Singapore – As chief executives of their respective firms, CEOs are sure mentioned and displayed a lot on online media, and this year, DBS Bank’s Piyush Gupta emerged as the most visible CEO in local digital media in Singapore, according to a report by market intelligence firm CARMA ASIA. 

Gupta had the largest volume of online articles that mentioned him, amounting to 90 articles from the period of May to October this year. CEOs’ visibility, or frequency of mentions, was studied on both mainstream media – which are local online publications such as The Straits Times, The Business Times, and The New Paper – as well as on social media, particularly Twitter mentions.

Gupta retains the crown, being hailed in the same rank last year. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines’ Goh Choon Phong received the highest social media engagement with 999 mentions. 

According to the report, Gupta outperformed other CEOs due to his frequent communication around DBS’ efforts to navigate the COVID-19 crisis. 

The report also looked into how ‘favorable’ the visibility of CEOs are on media, and for this strand, Wilmar International’s CEO Kuok Khoon Hong took the reigns.

Favorability was measured via an article’s disposition, such as whether a company appears in the headline, the tone of the sources inside the article, and the sentiment of the journalist and the media outlet. Meanwhile, the mood of Twitter mentions was determined via the tone of the messages as well as the type of emojis and GIFs placed.  

The report said Hong’s favorability in the media emanated from the depiction of Hong as resilient, financially sound, and supportive towards the community by giving away the company’s largest-ever S$7m donation as well as the firm’s acknowledgment that the business had continued to record positive performance in 2020.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines’ CEO Goh Choon Phong was commended for being the first to publicly address the news surrounding SIA including staff layoffs and pay cuts, as well as their rapid response to the backlash following new initiatives such as the ‘Flight To Nowhere.’ 

OCBC’s Samuel Tsien, Singtel’s Chua Sock Koong, UOB’s Wee Ee Cheong were also among the most visible CEOs with a total of 60, 40, and 22 articles respectively. These were due to their prompt responses to the COVID-19 crisis, assurance of the companies’ financial positions, and introduction of digital transformation initiatives to ensure their companies are able to weather the COVID storm.

CARMA ASIA’s Managing Director Andrew Nicholls spoke about the importance of CEOs being vocal in a time of crisis.

“In a period that has shaken confidence, the pressure on CEOs to provide guidance and reassurance to shareholders, employees, and customers has intensified.” 

Singapore – Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced a new arm that will offer external businesses and organizations training programs in broad areas of service excellence, operational excellence, organizational innovation, and digital transformation.

The Singapore Airlines Academy will leverage the wide range of globally recognized skills and competencies that exists within SIA, which have enabled the Airline to establish a pre-eminent position in a highly competitive industry. It will also tap on the decades of experience that has been accumulated by SIA staff.

Training packages will be customized to meet the requirements of individual companies and organizations. Courses that will be offered include Service Excellence and Leadership, Handling Challenging Customers, and Innovation Programme and Playbook. They will be conducted by SIA trainers, who are certified instructors and facilitators with practical front-line experience.

SIA began offering external courses in September 2020, when it collaborated on a customized training program with Singapore-based Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) for its patient care officers. The three-day course included topics such as effective interpersonal communication, customer handling, and learning how to exemplify values such as empathy, warmth, and care.

Vanessa Ng, SIA’s vice president for human resources shared that the airline receives many requests from organizations wanting to know how it has attained its leadership in the industry in terms of operational excellence and successful digital transformation.

“Our focus on people development and investment in training has been key to achieving these world-class standards. We are happy to share our competencies by offering specialized training programs to external organizations. This would also allow us to contribute to Singapore’s national goal of reskilling and upskilling the country’s workforce,” said Ng.

Ng also noted that the new academy is also a strategic move for the SIA Group, having a potential to add a new source of revenue in the coming years.

Singapore – Singapore Airlines (SIA) has rolled out Kris+, an all-new app that brings payment, lifestyle, and rewards services together in one platform for its customers.

Building on the strengths and popularity of the existing KrisPay app, the app is not just a loyalty wallet but a platform that will provide dining, retail, and entertainment discounts. It will also be offering customers the option to earn miles from everyday spending or pay for purchases and experiences with these miles.

SIA shared that the investment into Kris+ is part of the company’s ongoing strategy to drive non-airline revenue streams in the coming years.

With an updated interface and user experience, Kris+ will allow Singapore Airlines to personalize offers for its global customer base via location-based or interest-based recommendations, offer discounts, miles-back, instant rewards, and exclusive birthday and pay per sale privileges, 

Currently, Kris+ has more than 150 partners with over 650 outlets in Singapore providing customized deals with privileges for customers. In addition, Singapore residents who travel abroad will be able to enjoy special offers and rewards in January 2021 when Kris+ brings on board overseas partners and merchants in selected destinations to the platform. 

Meanwhile, KrisPay has been integrated into Kris+, and will soon be enhanced with other in-app payment options to allow users to simultaneously earn more miles with each purchase. 

Acting Senior Vice President Marketing Planning JoAnn Tan said, “Our vision is to create a comprehensive and updated lifestyle and payments ecosystem with Kris+. This will offer even more and better options and benefits for our global customer base, and bring additional value to our partners around the world.”

To celebrate the much-anticipated launch of Kris+, SIA will be offering a slew of promotions for users including 30% instant miles-back on purchases redeemed with miles until 26 October 2020. Other deals over October and November include bonus miles earn campaigns and more mile-back campaigns in addition to S$1 and S$2 deals from selected partners, one-for-one dining deals, and discounts at selected retail partners in Singapore.