The SAS School Board

Welcome to the school board landing page. Here you can find out more about non-profit school board governance, including our governing documents, the role of the school board, and the skills and experience our volunteer board members contribute as they work collaboratively as fiduciaries for the school.

SAS celebrates over 65 years of teaching and learning, and the SAS community can be very proud of our school, our educators, and our students. We are committed to aiming for continuous excellence in all aspects of our board governance practices so that SAS will foster a world-class environment for teaching and learning for the coming decades and beyond.

Warm regards,
Ehab Abou-Oaf
Board Chair

About the School Board

What does the board do?

Adopt and uphold the mission, vision, and strategic direction of SAS
Ensure the long-term viability and financial health of SAS
Hire, support, and evaluate the superintendent
Board committees:
- Finance Committee
- Facilities Committee
- Nominations and Governance Committee
- Investment Advisory Committee
- Ad hoc task forces
Time commitment:
- Board meetings (up to eight per year)
- Committee meetings (up to eight per year)
- Board retreats (full-day or two-day retreat twice per year)
- Additional 15 to 25 volunteer hours per month

Who is on the board?

The board is made up of 12 volunteer SAS parents and the superintendent, a non-voting member
Board members may not be employees of or do business with the school
Board members currently serve three-year terms, with four members elected or re-elected each year
Seats that become vacant mid-term may be filled by board appointment
Over the next few years, the board will transition from an all-elected board to a blended board of eight elected and four appointed members. For more on how this transition will take place, please see our dedicated Board Improvement Initiative webpage.

What makes a great board?

The school board seeks members who possess personal attributes which contribute to effective board membership. These include:

The ability to take a long-term view and act as a fiduciary
The absence of a personal agenda
High ethical standards
The ability to work well as part of a team
Commitment to the mission, vision, and strategic direction of SAS
Good communication skills
Sensitivity to the needs and concerns of the school’s diverse community

What are the board's goals this year?

2024–25 Board Goals

Support and oversight of superintendent
- Work with superintendent to ensure strong communication channels, a supportive relationship, and clear accountability
Ensure successful monitoring and implementation of the 2027 Strategic Plan
- Work with superintendent on clear priorities for 2024–25 within the plan
- Monitor implementation of school strategic priorities, including performance of deep-dive reviews and implementation of changes resulting from such reviews
- Monitor and review key data points in school operating metrics
Monitor and track SAS Reimagined campus upgrade implementation plan and construction contracts
- Review and approve phases two and three of the campus upgrade plan
- Ensure clear communication with community on key decisions, including move into new elementary school building
Ensure short- and long-term financial health of the school
- Closely monitor financial health of SAS—enrollment, revenue and expense trends and budget approval for 2025–26
- Support school’s advancement campaign and the launch of our first Capital Campaign, including adoption of Board Gift Acceptance Policy
- Monitor investment strategies and returns of school reserves
- Review and approve the budget for 2025–26 fiscal year, supporting the strategic priorities of the school while ensuring its continued financial health
Strengthen governance and plan for board transitions
- Develop pipeline of board appointments and committee membership
- Plan for 2025 successful board elections
- Lead the process for the first appointment under revised Articles of Association with clear community communication on process and decisions

Meet the School Board

Ehab Abou-Oaf (Board Chair)

Ehab Abou-Oaf (Board Chair)

Member since July 2016
Term ending June 2026

Ehab is currently Vice President at Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Prior to that he was the Regional President of Mars Wrigley Confectionery for Australia, Asia, Middle East and Africa. Ehab has 29 years of professional experience in the FMCG world leading and building multi-billion dollar businesses across different markets and regions and in diverse business situations as well as cultures. He lived and worked in China, Japan, Singapore, Saudi, Egypt, and Belgium. Ehab started his career in Research & Development at Procter & Gamble and moved into various roles of increasing importance within R&D across the world, prior to joining Mars in 2000.

