[BIOGRAPHY]

Aileen is responsible for Singtel Group’s overall strategic people and sustainability agenda. She has over 30 years of experience in various leadership roles spanning across multiple industries and geographies.

Aileen joined Singtel in 2008. In her current role, she focuses on championing sustainability, creating an inspiring culture and making Singtel Group a place for amazing people to deliver extraordinary impact. Under her leadership, Singtel has won numerous global and regional accolades for its leading people and sustainability practices.

She co-chairs the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) HR Industry Transformation Advisory Panel. She is a member of the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) Board, Singapore University of Social Sciences Board of Trustees, Health Sciences Authority Board, Institute for Adult Learning Council, Ministry of Finance’s VITAL’s Advisory Panel and MOM’s Workplace Safety & Health Council in Singapore.

Aileen holds a Bachelor of Arts from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Science in Organisational Behaviour from the California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, USA. She is a pioneer IHRP Master Professional, for being a role model for the HR profession. Aileen received the Medal of Commendation at the NTUC May Day Awards and the Public Service Medal for her significant contributions to Singapore’s workforce and human resources sector.

Professor Annie Koh is Professor Emeritus of Finance (Practice) at Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University (SMU). She is a renowned conference speaker, panel moderator and commentator. In addition to being a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on New Agenda for Work, Wages and Job Creation, Professor Koh also chairs the Asian Bond Fund 2 supervisory committee of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and serves on the Customs Advisory Council and HR Transformation Advisory Panel. She is currently a board member of Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd, PBA Group, AMTD International Inc., Prime US REIT and Prudential Assurance Company Singapore Pte Ltd. She previously served on GovTech, Singapore’s CPF, HMI and K1 Ventures boards.

Other than serving on boards of listed companies, Professor Koh also advises family enterprises such as Hendricks Corp. Pte Ltd, TOP International, and startups such as AvePoint EduTech, Dedoco, ESME Learning, StashAway, SWAT Mobility, and non-profits such as WWF Singapore. She has been an investment committee member of iGlobe Partners since July 2010. Previously held positions at SMU include Vice President for Business Development; V3 Group Professor of Family Entrepreneurship; Academic Director of Business Families Institute and International Trading Institute; Associate Dean, Lee Kong Chian School of Business; and Dean, Office of Executive and Professional Education.

Professor Koh received a Ph.D. degree in International Finance with Fulbright scholarship from Stern School of Business, New York University in 1988. Her research interests are in Family Office and Family Business, Investor Behaviour, Alternative Investments and Enterprise Risk Management. She co-authored Financial Management: Theory and Practice, 2nd edition (2021), and Financing Internationalisation – Growth Strategies for Successful Companies (2004), co-editor of Asian Family Business: Succession, Governance And Innovation (2020), and author of a number of Asian family business cases and survey reports. In recognition of her contribution to education and the public sector, she was awarded the bronze and silver Singapore Public Administration medal in 2010 and 2016 respectively, and the Adult Education Prism Award in 2017.

Anthea is a full-time social entrepreneur and advocate, having founded and co-created WorkWell Leaders. WorkWell Leaders is a non-profit community of CEOs and leaders across people, private and public sectors that champion mental wellbeing at the workplace as a strategic priority, not merely a HR responsibility. Formed in May 2018 with 20 C-suite leaders, the community has grown to 135 CEOs and Leaders representing almost 70 organisations that take care of over 300,000 employees.

She had also founded other ground-up initiatives/impact businesses, including SG Mental Health Matters, Welcome in My Backyard, Hush TeaBar, A Good Space, Playground of Joy, and Project Yoga-on-Wheels.

She also served as the president of the Women’s Initiative for Ageing Successfully (WINGS) from 2014 to 2017 after serving on its board from 2010, which helps women embrace ageing with confidence, and was the Founding Board Member of Daughters of Tomorrow, a registered charity that provides individualised coaching to women-in-need.

She was a Nominated Member of Parliament for the 13th Parliament of Singapore. In her term as NMP between 2018–2020, she spoke at every parliamentary sitting delivering 36 speeches and raised 120 parliamentary questions including championing on behalf of youth activists and sex workers, proposed a national suicide prevention strategy, conducted a public consultation on the mental health landscape, made recommendations for closing our digital divide and advocated for greater work injury compensation and other forms of support for migrant workers.

