#CHROSeriesSingapore

How CHROs Can Shape Organisational and Workforce Transformation

While many factors are continuing to challenge and transform the way organisations work, forward-looking leaders are already looking to devise innovative strategies that will allow their organisation to navigate the challenges and thrive in 2024.These include formulating key people strategies that will allow them to retain the best talent at a time when employees are deciding on their key priorities and planning for their next career moves. At this event, we will be covering the key trends and addressing the pressing topics on how organisations can build a culture of belonging and equity in the workplace and deploy innovative HR technologies to improve employee experience.  Join more than 150 CHROs in your country for high-level networking opportunity, sharing of best practices and learning the latest insights from renowned HR thought leaders to successfully develop your people and organisation strategies for 2024 and steer your organisation towards growth.

Singapore

CHRO AGENDA

AGENDA SUBJECTED TO CHANGES

Singapore

Grand Copthorne Waterfront
392 Havelock Road Singapore 169663

7 Dec 2023 CHRO - Riverfront Ballroom level 2
9.10am
Welcome Address

Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth; and Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Singapore

9.30am

Opening Keynote Address

Sustaining Success: Navigating HR’s Rebirth Amidst Disruption

As HR has been undergoing a remarkable transformation, the need to sustain this newfound success has become paramount. The convergence of AI’s influence and the shadow of a looming recession serves as a stark reminder that challenges continue to persist.

What core themes should CHROs prioritise to sustain the surge of success ignited during the pandemic and make transformation and reinvention of our function a core and sustainable capability? Join Dr Tanvi Gautam, a globally recognised HR influencer, author, and senior leadership coach, as she shares the themes that deserve our attention for the sake of the continued evolution of the HR function into a stratetic and human-centric function.

Dr Tanvi Gautam, HR Influencer, Keynote Speaker and Transformational Leadership Expert

9.50am
[PANEL DISCUSSION] Challenging The Status Quo: Multi-Dimensional Approach to Supporting Talent Mobility

This panel discussion offers HR leaders a transformative perspective on talent mobility within organisations. Explore the role of innovative, multi-dimensional strategies that transcend gendered norms to drive tangible organisational cultures, and advocating for progressive government policies can unlock the full potential of talent mobility.

Gain actionable insights from industry experts that will help you attract, retain, and maximise the impact of top talent in the era of AI, ultimately fostering organisational excellence and sustained success. Join us to gain a fresh outlook on talent mobility within HR leadership.

Moderator:

Dr Tanvi Gautam, HR Influencer, Keynote Speaker and Transformational Leadership Expert

Panellists:

Sonali Roychowdhury, CHRO, AMEA Kellanova

Ale Ferraro, CHRO, Growth Markets, Accenture

Narelle Burke, CHRO, Human Resources, Insights APAC & Global Consulting, Kantar

10.30am
Morning Coffee and Tea Break
10.50am
Leadership Redefined in A Hybrid World and Its Impact on Talent Management

Increasingly, more employees want flexible working arrangements as they seek better work-life balance. With stress and mental health issues persisting in the workplace, employees are also seeking more support from their managers.

Stressors from all parts of an employee's life, as well as blurring lines between home and work due to remote or hybrid work, are contributing factors to leaders needing to be equipped with the skills to connect and engage with both on-site and hybrid employees.

This session from ADP will provide key insights where organisations need to improve employee-manager relationships by equipping managers with the tips to help them communicate with empathy, and to be able to navigate this new people management territory.

Jessica Zhang, Senior Vice President, APAC, ADP

11.20am
Managing People, Data and Culture in The Modern Organisation

While organisations need stand out products and services to be competitive, more is needed to remain competitive. The “more” includes how organisations manage People, Culture and Data.

In this session, Dr Jaclyn Lee will share about these three fundamental elements of organisational success. This includes the importance of Employee Experience (EX), which needs to be centred around data and supported by a continual mindset and cultural shift from one that is focused only on engagement to cultivating a “purposeful” engagement. She will also share case studies of how successful organisations have managed to integrate the three elements of People, Culture and Data to produce exceptional business results.

Dr Jaclyn Lee, CHRO, Certis

11.50am
Unlocking HR’s potential with Digital Adoption Platforms

This session will focus on the power of digital adoption platforms (DAPs) in addressing the unique challenges HR leaders face today. Whatfix will discuss how DAPs can streamline employee experience, training and onboarding processes, reduce digital fatigue, and enhance employee engagement. You will gain insights from real-world success stories, and the practical strategies for implementing a DAP to help achieve your organisations’ HR goals.

