# Richard Koh

> Richard Koh Seoh Leng is the Singaporean founder and non-executive chairman of M-DAQ Global, which he led as Group CEO until May 2025. His career spans accountancy, bank foreign exchange and cross-border financial technology. He also teaches at Nanyang Business School, serves on education advisory boards and is pursuing a full-time business PhD.

- **Role:** Founder & Non-Executive Chairman at M-DAQ Global
- **Organizations:** M-DAQ Global, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, NUS Business School Accounting Advisory Board, ISCA Academy, JPMorgan Chase (former), Standard Chartered Bank (former), PwC (former)
- **Nationality:** Singaporean
- **Education:** Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours), Banking and Finance specialization, Nanyang Technological University, Executive MBA in International Business; valedictorian, Aalto University School of Business, Graduate Diploma in Techno-entrepreneurship, Graduate Diploma in eCommerce, Group Diploma in Accounting; first Singapore gold medalist, Diploma in Computer Studies, PhD in Business (General Management), in progress; full-time four-year programme
- **Known for:** SCS Entrepreneur of the Year, 2018., EY Entrepreneur Of The Year - Financial Technology, Singapore, 2020., Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award, 2024.

## Career timeline

- **Age 14** — Started a software business that folded after three years.
- **1997** — Graduated from Nanyang Business School.
- **Before 2010** — Worked at PwC, JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered; developed expertise in FX and electronic commerce.
- **2001** — Conceived the idea of displaying US stocks in Singapore dollars.
- **2009-2010** — Laid M-DAQ foundations in December 2009; company founded January 2010 with Wong Joo Seng and Noboru Takahashi.
- **2012** — M-DAQ faced an approximately eight-month cash gap following an investor dispute; colleagues stayed through the funding gap.
- **2015** — Pivoted the currency technology into e-commerce through collaboration with Alibaba and Ant Group.
- **2018** — M-DAQ became net profitable; Koh received the SCS Entrepreneur of the Year award.
- **2019** — Joined the Nanyang Business School Advisory Board.
- **2020** — Received EY Entrepreneur Of The Year - Financial Technology; joined NUS Business School Accounting Advisory Board.
- **2021** — M-DAQ announced approximately S$200 million Series D investment from Affinity Equity Partners.
- **2024** — Received NTU Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award.
- **2025** — Became non-executive chairman as Tan Choon Seng became Group CEO on 13 May; began full-time PhD study.

## Achievements

- SCS Entrepreneur of the Year, 2018.
- EY Entrepreneur Of The Year - Financial Technology, Singapore, 2020.
- Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award, 2024.
- Executive MBA valedictorian.
- Patent-holder for multi-currency securities-trading and financial-account technology; NTU also lists intellectual property named The Fish Bone.
- Led M-DAQ through its 2015 e-commerce pivot and attainment of net profitability in 2018.

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Transitioned to non-executive chairman on 13 May as Tan Choon Seng became Group CEO; announced the start of full-time four-year doctoral study.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/a-prof-richard-koh-/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/richard-koh
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12