SINGAPORE — Secretlab chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder Ian Ang was named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Singapore for Consumer Products on Wednesday (Sept 30).

The 28-year-old is the youngest winner in the history of the awards since it began 18 years ago.

Mr Ang co-founded Secretlab, a gaming chair company, with Mr Alaric Choo in 2014.

Mr Ang thanked Mr Choo and his team at Secretlab for their trust and support after winning the award.

"It's a real honour and really nice of the Ernst & Young (EY) folks to bestow this upon me, but let's not forget that while the architect gets most of the recognition at the end of the day, he is nothing without a strong and capable team," Mr Ang said.

The company counts the United States, Canada and Europe as some of its major markets.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Secretlab has continued to grow as people started working from home and opted for more comfortable chairs. 

In an interview with TODAY in July, the company said it had to hire more staff to cope with what it described as a “multifold” increase in global orders.

In Singapore, for example, Secretlab hired more than 30 Singaporeans for various positions in areas such as operations and product development during the circuit breaker period from early April to June.

The office now has more than 100 employees, with an average age of 28.

Secretlab is backed by Temasek Holdings’ Heliconia Capital Management.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is an annual awards programme that honours Singapore’s top entrepreneurs for their contributions to the economy and society, spotlighting innovators and local brands that have made a mark on the global market.

EY named two other winners: Mr Richard Koh, founder and CEO of M-DAQ, who won in the financial technology category, and Mr Eric Leong, managing director and co-founder of Mlion Corporation who got the nod in the industrial solutions category.

The three winners were picked from close to 50 nominations by an independent judging panel.

In November, one of the three winners will be named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 Singapore.

The overall winner then goes on to represent Singapore at the annual EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2021 to compete with contenders from more than 60 jurisdictions. CNA

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