Payments

Joel Neoh Steps Down as Fave CEO Two Years After Pine Labs’ Acquisition

Payments platform Fave announced that its Founder and Chief Executive Officer Joel Neoh will leave his role by early March 2023.

Co-founder Yeoh Chen Chow will continue to lead the business together with Avantika Jain, General Manager in Singapore, Aik Kuang Heng, Fave’s newly appointed General Manager in Malaysia, alongside local leadership teams in Indonesia and India.

News of Joel’s exit comes less than a year since Fave’s acquisition by India’s Pine Labs in a deal valued at US$ 45 million (RM 185 million) was announced.

The serial entrepreneur was the Co-founder of digital media platform Says.com in 2009. The platform then merged with Catcha Media to form Rev Asia which was then acquired by Malaysia’s largest media conglomerate Media Prima.

Joel was also one of the founders of Groupon in Malaysia in 2011, where he later managed Groupon Asia Pacific’s US$2 billion business with over 2,500 employees.

He continues to remain plugged into Southeast Asia’s digital and technology ecosystem as an investor in over 25 startups, through holding mentorship and advisory roles in Endeavour Malaysia, XA Network, Sunway University, as a limited partner in 500 Southeast Asia III, Better Bite Ventures, and as an investor in Nasdaq-listed Prenetics, among others.

Joel Neoh

Joel Neoh, outgoing CEO and Founder of Fave shared,

“I have had the privilege of a lifetime to work with some of the best talents in Southeast Asia to build Fave into a household brand name – today, 1 out of every 3 Singaporeans, and millions of consumers across Malaysia, Indonesia and India use Fave on a daily basis for payments and rewards.

With the strong leadership and culture we have built, I am confident in the company’s continued growth in the years to come. As I leave Fave, I look forward to further contributing to Southeast Asia’s technology ecosystem, paying it forward by helping other fellow entrepreneurs grow in their startup journeys.”

Amrish Rau

B Amrish Rau, CEO of Pine Labs said,

“He leaves behind a tremendous legacy. Fave is an extremely strong addition to Pine Labs’ company portfolio, and we are excited about the 2023 growth trajectory as Fave is set to break new boundaries in sales volumes and explore new countries.

During the last two years Joel has become a dear friend, and I will continue to pick his brain even as he departs the company. He will always be the founder of Fave and the greatest supporter of the business in the years to come.”