SINGAPORE – Former Singapore Tourism Board (STB) chief executive Lionel Yeo has joined ride-hailing firm Grab as its CEO advisor, about four months after leaving the statutory board.

Responding to TODAY's queries on Wednesday (Sept 19), a Grab spokesperson said Mr Yeo started work this week, and he will be "working closely" with the firm's chief executive and co-founder Anthony Tan "to plan and steer the organisation through our next phase of growth".

"Grab is fast-growing and at an inflection point in our business, as we work towards building Southeast Asia's first everyday super app to serve the daily essential needs of our customers," said the Grab spokesperson.

"We will benefit from leveraging Lionel's experience and knowledge in both strategy and execution of our business plans regionally."

TODAY has reached out to Mr Yeo for further comments.

After helming STB since June 2012, Mr Yeo stepped down on May 31.

With a public sector career spanning 22 years, Mr Yeo has had stints at the Public Service Division, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as the Civil Service College.

Under his tenure at STB, Mr Yeo played a key role in securing Singapore's bid to host major international sporting events such as the BNP Paribas WTA Finals, the Singapore Rugby Sevens and the International Champions Cup. Mr Yeo also spearheaded the renewal of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix for a further four years until 2021.

Mr Yeo's move to join Grab comes after the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) ruled provisionally in July that the sale of Uber's South-east Asia operations to Grab — which was inked in March — had led to a "substantial lessening of competition" and price hikes for Grab rides.

To restore competition in the market, the competition watchdog proposed a number of remedies, which include removing exclusivity obligations and lock-in periods for drivers, as well as maintaining Grab's pre-merger pricing algorithm and commission rates.

However, Grab has criticised the CCCS for its "very narrow" view on the definition of competition, in a response submitted to the commission a few weeks after the provisional ruling. The company also called the proposal to remove exclusivity arrangements a "double standard", and this went against the "spirit of increasing choices for drivers and riders". Only if exclusivity standards are lifted and prevented industry-wide can drivers exercise "maximum choice", the company said.

The CCCS previously said it would make its final decision "after careful consideration of the involved parties' representations, feedback on the proposed remedies as well as all available information and evidence".