Ehab is an Egyptian/Belgian citizen. He holds a bachelor of science degree with honors in engineering from the American University in Cairo, following his graduation with the International Baccalaureate diploma from the United World College of Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in Canada. He is married and is a father of three children (two SAS alumni and an SAS senior).

Ehab has extensive school board experience. He served on the board of Trustees of the International School of Beijing from 2009 to 2014, first as the Vice Chair from 2009–12 and then as the chairman of the board from 2012–14. He has also served on the executive council of Food Industry Asia as Vice-President since 2014 and was elected President for the years 2016–19.

Ehab joined the SAS board in June 2016, served on the Governance Committee and has been the Board Chair for several years.

Shiv Puri (Board Vice Chair)

Shiv Puri (Board Vice Chair)

Member since July 2021
Term ending June 2025

Shiv is the Founder and CEO of TVF Capital Advisors, a boutique fund management firm in Singapore that invests in public equities in Asia. The flagship TVF Fund has built an excellent term track record over 18 years for its clients which include blue chip US based college endowments, family offices, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds. Prior to being an entrepreneur, he held roles at Bain Capital in Boston, Crescendo Ventures in Silicon Valley, and Morgan Stanley in New York. In 2012, he co-founded Ashoka University in Sonipat, which is India’s first private non-profit liberal arts college, with 2,500 full time students currently enrolled.

Shiv sits on the following boards in the fields of education and healthcare: NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine’s International Council; University of Pennsylvania’s Asia Leadership Committee; and the SAS Finance Committee and Investment Advisory Committee, which he now chairs. He is an advisor to Singularity University (SU.org) which works on using exponential technologies to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. To support the community, Shiv serves as a Member of the SINDA Committee for the rollout of the National Skills Future program in Singapore and is a lifetime benefactor of the Singapore India Education Trust (SIET). He is a member of the Bombay chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

Shiv graduated with a bachelor in economics from the Wharton School and a bachelor of applied science in systems engineering from University of Pennsylvania. He is the recipient of the Academic All American award in 1998 for outstanding contribution to academics and golf.

He has two children at SAS, one in middle school and one in high school.

Maxine Barnett

Maxine Barnett

Member since July 2023
Term ending June 2026

Maxine is the CEO of Acorus Capital and Firm Bridge Consulting in Singapore, with over 25 years’ experience in finance and investment sectors. She has lived in London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore. She has two children in the SAS elementary school.

As CEO and investment committee member of Acorus Capital, an Africa-focused private equity firm founded in 2011, she guides the business and investment strategy of the firm while developing and growing the team to deliver results expected of all Acorus stakeholders. Maxine is an advocate for corporate diversity and women on boards. Prior to this, she had a 13-year career in investment banking specializing in trading and risk management covering structured and retail products in equity derivatives. She was responsible for starting BNP Paribas’ South African warrant platform and managed their South Africa and emerging markets portfolios from 1999 to 2004. She developed similar businesses initiatives in Hong Kong for local and regional emerging markets to address growth in Asia in 2004 to 2010 for RBS, Credit Suisse, and Lehman Brothers/Nomura.

Maxine has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Cape Town and has attained various certificates from the Japan Securities Dealer Association, Hong Kong Securities Institute, MIT Sloan School of Management, and the Institute of Directors, UK.

Liwen Chen

Liwen Chen

Member since July 2019
Term ending June 2025

Liwen is an experienced commercial lawyer with over 15 years of expertise representing large corporations and investment funds in all forms of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructurings, and early-stage venture financings. She practiced for eight years with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in New York and Hong Kong, where she routinely worked with clients such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Centerbridge Partners, Merck & Co, Humana Inc. and FountainVest.

As an integral part of her practice, Liwen frequently advises corporate directors on fiduciary duty matters in the context of significant board decisions. She brings a wealth of expertise in handling board duties, conflicts of interests, and best governance practices. Currently she is a partner of MagStone Law and serves as general counsel of ZQ Capital, a boutique investment firm. Specializing in cross-border deal making, Liwen has deep appreciation of both Western values and Asian traditions and is skilled in building consensus among parties of different backgrounds and interests.

