Ng Chee Khern

Ng Chee Khern

Senior Fellow, 2025 - Present

Ng Chee Khern was previously the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Manpower where he placed strong emphasis on initiatives to help workers and local workforce develop their careers and access good jobs and worked closely with MTI and Tripartite partners to develop economic growth strategies that would provide good jobs for Singaporeans. He was also previously Permanent Secretary for Smart Nation and Digital Government in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) from May 2017 to March 2022. In this role, he led the government’s efforts in driving the development of digital enablers for citizens and businesses, and applying digital and smart solutions to improve the lives of citizens in a Smart Nation. He was Permanent Secretary (Defence Development) in Singapore's Ministry of Defence from May 2014 to April 2017, where his portfolio covered defence research and technology, capability development and acquisitions, and defence administration. He was concurrently 2nd Permanent Secretary in Singapore’s Ministry of Health from August 2014 to February 2016 where he oversaw the overall operations, emergency preparedness and capacity building for the public healthcare sector in Singapore.

Mr Ng is the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), serving on the Boards of Hong Leong Asia Ltd, SIA Engineering Company Limited and NCS Pte Ltd as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He is a Senior Fellow of Civil Service College, LKYSPP Distinguished Practitioner Fellow and Professor of Practice, and Public Sector Training Institution Network and Chairman of the Advisory Board to NTU’s College of Computing and Data Science.

Mr Ng was previously the Chairman of the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) board, and served as a board member of the National Research Foundation (NRF), Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd, and CapitaLand Mall Trust.

Mr Ng was enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1984 and served in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Throughout his military career, Mr Ng held various appointments, including: Commanding Officer, 149 Squadron; Commander, Tengah Air Base; Director, Joint Operations and Planning Directorate; Chief of Staff (Air Staff). He succeeded as the Chief of Air Force in March 2006. After leaving the Air Force, Mr Ng was appointed as the Director of the Security and Intelligence Division in September 2010.

Mr Ng was a recipient of the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1985. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Second Upper Class Honours) and a Master of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford. He also graduated with a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.