SINGAPORE, 4 February 2020 (Tuesday) – Mr Robert Yap Min Choy, Chairman of the Board of Advisors at Singapore Management University’s (SMU) School of Information Systems (SIS) and Chairman and Independent Director of Sunseap Group, has been named Dean’s Fellow of Information Systems at SIS, the first time such an honour has been bestowed in recognition of his significant contributions.

Mr Yap will hold the position for a two-year period from 1 January 2020. 

Mr Yap has chaired SIS’ Advisory Board since its formation in February 2006. Through the years, he has shown unwavering support for the School in many ways, such as promoting its education programmes to his business network, speaking at the School’s outreach events, linking the School to industry partners and sponsors and endorsing the School’s programme proposals.

He was instrumental in securing the DFS Scholarships for SMU during his tenure at DFS Group. The School has also consulted him frequently on major decisions concerning its development and education programmes. In addition, Mr Yap served on SIS’ External Academic Review Panel in 2015 and on the SIS Dean Search Committee in 2016.

As SIS Dean’s Fellow, Mr Yap will continue to provide the School’s faculty and students access to his mentorship, knowledge and experience.

Mr Yap said: “It is a privilege and honour to be conferred this distinguished title from SMU. I believe in empowering the next generation of industry influencers and business leaders, and helping them build a bright future through education and industry partnership programmes in technology, renewable energy, healthcare and ESG impact investments. 

“I am passionate about sustainability and how we can play a part toward fighting climate change. Like Sunseap Group which is paving the way in renewable energy through solarisation and has grown to become a leader in sustainability in Singapore and across Asia, I hope to use my industry knowledge and network to bring up a new wave of influencers and leaders who are similarly passionate about creating opportunities and new ventures in smart city technology, renewable energy and environment sustainability. Climate change is real and each of us can do our part to reduce the global carbon footprint.”

Professor Pang Hwee Hwa, Dean of SMU School of Information Systems, said: “This is our inaugural conferment of a Dean’s Fellow and Robert is a clear choice. His support and contributions as a business leader are vital for building our educational programmes. Many students and faculty members at SMU have benefitted from his leadership, expertise and extensive business network. We look forward to working even more closely with him in the coming years.”

Mr Yap is a Singaporean business leader involved in several councils and company boards, primarily in renewable energy, healthcare, technology, maritime logistics and capital markets. Before his retirement in 2014, he was the President of DFS Venture Singapore and Group EVP for Global Business Services at DFS Group. Prior to his stint at DFS, he was CEO for East Asia at PSA International.

He joined Sunseap Group in 2015 as its Chairman and Independent Director. Sunseap is Singapore’s leading sustainable solutions company with a portfolio of close to two GigaWatt-peak (GWp) of pipeline and completed solar projects in Singapore and around the region including Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia. It is also a thought leader in sustainable smart cities, having developed and embarked on an array of hybrid clean energy and smart city technology solutions, such as offsite power purchase agreement and virtual power plants in Singapore.

In Singapore, it is installing more than 170,000 solar panels on HDB blocks and other government buildings under the SolarNova programme. It has also helped private sector companies such as Apple and Microsoft with 100% renewable energy through off-site arrangements, and is also building one of the world's largest offshore floating solar farms along the Strait of Johor. 

Mr Yap is also the Chairman of Skylab Group and Charis-Sozo, a family-led private foundation which assists charitable and social impact projects. In addition, he is currently the Independent Board Director of IMDA Singapore, Jurong Port and advisor to Jubilee Partners investments. Mr Yap also sits on IMDA’s Investment Committee overseeing funds management and capital market performance across diverse asset classes. He was formerly a member of the IBM Corporation Global Advisory Board based in New York, as well as a Board Director of several SGX-listed companies such as CWT and Frontline Technologies.

In his capacity as industry advisor, Mr Yap serves as Advisory Board Chairman to the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU, as well as Advisory Council member of University of New South Wales Singapore.