Great Eastern names HSBC banker as new group CEO

Greg Hingston will take the helm once Khor Hock Seng retires on 31 Oct 2024.

Great Eastern Holdings (GEH) has appointed Greg Hingston (邢格理) as its new group chief executive officer (CEO) effective 1 November.

Incumbent group CEO Khor Hock Seng (许福成) will retire on 31 October 2024.

Hingston joins from HSBC, where he has worked in the last 18 years. He is most recently the CEO of HSBC’s global insurance and partnerships. He has also held various senior executive management roles across retail banking, wealth management and life insurance.

Hingston graduated from the London Metropolitan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business, and has a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies from Templeton College, Oxford University. 

GEH said that its nominating committee looked at both internal candidates in the company as well as an executive search within and outside Singapore in choosing a successor for Khor.

GEH chairman Soon Tit Koon expressed their confidence that with Hingston, GEH is well-positioned to strengthen its leadership position in Singapore and Malaysia.

“His global market expertise, proven ability to lead a large multi-geography team and track record of successfully growing an insurance business through close collaboration with a banking group will be put to good use as we embark on our renewed growth strategy,” Soon said.

Khor Hock Seng retires
Khor will retire on 31 October after serving as group CEO of GEH for nine years.

Under Khor’s leadership, GEH grew its assets to $109b as of end-2023 from only $65.8b in 2015, the company said in a press release.

Over the same period, GEH saw its gross premiums almost double to $16.3b, from just $8.7b in 2015. Total weighted new sales also grew to $1.66b from just $975m nine years prior during Khor’s leadership. 

In a statement, Khor extended his gratitude to GEH’s board, his colleagues, and the company.
“It has been truly rewarding and fulfilling to have served as Group CEO for the past 9 years and to have grown the business of the Great Eastern Group. I am confident that the Great Eastern Group will continue to do well under Greg’s leadership, and serve the needs of our customers and other stakeholders in the best way possible,” Khor said.