Poh Theen is currently the Director Asia Pacific Affairs of CANSO and concurrently Senior Advisor to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Before this, he was the Deputy Director-General (Air Navigation Services) of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore from 2010 to 2021.

He has spent 35 years in both civil and military aviation. As Deputy Director-General (Air Navigation Services) of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, he supervised the provision of air navigation services, development of new systems, and airspace management. During this period, new capabilities like the current generation ATM system, ADS-B, ACDM, ATFM, smart tower prototype, 3-runway operations, and counter-drone systems were introduced.

Before joining the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, he was Director Air at the Ministry of Transport. At the Ministry of Transport, he participated in the formulation of various air transport policies and air hub development strategies, including the corporatisation of Changi airport.

Before joining the Ministry of Transport, he was the Director of the National Security Coordination Centre and set up the National Security Coordination Secretariat in the Prime Minister’s Office after 9/11 to achieve a whole-of-government approach to emerging threats.

He started his career in the Republic of Singapore Air Force as an intercept controller. He went on to helm various senior command and staff appointments in the Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Ministry of Defence, including Commander of the Air Force Systems Brigade, Head of Joint Plans in the Joint Staff, and Commanding Officer of the E2C Squadron.

He is a strong advocate in blending technological and operational approaches to aviation challenges. He has been active in growing research institutes and programmes to modernise ATM. He has been a board member of the Singapore Air Traffic Management Research Institute, MITRE Asia Pacific Singapore, Aviation Studies Institute, and Singapore Aviation Academy. He is also a regular at ICAO forums and meetings. In CANSO, he is working on greater aviation connectivity in the Asia Pacific, including the roles of the technology companies.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford in the United Kingdom, and a Master of Science (Management) from Stanford in the United States.