While the company did not provide any official insights into the arguments for why Lam Yi Young decided to resign, the former CEO took to his LinkedIn account to offer a comprehensive explanation.
Pursuing Other Interests
Under the #TakingABreak tag, Young explained that he took a three-month break from his full-time work obligations at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) as part of a family care leave that started at the end of March. He described the period as a “very good break thus far,” adding he was pleased with the quality time spent with his family, charity work, as well as hobbies, including baking bread. He also explained that he had managed to resume his regular running habit after a break that lasted three years.
Now, two months into the leave, Young further explained in his social media post that he decided to expand his break in order to “pursue other interests” by giving his formal notice to leave Resorts World Sentosa effective on June 30, 2023. He finished off his announcement by expressing his excitement regarding his “extended break” and shared a few photos of some of the bread that he had baked over the past two months.
The Resignation, “Mutually Agreed” by the RWS Board
The Harvard University graduate’s decision to relinquish his position at the end of the month was “mutually agreed” by the board of directors at RWS, as explained by the company.
RWS officials further spoke about RWS’s ongoing commitment to the momentum to improve its leadership team while taking its growth strategies for the long term a few steps further and building a solid and sustainable recovery.
In March, LIV Golf Investments announced it selected RWS as its new partner and official hotel for the LIV Golf Singapore event.
Young was appointed deputy CEO at the start of the year as a means of helping chief executive officer Tan Hee Teck with the execution of strategies, as well as the management and growth of Asia’s premium lifestyle destination resort business. His role was also to guarantee efficient operational performance on a daily basis, alongside “organizational excellence.”
His appointment was regarded as one of the two critical appointments to the company’s core leadership team together with that of ex-Marina Bay Sands executive Andrew MacDonald, appointed chief casino officer at the end of 2022.
Before accepting the CEO position within RWS, Young was the chief executive officer of the Singapore Business Federation.
The RWS resort is located on Sentosa, a resort island in Singapore, and it spans over 49 hectares while hosting a series of world-class attractions such as Dolphin Island, Universal Studios Singapore, Adventure Cove Waterpark, and S.E.A. Aquarium.
In May, the integrated resort received a number of nominations in the 2023 Singapore Tourism Awards while ranking first in the Outstanding Employer category.