Speakers

Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive of HTA in Aug 2021, Mr Anwar Abdullah was formerly Singapore Civil Defence Force Deputy Commissioner and served with the Force for over 28 years. He has had rich experience in developing and driving operational policies and managing major fire incidents and rescue operations. He had also rendered international humanitarian assistance on two occasions and was involved in planning and mounting more than ten overseas humanitarian missions around the region. He was actively involved in international humanitarian works. As a member of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management in 2004, Mr Anwar Abdullah was involved in the formulation, discussion, and negotiation of the first ever ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) that was signed in 2005. In 2008, he became a member of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG). In 2018, he chaired the UN INSARAG Guidelines Committee. Revision was successfully completed and endorsed by the UN INSARAG Steering Committee in 2019. As Chief Executive, he steers the Academy's transformation and drives the Home Team T&L ecosystem. He initiated and drove the development and actualisation of Centres of Excellence in areas such as Simulation Training for Incident Management, Leadership Development in Public Safety and Security, Evaluation and Assessment and Online Learning. This includes establishing collaborations and partnerships locally and internationally. Under his stewardship, HTA has signed several Memorandum of Understandings and won numerous recognitions and awards both nationally and internationally. Mr Anwar Abdullah chairs the Home Team Case Study Stakeholders Committee (HTCSSC) which was formed in 2013. It was set up to facilitate the development of case studies on Home Team (HT) policies, incidents, and operations for the purpose of training & learning in the Home Team. At the WOG, he chairs the Crisis Management Training Steering Committee (CMTSC) and provide oversight and strategic direction for WOG crisis management Training & Learning (T&L) ecosystem. HTA has organised an inaugural WOG Leaders in Crisis Governance Programme in Aug 2023 by incorporating the good practices and key learning points identified from Singapore's management of the COVID-19 pandemic, and inputs from CMTSC.