She quit an illustrious corporate career in Dec 2013 to pursue her calling in what she calls the 3Ms of her heart: Mental Health, Marginalised Communities (including migrant workers) and Mother Earth (climate crisis, sustainability and environment).

Prior to social entrepreneurship, Anthea held senior leadership roles with multinational organisations including UK-listed Pearson Plc, New York Institute of Finance, The Terrapinn Group and United Overseas Bank, where she expanded and solidified market leadership positions. She founded the Singapore-based education and technology consultancy, Knowledge Director Group, which advised governments in developed Asian economies on education transformation and innovation strategies in addition to being an inventor for an award-winning educational technology application. Most recently, she was the regional Managing Director with a strategy consulting group for banks & financial institutions based in Washington DC, where she double-hatted as the Asian Lead of the Global Corporate Responsibility Board for its parent company, Informa Plc (a UK-listed conglomerate).

Benjamin Chua is the Founder & CEO of Speco (f.k.a Spic & Span), a commercial cleaning and cleaning technology social enterprise that has provided progressive jobs for more than 300 individuals to date. Under his leadership, the company developed Speco, a special coating that sanitizes and actively protects surfaces. Speco has since become widely used in Singapore in the fight against COVID-19. The company has also clinched various accolades such as the Intellectual Property of Singapore Award 2020, the Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Award 2019 and Champions of Good awards in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

In 2021, Speco Singapore completed its transition into a Cleantech company and had consolidated its position with its cleaning arm, Spic & Span. Speco Singapore is a B-corporation.

Prior to establishing the company, Benjamin had worked at a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development, where he oversaw estate agency policies and regulations. Separately, as a Principal Assets Manager, he was responsible for managing key aspects, such as finance and operations, under his portfolio.

Dr Bicky Bhangu is President – South East Asia, Pacific and South Korea at Rolls-Royce, based in Singapore. He is responsible for the operations across the company’s key businesses– Civil Aerospace, Defence and Power Systems.

Bicky currently serves as Council Member for the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), and is Deputy President of Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC). He has served as Deputy President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), and as President of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore over several terms.

Bicky is an Adjunct Professor at the Nanyang Technological University. He has a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Nottingham, an MSc in Control Systems, PhD in Advanced Machines and Drives from the University of Sheffield and an MBA in Technology Management. He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Engineering Technology (IET), Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).

Bicky is also serving the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore (CPAS) as Board Member.

Bicky is married to Jennie and has two children Caitlin and George.

Role at DBS/Critical Roles and Experiences

• Global head of Fixed Income, responsible for the build-up and continual development of the DBS’ bond origination, structuring ratings, syndicate and global sales businesses for all bond related products.
• Hired in 2004 to build an international fixed income business for DBS focused on the Asian credit markets then dominated only by foreign investment banking incumbents.
• Current Fixed Income team consists of around 70 professionals spanning 8 countries – Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Japan and London – and stands as the only Asian bond house operating across Asia in G3 and select domestic currencies

Key Career Highlights

• Started career in the 1991 Management Associate Programme in Citibank Singapore and was thereafter assigned to the Corporate Bank - Local Corporate Group.
• Joined a group of ex-Lehman Brothers and Citibank alumnus in 1995 to help set up the first Asian bond-house, Peregrine Fixed Income, then the first investment banking operation headquartered in Asia ex Japan and specialized in the region
• Proceeded to run different desks across the Fixed Income product suites and assuming varied roles including Global Head of Syndicate (Peregrine Fixed Income), Head of Asia Origination (West Merchant Bank/West LB) and Head of Structured Finance (BankBoston)
• Given the global ”10 Rising Stars in Securitization” award by Global Capital/Institutional Investors in 2008
• Conferred the title of “IBF Fellow” by The Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) in 2014 in recognition of leadership and contributions to the financial industry in Singapore

Professional Background

• Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the National University of Singapore
• Member of IBF’s Capital Markets and Financial Markets Industry Workgroup focused on the development of finance professionals in Singapore
• Committee Member of the Methodist Welfare Services Investment Committee

Emma is an EY Oceania, Climate Change and Sustainability Partner. She is a skilled professional with 20 years’ experience in climate change and sustainability practice. Emma is a known figure in the Australian and global climate change arena having worked within business and industry associations.

