Briton made honorary citizen for contributions to Singapore economy
A British business executive was made an honorary citizen of Singapore yesterday for his contributions to Singapore's economic development, and the growth of the biomedical sciences industry.
Sir Andrew Witty, 53, former chief executive of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), was conferred the award by President Halimah Yacob at an Istana ceremony.
The Honorary Citizen Award is the highest form of recognition for a non-Singaporean.
Introduced in 2003, it is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Singapore's growth and development.
Sir Andrew, who is the 18th person to receive the award, said: "Living and working in and with Singapore has been one of my most rewarding experiences, and I have been delighted to see the biomedical sector expand so much over the last 20 years."
He lived in Singapore from 1999 to 2003 as senior vice-president for Asia Pacific of the British company.
One of his contributions is establishing a joint 10-year roadmap with the Economic Development Board, when he was appointed GSK's chief executive in 2009.
As part of the roadmap, Sir Andrew championed the establishment of a $50 million GSK-EDB endowment fund, among other investments, to support innovation and research in the areas of green and sustainable manufacturing, and healthcare policy.
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