Kelvin Fong takes the helm of PropNex as CEO, Ismail Gafoor remains Executive Chairman
The endowment fund will aid to anchor a PropNex Foundation, jointly established by Gafoor and PropNex co-founder Alan Lim, that prepare to increase the fund to $25 million over the following ten years. Returns from the structure’s investment will go towards programmes that support underprivileged students and educational efforts.
Mainboard-listed realty company PropNex has already declared that Kelvin Fong will take the business as its new chief executive officer, stepping up from his previous job as deputy CEO. Outgoing Chief Executive Officer Ismail Gafoor, who co-founded the homegrown firm 25 years back, will stay as the company’s executive chairman. He is going to proceed to be actively involved in leading the firm’s strategic path, stakeholder engagement, and Board management.
Gafoor steps back after leading PropNex Real estate to come to be a leading realty company in Singapore. Throughout his period, he oversaw the firm’s listing on the Singapore Exchange in July 2018, in addition to the company’s local expansion in recent times. Today, PropNex has already developed an industry existence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia. It has a combined network of greater than 16,000 real estate agents.
He adds that as CEO, his emphasis will be on encouraging PropNex’s more than 13,000 sales force in Singapore, innovating its solutions, and enhancing operational effectiveness. Its total salesperson headcount in Singapore translates to about 35% of the industry share.
The newly established PropNex Foundation was formally released at a company-wide event at Marina Bay Sands on July 15, graced by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, that oversaw the first disbursement of $254,000 to 160 students.
The tasks of deputy CEO will be shared among 6 vital heads, namely Eddie Lim, senior vice-president and head company officer; Marcus Luah, head of business growth; Bobby Sng, head of development leadership; Ken Ng, director of development business; Benjamin Tan, head of business approach; and Cijay Tew, head of training and development. PropNex claims that there are no plans to fill the deputy CEO duty currently.
PropNex also announced a $6 million payment to the Area Chest over a 12-month duration, the largest single donation to the charity in its history. The amount was raised through voluntary promises of a portion of sales commissions by PropNex representatives, in addition to personnel and administration. The local agency authorized a memorandum of understanding with Community Chest, pledging to give away $1.5 million annually from 2025 to 2027.
In a press activity on July 15 introducing the leadership shift and various other business initiatives, Gafoor said that the separation of the roles of executive chairman and chief executive officer boosts the business’s general business administration by formalising the department of oversight and administration.
“PropNex has actually regularly displayed that still as we remain to grow our sales force in Singapore and in the region, we have stayed clear of operational sluggishness and focused on improving the general efficiency of our agents,” states Gafoor, pointing out internal figures that indicate purchases by PropNex representatives accounted for around 64% of all resale HDB, private residential brand-new launches, and resale condo transactions in Singapore in 2024.
Fong signed up with PropNex in 2002 and was assigned an executive director in June 2018 and eventually promoted to deputy CEO in August 2023. “I’ve had the opportunity of growing together with PropNex for over two decades, and I’m deeply dedicated to preserving the society that has made us who we are,” claims Fong.
Ultimately, Gafoor launched a self-enrichment book titled I Am Not Good Enough, that portrays his personal life journey, accumulating PropNex and his leadership values. Proceeds from the sale of the 27-chapter book are going to be contributed to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. The book will be marketed from July 16.
Other leadership visits at PropNex were announced in March. Dominic Lee who was supervising the high-end team for the last ten years, is head of investment sales. At the same time, Jason Tan represented chief approach specialist. He was the consultatory partner branch district director at PropNex, leading a team of over 1,000 salesmans. Tan even served as a tech consultant on PropNex’s proprietary apps: Investment Suite and Business Suite.
The leadership change comes as PropNex commemorates its 25th anniversary, noting the occasion with a number of area initiatives and the building of a $10 million endowment fund.
