Page 54 - NYAA GAHA 30th Anniversary "Service Beyond Gold"

Tommy Koh

Assistant Director, Defence Policy Office

Ministry of Defence
Chair, St. Gallen Symposium Singapore Chapter
NYAA Gold Award Holder (2020 Cohort)

Tommy Koh is a career public servant who has at MTI as a ground-up initiative to strengthen the
served in a variety of roles, including trade policy, pipeline of talent. Tommy has also led delegations
socioeconomic strategy, and defence diplomacy. of junior officers to deliver ASEAN capacity-building
Energised by ideas and driven by impact, he workshops to provide exposure opportunities
exemplifies the GAHA ethos of ‘Service Beyond Gold.’ while bringing benefits to the region. Tommy seeks
out opportunities to mentor younger officers and
In his current role as Assistant Director at the Ministry students.
of Defence’s Policy Office, Tommy leads a team to
advance Singapore’s defence interests at the ASEAN Beyond government, Tommy contributes actively to
Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), ADMM-Plus, global and local initiatives. As Chair of the St. Gallen
and related multilateral platforms. This includes Symposium Singapore Chapter, Tommy connects
developing plans for Singapore’s 2027 ASEAN Singapore’s community of Leaders of Tomorrow
Chairmanship to position the region to address new with the Symposium’s worldwide network, ensuring
and emerging security challenges. Singapore’s youth have opportunities to engage in
international dialogues on leadership, sustainability,
Prior to the Ministry of Defence, Tommy served in and innovation. Tommy has also served as a
the Prime Minister’s Office Strategy Group and the Community Host for the Symposium, convening and
Ministry of Trade and Industry. At PMO-SG, Tommy facilitating discussions for 200 international youth
advanced policy entrepreneurship on cross-cutting leaders.
socioeconomic issues, particularly in the domain
of jobs and skills. He also strengthened whole-of- Academically, Tommy holds a Master of Public Policy
government data-driven policymaking capabilities and Global Affairs (UBC, 2019), where he was the
through research and academic partnerships. At Graduation Speaker, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political
MTI, Tommy represented Singapore in ASEAN and Science and Psychology (Johns Hopkins University,
ASEAN+1 trade negotiations, including spearheading 2017), where he was a Social Policy and Woodrow
the development of the innovative ASEAN Services Wilson Fellow.
Facilitation Framework. During COVID-19, Tommy
contributed to Singapore’s post-pandemic economic Tommy continues to build bridges across and
recovery by developing and reviewing border beyond ASEAN. He inspires young leaders to think
reopening policies. boldly about how they can remain relevant amidst
a changing world by contributing to Singapore both
An early focus of Tommy’s career has been investing in within and beyond our borders.
human capital. In addition to building strong teams,
Tommy launched the Trade Internship Programme

52 30 Years of Service and Leadership