Sameer Mishra, Vice-President, Head of Sales, India and South-East Asia, Whatfix

12.20pm
Networking Lunch
1.20pm
Making Culture Matter and Stick

Why is great culture important to organisations? And what is the true value of getting culture right, making it meaningful and making it stick across the organisation?

In this session by BTS, discover how HR leaders can play a pivotal part in shaping the culture that will reinforce their organisation’s strategy and bring a transformative impact to the business.

Learn from real-world client case studies, where BTS supported organisations in making culture “real” with their advisory approach and to cascade its adoption through a bespoke simulation-based methodology, a narrative designed to raise the bar for learning and development. The methodologies discussed in this session will also empower your organisation to create alignment, shift mindsets, and enhance organisational capabilities.

Gianfranco Di Maira, Senior Vice President, Partner; and Managing Director, BTS Singapore & South-East Asia

1.50pm
Embracing Digital Fluency Through Change Management

In today's fast-paced workplace, digital fluency is imperative as organisations look to harness the power of digital tools to drive higher efficiency and competencies.

With over a century of history, UPS is committed to thriving in the digital age. In this session, learn about UPS’ transformative journey of digital fluency, where employees have been empowered to overcome challenges, celebrate successes, and learn valuable lessons along the way. With a focus on the future, UPS’ ongoing path towards digital fluency is also driving change and accelerating organisational transformation. Find out how and be part of the UPS adventure.

Jennifer Yuan, HRBP Vice President, UPS APAC Region, UPS

2.20pm
Unlocking Employee Wellbeing and Talent Retention: The Secret to Corporate Longevity

In today’s fast-paced business world, the main challenges facing many CHROs are ensuring employee wellbeing while retaining top talent.

Drawing on the Japanese leadership philosophy of Kokorozashi, this session will delve into the secrets of talent retention and how it transcends conventional pillars of salary and promotion to align organisational goals with employees’ life purpose.

Learn how you can leverage on the secret to Japanese corporate longevity to create a holistic approach to talent retention and transform your HR strategy to achieve positive employee wellbeing and organisational success.

Adam Gordon, Director, GLOBIS Corporation

2.50pm
Afternoon Coffee and Tea Break
3.10pm
How Generative AI will Transform the HR Sector

The rise of generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs) have fundamentally transformed the HR sector.

What strategies can HR teams adopt to leverage GenAI to drive efficiency and productivity? What practical steps must be considered in any GenAI project? How do we manage people readiness, processes, data and budget? While GenAI can help address pain points and challenges in the HR sector, there are also major risk issues in Gen AI that CHROs must manage proactively, including risks related to AI ethics such as explainability/transparency and fairness/impartiality.

In this session, Zaid Hamzah will share industry case studies, including lessons learnt to date as well as the future trajectory of GenAI in the HR sector.

Zaid Hamzah, AI & Data Practitioner, Executive Education Fellow, Advanced Computing for Executives, School of Computing, National University of Singapore

3.40pm
[PANEL DISCUSSION] HR 2024 and Beyond: Building the Future Organisation Today

While many factors are continuing to challenge and transform the way organisations work, forward-looking leaders are already looking to devise innovative strategies to that will allow their organisation to navigate challenges and thrive in 2024 and beyond.

This closing keynote panel discussion will not only analyse the key trends that will shape the way we work but will offer insights into how HR and business leaders can create winning strategies to build future-ready organisations that can thrive in an evolving world of work.

Moderator:

Philippa “Pip” Penfold, Managing Director, Integrating Intelligence

Panellists:

Rashmi Sharma, Head of Talent Management, GovTech Singapore

Virendra Shelar, President, OMRON Asia Pacific and GM, Global Human Resources Strategy, OMRON Corporation

Eddie Lee, HR Consultant (Chief People Officer), Mewah Group

4.40pm
Closing Remarks

ESG MASTERCLASS

Sustainability in Action
for CHROs

In conjunction with the CHRO series, HRM Asia will be launching a Masterclass series which offers HR leaders a chance to learn and hone their skills in special interest topics from experienced industry practitioners. Kicking off the masterclass series, the inaugural masterclass session entitled, "Sustainability in Action for CHROs" will be focusing on ESG to equip HR leaders with a solid perspective on the current ESG standards, pressures and future directions of Sustainability so that they can effectively guide the business and its people to attain the organisational ESG goals.

