He craved the challenge of overseeing an integrated securities and futures exchange that was on the verge of going public.
The IPO was a success, but these days the bourse’s American CEO may be better known to some for his starring role in an ad campaign by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower. Designed to lure professionals to relocate to the city-state, the ads - broadcast recently on CNBC Asia - show the 43-year-old, Minnesota-born Kloet enjoying the tropical lifestyle: playing tennis, quaffing beer and sharing a sumptuous Chinese meal with local colleagues.
When the government came calling, Kloet had no qualms about accepting his new, public role. “The only question that came to mind was whether it would be in the interest of SGX’s shareholders,” he quips.
In the ads Kloet hails the country’s open and friendly business community: “I’m constantly impressed with their commitment to continue to progress this nation forward.” Off camera Kloet sounds no less sincere when he praises the cultural charms of his new home.
Before moving to Singapore in April 2000, Kloet spent 20 years in chilly Chicago, where he directed Asian derivatives brokerage business for ABN Amro, put in a stint as COO of Crédit Agricole Futures and sat on the board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. At SGX Kloet has set up promising joint ventures with the American and Australian stock exchanges and is pursuing a similar deal with the Tokyo exchange. Does Singapore’s newest spokesman plan to stay put? He’ll only say that the day he left his snowblower behind in Chicago “was one of the happiest days of my life.”
