SINGAPORE, Jan 5 — Singapore's technology pioneer Sim Wong Hoo, who was chairman and chief executive officer of Creative Technology, died on Wednesday (Jan 4), the firm said.

In a filing with the Singapore Exchange on Thursday, the company's board of directors said that Sim "passed away peacefully", without giving further details. He was 67.

Sim founded Creative in 1981 and has been its chairman and chief executive officer since its inception, the company added.

"Under his guidance, the company became famous for the Sound Blaster sound cards and is a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products," the board said.

"The company also launched the multimedia revolution that drives digital entertainment with cutting-edge audio solutions, which include premium wireless speakers, wireless headphones, powerful audiophile-grade amplifiers and digital audio converters, and next-generation home-theatre systems."

Sim played an "instrumental role in developing the business and has provided the company with strong leadership and vision", it added.

The company said that it has appointed Mr Lee Kheng Nam, lead independent non-executive director, as acting chairman, and Mr Ng Kai Wa, an independent non-executive director, as acting vice-chairman.

It has also appointed Mr Song Siow Hui, president of the company’s Creative Labs business unit, as interim CEO.

Mr Song said of Sim's demise: "This is a sad and sudden development and we feel a great loss especially since Mr Sim and I recently had extensive discussions on the future direction of the company.

"During those discussions, Mr Sim was full of fresh vision. Even on the night before, he had a long discussion with the engineering team and was scheduled to meet with the online sales team the next day.

"The best thing to do now is to ensure the continued smooth running of the company, and also to execute and realise the vision and strategy that Mr Sim had for the company."

In a Facebook post, former foreign affairs minister George Yeo said that he was "deeply saddened to lose an old friend”.

"Still remember the evening he presented me and President Ong Teng Cheong with a Nomad MP3 player storing 12 songs. He was always bubbling with ideas. Never left a meeting with him without new inspirations,” wrote Mr Yeo, who was appointed an independent non-executive director at Creative in 2021.

Mr Tan Min-Liang, chief executive of homegrown gaming hardware maker Razer, said in a Facebook post that he was "incredibly shocked” to hear about Sim’s death, adding that the "technology world and Singapore has lost a legend”.

"He was a good friend, and I'd meet him often to discuss things like audio technology and design,” Mr Tan said.

"Our discussions would run for hours and hours and literally I just met him two weeks ago — like all our meetings, we just talked and talked about audio, speakers, entrepreneurship and much more.” — TODAY