PROFESSOR TOMMY KOH
PATRON
MR ALBERT CHIU
HONORARY CHAIRMAN
DR EDMUND LAM
CHAIRMAN
Dr Edmund Lam is the Chief Executive Officer & Director of the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore Limited (COMPASS), which has been lending its financial support to JASS since the association's inception. COMPASS is a leading collective management organisation (CMO) in Asia, having recorded consecutive annual growth since 1993. It is also one of the most efficient CMOs in terms of the expense-to-royalty-collection ratio.
Dr Lam himself brings a wealth of experience and expertise gained from heading an organisation of musicians and safeguarding their rights. He was also the Regional Chairman of the Asia Pacific branch of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) from 1999 to 2010. CISAC represents more than 200 members from 103 different countries. During Dr Lam’s leadership tenure, composers’ and authors’ rights, and collective management became more established in Asia, with many of them enjoying continuing growth in revenue and significant improvements in their documentation.
Dr Lam is a strong supporter of Singapore’s local music and artistes. In his spare time, he is also a sports enthusiast who participates in marathons and triathlons, and regularly practises boxing and Muay Thai.
Dr Lam took over the Chairman position from Mr Albert Chiu in April 2019. Previously, he was our Vice-Chairman and Treasurer. Dr Lam currently heads the Human Resource Committee as well as the Nomination Committee at JASS.
MS SUSAN LEONG LAI ONN
VICE-CHAIRMAN
Ms Susan Leong is the Chief Executive Officer of Adsan Law LLC (formerly Yeo-Leong & Peh LLC) and has been practising law for over 30 years. She co-heads the Asset Recovery & Insolvency practice group and oversees the systems and processes for loan recovery of local and foreign financial institutions.
Ms Leong has experience in both commercial and civil litigation. She is mainly responsible for managing and organising the systems and processes for loan recovery of local and foreign banks and financial institutions. She advises major financial institutions on all aspects of banking litigation and insolvency. Ms Leong also advises financial institutions on various issues involving fraud, compliance, risk management, bank documentation and product development. She has also spoken widely on banking topics and conducted seminars for financial institutions.
In addition, Ms Leong oversees the Private Clients Practice Group. She has experience in matrimonial disputes, estate and trust planning and advises clients on all aspects of family law.
Apart from the practice of law, Ms Leong enjoys music. She was offered a place to study at the prestigious Royal College of Music, London which she had to give up for academia. Ms Leong is a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music and a Fellow of the Trinity College of Music (London) in Piano Performing. She has won many piano competitions in Singapore including the First Prize (Open Section, Pianoforte division) in the First National Music Competition in 1980 and was the winner of the Philips Award (First Prize, Open Section) of the Singapore Musical Society’s Annual Piano Competition.
Ms Leong serves as the Vice Chairman and one of the founding directors of Jazz Association (Singapore). She also serves as Director at the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO), as well as the Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital. She is also a mentor at the Young Women’s Leadership Connection which is a platform for young women seeking guidance in their professional careers and personal lives. Ms Leong believes in giving back to the community that helped build her up, and in creating a lasting legacy for future generations.
Ms Leong assumed the Vice-Chairman position in April 2019 and also currently chairs the Gala and Fundraising Committee, as well as the JASS Support Fund Committee at JASS. Her combined knowledge of music as well as her legal and corporate experience help to ensure balance in the organisation and guide JASS in its corporate governance and stability.
Mr Sean Wu is a Senior Vice President at Straco Corporation Limited, a mainboard-listed entity that develops and operates tourism attractions such as public aquariums and giant Ferris wheels in Singapore and China. Prior to joining Straco, he had served as a Senior Officer at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), focusing on investment promotion and incentives management in the education sector.
Sean was first bitten by the jazz bug as a member of the brass band in school, and was among the many youths who got their initiation into jazz through Maestro Jeremy Monteiro's jazz talks held at countless schools in the 90s. An avid guitarist, he maintains a practice routine and aims to improvise confidently and play through the changes in time to come.