1 day workshop
6th December 2023

Singapore

Grand Copthorne Waterfront
392 Havelock Road Singapore 169663

6 Dec 2023 ESG Masterclass - Veranda III level 2
9am - 9.15am

CHROs and the Sustainability Challenge

  • Sustainability and the role of the profession plays in transition to Carbon Neutral
Instructor

Joanne Flinn, Chair of the ESG Institute

9.15am - 10.45am

ESG Masterclass #1: ESG Trends, Issues and Challenges

  • What is ESG
  • ESG trends and challenges in business
  • Implications to Leadership Responsibility
  • Understanding the additional duties of your company directors
  • Demystify Net Zero, Regenerative and Circularity
  • Understand ESG-123™ and how to guide your fellow business leader in sustainability
  • What is Sustainability Leadership today?
Instructor

Joanne Flinn, Chair of the ESG Institute

Morning tea
15 mins
11am - 12.30 noon

ESG Masterclass #2: The Environment. Risk, Opportunities and Value

  • Science based origin of 'E'
  • Understand the 5 principles of ‘E’ related financial disclosure
  • Implications of Double Materiality
  • Evaluate implications to your Value Chain and what it means to people and culture
  • What people can do to reduce sustainability driven business risks
  • Principles for KPIs, metrics and measuring E from the HR perspective
Instructor

Kris Wadia, Founder of Humanised Leadership or Jonathan Cheung, CEO the ESG Institute

Lunch
1 hour
1.30pm - 3pm

ESG Masterclass #3: Social and Governance

  • Understand 7 elements of Social in the unique context of the HR profession
  • Sustainability updates to the 8 elements of good Governance
  • Four challenges faced by retail businesses
  • Identifying the impact of your business on social
  • The value HR brings to staying on customer procurement lists and avoiding greenwashing
Instructor

Leadership or Jonathan Cheung, CEO the ESG Institute

Afternoon tea
15 mins
3.15pm-4.45pm

ESG Masterclass #4: Comply or Transform. Ready for the Future

  • Introduction to ESG linked reporting standards
  • What banks, insurers and investors are increasingly looking for
  • Creating an HR strategy for transformation using the ESG-123 Maturity Model™
  • How to select priorities to accelerate business results, your impact and show progress
Instructor

Joanne Flinn, Chair of the ESG Institute

4.45pm-5.30pm

Participants of the full day are eligible to take the ESG-123 foundations Assessment

Successful candidates receive a certificate of achievement, a badge for use on their resume and LinkedIn Profile, and a year’s membership to the ESG Institute as an Associate Member

Online assessment

introduction

Specially designed for CHROs and human resource leaders, this programme will equip you with the most current ESG landscape, identify where your organisation is strong and where critical capacities are needed while getting you up to speed with Sustainability so that you can inspire your organisation, speak powerfully to your CFO on the business value for investing in your people and creating impact.

about the workshop

4 key points.
All in 1 day.

With the pressure for Sustainability and ESG disclosure coming from stakeholders ranging from employees, customers, regulators and investors, this one day workshop drills into 4 challenges leaders in Asia face.

Based on the book Greensight ~ The Sustainability Guide for Company Directors.

ESG landscape

Explore and have a clear understanding of the ESG landscape, and how to adequately approach it.

Pressure for change

Identify where and how the pressure for change is coming from, and the urgent need for transformation.

Gain clarity on key capabilities

Gain clarity on key capabilities required in the next 12-18 months

Articulate implications

With these insights, better articulate the implications of these in terms of business opportunities, risks and roles.

key topics covered

Lots to take home.
Much to takeaway.

This workshop is designed to give you a solid grounding in the current standards, pressures and future directions of Sustainability so that you can guide your business colleagues effectively.

On completion, you will be able to answer 5 important HR questions:

What is Sustainability in the work environment?

What’s happening to stakeholder expectations? And how does this impact HR?

What can you do to become a Sustainability Partner to the business?

How can you use Sustainability driven competency models?

How can you track and measure results?

At a personal level, you will enhance your leadership position by:

Simplifying the alphabet soup of acronyms that surround ESG

Helping your C-suite answer 3 critical questions

Demystifying Net Zero, Regenerative and Circularity

Integrating Sustainability into management and leadership

Outlining what to say to the CFO if and when you get pushback

How to avoid greenwashing and the resulting damage to your employer’s brand and employee value proposition

SPEAKERS

CHRO SPEAKERS

ESG MASTERCLASS SPEAKERS

Joanne Flinn

Kris Wadia

Jonathan Cheung

CHRO SINGAPORE PARTNERS

PREMIUM SPONSORS

EXHIBITORS

ticket prices and information for Singapore chro

CHRO Singapore 7 Dec 20231 ticket4-10 tickets (per ticket) (SGD)11-20 tickets (per ticket) (SGD)21-30 tickets (per ticket) (SGD)31 tickets and above (per ticket) (SGD)
Early Bird (1 Jul to 31 Aug 2023)S$399S$379S$369S$359S$339

