Passing the Torch of Halogen

Halogen’s Board Movements

In the Spirit of the Olympics, here at Halogen, we have witnessed a significant moment such as that of a torch relay. Since last month, the flame was passed on by Mr Michael Palmer, our Chairman of the last two and a half years, to Mr Lim Soon Hock. As with the Olympic flame that represents purity, the endeavour for perfection and the quest for victory, peace, and friendship, Mr Lim Soon Hock now carries the Halogen flame.

The Halogen flame represents leadership, influence and the building of young leaders of vision, competence and character. Mr Michael Palmer continues to champion the Halogen vision by continuing as our Board member and being our new Patron, and Mr Lim Soon Hock has taken on the role as the Chairman to further drive the cause of Halogen. We are honoured to have such great leaders to lead us.

Current Patron, Mr Michael Palmer, and Chairman, Mr Lim Soon Hock, share their heartbeat for the youth and shed light on their new roles.

Mr Michael Palmer, Former Chairman of Halogen Foundation Singapore

Speaker, Parliament of Singapore
Member of Parliament, Punggol East SMC
Partner, Harry Elias Partnership
Government Parliamentary Committee: Chairman, Home Affairs and Law (2011)
Government Parliamentary Committee: Chairman, Defence and Foreign Affairs (2008 – 2011)
Year of Birth: 1968
Number of children: 1

Halogen360 (H360): Mr Palmer, what was your greatest leadership challenge in your time as Chairman of Halogen Foundation Singapore?
Mr Michael Palmer (MP): I think the greatest challenge I had as Chairman was to raise funds so as to enable Halogen to continue to do the good work it does. Halogen is a unique charity in that it supports crisis-prevention work among young people. The cause is not necessarily appealing for people to give to, but nevertheless important in our society today.

H360: What were your greatest joys in being Halogen’s chairman for the past 2 over years?
MP: The best moments for me would be to see the energy and enlightenment that the students experience when they go through one of Halogen’s leadership courses. It’s almost as if someone turned on a light in their minds—widening their perspectives and helping them realise that they can lead, create change, and have so much to offer. It makes it all truly worthwhile.

H360: When you passed on the baton of building young leaders to Mr Lim Soon Hock this June, what did you charge him with?
MP: Soon Hock has a wealth of experience and needs no charge from me. But I assured him and Halogen of my continued support.

H360: Taking on the role of Patron, together with your role as Speaker of Parliament, where would you like to steer the development of our young people in Singapore? What advice do you have for educators and youths today?
MP: Regardless of your views of the globalised world we live in today, it is here to stay and we have to learn how to deal with it. Our younger generation of Singaporeans will have to learn to deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow. All I will say is that there is no shortcut to hard work. We need to be bold and take the lead where we can. Each of you is a leader in your own right. The only question is whether you will seize the opportunity and seize the day. Only you can decide whether you will be the captain of your soul.

Mr Lim Soon Hock, Current Chairman of Halogen Foundation Singapore

Founder and Managing Director, PLAN-B ICAG Pte Ltd
Former Vice-President and Managing Director, Compaq Computer Asia Pacific
Corporate Advisor, Medibank Health Solutions
Chairman, National Family Council and Centre for Fathering
2009 National Day Public Service Medal
Year of Birth: 1950
Number of children: 3

H360: Mr Lim, you have chalked up many accolades, including leading one of the world’s top technology multi-national companies and sitting on many boards. With your busy schedule and with the wide selection of charities out there, why did you come on board as Chairman for Halogen?
Mr Lim Soon Hock (LSH): The Foundation seeks to develop and train young leaders who can change the world in the issues they strongly believe in, by inspiring and influencing young people to lead themselves and others well. It is a laudable cause worth supporting and one which I prescribe fervently and I subscribe to passionately.

Since its inception in 2003, Halogen has reached out to about 70,000 students through leadership training in schools, inspirational events such as the National Young Leaders’ Days, as well as action projects where young people create social projects for their communities. Having no time should therefore never be an excuse for not supporting and contributing to a compelling and worthy cause, such as that of Halogen’s, no matter how busy one is.

H360: With your keen sense of trendspotting and strong business acumen, what is your vision for Halogen?
LSH: Halogen is already doing a very good and commendable work. It has carved for itself a name for training and educating students to become leaders. Going forward, we can build on this success and our strong brand equity to drive holistic leadership training and education for our students to a higher level. We will have accomplished this if we can take our students, as our future change makers, to a higher intellectual plane, to not only better understand leadership in theory and in practice, but also to develop the intellectual inquisitiveness on the art and science of leadership.

H360: Taking on the baton from Mr Michael Palmer, what do you want Halogen to continue to be and do?
LSH: Mr Michael Palmer has built a strong and enduring foundation for Halogen. What I hope to do is to build on that foundation and challenge the Halogen team to see and to expand our scope for leadership education. Having been a Chief Executive Officer for many years, I believe wholeheartedly that one of the most effective ways to impact our world today is through entrepreneurship.