Before transitioning to his current role on the JASS Board, Sean has been involved with JASS for several years through the JASS Gala Organising Committee. He has been inspired by the great work done to sustain and elevate Singapore's jazz scene, and hopes to play a part to support both established and emerging jazz artists, and to increase local appreciation of this amazing art form.
MR SEAN WU
TREASURER
PROF JEREMY MONTEIRO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & MUSIC DIRECTOR
Dubbed “Singapore’s King of Swing,” Cultural Medallion recipient Professor Jeremy Monteiro has garnered critical acclaim all over the world since helping to put Singapore in the world history of jazz in 1988, when he became the first Southeast Asian to play and lead a band of established international jazz musicians on the main stage of the Montreux Jazz Festival, performing as "Monteiro, Young & Holt and Friends."
He started his career in 1976 at a local hotel and then as a pianist & bandleader at the famed BClub 392 jazz club in Singapore in 1977 where many artists such as Nancy Wilson have performed. 2021 marks the 45th year of his career.
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Jeremy has performed and/ or recorded with the likes of James Moody, Benny Golson, Michael Brecker, Bobby McFerrin, Randy Brecker, Lee Ritenour, Herbie Mann, Paulinho DaCosta, Ernie Watts, Charlie Haden, Terumasa Hiro, Carmen Bradford, Matt Monro, Toots Thielemans and Simon & Garfunkel, to name a few. He has also played on the main stages of the EFG London Jazz Festival and is the only Southeast Asian jazz musician to have had an album released on the iconic Verve record label, "Jeremy Monteiro & Alberto Marsico - Jazz-Blues Brothers."
Jeremy has also released 10 albums in as many years, including “Brazilian Dreams,” “Montage,” “With a Little Help from My Friends,” and “Yesterday Once More – A Jazz Tribute to The Carpenters,” with an album launch concert in September 2018. In September 2019, he released “Jeremy Monteiro and Friends: Overjoyed – A Jazz Tribute to the Music of Stevie Wonder.”
His latest album, "Live at No Black Tie - Kuala Lumpur" with bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Lewis Nash, is his 45th jazz album as leader. The album has reached the Top 20 of the Jazzweek Charts, the most respected jazz charts in the United States. He has also played on more than 300 pop albums in the Asia region and received the Silver Medal for Best Music Score in 1991 at the International Radio Festival of New York for his Classical-Folk Piece Overture in C Major - the story of Singapore.
Jeremy is also a writer with a volume of essays titled "Jeremy Monteiro: Late-Night Thoughts of a Jazz Musician," published by Marshall Cavendish in September 2018. The book received two literary awards from the Golden Door Awards in 2020, a 3rd Prize in the main category and a Bronze Medal in the Rex Karmaveer category for integrity in writing.
Since 2012, he has served as International Arts Ambassador for EFG Bank, headquartered in Switzerland and sponsor of one of the most prominent jazz festivals in the world, the EFG London Jazz Festival. In addition, he is a Fellow of the London College of Music and the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) in the UK, and Visiting Professor at the University of West London.
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Jeremy received the pinnacle award in the arts in Singapore in 2002, the Cultural Medallion.
Jeremy is also a co-founder of the Composers & Authors Society of Singapore Limited (COMPASS), an organisation responsible for the protection of music copyrights in Singapore, and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
In 2016, together with a few jazz-supporter friends, he established the Jazz Association (Singapore) (JASS), to bring Jazz to people in all parts of Singapore, help raise its level of excellence, especially in the area of youth development, and work towards making Singapore a leading jazz city of the world.
Today, Jeremy continues to bring Jazz to all corners of Singapore and Singapore jazz to countries all around the world with his musician friends and with the Jazz Association Singapore Orchestra (JASSO) and the Jazz Association Singapore Youth Orchestra (JASSYO!).
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Jeremy also currently heads the Programmes Committee at JASS.
