Mrs. Ng Gim Choo

Mrs. Ng Gim Choo started her career as an audit manager at Ernst & Young and then as a partner in an audit firm. She gave up a flourishing career to be with her husband on an overseas assignment to London in the 1980s. Seeing how much her daughter enjoyed going to school in the UK, Mrs. Ng volunteered at her daughter’s pre-school. She discovered that the school’s education philosophy was very different from the pre-schools in Singapore at that time. The children learned through play and exploration, and the teachers respected the children. Learning was joyful, not stressful. Motivated to pioneer a child-centred educational philosophy in Singapore, Mrs. Ng decided to set up EtonHouse in 1995. From one school on Broadrick Road, EtonHouse has grown into a multi-brand global education group with more than 120 schools in 10 countries with over 20,000 students from pre-school to high school.

Mrs. Ng has received many awards for her significant contributions towards raising new standards of excellence in international education. She was the first Singaporean woman to be awarded the Freedom of City of London in 2009. In 2011, she received the Honorary Citizen of Suzhou award for her contributions to the local community. She won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award (Education category) in 2019 and was listed in Forbes’ Asia Power Businesswomen 2021. In 2022, Mrs. Ng was named Her World Woman of the Year and was listed as one of Asia’s Most Influential by Tatler, and was also included in Forbes 50 Over 50: Asia 2023 list.

Her son, Mr. Ng Yi-Xian, joined the Group in 2015 and has taken over the reins as Group CEO. Mrs. Ng now devotes a sizeable portion of her time to philanthropic efforts through the Group’s charity arm, EtonHouse Community Fund (ECF), an IPC charity organisation founded in 2015. Understanding the impact that education has on a child’s life, Mrs. Ng wishes for every child to have access to good quality education and an equal opportunity to be successful in life. ECF works closely with children and youth from underprivileged families to improve their lives through education. It has delivered impactful programmes such as Joyful Learning, which partners with social agencies in Singapore to engage children with stories to instil the love for reading and learning, and Mindful Movement, which helps youth in rehabilitation homes manage their emotions to name a few.

Apart from being a successful businesswoman, Mrs. Ng is a mother of three, an avid golfer and an enthusiast of Chinese Art, calligraphy and floral arrangement. Her daughter graduated from Yale University with a Ph.D. in linguistics. Her older son is a well-known writer and playwright in Singapore who graduated from Colombia University and has a Ph.D in English. Her younger son, who was an investment banker in New York, has joined the EtonHouse Group. Mrs. Ng is currently pursuing an EdD in Leadership and Innovation at New York University.