Advanced Saver (1 Sep to 31 Oct 2023)

S$449S$429S$409S$389S$359

Regular Price (1 Nov to 7 Dec 2023)

S$499S$439S$429S$419S$409
*Published price does not include GST of 8%, which will be reflected in the final prices

ticket prices and information for Singapore ESG masterclass

ESG Masterclass Singapore 6 Dec 20231 - 3 tickets (SGD)4 tickets and above (SGD)
Early Bird (1 Jul to 31 Aug 2023)S$895S$799

Advanced Saver (1 Sep to 31 Oct 2023)

S$945S$819

Regular Price (1 Nov to 6 Dec 2023)

S$995S$869
*Published price does not include GST of 8%, which will be reflected in the final prices

ticket prices and information for Singapore CHRO + ESG masterclass bundle

CHRO Singapore 7 Dec + ESG Masterclass Singapore 6 Dec 2023Bundle pricing (SGD)
Early Bird (1 Jul to 31 Aug 2023)S$1195

Advanced Saver (1 Sep to 31 Oct 2023)

S$1295

Regular Price (1 Nov to 6 Dec 2023)

S$1395
*Published price does not include GST of 8%, which will be reflected in the final prices

Register now

Reserve your
tickets now.

The CHRO series promises to be exciting this year.
But it'll be even better with you with us.

Dr Jaclyn Lee

Chief Human Resources Officer, Certis Group
Bio

Dr Jaclyn Lee is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Certis Group, overseeing HR functions in Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, and Qatar. With 25+ years of HR experience, she’s a thought leader in HR Technology and Analytics. Previously, Jaclyn played a pioneering role as Chief Human Resource Officer at SUTD, establishing key HR infrastructure and talent strategies. Her diverse HR background spans manufacturing, social services, education, technology, and security, with international experience at General Motors and NEC Corporation.

Recognised for her contributions, Jaclyn received the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2019 and the Covid Resilience Medal in 2022. She’s a notable speaker on HR Analytics and HR Tech, an adjunct faculty at SUTD for Digital HR, and author of two books.

Jaclyn holds a PhD, Masters in Business, Masters in HR, and a BSc in Psychology. Her expertise continues to shape the HR field in the region.

Adam Gordon

Director, GLOBIS Corporation
Bio

Adam Gordon, a seasoned professional with over two decades of expertise in organisational development, global business development, and marketing, boasts an impressive international track record across APAC, Europe, and North America. His multifaceted role at GLOBIS as the Director of Branding and Marketing Communications and Director of Global Business Development underscores his transformative leadership, brand management, and talent development skills. Adam’s influence extends beyond corporate realms; he guides C-suite executives and MBA students worldwide in leadership and organisational behaviour. With a rich background in streamlining HR processes, managing significant budgets, and crafting market entry strategies for multinational corporations, Adam specializes in talent planning and top-tier leadership development. His dynamic speaking style, harmonising talent development, marketing strategy, and global business transformation, positions him as a compelling and influential speaker, sought after on a global scale.

Virendra Shelar

President, OMRON Asia Pacific and GM, Global Human Resources Strategy, OMRON Corporation
Bio

Virendra Shelar is the General Manager of Global Human Resources Strategy department and President of OMRON Management Centre Asia Pacific. He is also one of the Executive Officers of OMRON Corporation.

In his role as General Manager of Global Human Resources Strategy Department, he leads deployment of key HR strategies to meet OMRON’s talent needs and drive business growth globally.

As President of OMRON Management Centre Asia Pacific, he leads a team that supports 34 business entities with more than 5500 employees in Asia Pacific, a key growth region for OMRON.

Virendra’s joined OMRON in 2014, as General Manager – HR and has over 25 years of experience in leadership development, talent management, competency assessment and business performance management.

Prior to joining OMRON, he led learning & organizational development initiatives for companies like International Rectifiers, Schneider Electric and Sony Electronics across Asia. He was a key player in setting up the Sony University (Singapore Campus, Jan 2012).

Passionate about identifying and developing next generation of leaders, he has been working with leaders at different levels and from various functions including sales, marketing and manufacturing. This has also made him travel extensively across Asia, US & Europe developing leaders within the organization.

Virendra holds bachelor’s degree in Instrumentation Engineering from Mumbai University. He regularly speaks at conferences and seminars and contributes articles in HR magazines. He also enjoys reading and jogging.

Sonali Roychowdhury

CHRO, AMEA Kellanova
Bio

Sonali joined Kellogg as Chief Human Resources Officer, AMEA in 2022, with more than 20 years at P&G having lived across India, Singapore, Vietnam and worked extensively across Asia-Pacific and Middle-east.

