Conversations and Provocations

Ng Cher Pong

Ng Cher Pong is the Chief Executive Officer of Singapore’s National Library Board (NLB). He oversees a network of 28 public libraries, the National Library, and the National Archives of Singapore. Since assuming this role, he has been actively driving organizational transformation in NLB, including the implementation of LAB25 (Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025).

Cher Pong graduated as an engineer from the University of Cambridge and holds a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD. He also attended the Advanced Management Programme at the Harvard Business School. He is a career civil servant, and has worked in different capacities across the Singapore public service. Prior to NLB, he was the founding CEO of SkillsFuture Singapore and led the nation-wide efforts to reskill and upskill the workforce.

He reads an eclectic mix of mainly non-fiction books, in both English and Chinese.

Gene Tan

Gene Tan is the Chief Librarian of Singapore’s National Library Board (NLB) and watches over the professional development of all librarians in NLB. As Chief Innovation Officer, he is spearheading the development of LAB25 (Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025), a new transformative vision for the National Library, National Archives and the public libraries in Singapore.

Previously, as the Executive Director of the Singapore Bicentennial Office at the Prime Minister’s Office, Gene helmed the Singapore Bicentennial which commemorated the 200th anniversary of Raffles’ arrival in Singapore in 1819. The commemoration included The Bicentennial Experience at Fort Canning which broke attendance records for exhibitions. He was also the Creative Director of the SG50 capstone event, The Future of Us Exhibition that captured the hopes and dreams of Singaporeans. Gene was formerly the Director of the National Library, where he developed the Singapore Memory Project, and also the former President of the Library Association of Singapore.