Dr. Teo is a long-serving politician with a career in the public service spanning over 23 years. Formerly a Member of Parliament (“MP”) for various constituencies including Sembawang GRC (1996-2001), Holland-Bukit Panjang GRC Bukit Panjang GRC (2001-2006) and Bukit Panjang SMC (2006-2020), Dr. Teo was also the Mayor of the North West District in Singapore (2001-2020), responsible for implementing Community Development Programmes for approximately 906,000 residents. During his tenure as Mayor, the North West District had clinched notable awards including the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable Cities Award in 2017 and the Singapore Environment Council-Lee Foundation Singapore Environmental Achievement Award (Public Sector) in the same year.
Dr. Teo had also served as the Chairman of the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council (2001-2020), and as Coordinating Chairman of 15 People’s Action Party (“PAP”) Town Councils in Singapore taking charge of township management for about one million public housing flats. Over the course of his political career, Dr. Teo has chaired various Government Parliamentary Committees in National Development, Environment and Water Resources, Home Affairs, Law and Foreign Affairs.
Dr. Teo was in 1982 awarded the Tan Lark Sye scholarship to pursue his bachelor’s degree in Building from the National University of Singapore. Upon graduation in 1985, he joined the National University of Singapore as a teaching staff before he was awarded the National University of Singapore’s Overseas Graduate Scholarship in 1986 to pursue his Master (in Project Management) and Doctorate (in Building) degrees at Heriot Watt University in the United Kingdom. In 1992, Dr. Teo was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Jurong Town Council where he was responsible for the management of over 40,000 units of public housing flats. Dr. Teo also took up three directorships in the private sector from 1999-2001, alongside numerous other public sector appointments throughout the course of his career.
From his prior experience gained, notably as an MP and former Mayor of the North West District in Singapore, Dr. Teo has developed extensive expertise and a track record in implementing Green and Smart City initiatives to create sustainable buildings and communities. With his strong background and network in the built environment sector, they believe that Dr. Teo will additionally help to impart fresh industry insights, spur thought leadership and lend his industry connections to elevate the organisation to greater heights. They look forward to the valuable contributions Dr. Teo will make at Tiong Seng.