SINGAPORE: Mr Nicky Tan, chief executive officer of nTan Corporate Advisory, will be appointed chairman of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) with effect from Apr 1, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said on Friday (Mar 28).

He will take over from Dr Stanley Lai, who has served as chairman since April 2013.

Mr Tan joined the IPOS board in April 2019 and has been its deputy chairman since April 2020. A chartered accountant by training, he currently leads nTan, a corporate finance and restructuring firm.

He also holds independent directorships at several companies, including Singtel Innov8 and Singtel Optus.

Dr Lai is a partner and head of intellectual property, as well as co-head of cybersecurity and data protection at Allen & Gledhill.

He played a key role in guiding the transformation of IPOS into a "a world leading agency that supports Singapore’s innovation economy", said MinLaw.

Under his leadership, IPOS launched major national strategies like the IP Hub Master Plan and the Singapore IP Strategy, and was named the world’s most innovative IP office by the World Trademark Review in 2020.

MinLaw and IPOS thanked Dr Lai for his “outstanding service and contributions”.

In addition to the change in chairmanship, several new appointments and reappointments were announced.

Mr Kok Ping Soon, CEO of the Singapore Business Federation; Ms Cindy Khoo, managing director of Enterprise Singapore; and Mr Timothy Chin, senior director (Americas) at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, will join the IPOS board for two-year terms.

Mr Oliver Tan, CEO and co-founder of ViSenze, has been reappointed to the board.

Mr Tan Kong Hwee, who became chief executive of IPOS on Mar 1, will serve as an ex-officio board member until Mar 31, 2028. He succeeds former chief executive Rena Lee, who has assumed a full-time position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Three board members will step down at the end of March: Mr Ted Tan, Mr Harsha Basnayake and Mr Tan Pei-En. MinLaw and IPOS expressed their appreciation for their service.