Kelvin Fong takes the helm of PropNex as CEO, Ismail Gafoor remains Executive Chairman
PropNex also revealed a $6 million contribution to the Neighborhood Chest over a 12-month period, the largest single contribution to the charity in its history. The amount was raised through voluntary pledges of a portion of sales compensations by PropNex agents, as well as team and management. The local agency authorized a memorandum of comprehending with Community Chest, pledging to donate $1.5 million annually from 2025 to 2027.
Lastly, Gafoor introduced a self-enrichment book entitled I Am Not Good Enough, which shows his personal life journey, developing PropNex and his management values. Proceeds from the sale of the 27-chapter book are going to be given away to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. The book will be offered from July 16.
Gafoor moves back after top PropNex Realty to come to be a leading realty company in Singapore. Throughout his tenure, he supervised the firm’s listing on the Singapore Exchange in July 2018, in addition to the firm’s regional growth in recent years. Today, PropNex has already developed a market visibility in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia. It has a consolidated network of greater than 16,000 real estate agents.
“PropNex has actually regularly demonstrated that even as we remain to grow our sales force in Singapore and in the region, we have prevented functional slowness and concentrated on increasing the overall performance of our representatives,” says Gafoor, citing inner numbers that indicate purchases by PropNex agents accounted for roughly 64% of all resale HDB, private residential brand-new launches, and resale condominium deals in Singapore in 2024.
Mainboard-listed realty agency PropNex has already declared that Kelvin Fong is going to take the business as its new CEO, stepping up from his past duty as deputy CEO. Outgoing CEO Ismail Gafoor, who co-founded the homegrown agency 25 years earlier, will remain as the firm’s exec chairman. He will continue to be actively associated with leading the company’s tactical direction, stakeholder involvement, and Board management.
In a press function on July 15 introducing the management transition and various other company initiatives, Gafoor stated that the splitting up of the duties of exec chairman and CEO improves the business’s overall company administration by formalising the division of control and monitoring.
The leadership transition comes as PropNex commemorates its 25th anniversary, marking the occasion with numerous area efforts and the building of a $10 million endowment fund.
He adds that as CEO, his focus will be on empowering PropNex’s beyond 13,000 sales force in Singapore, innovating its solutions, and boosting operational effectiveness. Its total salesperson headcount in Singapore translates to about 35% of the industry share.
Other leadership appointments at PropNex were announced in March. Dominic Lee who was heading the deluxe team for the last ten years, is head of investment sales. Simultaneously, Jason Tan assumed the role of chief technique officer. He was the advisory partner branch district supervisor at PropNex, leading a group of over 1,000 salespersons. Tan even served as a tech specialist on PropNex’s proprietary apps: Investment Suite and Business Suite.
The endowment fund will certainly assist to anchor a PropNex Structure, jointly developed by Gafoor and PropNex co-founder Alan Lim, who prepare to grow the fund to $25 million over the following one decade. Returns from the foundation’s investment will go towards programmes that sustain underprivileged students and educational campaigns.
The recently established PropNex Foundation was formally released at a company-wide event at Marina Bay Sands on July 15, graced by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who oversaw the first disbursement of $254,000 to 160 students.
The responsibilities of deputy chief executive officer will be shared among 6 key forerunners, particularly Eddie Lim, senior vice-president and chief company officer; Marcus Luah, head of business growth; Bobby Sng, head of development leadership; Ken Ng, head of development business; Benjamin Tan, head of business approach; and Cijay Tew, head of training and development. PropNex says that there are no strategies to fill the deputy CEO duty currently.
Fong joined PropNex in 2002 and was assigned an executive head in June 2018 and subsequently promoted to deputy CEO in August 2023. “I’ve had the privilege of growing alongside PropNex for over twenty years, and I’m deeply dedicated to maintaining the society that has made us who we are,” states Fong.
