Consumer staples company Hanwell Holdings has appointed former Breadtalk CEO Henry Chu Heng Hwee as its CEO. Chu, who held various positions at Breadtalk over the past decade, left the company in Dec 2019.

 

Hanwell recently came under the control of high profile businessman Sam Goi Seng Hui. At the company&rsquo s AGM late last month, Goi was re-elected with overwhelming support as the non-executive chairman. 

 

Coco Tang Chuek Chee, who was the company&rsquo s long-serving executive director, was voted out.

 

Goi, who is Hanwell&rsquo s second-largest shareholder for years, decided to play a more active role after Hanwell&rsquo s former executive chairman Allan Yap got to quit because he was declared a bankrupt in Hong Kong. For months, Tang was the sole executive director on Hanwell&rsquo s board. She and Yap divorced recently.

With his years of experience in food manufacturing, Goi sees a lot more potential in Hanwell, which sells popular foodstuffs under the brands Fortune and Royal Umbrella.

 

After Goi took control of the board, he brought in two industry veterans on May 5 to help strengthen Hanwell. They are former chairman of NTUC FairPrice Chandra Das, and former group CEO of the same entity, Tan Kian Chew.

Following months of tension, Sam Goi Seng Hui took control of consumer staples company Hanwell Holdings on April 29. Goi, better known for heading foodstuffs manufacturer Tee Yih Jia, is the second largest Hanwell shareholder with a stake of 22.67%.

 

Hanwell&rsquo s long-time executive chairman, Allan Yap, was compelled to resign last September after he had been declared bankrupt in Hong Kong. The single largest shareholder, Violet Profit Holdings, which holds 24.23%, is in liquidation. For months, Yap&rsquo s recently divorced wife, Coco Tang Cheuk Chee, was the sole ED. She controls 19.4% of the shares.

 

Sensing a leadership void, Goi mounted a public relations campaign to get the word out that he is eager to take over as Hanwell&rsquo s executive chairman and draw a nominal annual fee of $1, so that he can bring his years of experience in this industry and his extensive business network to bear and grow Hanwell. Furthermore, control of Hanwell means control of another listed company, Tat Seng Packaging Group, as Hanwell holds 64% of the latter.

 

At the AGM on April 29, shareholders were overwhelming in their support for Goi, with 94.67% in favour of re-electing him. In contrast, Tang was voted out by 55.34% and Yeo See Liang, a newly-appointed ED, too, was voted out.

 

On May 5, two new IDs were appointed: former chairman of NTUC FairPrice Chandra Das, and former group CEO of the same entity, Tan Kian Chew.