SIA CEO wins coveted business award for transforming the airline

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong has received a much-coveted award for transforming the airline to better compete in an increasingly tough environment. He was conferred the 2016 Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Innovation Award by the United States-based Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) at a gala dinner in New York on Monday (Dec 5) night - the first time a BCIU award has been presented to a recipient from South-East Asia. In honouring him, the non-profit organisation said Goh "is a visionary whose transformational leadership has elevated and energised both the company's brand as well as its people". BCIU president, Peter Tichansky, said: "Goh Choon Phong, characteristic of BCIU's Eisenhower Honorees, is an exemplary leader who has changed his industry through the courage of his convictions." Faced with growing threats from full-service airlines in the premium business, and budget carriers in the regional space, SIA launched its own mid- and long-haul budget carrier, Scoot, which started flying in 2012. During Goh's six-year tenure, SIA has also struck many partnerships with other full-service airlines like Lufthansa, to expand its global reach and network.<br/>