Emma has direct experience in the development and delivery of commercial climate change finance and investment solutions as well as in campaign and political advocacy strategies. Emma has been directly involved in the development of global climate investment and advocacy programs. Emma is a regular media contributor on climate matters, and a respected voice on climate transition implications for business.

Emma holds a Bachelor of Asian Studies (Thai) Hons from Australian National University. She is a member of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative Steering Committee and a member of the Queensland Climate Change Advisory Council and Land Restoration Fund Investment Panel.

An active advocate for green building and sustainability for over two decades, Esther has been instrumental in establishing CDL’s leadership in sustainability. It is ranked top real estate company on the 2021 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World and is the first CDP A-List company for both climate strategy and water security in SE Asia and Hong Kong. Key ESG initiatives she has spearheaded include publishing the first sustainability report in Singapore in 2008; issuing the first green bond by a Singaporean company in 2017 and building an integrated reporting framework since 2015. A forerunner in embracing the UN SDGs, Esther was conferred 2018 SDG Pioneer for Green Infrastructure and A Low Carbon Economy by the UN Global Compact. She is also a signatory for the UNGC Caring for Climate network and a UN ESCAP Sustainable Business Network Executive Council member. She sits on the boards or advisory platforms of several organisations, including World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), Global Reporting Initiative, GRESB Asian Real Estate Benchmark Committee and UNEP FI Real Estate Work Group. She chairs the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association’s Sustainability and ESG Committee; Co-Chairs the Urban Land Institute Singapore’s Sustainability Product Council and is the Vice-Chairperson of the Singapore Institute of Directors’ ESG Committee, as well as the WorldGBC’s Corporate Advisory Board.

Mr. Ho is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Thai Wah Public Company Ltd, responsible for developing the company’s vision to create innovation and sustainability from Farm to Shelf as a leading Agri-Food company in Southeast Asia. Since its founding in 1947, Thai Wah has been a leading pioneer in the tapioca starch and food industry, now expanding its footprint to 15 operations in Thailand, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia. From 2010 – 2015, Mr Ho was the Executive Director and Country Head, China for Banyan Tee Holdings Ltd, helping to position the group as the leading luxury brand in China. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ho worked with the global consultancy Bain & Company Inc. in their New York, Hong Kong and China offices.

Mr. Ho currently serves on the board for Banyan Tree Holdings Ltd, as well as the advisory board for the Asia Pacific Agri-Innovation Summit and the International Advisory Council for Singapore Management University. He has also previously served on the boards of UN Women as well as Wharton Global Forum.

In 2017, in recognition of Thai Wah Group’s sustainability and community efforts across the region, Mr Ho was awarded the “Outstanding Leader in Asia” award at the 4th Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards and Thai Wah was also recognized for Corporate Excellence at the 2021 Asia Pacific Enterprise Asia Awards as a pioneer and leader in the agriculture industry.

Mr. Ho has a BSC in Economics (Honors) from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with distinction from the AMP program of China Europe International Business School. In 2018, he was nominated to be a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader Class of 2018.

He is married with a young son and a daughter, and currently lives in Bangkok with his wife, Teh Su Ching.

Lay San is Senior Vice President, Group Strategic Communications and Sustainability at Sembcorp Industries. She leads the investor relations and sustainability functions at Sembcorp’s global headquarters, as well as the strategic development and implementation of global corporate communications activities across the Group. She has over 20 years of experience spanning strategic planning, investor relations and financial communications, corporate communications, marketing communications, issues management and sustainability.

Lay San is secretary of the Global Compact Network Singapore, the Singapore chapter of the United Nations Global Compact. She read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder.

Lay San is privileged to have been driving Sembcorp’s sustainability agenda over the last decade, and to be playing her part in the company’s brown to green strategic transformation which has sustainability at its core. Her efforts have focused on embedding sustainability in the organisation. This included establishing Sembcorp’s group-wide sustainability framework which is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She was instrumental in the development of Sembcorp’s climate action plan. Sembcorp was the first energy company in Singapore to establish a climate change strategy. Sembcorp has recently launched its green financing framework as well as its inaugural green bond, the first certified green bond under the Climate Bonds Standard by a Singapore-based energy company.

Sean Kidney is CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, an international NGO working to mobilize global capital for climate action. Projects include a green bond definitions and certification scheme with $34 trillion of assets represented on its Board and some 200 organizations involved in its development and governance; working with the Chinese central bank on how to grow green bonds in China; and market development programs in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Nigeria and East Africa.

