In an era where sustainability is often reduced to slogans and scorecards, Terry Tan approaches it with the quiet conviction of someone who has lived responsibly long before it became fashionable. As CEO of Country Foods Pte Ltd and also leading Integrated Global Supply Chain for the food business at SATS Ltd, headquartered in Singapore, Terry leads not with rhetoric, but with duty—an ethic shaped over decades of service, leadership, and unwavering accountability to people, planet, and future generations.
Founded in 2015, Country Foods operates at the critical intersection of food security, global supply chains, and ESG responsibility. Under Terry’s stewardship, technology and sustainability are not an adjunct strategy—it is embedded across the enterprise, shaping decisions, systems, and outcomes from end to end.
Honors & Recognition
Terry Tan’s contributions have been recognised through numerous national and professional honors, including:
- Chartered Fellow, Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport, Singapore (2024)
- Pioneer Fellow, Singapore Leaders Network (2024)
- COVID-19 Resilience Medal (2023)
- Public Administration Medal (Gold) (2023)
- Public Administration Medal (Silver – Military) (2020)
- Minister for Defence Award (CSSCOM) (2021 & 2022)
- Australian Biosecurity Award (Team) (2010)
- Defence Technology Award (Team) (2010)
- State Commendation Medal (Military) (2013)
In addition to these personal and public-service distinctions, organisations under his leadership have also received significant regional recognition for innovation and sustainability, including:
- Country Foods received the Asian Business Review – Asian Innovation Awards 2025, the SATS PCEO Awards 2025 for Innovation Excellence, and the Singapore Business Review Innovation Award 2024.
- Country Foods was honoured with the LogiSYM Best Sustainability Initiatives Award 2025, recognising its leadership in advancing sustainable practices across the supply chain.
A Life Forged in Service
Terry Tan’s leadership identity is deeply rooted in more than two decades of public service and military experience. His career in uniform spanned operations, training, technology, engineering, human capital, supply chain, and transportation—disciplines that demand long-term thinking, precision, and collective responsibility.
That foundation carried seamlessly into the corporate world. Terry transitioned into a startup initiative with Temasek and SATS and subsequently led Country Foods, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SATS. Alongside this role, he concurrently oversaw the Integrated Global Supply Chain for the SATS food business—placing him at the helm of some of the most complex and mission-critical food operations in the region.
Beyond titles, Terry is also a husband and father of three teenage children—two already in university and one preparing for junior college. Recently, beyond his daily runs, Terry has developed a passion for trekking, and he also values spending quality time at home with his family.
Terry defines himself as a technology-driven leader embracing sustainability as a mandated duty. It is not a “nice to have,” not a branding exercise, and not a line item at the P&L level. It is a responsibility that leaders must uphold—consistently and without compromise.
The Military Mindset Behind Sustainable Leadership
The military shaped Terry’s instinct to look beyond immediate wins toward long-term consequences. He led sustainability efforts during his years in the Army, long before ESG became a national agenda or a global priority. That experience instilled in him a deep belief that leadership, like sustainability, is inseparable from responsibility.
Rather than limiting sustainability to environmental metrics alone, Terry frames it through an integrated ESG lens. The Social and Governance dimensions are inseparable from the Environmental mandate and must be addressed collectively as one responsibility.
“I believe the greatest existential threat to our world and our societies lies within ESG challenges. We only need to look at what is happening globally and here in Singapore to understand the consequences of inaction,” he says.
For Terry, environmental and social outcomes must become the second and third “P&L,” standing alongside financial performance for all companies and enterprises.
“I view leadership as a duty, just as I view ESG as a duty—one that serves our people, our communities, our planet, and our future. It is our responsibility to protect the planet, strengthen our communities, and invest in the next generation. Regardless of what we do, where we are, or who we are, leaders must take responsibility and be accountable for doing our part—big or small—to deliver a better world: one that is more secure, more united, more prosperous, happier, and more sustainable,” says Terry.
