Kwa, 79, has several decades of leadership across public and private sectors, including chairmanships of major listed companies: Singapore Exchange, Singapore Technologies Engineering, Neptune Orient Lines, and Olam International. He was also chairman of Fullerton Fund Management Company and Media Corporation of Singapore Pte and served as deputy chairman of both Temasek Holdings Pte and the Public Service Commission Singapore. He held board positions at DBS Group Holdings, DBS Bank and Seatown Holdings Pte.  Kwa is currently chairman of UltraGreen.ai.

As chairman Singapore and South-east Asia, Kwa will provide oversight, strengthen partnerships and relationships in Singapore, and support UBS’s growth and innovation across the region. At the same time, he will be nurturing the next generation of leaders, the bank continued. In this newly-create role, he will work with Edmund Koh, chairman UBS Asia Pacific, and Jin Yee Young, Singapore country head and co-head of GWM Asia Pacific, to develop UBS’s business in the region.