He is a member of the European Commission's Platform on Sustainable Finance, and was a member of its predecessors, the 2017 EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. He is also a member of green finance advisory groups in China, India, Mexico and Kazakhstan and an Advisory Board member of the International Sustainable Financial Centre in Prague.

He has previously been a consultant on green bonds to the United Nations Secretary General, a member of the Peoples Bank of China Green Finance Task Force and a member of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Expert Committee on Climate Finance.

Sean is also a Professor in Practice at SOAS University of London.

For the past three years he has been voted GlobalCapital magazine’s “Most Influential Champion” of the sustainable finance market.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling joined the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in August 2020 and is currently the Director of U SME and U Women and Family. She is also an Advisor to the National Taxi Association and National Private Hire Vehicles Association.

Representing workers and the Labour Movement, Ms Yeo was appointed a union representative in the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers in 2020 and serves as Chairman of both Tripartite Cluster on Retail Trade and Tripartite Cluster on Food Services. She is also an alternate member of National Wages Council representing NTUC.

Ms Yeo is a Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency and Vice-Chairman of the North East Community Development Council. She is also a member of the Council for Board Diversity and Global Compact Network Singapore.

Dr Ryal Wun is the Deputy Executive Director and Legal Director of Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS) where he oversees operations, research and compliance matters. He also leads the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC) Chapter in Singapore, where he promotes the mitigation of climate change through internal carbon pricing.

Dr Wun has held a wide range of appointments in the public and private sectors since 1993, serving in operations and administration at national and regional levels. His career includes nearly a decade in public service where he initiated programmes in educational and community development. He was previously Managing Partner at Primus Inter Pares.

Dr Wun currently serves on the Governing Board of the Singapore Packaging Agreement, and on the Board of Visitors to Children's Homes of the Ministry of Social and Family Development. Dr Wun is also part of the Advisory Committee for the Packaging Partnership Programme (PPP): an initiative by Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and National Environment Agency (NEA) to support companies on their journey towards more sustainable packaging waste management.

A law graduate from the University of London, he holds three Master’s degrees in Business Administration, International Law, and Diplomatic Studies (Distinction) from the University of Oxford, as well as a doctorate in International Law. He is also certified in GHG Protocols and ISO 14064 carbon reporting and verification by the Canadian Standards Association.

En Lee is a Managing Director and Head of Sustainable and Impact Investments in Asia at LGT, the world’s largest family-owned private banking and asset management group with over USD 260B in assets under management. He leads and manages the regional impact investment portfolio in Southeast Asia and China, serving on the boards of several portfolio organizations. En is a Partner of Lightrock, LGT's global impact investing platform, and a member of LGT's Sustainability Board. Prior to LGT, he was an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs advising investment funds and previously a Corporate Associate at Freshfields specializing in private equity, M&A and capital market transactions.

A recognized industry pioneer, En is a member of the World Economic Forum ESG Advisory Group, Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore Sustainable/Green Finance Working Group. He serves on the Advisory Committee of Triple P Financial Inclusion Fund and the Boards of the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network and Leap201 Philanthropy. En graduated from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and is a CAIA Charterholder. He was selected as an Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellow and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and the Young Presidents' Organization.

Swee Chen joined Shell in 2003 and retired as Chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore in January 2019. She was previously with Procter & Gamble and IBM. A global leader, she has lived and worked in Singapore, Malaysia, Netherlands, Australia, USA, Japan and China. Swee Chen has a diverse professional background, having led significant businesses in Oil & Gas, Consumer Goods and IT sectors.

Swee Chen is on the Boards of CapitaLand, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Power Ltd. and Woodside Energy (Australia). She chairs the National Arts Council, Institute of HR Professionals and Global Compact Network Singapore. She also sits on public service boards including Legal Services Commission. Swee Chen is a Trustee on the Board of Nanyang Technological University.

Swee Chen had previously chaired/sat in the Boards of Shell Joint Ventures in China, Korea and Saudi Arabia.

Swee Chen graduated with B.Sc. - Victoria University and MBA - Chicago Booth, University of Chicago. She was named Distinguished Alumni, Chicago Booth, in 2018. She is married with three children.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Mr. Elliott Harris of Trinidad and Tobago as Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development and Chief Economist effective 2 April 2018. Mr. Harris brings over 25 years of international experience in the fields of international economics and development policy analysis, coupled with knowledge of the United Nations system, multilateral and inter–agency coordination processes. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Harris served as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 2015. Prior to joining UNEP, Mr. Harris began his career in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1988. He was appointed in 2008 as Special Representative to the United Nations in 2008. Mr. Harris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in German and political science and an advanced degree in economics. He was awarded an Advanced Studies Certificate in international economics and policy research from the Institute of World Economics in Kiel, Germany."

Veronica is the Chief Corporate Officer of StarHub Ltd and the Honorary Treasurer of the Management Committee of the Global Compact Network Singapore.

Ms Lai is responsible for StarHub’s Sustainability, Legal, Corporate Secretariat, Regulatory and Corporate Communications functions.

With over two decades of experience in the info-communications industry, Veronica was the Group’s General Counsel and Company Secretary prior to her current role. Prior to joining StarHub, she practised law at Rajah and Tann Singapore LLP.

Veronica was conferred the Chief Legal Officer 2020 Award by the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association, and is listed in Legal 500’s GC Powerlist. She is appointed as a specialist mediator by the Singapore International Mediation Centre. She also received the Asian Company Secretary 2013 Award for Singapore by Corporate Governance Asia.

Veronica holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the National University of Singapore.

Mr Benedict Chia is Director (Strategic Issues) from the National Climate Change Secretariat in the Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore. He is responsible for economic research, the development of low carbon technologies and futures work. Prior to that, he has served in the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources.

Mr Chia graduated from Oxford University with a Masters of Arts in Economics & Management, and a Masters of Science in Development Economics.

Raphael Cheminat is appointed Group Country Head for Singapore and Head of South East Asia at Societe Generale on 8 September 2021.

Immediately prior to this role, Raphael was Group Country Head for Japan, Representative Director at Societe Generale Securities Japan Limited, and Branch Manager at Societe Generale, Tokyo Branch from 2016.

Raphael joined Societe Generale in 1998 and has held several positions within the Group. He started in the Audit department of Corporate and Investment Banking in Paris and then New York, and in 2003 moved to International Retail Banking in Bulgaria, where he was Head of the Inspection department.

He relocated to Hong Kong in 2006 to join the Compliance department covering the Global Markets’ Equity businesses. In 2009, he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific and worked extensively on Asia business development initiatives. across the region. He was appointed Chief Country Officer for South Korea in 2012 prior to becoming Group Country Head for Japan in September 2016.

Raphael holds an Engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique Universitaire de Lille and a Master’s degree from ESSEC Business School, Paris.

Anita is passionate about sustainable change and transformation, working with public-private partnership models, bringing together global communities to make a positive impact. Through a system thinking mindset, she consults on how businesses can bring sustainable ideas to life and with the right culture of innovation, coordinated team efforts, turning them into a powerful grassroot movement. Anita is a strong advocator on the role of women leadership and sports in accelerating our progress to reach the Global Goals by 2030.

Anita is spearheading SAP’s strategy on Sustainability Management across SAP’s product portfolio, working closely with experts, and leaders across different board areas. She is driving collaboration with SAP’s partners and wider ecosystem, accelerating innovation and delivering customer success on their sustainability ambitions.

Anita leads SDG Ambition for SAP, which was launched at World Economic Forum 2020, in collaboration with UN Global Compact and Accenture. This program is aimed at developing and implementing innovative and ambitious business strategies that significantly increase companies’ positive impact on the UN SDGs.

Anita has a strong dedication to working with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and has previously led the strategy behind building a global innovation with purpose space at SAP New York, Hudson Yards and ecosystem which serves SAP’s global customers in 180+ countries in collaboration with startups, accelerators, tech community partners, venture firms, impact investors and philanthropists, futurists, and purpose driven institutions. Anita has been a key contributor to the books “SAP Next-Gen: Innovation with Purpose” and “SAP Next-Gen: Using Science Fiction as a Starship for Enterprise Innovation”.

Anita has led several Gender Equality initiatives helping women and girls to design, shape and benefit from the technological transformations and innovations changing our world including #sheinnovates in collaboration with UN Women, to drive industry-wide action to make innovation and technology work better for young women and girls; Global Goals World Cup in collaboration with Danish Eir Soccer, to drive the power of sports for women from all walks of life, across all regions of the world onto the field and advocate for the Goal that is most invigorating for them, for their families, and community; Women in Data Sciences in collaboration with Stanford empowering female data scientists and mentoring them in their careers, across a global network of 3,360+ educational institutions and launched Female Quotient Equality Lounges at Universities, to bringing experiential pop-ups at college campuses, global conferences, and companies where women connect, collaborate, and activate change together to best prepare women with confidence to advance in the workforce."

Mr Eric Lim is the Chief Sustainability Officer at UOB. He leads a dedicated corporate sustainability office that is focused on achieving the Bank's sustainability objectives of helping businesses to advance responsibly, steering consumer wealth to sustainable investments and fostering social inclusiveness and environmental well-being.

Concurrently, Eric is also the Head of Group Finance, where he is responsible for the Bank’s core finance functions spanning financial strategy, capital management, regulatory and financial reporting, tax management, business finance and performance management.

Eric holds positions in other key UOB management committees, including Chairperson of the Group Sustainability Committee. He is also a member of the Asset and Liability Committee and the Management Committee, and holds directorships in UOB affiliated companies.

Prior to joining UOB, Eric was Managing Director and Head of Wholesale Banking Finance, Singapore and Southeast Asia for Standard Chartered Bank, responsible for driving the strategic partnership between the wholesale business and finance teams. During this time, Eric was responsible for the finance functions covering commercial banking, financial markets and investment banking.

Eric began his career with GE Capital where he took on various executive positions in the areas of financial planning and analysis, mergers and acquisitions, audit and controllership. He lived and worked in more than 20 countries, with particular focus in the USA and Japan during that time.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Accounting from the Nanyang Technological University and an Executive Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Naveen is the President for Cisco Systems in Southeast Asia and leads the P&L and go-to-market operations for all Cisco products and services across 10 countries. He is on the Board of Trustees of the Cisco Foundation.

Prior to joining Cisco, Naveen was a Senior Partner for the strategy consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the leader of the Communications, Media and Technology practice in Asia Pacific.

Naveen is a knowledge adviser to the World Economic Forum and led several public and private sessions at the Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2014 and 2015. He has been active in the domain of personal data and privacy since 2013.

Naveen has a deep passion on how technology can support social outcomes. His CSR work in Cisco has focused on driving social impact across K-12 education, environmental programs and economic development.

He is the Chair of the ICT Committee for the US-ASEAN Business Policy Council; a member of the Young President’s Organisation, the global leadership community of chief executives across 142 countries; and on the Industry Advisory Board of the NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education (SCALE).

Naveen began his career at General Electric Corporation where he was part of the Corporate Audit Staff and was trained as a Six Sigma Black Belt. He has an MSc in Chemical Engineering from Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) and an MBA from INSEAD (Fontainebleau/Singapore).

Dr. Steve Newman is Banyan Tree’s Group Sustainability Director and Coordinating Director of Banyan Tree Global Foundation, and oversees sustainability strategy, implementation and reporting for the Group.

Coming from an academic background, Steve brings a science-based approach to sustainability. Using a stakeholder-engaged approach he develops and drives sustainable social, environmental and operational initiatives that develop partnerships to create shared value. Steve holds a PhD in Ecology, with a background in environmental modelling and climate change, with 20 years of experience in academia, non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

As an active researcher, he also regularly publishes academic peer-reviewed research, curating cross-sector partnerships through Banyan Tree Marine Conservation Labs and Centres. Steve embeds sustainability within all business units and operations, and supports impactful projects for community and the environment at 51 properties in 23 countries and over 8,000 associates, to support business for good. Steve joined the Group in February 2015.

Nicholas joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste on May 1st, 2020, as Vice President of Projects, responsible for the sourcing, development, planning and implementation of projects focused on ending plastic waste in the environment.

Nicholas brings a strong international background in the chemicals and plastic business. A Canadian and Australian citizen, he has worked extensively in Europe and Asia throughout his career.

Nicholas held various management positions in the Borealis Group from 2009 – 2020. Most recently as Head of Marketing Automotive, based in Vienna Austria. Prior to that he was located in Singapore as Strategic Planning Manager for Borouge Pte. Ltd.

He started his international career in the chemical industry in 1998 with Ciba Specialty Chemicals where he held several sales, marketing, strategy and management positions in Hong Kong, Switzerland, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

Nicholas holds an MBA in Marketing and Strategy from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.