Liwen received her LL.B from Fudan University in Shanghai and a master's degree from Columbia Law School. She is the parent of an SAS alumna and a son in the high school.

Wade Cruse

Wade Cruse

Member since July 2021
Term ending June 2027

Wade Cruse is a Partner with Bain & Company in Singapore. Wade has over 25 years’ experience in industry and consulting and has lived and worked in the US, Europe and Asia.

He has two children at SAS, both currently in middle school.

Since 2000, Wade has lived and worked primarily in Southeast Asia, but also in Europe, where he spent several years serving clients while based in Bain’s London office. Wade has experience in other major Asian markets, including China, India, Japan, Australia, and the Middle East.

Currently, Wade leads Ban’s Customer Practice in Asia Pacific. He is an advisor to leading MNCs and local companies on the topics of strategy, transformation and operational improvement. Wade has served clients in a variety of industries including semiconductors, technology, and manufacturing.

Prior to joining Bain & Company, Wade worked in R&D, operations, and management in the chemical and steel industries. He was a founding member of two start-up steel mini-mills in the mid-1990s in the US.

Wade has a bachelor of science degree from Lehigh University and a master of business administration from Harvard Business School.

Michelle Yi Lin

Michelle Yi Lin

Member since January 2023
Term ending June 2027

Michelle is currently Vice President of Finance, Asia Pacific for NOV, overseeing all finance, accounting, and legal entity activities in the region. She has extensive experience in corporate finance, capital budgeting and management, mergers and acquisitions, post-merger integration, and enterprise resource planning implementations. In her capacity as Director of NOV’s legal entities, she also interfaces with various external parties, including advisors, service providers, and government agencies.

A Chinese native, Michelle went to the United States after graduating from high school in China. She has a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis, where she received the Dean’s Scholar scholarship, and an MBA from Rice University, where she graduated as a Jones Scholar. She is a Certified Management Accountant. Michelle has a daughter in the elementary school.

Saurabh Mittal

Saurabh Mittal

Member since January 2022
Term ending June 2025

Saurabh Mittal is currently the chairman of Mission Holdings, a private investment holding company he founded in 2014 that specializes in media, real estate, and technology. He holds a bachelor of technology degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, India and a master's of business administration from Harvard Business School.

Originally from India, Saurabh moved to Singapore in 2014. He has served on the boards of education and child welfare non-profits in India and the US. He has three children at SAS, one in elementary school and two in high school.

Michael Niederberger

Michael Niederberger

Member since July 2023
Term ending June 2027

Michael has been a member of the SAS community since 2015 and has one child in our middle school and one in our high school. He currently serves on the school board’s Facilities Committee. A US citizen and Singapore PR, Michael attended Hong Kong International School, graduated from public high school in Pennsylvania, and holds a bachelor of arts in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania. For over a decade, he has held regional investment banking leadership roles in Hong Kong and Singapore. His current position is Managing Director and Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, Asia Pacific, at LBBW, a German bank.

Archana Parekh

Archana Parekh

Member since July 2022
Term ending June 2026

Archana has been a member of the SAS community since 2019 and has two children at SAS, one in elementary and one in middle school. Archana will be joining Balyasny Asset Management as Head of Asia Equities where she will run a global portfolio focused on financials, technology, and equity capital markets. Previously, she was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Millennium Management and a portfolio manager at SeaTown Holdings. She has served on the advisory board for Sea (Garena) Ltd and on the board of Fullerton India Credit Corporation.

Archana serves on the board of trustees of the Stanford GSB Trust, on the global board for 100 Women in Finance, the board of United Women Singapore (previously United Nations Women), the board of Women in Sustainability, and the boards of U-Go, UWS, and Wise. She was listed in the Top 50 Global Women in Hedge Funds. She has an MBA from Stanford University, where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar, and a BA in computer science with a minor in economics from Mount Holyoke College.