“In the corporate and commercial world, ESG should carry the same status and emphasis as the pursuit of financial P&L. It is a mandate that must be embedded and anchored across everything we do throughout our end-to-end business,” he adds.
Anchoring Sustainability in Every Role
“I did not pursue a career in sustainability; instead, I anchor sustainability in everything I do throughout my career. First, the planet is suffering, as evidenced by the increasing frequency and severity of climate disruptions worldwide. Second, our children and future generations care deeply about the environment and the planet they will inherit. Third, the corporate and commercial world plays a significant role, beyond that of governments and non-profit organizations. Businesses contribute materially to the strain on our planet and communities—and therefore must be part of the solution,” says Terry.
When Terry entered the food business, this responsibility became even clearer. Global and regional food supply chains—particularly cross-border systems—are highly inefficient. Food standards and protocols remain largely non-standardised, and food is often not distributed efficiently from agricultural-producing countries to the regions that need it most. As a leader within a food and supply chain enterprise, Terry recognised that he was in a position to act.
Purpose Before Process
Across education, early roles, and leadership positions, Terry’s experiences reinforced the importance of purpose, mission, leadership, and team.
At Country Foods, clarity begins with purpose—defined simply, communicated consistently, and reinforced daily. A clear, actionable mission guides decision-making across the organization, from strategic planning to frontline execution.
Leadership capability is the critical enabler. Leaders must understand why they are doing what they do, believe in it, embrace it, and truly walk the talk. Equally vital is the ability to rally teams across functions and geographies toward shared objectives—turning intent into execution.
Food as a Public Good
At the heart of Country Foods lies a fundamental belief: food is a public good. It is an essential commodity and an existential necessity for humanity and the world.
This belief shapes the company’s purpose—“Connect and create a better world through foods”—and its mission to “Deliver safe, affordable, quality, and tasty foods through innovation, sustainable efforts, partnerships, and resilient supply chains.” These are not aspirational statements; they define how Country Foods operates and why it exists.
The ultimate goal is food security for all—making food accessible everywhere: ensuring access in good times, during disruptions, and in moments of crisis, across every corner of the world, regardless of geography, economics, politics, or culture.
Embedding Technology and ESG into the Core
At Country Foods, ESG is embedded across every aspect of the business. From manufacturing and food waste management to renewable energy transition, sustainable packaging, green procurement, and supply diversification, sustainability is operational, measurable, and accountable.
Technology plays a central role. The company leverages data, automation, and AI to transform operations and build resilient, efficient supply chains. A flagship example is the Emporion Control Tower—an end-to-end, AI-driven supply chain intelligence platform. It anticipates, tracks, and manages operations across the entire value chain, from AI-enabled demand and supply sensing to end-to-end freight tracking and last-mile distribution.
This system is supported by fully integrated, digitalised corporate functions spanning procurement, sales and marketing, shipment, inventory management, and distribution—creating a single source of truth across the enterprise.
Resilience Through Discipline
The path to technology-driven transformation is not without obstacles. One of the most significant challenges has been consolidating, cleaning, and structuring data into a unified, reliable source. System integration, people upskilling, and re-profiling teams to embrace digital tools require sustained investment of time, resources, and cost.
Equally challenging is the translation of insights into tangible business outcomes and impacts—enabling better decisions and improved performance—which remains a critical hurdle.
Terry’s approach is grounded and disciplined: start with leadership, keep plans simple, execute rigorously, bring people along, adapt continuously, and never give up when obstacles arise. Celebrate small wins, fight on, and persevere.
Innovation & Impact
EMPORION by Country Foods: Revolutionizing Supply Chain Management
EMPORION is Country Foods’ first AI-powered, end-to-end Digital Control Tower, designed to transform supply chain resilience, intelligence, and agility. More than a technology tool, EMPORION is a strategic platform that enables Country Foods and the SATS Food Solutions Group to see first, know better, and act smarter across the entire value chain—from sourcing to last-mile delivery.
