John Lim

John Lim 
Chief Executive Officer, National Research Foundation, Singapore
Chief, Public Sector Science & Technology Policy and Plans Office, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore

As CEO of the National Research Foundation (NRF), John oversees the development of policies, plans and strategies for research, innovation and enterprise (RIE) in Singapore.  The NRF stewards Singapore’s national research agenda and funds initiatives to build a dynamic RIE ecosystem that advances Singapore’s competitiveness and drives societal and economic impact for Singapore and the world.

John is concurrently the Chief of the Public Sector Science & Technology Policy and Plans Office (S&TPPO) in the Prime Minister’s Office.  S&TPPO seeks to enable public sector agencies to harness Science, Technology and Engineering (STE) for advancing national and agency priorities with greater impact.  It works with agencies to address complex national challenges that require coordinated, system-level STE effort, helps them innovate and adopt new technologies in their operations, and strengthens STE capabilities, leadership and talent across the Public Service.

John sits on the Board of SGInnovate and the Board of Trustees of the Human Frontier Science Program Organization.  He is also a member of the CREATE Governing Council.

John graduated from Cornell University with Bachelor’s degrees in Operations Research & Industrial Engineering (magna cum laude with honours) and Economics (magna cum laude).  He earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was designated an Arjay Miller Scholar.  He also attended the Advanced Management Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.