Ngiam Tong Dow is a former Permanent Secretary (Administrative Vice-Minister) of the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister’s Office of the Government of Singapore. He has also served as Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry National Development and the Ministry of Communications. He was also the Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board and the Development Bank of Singapore.

Apart from being an Adjunct Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, he is also an Adjunct Professor at Nanyang Technological University's School of Humanities and the Arts, teaching development economics. He serves as an independent non-executive director on the boards of the United Overseas Bank, Singapore Press Holdings and Yeo Hiap Seng Ltd.

Ngiam holds a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) degree in Economics from the University of Malaya (National University of Singapore) and Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.