What EMPORION Is
EMPORION stands for Enterprise Management Platform for Operations, Real-time Intelligence & Oversight Network. It integrates real-time risk intelligence, global shipment visibility, and AI-driven logistics optimization into a single, connected system, strengthening decision-making, responsiveness, and sustainability.
How It Works Across the Value Chain
- Upstream: AI-powered risk monitoring anticipates geopolitical, diseases, climate, health, and logistics disruptions, enabling proactive mitigation and stronger food security.
- Midstream: Real-time global shipment visibility improves planning, reduces delays and costs, and delivers significant long-term savings.
- Downstream: AI-optimized last-mile logistics cut transportation costs, lower emissions, and improve delivery performance and customer satisfaction.
A Unified Digital Backbone
Built on Microsoft Dynamics 365, Blue Yonder S&OP, and Power BI, EMPORION creates a single source of truth across operations—enabling faster, coordinated, and data-driven responses.
Strategic Impact
EMPORION enhances operational resilience, drives efficiency and cost savings, elevates customer experience, and supports sustainability and national food security. Through partnerships with Everstream Analytics, Tramés, and A*STAR, it represents innovation through collaboration.
EMPORION is not just a control tower—it is a future-ready strategic enabler, redefining how Country Foods manages supply chains in an increasingly complex world.
Leading Technology & ESG From the Front
For Terry, leadership responsibility begins with preparing leaders to lead technology and ESG—and enable them to embrace technology and data to support this journey and protect the planet as a duty. Build collaborative teams that work across boundaries to create new value.
Country Foods actively leverages public–private–people partnerships, harnessing ecosystem-wide expertise and resources to drive meaningful technological and ESG outcomes. Internally, Terry fosters a sense of citizen ownership—encouraging people and the next generation to see ESG and driving technology adoption as a shared responsibility.
Innovation follows a clear philosophy: start small, fail fast, and scale at speed when ready. For accountability, set clear targets at the individual, functional, departmental, and organisational levels, and embed them into business balanced scorecards (BSCs) and KPIs.
“Ultimately, empower our people to contribute meaningfully to ESG—preserving the planet, caring for society, and doing the right thing, always,” says Terry. And enabling our people to partner with technology and AI to make work more meaningful, productive and smarter.
Harmony, Not Balance
Terry does not subscribe to the idea of work-life balance. Instead, he believes in harmony. Daily runs, time with friends and colleagues, and weekends dedicated to family provide rhythm and renewal. Travel, reading, and trekking across mountains around the world offer perspective.
“I enjoy spending time on the ground, engaging with my people. This allows me to understand their daily challenges, appreciate their contributions, and make better-informed decisions for the business. This simple routine energizes me, keeps me updated, and sustains my motivation in everything I do,” he shares.
A Technology-Driven Future with Purpose
Looking ahead, Terry envisions a purpose- and technology-driven Country Foods over the next three to five years—supporting SATS Food Solutions’ transformation through a one-stop, integrated, end-to-end, efficient, and resilient supply chain, supported by agile sourcing and procurement capabilities.
“I look forward to Country Foods aggregating and procuring proteins at scale and distributing them seamlessly across the region to support SATS Food Solutions, while also contributing to Singapore’s food security,” he assures.
“I am confident we will build agile leaders and collaborative teams to guide Country Foods in delivering not only stakeholders’ interests and enduring financial performance, but also our shared duty to care for society, protect the planet, and create a better future for the next generation,” he added.
Guiding the Next Generation: Leadership Is a Duty, Not a Trend
Terry’s clear-eyed message for emerging sustainability leaders and entrepreneurs
For emerging sustainability leaders and entrepreneurs, Terry offers a clear-eyed message. The journey will be challenging, as profit must be balanced with responsibility to society, the planet, and those who come next. And partnership with technology and AI will be a critical enabler to this journey.
Success lies in anchoring on people, leveraging technology and ecosystem partnerships, embracing innovation, remaining disciplined, and persevering together. Sustainability, like leadership, is not a trend—it is a duty.
