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Case Study
CDL’s boardroom battles: Succession in the Kwek family empire

City Developments Limited (CDL), one of Singapore’s largest listed property developers, had been a cornerstone of the Kwek family business empire in Singapore since 1972. With an enterprise value of S$19.5 billion (US$15.1 billion) in January 2026, CDL operated across 168 locations in 29 countries. The company’s success was rooted in the vision …

Corporate Governance Family Business Strategy
By Marleen Dieleman and Thi Phuong Thao Pham
Case reference: IMD-2756, © 2026
CDL’s boardroom battles: Succession in the Kwek family empire
By Marleen Dieleman and Thi Phuong Thao Pham
Case reference: IMD-2756 ©2026
Summary
City Developments Limited (CDL), one of Singapore’s largest listed property developers, had been a cornerstone of the Kwek family business empire in Singapore since 1972. With an enterprise value of S$19.5 billion (US$15.1 billion) in January 2026, CDL operated across 168 locations in 29 countries. The company’s success was rooted in the vision of Kwek Leng Beng, who helped acquire CDL in 1972 and had served as executive chairman since 1995. In 2018 Kwek Leng Beng’s son, Sherman Kwek, was appointed CEO. However, CDL experienced financial setbacks when its property business in China faltered in 2020, leading to the erosion of its balance sheet and the departure of several board members. In early 2025 CDL was thrust into the spotlight again due to a high-profile family feud between Kwek Leng Beng, then aged 84, and his son, Sherman Kwek, over allegations of a boardroom coup, followed by public criticism over alleged governance lapses in CDL. Could CDL’s Kwek family overcome this latest episode of family drama?
Reference IMD-2756
Copyright ©2026
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization City Developments Limited
Industry Services, Real Estate
Available Languages English
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Case Study
Sea2see: Seastainable vision

BARCELONA, JANUARY 2023. What started in 2016 as a humble entrepreneurial attempt to contribute to a more sustainable future had turned into a solid eyewear brand present in major Western markets. François van den Abeele was even more excited by the rapid development of the Sea2see Foundation, which he set up in Ghana. But success brought its ow…

Entrepreneurship Family Business General Management Global Business Marketing Sustainability
By Benoit F. Leleux and Thomas Brochier
Case reference: IMD-7-2564, © 2024
Sea2see: Seastainable vision
By Benoit F. Leleux and Thomas Brochier
Case reference: IMD-7-2564 ©2024
Summary
BARCELONA, JANUARY 2023. What started in 2016 as a humble entrepreneurial attempt to contribute to a more sustainable future had turned into a solid eyewear brand present in major Western markets. François van den Abeele was even more excited by the rapid development of the Sea2see Foundation, which he set up in Ghana. But success brought its own new questions and issues. From the start, he had relied on the superb craftmanship and dedication of an Italian frame manufacturer. Over time that relationship had turned into a mutual dependency: He was now one of its major clients but, reciprocally, had developed a key supplier risk. What if something happened to that relationship? Should he develop a broader set of suppliers and, if so, how could that be done without antagonizing a great working relationship? Recycling very much set the stage for the brand’s sustainability claims, but it also took massive amounts of time to manage. As other companies started to develop their own fishing net recycling supply chains, did it still make sense to invest so much time in the upstream phase or should he pour his energy into his beloved brand? Finally, maybe it was also time to revisit the growth/profitability dilemma and open up the capital to increase the speed of growth, all for the benefit of the environment as impact fed on scale.
Reference IMD-7-2564
Copyright ©2024
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization Sea2see
Industry Consumer Goods, Optical Products
Available Languages English
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications