[3] After completing his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Singapore, Chew graduated with a Master of Science in operations research and management studies from Imperial College London.

[4] Chew joined SIA in 1972 and held senior assignments for Administration, covering finance, treasury, corporate planning, human resources, legal and corporate affairs in Tokyo, Rome, Sydney, Los Angeles and London.

After heading the Planning and Marketing divisions at the airline's corporate headquarters, he was appointed CEO in June 2003.

He was the chairman of SilkAir, a fully owned subsidiary of SIA when SilkAir Flight 185 crashed on 19 December 1997 en route from Jakarta's Soekarno–Hatta International Airport to Singapore Changi Airport.

Chew was named the Leading Singapore CEO in the fifth Annual Thomson Reuters Extel Asia Pacific Survey in 2011.