Kelvin Fong takes the helm of PropNex as CEO, Ismail Gafoor remains Executive Chairman
Fong joined PropNex in 2002 and was appointed an executive head in June 2018 and subsequently promoted to deputy CEO in August 2023. “I’ve had the opportunity of growing together with PropNex for over twenty years, and I’m deeply committed to safeguarding the culture that has made us who we are,” states Fong.
“PropNex has actually regularly demonstrated that even as we continue to grow our sales force in Singapore and in the area, we have actually stayed clear of operational slowness and concentrated on enhancing the total productivity of our agents,” states Gafoor, citing internal numbers that suggest deals by PropNex agents accounted for approximately 64% of all resale HDB, private residential new launches, and resale condominium deals in Singapore in 2024.
Finally, Gafoor launched a self-enrichment book titled I Am Not Good Enough, that portrays his personal life journey, building up PropNex and his leadership worths. Profits from the sale of the 27-chapter book will be given away to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. The book will be sold from July 16.
The responsibilities of deputy chief executive officer will be distributed among 6 key heads, specifically Eddie Lim, senior vice-president and chief firm officer; Marcus Luah, head of business growth; Bobby Sng, head of development leadership; Ken Ng, head of development business; Benjamin Tan, head of business strategy; and Cijay Tew, head of training and development. PropNex states that there are no plans to fill the deputy CEO function at this time.
The leadership shift comes as PropNex celebrates its 25th anniversary, marking the occasion with a number of community campaigns and the establishment of a $10 million endowment fund.
The endowment fund will assist to anchor a PropNex Structure, collectively developed by Gafoor and PropNex co-founder Alan Lim, that intend to increase the fund to $25 million over the next 10 years. Returns from the structure’s investment will certainly go towards programmes that sustain underprivileged students and educational initiatives.
Other leadership appointments at PropNex were introduced in March. Dominic Lee who was supervising the high-end team for the past decade, is head of investment sales. Concurrently, Jason Tan represented principal technique specialist. He was the advising affiliate branch district director at PropNex, leading a group of over 1,000 salesmans. Tan even acted as a tech consultant on PropNex’s proprietary apps: Investment Suite and Business Suite.
Gafoor steps back after leading PropNex Real estate to end up being a leading property firm in Singapore. During his tenure, he looked after the firm’s listing on the Singapore Exchange in July 2018, in addition to the company’s local growth over the last few years. Nowadays, PropNex has actually developed an industry presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia. It has a consolidated network of more than 16,000 property agents.
PropNex also introduced a $6 million payment to the Community Chest over a 12-month period, the largest single contribution to the charity in its history. The amount was raised through voluntary pledges of a section of sales compensations by PropNex representatives, as well as staff and management. The local agency authorized a memorandum of comprehending with Community Chest, pledging to give away $1.5 million each year from 2025 to 2027.
In a press event on July 15 announcing the management change and other business initiatives, Gafoor claimed that the division of the functions of executive chairman and CEO improves the firm’s overall business administration by formalising the division of oversight and management.
The recently developed PropNex Foundation was formally released at a company-wide event at Marina Bay Sands on July 15, graced by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, that looked after the initial disbursement of $254,000 to 160 students.
Mainboard-listed realty firm PropNex has already declared that Kelvin Fong will lead the firm as its brand-new CEO, stepping up from his past job as deputy CEO. Outgoing Chief Executive Officer Ismail Gafoor, who co-founded the homegrown agency 25 years earlier, will continue to be as the company’s exec director. He is going to proceed to be actively involved in directing the business’s calculated path, stakeholder involvement, and Board management.
He adds that as CEO, his focus will be on encouraging PropNex’s more than 13,000 sales force in Singapore, innovating its services, and improving operational effectiveness. Its total salesperson headcount in Singapore translates to about 35% of the industry share.