Jonathan Schiff

Jonathan Schiff

Member since July 2024
Term ending June 2027

Jonathan Schiff is the managing director of Resilient Investments ("Resilient"), a Singapore-based investment firm. Resilient invests primarily in equities and real-estate, both directly and through external managers.

Jonathan has been both a founder of and an angel investor in a number of entrepreneurial endeavours. Both
the successes and the failures that he experienced in those endeavors provided invaluable learnings which
underlie Resilient’s investment philosophy and process.

Jonathan’s previous experiences include work with real-estate developers such as The Related Companies (special assistant to the president of Related Las Vegas) and Molasky Pacific (acquisitions analyst). He also spent time working in the hospitality industry with experiences at MGM Resorts, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, PGA, and NASCAR.

Jonathan spent time with the US Foreign Commercial Service in China in the late 1990s, where his work
included helping US MNCs to establish operations in China and also conducting background research for negotiations associated with China's joining of the WTO.

Jonathan earned a joint MBA from Kellogg and HKUST. He studied Mandarin at Middlebury College and Sichuan Union University and earned a BS in hospitality from UNLV. He has completed Harvard’s Real-
Estate Executive program and is in year two of the three-year Kennedy School Leadership program. He also studied advanced valuation and investment philosophies under Aswath Damodaran at NYU, completed Columbia University’s Value Investing program, and is currently studying for level two of the CFA program.

Jonathan is a member of the YPO Singapore Chapter, the YPO Global One Chapter, CEO, and the NUS
Medical School International Council.

Jonathan and his family actively contribute to community service causes in Singapore and have informally donated time and resources to some of Singapore’s soup kitchens, old age homes, and organizations which support children in need. He and his family have also participated in Cataract Missions based in Cambodia for the past two years.

Jonathan grew up in the US, spent close to 13 years living in China, and moved with his family to Singapore in
early 2016.

David Welch

David Welch

Member since July 2023
Term ending June 2026

David Welch is a seasoned portfolio manager with a wealth of experience in the financial industry. He has dedicated his career to the art of investment and has played a pivotal role in various positions at GMO, a renowned boutique asset management firm. With his diverse background, David brings a unique perspective to his role as a portfolio manager. He leverages his competitive spirit, attention to detail, and ability to navigate complex situations to make informed investment decisions that align with his clients' goals and objectives.

David graduated from Boston University, where he obtained a degree in business administration, specializing in finance and marketing. This foundation provided him with a strong analytical and strategic mindset, which has been instrumental in his successful career as a portfolio manager. He also pursued two passions: badminton and sailing. As a professional badminton player, David proudly represented the United States in numerous international tournaments, while his love for the sea led him to become a distinguished sailor able to navigate various challenging waters.

In 2020, David embarked on a new chapter in his life by relocating to Singapore with his wife and three children, joining the vibrant and diverse SAS community. His children, now enrolled in the elementary and middle school divisions, are thriving academically and socially.

Tom Boasberg*

Tom Boasberg*

*Non-voting member

Tom Boasberg has served as superintendent of 4,000-student Singapore American School since July 2019. SAS is one of the world’s largest, most diverse, and academically innovative international schools.

Prior to beginning at SAS he taught for one year at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Tom served for 10 years as superintendent of the 94,000-student Denver Public Schools (DPS), stepping down in October 2018. As superintendent, Boasberg led dramatic improvements in opportunities and outcomes for Denver’s students. During his decade in leadership, enrollment grew by more than 30 percent, the number of students of color graduating from high school and going to college more than doubled, and the district's dropout rate dropped by half.

At the core of Denver's improvement was its focus on teaching, leadership and innovation. Denver developed the nation's largest teacher leadership initiative, opened more than 80 new district-run and charter schools, and was recognized for the strong collaboration among its schools. The district's schools were the focus of a Harvard Business School case study on innovation in education.

