Moving from legal industry to Temasek was a ‘baptism of fire’: CEO Dilhan Pillay

SINGAPORE: When Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay agreed to join the company, he was meant to have a four-month break between jobs.
His last day as managing partner of local law firm WongPartnership was Aug 31, 2010. He was due to start at the state-owned investment company in January the next year.
However, a crisis was unfolding in Europe and then-CEO Ho Ching requested he bring his start date forward.
At the time, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain were struggling in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. European leaders approved a €750 billion (US$837 billion) stabilisation package to support these economies.
Mdm Ho told Mr Pillay that there was a lot to be done at Temasek. He agreed to start on Oct 18.
“And then, she told me later on it’s even becoming more acute, so Sep 1,” he said. “I left (on) Aug 31 and started Sep 1. What a baptism of fire.”
He started as the head of portfolio management and co-head of the Singapore office, where he faced a steep learning curve, he told CNA in an exclusive in-depth interview as part of the Temasek Explained series.
“But if you are willing to learn new things, open your mind, accept that you may not know everything, and rely on others who know more than you – even your subordinates – Temasek is an incredible learning journey,” he said.
Mr Pillay has now been with the company for 14 years.
That was not what he expected when he joined the company after Mdm Ho spent three years convincing him to work for Temasek.
“I thought I was temporarily giving up the law, because I didn’t intend to stay in Temasek for long,” he said.
Instead, he took up different roles in the company, including heading the Europe office and Americas office, and eventually became the CEO of Temasek Holdings in 2021.
Running a regional office was a big opportunity and a good way to build skills, said Mr Pillay.
“Small skills but important skills – people skills – that you may not otherwise be able to pick up in a place like Temasek in Singapore,” he said.
He found there were many facets to running a regional office – from deciding on a strategy to overseeing the investment process, including meeting people to strike the best deals. 
“Your intelligence sources are different from what you have in Singapore because your feet are on the ground in the market,” he said.
In the investment world, information flow is very important, he added. “Someone wise told me knowledge is good, know-how is better, know-who is best.”
Mr Pillay also spoke about the lessons he learnt from Mdm Ho, who is now the chairman of Temasek Trust, and how his job differs from hers.
In the 10 or so years working with Mdm Ho, he observed that she consulted her team before making decisions.
“I watched that, and I thought, that’s a good way of making sure your decisions are calibrated,” he said. 
Even when he can push something through, Mr Pillay said he considers other views. But the Temasek he runs is also different from the company Mdm Ho led.
“Ho Ching is the entrepreneurial, founding CEO of modern Temasek,” he said. “I’ve inherited a strong organisation with a strong bench, and so my style has to be different.”
Temasek now has a stable, somewhat mature portfolio, whereas Mdm Ho had a stable portfolio in Singapore only, and had to build a growth portfolio. 
“Today we have two engines, which I say would propel us in the future, if we do the right thing,” said Mr Pillay, referring to Temasek portfolio companies and the company’s global portfolio.
Temasek reported a net portfolio value of S$389 billion (US$303 billion) this year, up S$7 billion from last year. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary this month.
He added that he and his team are responsible for taking what the company has and positioning it for the next 10 to 15 years.
Part of that is being aware of the risks to the portfolio and making shifts to be ready for the changes ahead – most of which is technology oriented.
“Temasek can never sit still because the world is moving,” he said. “We can never ever think that we’re there, so we’re always evolving.”
The company has to hold itself accountable so that it can deliver returns for Singapore, he said.
The government can spend up to 50 per cent of the net investment returns on net assets invested by Temasek as well as sovereign wealth fund GIC and the Monetary Authority of Singapore under the Net Investment Returns Contribution.
“So therefore, in the current environment, whatever we do has to aim towards that,” he said.
Looking ahead, part of Temasek’s blueprint for 2021 to 2030 is to have sustainability at its core.
The company launched its first sustainability report this year, including a S$44 billion “sustainable living” portfolio.
“If your mandate is to build a long-term sustainable portfolio, you have to think about sustainability and climate change,” he said, adding that it is recognised as important in the company.
Mr Pillay said Temasek is considered to be among the leaders of its peer group in this area.
“It’s because of the fact that we have been able to get into thought leadership on this,” he said. “We have been able to participate in the public advocacy for this, and we are doing it in a reasonable way.”
Watch all seven episodes of Temasek Explained on CNA’s YouTube channel.