# Senior Appointment Changes at the Council for Estate Agencies

- **Source:** Ministry of National Development
- **Published:** 2015-10-23T02:30:00.000Z
- **Author:** Ministry of National Development
- **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/senior-appointment-changes-at-the-council-for-estate-agencies
- **Topics:** Transactions & Deals

## Featured rationale

Leadership continuity at CEA signals sustained emphasis on agency professionalism and consumer protection, which could strengthen confidence in property agents and transaction processes.

## AI summary

Mr Lee Kwong Weng became CEA Executive Director on 22 October 2015, succeeding founding Executive Director Mr Chionh Chye Khye after his retirement.

## Original article

The Ministry of National Development (MND) announced today the following senior appointment changes at the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), which took effect from 22 October 2015: 

• Mr Chionh Chye Khye, currently the Executive Director of CEA, will retire after 41 years in the Public Service. 

• Mr Lee Kwong Weng, currently the Deputy Executive Director of CEA, will be appointed as Executive Director of CEA upon Mr Chionh’s retirement. 

Mr Chionh has helmed CEA since its formation on 22 October 2010 as a new statutory board under the Ministry of National Development. Under his leadership, CEA put in place a regulatory framework to raise the professional standards of the real estate agency industry and better safeguard consumers’ interests. He established a new licensing regime for estate agents, mandatory registration of salespersons and put in place a system for complaint management, dispute resolution and enforcement. 

Mr Chionh was instrumental in raising the professionalism of the industry through continuing training. He introduced the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Scheme to ensure proper industry entry qualification and to upgrade the industry’s technical knowledge. More than 300 CPD courses were developed for the industry. 

Mr Chionh fostered an open and consultative culture between CEA and the industry through regular dialogues, focus group discussions and working groups involving industry representatives. In consumer education, Mr Chionh focused on empowering consumers in property transactions. He set up a Public Register of estate agents and salespersons for consumers to verify the identity of industry practitioners. These efforts have resulted in a drop of complaints against the industry from more than 1100 in 2011 to less than 800 in 2014. 

Mr Lee Kwong Weng was appointed as Deputy Executive Director of CEA since 1 January 2015. Trained as an engineer, Mr Lee has worked in the Ministry of National Development and its agencies for over 30 years. He joined the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in 1989 where he took on various appointments. As Group Director (Corporate Development), he was instrumental in leading URA to be recognised as a Singapore Quality Award organisation in 2008. In 2011, Mr Lee took on the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Corporate and Technology) at the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) where he led the formulation of a long term food security road map for Singapore. 

Council President of CEA Mr Greg Seow said, “I would like to extend our deepest appreciation to Chye Khye for his tireless dedication and steady guidance of CEA since 2010. His leadership has been fundamental in the strides CEA has made in becoming an effective regulator of the real estate agency industry. On behalf of the Council, I wish Chye Khye the very best for a happy retirement. I also warmly welcome Kwong Weng as CEA’s new Executive Director, and am confident that he will lead CEA effectively to regulate and professionalise the industry further”. 

The MND would like to express its appreciation to Mr Chionh for his dedication and leadership in the Public Service, and welcomes Mr Lee to his new portfolio at CEA. 

Brief write-ups of Mr Chionh and Mr Lee are given at the Annex.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok_cli

### 房地产代理理事会高层人事变动

国家发展部（MND）今日宣布房地产代理理事会（CEA）的以下高层人事变动，自2015年10月22日起生效：

• 现任CEA执行董事蒋才凯先生（Mr Chionh Chye Khye）将在公共服务任职41年后退休。

• 现任CEA副执行董事李光荣先生（Mr Lee Kwong Weng）将在蒋先生退休后获委任为CEA执行董事。

蒋先生自2010年10月22日CEA作为国家发展部辖下新法定机构成立以来，一直领导该理事会。在他的领导下，CEA建立起监管框架，以提高房地产代理行业的专业标准，并更好地保障消费者权益。他建立了房地产代理的新发牌制度、销售人员强制注册制度，并设立了投诉管理、纠纷解决与执法机制。

蒋先生通过持续培训，在提升行业专业水平上发挥了关键作用。他推出持续专业发展（CPD）计划，以确保行业入门资格适当，并提升行业技术知识。为行业开发了逾300门CPD课程。

蒋先生通过定期对话、焦点小组讨论及有业界代表参与的工作小组，在CEA与业界之间营造开放、协商的文化。在消费者教育方面，蒋先生着重赋能消费者参与房地产交易。他设立了房地产代理及销售人员公共登记册，供消费者核实业者身份。这些努力使针对该行业的投诉从2011年逾1100宗下降至2014年不足800宗。

李光荣先生自2015年1月1日起获委任为CEA副执行董事。李先生受训为工程师，在国家发展部及其所属机构工作逾30年。他于1989年加入市区重建局（URA），并担任多项职务。作为集团总监（企业发展），他在带领URA于2008年获认可为新加坡品质奖机构方面发挥了关键作用。2011年，李先生出任新加坡农粮与兽医局（AVA）副首席执行官（企业与科技），领导制定新加坡长期粮食安全路线图。

CEA理事会主席萧文光先生（Mr Greg Seow）表示：“我谨对才凯自2010年以来对CEA不懈的奉献与稳健的领导致以最深切的谢意。他的领导对CEA成为房地产代理行业有效监管机构所取得的进展至关重要。我谨代表理事会，祝愿才凯退休生活愉快。我也热烈欢迎光荣出任CEA新任执行董事，并有信心他将有效领导CEA，进一步监管并提升行业专业水平。”

国家发展部谨此感谢蒋先生在公共服务中的奉献与领导，并欢迎李先生出任CEA新职。

蒋先生与李先生的简介见附件。