Before joining DPS, Tom served in Hong Kong and Denver as global head for corporate development for Level 3 Communications and also served as legal advisor to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, DC. He began his career as a middle school teacher at a low-income school in Hong Kong’s New Territories.

Tom graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in History from Yale College and with Distinction from Stanford Law School. At Yale he was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar.

Governance Documents

Constitutional Documents and Policies

Constitutional Documents and Policies

Governance Details

Committees

The Board operates through the following committees:

Board Committees	Members
Facilities committee: The facilities committee shall be responsible, at policy and planning levels, for the construction, maintenance, and security of the school’s physical assets and for the security of faculty, staff, and students and shall develop a long-range master plan for space use and stewardship of physical assets and resources.	Saurabh Mittal — Chair Michael Neiderberger Jonathan Schiff Judy Chang* Yubin Huang* Erik L'Heureux* Brian Oravec* Brian Rogove*
Finance committee: The finance committee shall work with the administration to prepare the annual operating and capital budgets and a long-range financial plan; monitor all financial activities in greater detail than the board as a whole; develop financial policies; and bring all such items to the board for approval, along with regular financial reports for the board’s information. The finance committee shall also oversee the investment advisory committee.	Michelle Lin – Chair Shiv Puri Archana Parekh David Welch Jeremy Brest* Alex Chan* Ernest Fung* Timothy Reiner*
Investment advisory committee: The investment advisory committee shall work on recommending investment policy and implementing that policy through the investments chosen that serve the long-term financial interests of the school.	Shiv Puri — Chair Archana Parekh David Welch Jeremy Brest* Mukund Dhondge* Chester Lee* Pravan Malhotra* Neng Wang* Joy Yang*
Nominations and governance committee: The nominations and governance committee shall work to ensure that the board composition reflects the strategic expertise, resources, and perspectives needed to achieve the mission and strategic objectives of the school. The committee shall ensure that the governance system and processes align with the school’s strategic objectives and direction. The committee shall also assist the board in the superintendent’s annual performance assessment and shall conduct an annual review of the board’s performance. The governance committee shall also oversee the process review committee.	Wade Cruse — Chair Maxine Barnett Liwen Chen Lissa Edmondson* Henry Nguyen* Joanne Pacewicz*

* Non-board committee members

The board also convenes ad hoc committees and task forces to support the school. Such committees include the community engagement task force and the election task force.

Board Meetings

BOARD MEETINGS	DATE
Board retreat	August 31, 2024
Board meeting	October 7, 2024
Board meeting	November 4, 2024
Board meeting	December 9, 2024
Annual General Meeting (AGM)*	December 9, 2024
Board meeting	January 27, 2025
Board meeting	March 3, 2025
Board meeting	April 21, 2025
Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)*	April 21, 2025
Board retreat	May 31–June 1, 2025

*AGM and Election EGM are public meetings to which all are encouraged and invited to attend.

Board summaries, minutes, and reports here. This page only accessible by using MySAS portal credentials.

AGMs, Annual Reports, and Audited Accounts

Budget Information

The SAS Board of Directors, in fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities, views the development and approval of the annual budget as one of its most important duties. The budget process begins early in the school year and culminates in late January as the school board reviews the proposed budget for approval.

Budget information and FAQs for the 2024–25 budget are available here. This page only accessible by using MySAS portal credentials.

School Membership

Are you a member of the Singapore American School Limited?

The Singapore American School Limited is the legal entity under which the Singapore American School (SAS) operates. Members participate in the governance of SAS by voting at Annual General Meetings, voting at Extraordinary General Meetings, and voting for candidates standing for election to the board. Application for parent membership to the school has been a part of the standard application for admission since 2001. All parents, legal guardians, staff, and faculty are members. There is no fee for membership. If you are unsure of whether or not you are a member, please email board@sas.edu.sg for assistance.

School Board Improvement Initiative

Contact the Board

If you have questions or comments for the board or if you would like to express interest in volunteering for a board committee or task force, please contact board@sas.edu.sg.