Sim Wong Hoo, the founder, chairman and CEO of Creative Technology, has died on Jan 4.
Sim, who was born in 1955, founded the company in 1981. He was its chairman and CEO since its inception.
“Mr Sim has played an instrumental role in developing the business and has provided the company with strong leadership and vision,” says Creative Technology in its announcement.
Under Sim’s tenure, Creative Technology became famous for its Sound Blaster sound cards and became a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products including the Creative Zen portable media players.
“The company also launched the multimedia revolution that drives digital entertainment with cutting-edge audio solutions which include premium wireless speakers, wireless headphones, powerful audiophile-grade amplifiers and digital audio converters, and next-generation home-theatre systems,” adds Creative Technology.
In 1992, Creative Technology became the first Singaporean entity to list on the Nasdaq. The company was subsequently listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in 1994. Sim became Singapore's youngest billionaire at 45 years old in the year 2000.
See also: Sim Wong Hoo: An icon beyond the tech realm
The company has since appointed Lee Kheng Nam, Creative Technology’s lead independent non-executive director, as its acting chairman during this transition period.
Ng Kai Wa, the company’s independent non-executive director and Sim's former schoolmate, has been appointed as acting vice chairman.
Song Siow Hui, president of Creative Technology’s creative labs business unit, has been appointed as its interim CEO.
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“I have known and worked with Mr Sim for over 30 years. This is a sad and sudden development and we feel a great loss especially since Mr Sim and I recently had extensive discussions on the future direction of the company,” says Song.
“During those discussions, Mr Sim was full of fresh vision. Even on the night before, he had a long discussion with the Engineering team and was scheduled to meet with the online sales team the next day. The best thing to do now is to ensure the continued smooth running of the company, and also to execute and realise the vision and strategy that Mr Sim had for the company,” he adds.
As at 9.09am, shares in Creative Technology are trading 9 cents higher or 6.38% up at $1.50.
