Agilent Technologies Board of Directors elects Koh Boon Hwee as new chairman
Agilent Technologies Inc. announced that Koh Boon Hwee has been elected chairman of the board, effective at the end of today’s shareholders’ meeting. Koh, who has been a member of Agilent’s board since 2003, replaces James G. Cullen, who served as chairman since 2005 and will continue as a director.
“Boon Hwee has provided consistently strong leadership and guidance, both as a board member and as chairman of our compensation committee,” Cullen said. “He has tremendous expertise in international business and a strong commitment to Agilent’s success, making him a valuable asset to the board. I am delighted that he will assume the chairmanship of the company.”
Cullen added, “The orderly transition of the chairman’s role reinforces Agilent’s good-governance practices, including succession planning to ensure consistently extraordinary capability and integrity at the head of our company.”
A proven visionary and distinguished leader, Koh has served as chairman of well-known companies such as Singapore Airlines, Singapore Telecom and DBS Bank, Ltd.
Agilent President and CEO Mike McMullen said, “Boon Hwee is highly respected by both board members and Agilent leadership. He offers a wide breadth of valuable perspective from his leadership at many international and Asia-based companies.”
“I would also like to pay special tribute to Jim Cullen for his exceptional leadership as board chairman over the past 12 years. His guidance and support have been invaluable in the company’s successful transformation into a global leader focused on life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets,” McMullen said. “I appreciate the strength of our board and the diverse insights they bring as Agilent continues to deliver on our priority of supporting our customers with answers they can count on to solve their greatest challenges.”
“I am very pleased to accept the position of chairman during such an important time in the company’s growth,” Koh said. “I am particularly honored to follow Jim Cullen, whose wise counsel and stalwart support over the past decade have helped Agilent develop into a company that now consistently outgrows its competitors. I have long admired Agilent’s scientific contributions, as well as its distinctive customer-centric culture of integrity, since the early days of my career, and I am looking forward to serving as its chairman now.”
About Koh Boon Hwee
Koh is managing director of Credence Capital Fund II (Cayman) Ltd., a private equity fund. He currently serves as the non-executive chairman to Sunningdale Tech Ltd., where he was previously the executive chairman and CEO. He has also served as chairman at DBS Bank Ltd., Singapore Airlines and Singapore Telecom. Earlier in his career, Koh spent 14 years with Hewlett-Packard Co. in its Asia Pacific region. He is a graduate of Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, and Harvard Business School.
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