Joel Sng

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joel Sng Zhiwei[1] (born c. 1983)[2] is a Singaporean entrepreneur and businessman. He co-founded the online grocery and food delivery service Honestbee and was its chief executive officer from March 2015 to May 2019.

Career[edit]

In December 2014,[3] Sng founded the startup company Honestbee, an online grocery and food delivery service, together with Jonathan Low and Isaac Tay.[4] He started serving as the company's chief executive officer in March 2015.[5]

In May 2019, Sng was dismissed as CEO.[6] A day before his dismissal, he had reportedly sent an email to all Honestbee staff stating that "I am not an abandon ship person and I will never leave the company to be rudderless."[7]

Following Sng's departure, early Honestbee backer Brian Koo became acting CEO.[8] Sng was also the director of Sun Group Capital, which was founded in 2011 and had S$10 in capital.[9]

Legal issues[edit]

In August 2019, Honestbee creditor Benjamin Lim sued Sng for $3.8 million in damages, although the matter was later settled out of court.[10] In March 2020, Honestbee filed a lawsuit against Sng for an "alleged breach of fiduciary duties", including purchasing a house in Japan using company funds and incorporating a sham company called PayNow that Honestbee subsequently bought over.[5]

In June 2021, the High Court of Singapore awarded $5.1 million in damages to South Korean brokerage Mirae Asset Daewoo after Sng allegedly failed to deliver Honestbee shares that they had purchased.[11] On 23 May 2022, Sng was issued a bankruptcy order by the High Court.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ High Court of Singapore. "[2021] SGHC 166". Retrieved 18 Nov 2023.
  2. ^ Nila, Allyshia (30 May 2018). "15 Young Singaporean Trailblazers Who Have Set The Bar Sky-High". Harper's Bazaar.
  3. ^ Shiao, Vivien (4 May 2016). "Delivering the goods for busybees". Business Times.
  4. ^ Elangovan, Navene (12 August 2019). "After leaving Honestbee, entrepreneur Isaac Tay hopes to make a buzz in the comedy scene". Today.
  5. ^ a b Lim, Janice (24 March 2020). "Honestbee taking legal action against ex-CEO, former director over alleged 'numerous irregularities'". Today.
  6. ^ "Honestbee fired CEO Joel Sng, says report; start-up to make statement today". The Straits Times. 2 May 2019.
  7. ^ Salim, Zafirah (25 October 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: Honestbee Ex-CEO Joel Sng's Handover Email To Brian Koo Leaked". Vulcan Post.
  8. ^ Aw, Cheng Wei (3 May 2019). "Honestbee co-founder Joel Sng resigns". The New Paper.
  9. ^ Lee, Terence (14 April 2020). "Honestbee founder's biggest lie in a web of deceit". Tech in Asia. Closed access icon
  10. ^ Pillai, Sharanya (7 April 2020). "honestbee creditor Benjamin Lim applies to wind up company". Business Times.
  11. ^ Pillai, Sharanya (1 July 2021). "Mirae Asset Daewoo awarded US$5.1m claim against ex-honestbee CEO Joel Sng". Business Times. Closed access icon
  12. ^ Chong, Claudia (9 September 2022). "Former honestbee CEO declared bankrupt". Business Times. Closed access icon