Ronnie Tay


Ronnie Tay is a Singaporean civil servant and former naval admiral. He was the Chief of the Republic of Singapore Navy from 2003–2007 and held the rank of Rear-Admiral. After leaving the Navy, Tay served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore from 2007–2013 and the National Environment Agency from 2013 to 2018.

Education

Tay received his secondary and pre-university education in Anglo-Chinese School and Anglo-Chinese Junior College respectively. He was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1982 and graduated from the University of Oxford in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in engineering science. He attended the Singapore Command and Staff Course in 1991. He was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Postgraduate Scholarship in 1996 and went on to obtain a Master of Science in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997. He also attended the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD in France in 2007.

Military career

Tay enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces in December 1981 and served in the Navy. Throughout his military career, he held various appointments, including: Executive Officer, RSS Sea Wolf ; Commanding Officer, RSS Swift Warlord ; Staff Officer, Naval Operations Department ; Commanding Officer, RSS Sea Lion ; Head, Naval Intelligence Department ; Commanding Officer, 188 Squadron ; Commander, 1st Flotilla ; Fleet Commander ; Head, Naval Operations Department. He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 1 July 2001 and assumed the post of Chief of Staff, Naval Staff, on 20 July. Tay succeeded Lui Tuck Yew as the Chief of Navy on 1 April 2003 and was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 1 July. He left the SAF on 31 August 2007 and relinquished his appointment to Chew Men Leong.

Post-military career

After leaving the military, Tay served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore from November 2007 to June 2013. He became the Chief Executive Officer of the National Environment Agency on 1 July 2013 and continues to hold this appointment. until his retirement in October 2018.
Tay also sits on the boards or councils of various institutions, including: DSO National Laboratories; Integrated Health Information Systems; Infocomm Investments; IDA International; Media Development Authority; IT Committee, Singapore Health Services; Science and Engineering Research Council, Agency for Science, Technology and Research; National Institute of Education; Honorary Advisory Council, Singapore Computer Society; School of Information Systems, Singapore Management University.

Awards

Tay is married and has two sons.