New S pore Badminton Association CEO Woo Kaiwei looks to systematic approach for sustained success

SINGAPORE – To become a true force in world badminton, the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) needs to build a systematic approach to enhance the odds of producing a steady and growing pipeline of top players.

This is the vision of new SBA chief executive officer Woo Kaiwei, who starts work on April 3. He replaces Alan Ow, who stepped down at the end of 2024 and has since become the CEO of the Law Society of Singapore.

Woo told The Straits Times: “We should rely less on luck and chance, and a systematic approach means letting the whole system generate, groom and nurture talent.”

Besides identifying home-grown talent, he noted that SBA remains open to naturalising foreign-born players from South-east Asia, should such talent become available through their scouting.

He said: “I don’t think we should be precluding ourselves so narrowly in terms of talent base. Singapore has always been very open to talent, and I think that fundamental principle has not changed across the nation, including sport and badminton.”

The 40-year-old was a former Hwa Chong Junior College swimmer, whose father taught him other sports like badminton, table tennis and cycling. Woo graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Warwick and a master’s degree in contemporary China studies from Oxford University.

The former senior strategist with Mindef moved on to become the senior manager in group strategy and partnerships at Singapore Press Holdings. He was head of strategic planning and corporate development at So Drama! Entertainment before joining SBA.

SBA president Lawrence Leow said: “The final interview panel was impressed with the breadth and depth of Kaiwei’s strategic planning presentation that covered not just grassroots participation and athletes’ development, but also different aspects of stakeholders’ engagement and organisational development.”

Woo said his