MR ABDULLAH BIN TARMUGI
DIRECTOR
Mr Abdullah Bin Tarmugi is a former Member of Parliament and served in the public service for 27 years. During his time in Parliament, he held various political offices including Deputy Speaker, and was Minister for Community Development from 1994 to 2002, and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs from 1993 to 2002. From 2002, Mr Abdullah was Speaker of Parliament until 2011 when he retired from politics.
In January 2012, Mr Abdullah was appointed to the Presidential Council for Minority Rights by then-Singapore President Tony Tan, and a permanent member by current President Halimah Yacob.
Mr Abdullah has remained very active after retiring from politics, and is currently a Director in GuocoLand Limited. He also serves on the board of various non-business entities including The Courage Fund Limited and the S R Nathan Education Upliftment Fund. Mr Abdullah is also a member of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Board of Trustees.
Mr Abdullah is a great lover of jazz and music in general, and even started learning the cello after his retirement from public service.
As a Director of the JASS Board, he hopes to contribute as a cultural diplomat by helping JASS to widen its reach and make jazz inclusive across varied communities. Mr Abdullah also currently holds the Treasurer position, and chairs the Finance Committee at JASS.
MS KAREN LI-MEI CHAN
DIRECTOR
Ms Karen Li-Mei Chan is a Managing Director and Head of Operations, System and Controls overseeing the Risk Management, Operational Business Processes and internal audit of the Mapletree Group.
Before joining Mapletree, she was the Asia Pacific Regional Chief Risk Officer at DWS (formerly known as Deutsche Asset Management) in Singapore. Ms Chan joined DWS in Singapore in 2014 as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Alternatives and Fund Solutions team and was subsequently appointed to be the Regional Control Officer for Asia. She played a leading role in the DWS IPO in 2018 and was a member of the APAC Executive Management team and Operating Committee. Following DWS's IPO, Ms Chan established the regional control office overseeing business processes and controls and pioneered the setup of the APAC Chief Control Office (CCO) covering Legal, Compliance and Risk Management.
Having spent over twenty years in London, Ms Chan relocated from London to Singapore with Goldman Sachs in 2011 to lead the Asset Management APAC Sales & Distribution Compliance team. Prior to that, she held a number of leadership roles in Goldman Sachs as the Chief Supervisory Officer for Private Wealth Management in London, and Executive Director in Goldman Sachs Asset Management Sales and Distribution Compliance team in London covering the EMEA region. Before her tenure with Goldman Sachs, she headed the Compliance and Anti-money laundering teams at EFG Private Bank in London.
Ms Chan holds a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) from Henley Business School, specialising in Private Equity and ESG investing, and a LLB (Hons) Law degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
In addition to her support for music and the arts, Ms Chan serves on the board of the Jane Goodall Institute in Singapore (JGIS). She believes in the powerful effects of music and nature on mental and physical well-being. As a devoted mother, Ms Chan actively advocates and supports a number of charities that seek to raise awareness on pivotal issues such as mental health, gender equality and environmental sustainability. She previously headed Deutsche Bank Singapore's Women's Network which mentored female talent and supported charities that equip women in low-income families and shelters with skills and knowledge to enhance their employability and financial security. She is passionate about bringing corporate and public communities together to strengthen understanding and compassion for future generations.
Ms Chan currently heads the Audit Committee at JASS.
MRS SANDRA CHANG
DIRECTOR
Mrs Sandra Chang is a Director of Raffles Yacht Group where she has been involved in multiple, high-level, superyacht projects as advisor and consultant to the interior designers since the Group’s establishment. Upon her graduation from London University in Business Studies, she honed a shrewd business acumen over the years working in the family offshore industry. Alongside her husband, Julian, they were instrumental in pioneering many internationally renowned projects in this field.
To date, her acute sense of style and detail, combined with years of experience in yachting and its inimitable lifestyle makes her the perfect soundboard for yacht owners and designers alike. The mega-yachts she has built have won prestigious awards around the world at the Monaco Yacht Show, Fort Lauderdale Show and at the Asia Boating Awards. Raffles Yacht Group also advises yacht owners on acquiring art work and other decorative items suitable for installation on board. She travels extensively sourcing for these bespoke, special pieces that enchant her clients.
