Honestbee back on track with new CEO

Struggling grocery delivery company and grocer Honestbee has won another new lease on life with the appointment of a new CEO who has promised to revive the business with the support of investors.

Details of the additional investment were not immediately clear.

Ong Lay Ann took up the role without fanfare on July 15 from interim CEO and investor Brian Koo, who remains chairman. That followed the resignation of CTO and co-founder Jonathan Low four days earlier.

Koo had taken over from Honestbee former CEO and cofounder Joel Sng in early May, clearing the way for fresh funding to be injected into the company by Koo’s investment vehicle.

New appointee Ong has almost 20 years experience in IT, infrastructure, commodities and real estate. He has experience turning around failing companies, including Perth Precast in Australia which he rebuilt and listed via a reverse takeover.

Low cofounded Honestbee in 2015 with partners Sng and Isaac Tay.

“It is my privilege to have worked with some of the best talents during my time here,” he said in a statement confirming his departure.

“The decision to leave Honestbee was made before Lay Ann had come on board. However, I have full confidence that Lay Ann will help Honestbee enter its next phase and recover from its recent setbacks,” Low said.

So far this year, Honestbee has curtailed services, suspended operations or exited altogether markets including Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines.