomas R. Robinson, president and CEO of AACSB International, co-wrote Asian Financial Statement Analysis: Detecting Financial Irregularities, which was published in April 2014 by Wiley.[22] The Chinese version of the book was launched in Shanghai in 2015 to sold-out success.[23]
In December 2020, Tan published his second book, Values at the Core, co-authored with Thomas Grandjean, which explores the role of human values in thriving societies and was listed as one of Financial Times readers' Best 2021 Summer Books.[24][25]
In May 2024, Tan co-authored his third book with Thomas Grandjean titled Economic Success: Fate or Destiny. The authors examine the growing political uncertainty around the world, tracing its roots to past and present political and financial policies. The book offers insight into how the global landscape may evolve into a new multipolar order—one in which Asia assumes a more prominent and strategic role.[26]
Tan was honoured as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2010.[31] He received the Distinguished Financial Industry Certified Professional Award from the Singapore government in 2013. In 2014, he was honoured as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and World Cities Summit Young Leader,[32] and received the Nanyang Alumni Award from Nanyang Technological University, his alma mater.[33] In 2015, he received the World Outstanding Young Chinese Entrepreneurs Award from business newspaper Yazhou Zhoukan and the World Federation of Chinese Entrepreneurs Organization.[34] He was also voted by The Hedge Fund Journal as the emerging top 40 absolute return investors globally and recognised by The Asset for managing the Best Asia Credit Hedge Fund.[35]
During his tenure at Trafigura, Tan championed the company foundation's support of the Community Chest and received a gold medal on behalf of Trafigura on 9 October 2019.
Tan was named a Donaldson Fellow by the Yale School of Management in 2024. This prestigious fellowship recognizes alumni from diverse sectors around the world who demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing complex global challenges and driving meaningful, positive change.[36]
Community involvement
Tan has been actively supporting social work since his university days.[37] Social initiatives that Tan has championed include: setting up of the Premmies Fund with the KK Women's and Children's Hospital to help parents with premature babies cope financially;[38] working with ComChest and NCSS to pilot a quarterly donor engagement series for high net worth individuals looking to make a social impact.[39]
He is a firm believer in the principle of paying it forward and is one of the contributors to the NTU Priorities Fund, which provides support to 400 of the university’s most financially disadvantaged students. In return, recipients pledge to “pay it forward” within two years of graduation by repaying the interest-free financial assistance to the university, ensuring the fund remains sustainable and evergreen.[40]
He has supported the ComChest "You'll Never Walk Alone" fundraising campaign. Campaign funds raised will go towards over 80 social service agencies supported by ComChest to empower lives of the vulnerable, adults with disabilities, children with special needs and youth-at-risk, families in need, vulnerable seniors and persons with mental health conditions.[41]
Personal life
Tan comes from a humble background, starting life with his parents and two siblings in a one-room apartment in Toa Payoh.[42][43] His family is made up of his wife and three children.[9] Tan is an avid fan of Premier League football club Liverpool F.C.[44]
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