SINGAPORE — ComfortDelGro’s group chief executive officer Yang Ban Seng will become SBS Transit’s chief executive officer from Tuesday (Jan 15), taking over from Mr Gan Juay Kiat, who resigned from the post weeks ago owing to a “personal indiscretion”.

SBS Transit, which is Singapore’s largest bus operator and a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro, announced the appointment of Mr Yang, who is also its deputy chairman, in a Singapore Exchange filing on Monday.

Mr Yang, 62, whose appointment was recommended by chairman Lim Jit Poh, will also be SBS Transit’s executive deputy chairman.

The board approved the recommendation after considering Mr Yang’s “experience and familiarity with the business operations of SBS Transit, having been… group CEO of ComfortDelGro and deputy chairman of SBS Transit since May 1, 2017”, SBS Transit said.

Mr Lim told TODAY that Mr Yang is “well-placed to fill in for the position of CEO”, having supervised SBS Transit’s management as group chief executive officer for nearly two years now.

“The bus and rail heads will report directly to him, and I have every confidence that the team will continue to focus on delivering good service to the communities we serve,” he added.

Before heading the group, Mr Yang helmed ComfortDelGro’s taxi business in Singapore. He was previously in the public service, working in departments such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Late last month, The Straits Times reported that Mr Gan — who joined ComfortDelGro in 2006 — had resigned over an extramarital relationship, and would serve out his notice before leaving the firm on March 27 this year.

Mr Lim had said then of the 61-year-old’s resignation: “Juay Kiat… expressed deep regret over his actions. He has accepted full responsibility for his lapses in conduct and the board has accepted his resignation.”

Mr Gan, a President’s Scholar and a Singapore Armed Forces (United Kingdom) scholar, was named chief operating officer of SBS Transit in 2007, executive director in 2009 and chief executive officer in 2010.

His career began in the Singapore Armed Forces, where he occupied senior command and staff appointments. Before moving to the ComfortDelGro Group, Mr Gan was chief corporate officer at the Ascott Group, an operator of serviced residences, and senior vice-president for corporate planning at real estate company CapitaLand.