Mrs Chang also serves as Vice-President & Ambassador for The International Seakeepers Society, Asia. She co-chairs fundraising activities for the Asian arm of The International Seakeepers Society, USA, in Singapore. The primary aim is to promote active engagement from the private sector- “marine oriented communities” across the world via the yachting community, and spreading awareness about marine research locally, and in Asia.
The in-house educational outreach programme for schools in Asia, through its own specially-designed lesson plan, creates awareness of conservation of our ocean environment and at the same time, focuses strongly on the eradication of one-time plastic usage with proposed alternatives and change of habits. The main focus is to expand marine conservation activities, coastal cleanups and coral reef preservation efforts to the rest of the ASEAN countries, with the aim of: Research, Educate, Protect & Restore.
Being an avid jazz lover, Mrs Chang is delighted to be a Board Director of the Jazz Association (Singapore). She aims and will endeavour to contribute to the association’s cause of elevating the jazz scene, bringing the joy of jazz to all in Singapore and making Singapore a leading city of jazz. An experienced yoga practitioner, she greatly appreciates classical Western opera, yachting, is an avid reader, and a very keen traveller.
MS SALLY LIEW
DIRECTOR
As the Executive Director of F&B juggernaut Neo Group, Ms Liew leads the Food Catering segment, which includes household names such as Neo Garden and Orange Clove.
Backed by more than 25 years of experience, she is pivotal to the growth and development of the company. Besides advising and spearheading new concepts, Ms Liew oversees core functions such as Human Resource and Information Technology.
A strong advocate for giving back to the community, Ms Liew is also actively involved in the Group’s corporate social responsibility initiatives and is at the forefront of nurturing the culture of giving within the organisation.
Ms Liew's ability to take on challenges has seen her as a role model to many. She often dedicates time to grooming and guiding young talents, providing pertinent advice drawn from her wealth of experience.
Her bustling lifestyle has led her to discover peace through music. An avid appreciator of classical and jazz music, Ms Liew looks forward to contributing further as a Director of the JASS Board and hopes to promote interest in these genres locally.
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MR AARON BOEY
DIRECTOR
Mr Aaron Boey is currently Senior Advisor at Eu Yan Sang International and Tower Capital Asia. He was most recently the Group Chief Executive Officer at Eu Yang Sang International (EYS), a position he had held since 2017. EYS is one of the foremost Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) companies in Asia, with operations that include sourcing, manufacturing, retail, E-commerce, wholesale, and clinic services.
Before joining EYS, Aaron was President of the Asia-Pacific Division of Levi Strauss & Co and concurrently President of Global Denizen, the company’s accessible jeanswear brand. Prior to that, he had served in marketing, sales, and general management roles with Philips Electronics, Asia Pacific Breweries, and Singapore Airlines.
Aaron actively serves in the Singapore public sector. From 2012-2017 he was a Board Director of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), where he also served as Chairman of its Finance & Investment Committee. He was a member of Singapore’s National Productivity and Continuing Education Council from 2010 to 2016. He is currently a member of the Singapore Management University (SMU) Academy Advisory Board. Aaron continues to be involved with STB in helping to develop the Health and Wellness sector within the tourism ecosystem.
Aaron studied classical piano as a child and obtained the LRSM diploma. Classical music remains a passion. He discovered jazz early – through the captivating voices and melodies of Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Bill Evans, Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck. And he was hooked when he discovered Sarah Vaughan and Art Tatum (and our own Jeremy Monteiro, of course).
As a JASS Board Director, Aaron intends to help grow the number of enthusiasts who appreciate and love jazz. He seriously believes that this musical genre can contribute significantly towards enhancing personal health and wellness for fans of any age. He would also like to develop the appreciation of jazz among corporations - helping their key stakeholders to understand the potential strategic value that support for the movement can provide their businesses, customers and consumers