Mr Sonny Yuen (Business ’85) has stepped down as President of the NUS Business School Alumni Association (NUSBSA), after serving two terms since 2014. He was a founding member of NUSBSA since 2000, serving in various key positions.

One of the key activities Mr Yuen organised was the NUS Bizad Charity Run — a flagship event that is synonymous with NUS Business School. Since the inaugural event in 2011, some 8,600 runners have raised more than $965,000 for financially-needy Business School students and 15 charities. Under his leadership, the event’s participation grew six times and donations have also increased at least four-fold.

 For Mr Yuen, the NUS Business School is an important part of his life. “The opportunity to interact with current students and reconnect with different alumni far exceeds any monetary benefits. “For me, joining the Alumni Association was an avenue to serve and give back,” shares Mr Yuen.

Looking back at his time as NUSBSA President, he counts identifying great people and building on their strengths to implement ideas as his greatest achievements. He built a team that established the NUSBSA Women’s Wing in 2015, and the NUSBSA Accountancy Wing, which resulted in a 30 per cent increase in female representation and Accounting alumni on the Association’s Board.

He will now continue his NUS giving journey by chairing the NUS Alumni Leaders Forum under the care of the NUS Office of Alumni Relations (OAR).

The NUS Alumni Toronto Chapter gathered for dinner on 9 December 2017 to thank out-going Chairperson Dr Toh See Kiat (Law ’82) for serving a wonderful five-year term, and to welcome new Chairperson Mr Tejas Aivalli (Public Policy ’11).

During his tenure, Dr Toh had demonstrated strong leadership skills and, with the support of his wife Dorothy, brought alumni in Toronto together by organising numerous events and networking platforms. Dr Toh is well known for his humorous speeches, and his sincerity. “Dr Toh has a knack for remembering the names of people, even those whom he meets infrequently. When my husband and I attended the first few Chapter’s events, Dr Toh never failed to surprise me by remembering my name and my profession, even though there were many people at those events. It gives me the sense that he takes a genuine interest in the people he meets,” said Ms Jean Lian (Arts and Social Sciences ’97), the Chapter’s new Vice Chairperson.

New Chairperson Mr Aivalli had been the Chapter’s Vice Chairperson since its inception, and had worked alongside Dr Toh to build up the Chapter. Mr Aivalli has plans to attract more and younger members by increasing the Chapter’s social media presence. The Chapter held its first event in 2018 with the Honorary Consul-General of Singapore to Canada. Activities in the pipeline include a summer picnic, a fall event and the traditional year-end dinner.