[7 May 2000]
Tommie Goh of JIT endows $2 million to the Singapore Management University

The Tommie Goh Chair in Entrepreneurship aims at encouraging the spirit of entrepreneurship

Mr Tommie Goh, founder of JIT Electronics Pte Ltd, has joined the illustrious ranks of the Singapore Management University's (SMU) Endowment Fund donors. The Tommie Goh Professorial Chair in Entrepreneurship has been established with a $2 million personal donation from Mr Goh.

The Endowment, together with other SMU donors, will be acknowledged at a Donors Dinner hosted by the Patron of SMU, President S R Nathan, on 7 May 2000 at the Istana.

The Tommie Goh Professorial Chair in Entrepreneurship follows on Mr Goh's award as Businessman of the Year in the recent Singapore Business Awards organised by DHL Worldwide Express and Business Times. The Chair underlines Mr Goh's commitment towards encouraging entrepreneurship in the New Economy.

Mr Goh established JIT ("Just In Time") Electronics Pte Ltd in 1988. Within three short years, turnover grew from an initial $100,000 in the first year of operations, to surpass the $100 million mark.

Today, JIT employs 4,200 people worldwide including the USA, Hungary and China. Mr Goh is the quintessential self-made man who began his working life cleaning car windshields at Great World Amusement Park and working as a hawker's assistant.

Following his National Service, he served with the Singapore Armed Forces for 14 years before pursuing his entrepreneurial dreams in 1981. He has never looked back. A passion for work and tenacity in overcoming obstacles were the driving forces behind his success.

With Mr Goh's contribution, the SMU Endowment Fund currently totals $80 million. This comprises $7.5 million from donors, $22.5 million under the government's $3 for $1 matching scheme and a one-time grant of $50 million from the government. The three previous donors to the Fund are Overseas Union Bank Ltd, Mr Cheng Tsang Man of Prima Ltd and Mr Laurence Moh of Plantation Timber Products Holdings Ltd.