Kelvin Fong takes the helm of PropNex as CEO, Ismail Gafoor remains Executive Chairman
In a press function on July 15 revealing the leadership transition and other firm efforts, Gafoor stated that the separation of the duties of executive chairman and chief executive officer improves the firm’s overall company governance by formalising the department of control and management.
The tasks of deputy chief executive officer will be distributed amongst six key forerunners, namely Eddie Lim, senior vice-president and head agency officer; Marcus Luah, head of business growth; Bobby Sng, head of development leadership; Ken Ng, director of development business; Benjamin Tan, head of business strategy; and Cijay Tew, head of training and development. PropNex claims that there are no strategies to fill the deputy CEO duty currently.
PropNex also announced a $6 million contribution to the Neighborhood Chest over a 12-month period, the largest single donation to the charity in its history. The amount was raised through voluntary promises of a part of sales payments by PropNex agents, as well as staff and management. The local agency signed a memorandum of recognizing with Community Chest, promising to donate $1.5 million annually from 2025 to 2027.
The endowment fund will aid to secure a PropNex Structure, collectively established by Gafoor and PropNex co-founder Alan Lim, that plan to expand the fund to $25 million over the following 10 years. Returns from the foundation’s investment will go towards programmes that sustain underprivileged students and educational efforts.
Other leadership visits at PropNex were revealed in March. Dominic Lee who was heading the high-end team for the last ten years, is head of financial investment sales. Concurrently, Jason Tan represented principal technique specialist. He was the consultatory partner branch district director at PropNex, leading a team of over 1,000 sales representatives. Tan additionally served as a technology expert on PropNex’s proprietary apps: Investment Suite and Business Suite.
The management transition comes as PropNex commemorates its 25th anniversary, noting the occasion with numerous community efforts and the establishment of a $10 million endowment fund.
Mainboard-listed property agency PropNex has already disclosed that Kelvin Fong is going to lead the firm as its new CEO, stepping up from his previous role as deputy chief executive officer. Outgoing Chief Executive Officer Ismail Gafoor, who co-founded the homegrown company 25 years back, will stay as the business’s executive chairperson. He will continue to be actively involved in leading the company’s tactical direction, stakeholder engagement, and Board management.
Fong signed up with PropNex in 2002 and was appointed an executive leader in June 2018 and subsequently promoted to deputy CEO in August 2023. “I’ve had the privilege of growing alongside PropNex for over twenty years, and I’m deeply committed to preserving the society that has made us who we are,” claims Fong.
He adds that as CEO, his focus will be on encouraging PropNex’s beyond 13,000 sales force in Singapore, innovating its solutions, and enhancing operational effectiveness. Its total salesperson head count in Singapore translates to about 35% of the industry share.
Gafoor steps back after leading PropNex Real estate to end up being a leading property firm in Singapore. During his period, he supervised the business’s listing on the Singapore Exchange in July 2018, along with the business’s regional expansion recently. At present, PropNex has already established an industry presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia. It has a consolidated network of greater than 16,000 property agents.
The freshly developed PropNex Foundation was formally released at a company-wide event at Marina Bay Sands on July 15, graced by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who managed the very first disbursement of $254,000 to 160 students.
Finally, Gafoor introduced a self-enrichment book entitled I Am Not Good Enough, which shows his personal life journey, developing PropNex and his leadership values. Profits from the sale of the 27-chapter book will be donated to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. The book is going to be sold from July 16.
“PropNex has consistently demonstrated that still as we remain to grow our sales force in Singapore and in the region, we have avoided functional slowness and concentrated on boosting the general productivity of our representatives,” claims Gafoor, pointing out internal numbers that show purchases by PropNex agents accounted for roughly 64% of all resale HDB, private residential new launches, and resale condominium deals in Singapore last year.