Her leadership experiences spans Business HR partnership, Talent Development, Change Management, Employee/Labour Relations, and Mergers/acquisitions. Sonali is deeply passionate about creating inclusive talent / cultures, and building high performing teams across diverse business contexts.

Sonali holds a Post-graduate degree in Human Resources from XLRI (India), and an Advanced Coaching certification from The Teachers College, Columbia University, U.S.A

Sonali is based in Singapore with her husband Madhav (an entrepreneur) and their fur-kid Digger. She’s a foodie (eating, cooking, reading about food), fitness enthusiast (badminton, yoga, dance), enjoys dabbling in the stock markets, and keeping abreast of trends in the HR Tech space. She’s also a trained violinist and qualified to teach, but has yet to put that into action!

Rashmi Sharma

Head of Talent Management, GovTech Singapore
Bio

Rashmi Sharma is Head of Talent Management at GovTech (the Government Technology Agency of Singapore). She also serves on the panel of Harvard Business School (Publishing) as a moderator for their Corporate Learning programs.

Prior to joining GovTech, Rashmi was responsible for Design and Delivery of Business Learning Programs to clients across Asia-Pacific at Harvard Business School (Publishing).

Rashmi has over 25 years of working experience in large Multinational Organizations across a wide range of industries. In various HR generalist as well as specialist roles, she has held local and regional responsibilities, and led projects with global scope and impact. Organisations that she has previously worked with include Citibank, GE Capital, Deutsche Bank, Allianz and Saab Scania.

As an HR practitioner, Rashmi has had a successful track record partnering with CEOs and business heads in developing and implementing strategic HR initiatives that support business growth and sustenance. Her expertise lies in the areas of Business Partnering, Organization and Leadership Development, Talent Management and Acquisition, Diversity and Inclusion, Learning and Development, Performance Management, Executive and Career Coaching, Project Management and Change Management.

During her assignment at Allianz, she developed and implemented post M&A People integration programs in various locations across Asia for Allianz SE.

Rashmi has a multicultural background, having worked and studied in USA, India, Singapore and Japan.

Rashmi has a Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunications, and a Master’s degree in Human Resources and Business Strategy from California, USA. She loves music and adventure sports. When she is not working, she is possibly running, diving or hiking!

Philippa “Pip” Penfold

Managing Director, Integrating Intelligence
Bio

Philippa “Pip” Penfold is a widely recognised HR Technology and Responsible AI expert. Over her 20+ year HR career, she managed technology implementations and the digital transformation of HR functions and companies in multinational organisations. Driven by a curiosity for AI ethics, Penfold transitioned in 2018, and today focuses on providing HR and business with relevant education, advisory and research services in Responsible AI.

At Integrating Intelligence, Penfold combines her deep knowledge of evolving legislation and technology trends with her aspiration for a world of work in which human and artificial intelligences coexist in ways beneficial to both people and business. As a researcher, Penfold explores the influence of AI in the workplace, human-machine blended teams and the evolving skillsets of HR professionals.

Penfold lectures at Universities in Singapore and Australia on Business Analytics, Ethics, Innovation and AI in HR, and is deeply engaged in the AI and Ethics debate. She is an Advisor for the AI APAC Institute and is the Technology Committee Lead for the ASEAN Human Development Organisation. In 2023 she was listed in the prestigious HR Executive Top 100 people in HR Technology globally. Penfold also holds numerous qualifications including an EMBA and professional HR credentials and fellowships.

Dr Tanvi Gautam

HR Influencer, Keynote Speaker and Transformational Leadership Expert
Bio

Dr. Tanvi is a multi-award-winning keynote speaker, executive coach, author and senior faculty & programme director at Singapore Management University (Executive Development).  She uses a combination of head and heart-based tools for upgrading leaders and culture transformation.  A Certified storytelling and conversational intelligence coach, including Certified Culture talk tools coach and she takes a 360 intervention approach with clients such as Accenture, Mastercard, Dyson, Coca Cola, Gap Inc,  Microsoft, Merck, Electrolux, and many others.

Dr. Tanvi is known for combining the best of corporate execution focus with the depth of academic frameworks to create the shifts needed to lead in the world of disruption. She is the first Asia-based leader to be listed on the Game Changer list by Workforce Magazine (USA). Her ideas have been published and quoted in Forbes.com, Harvard Business Review, Business Times, Economic Times, BBC world, and other global publications. She is the author of 2 books and listed as the top 200 global influencers on leadership by People Hum in 2023 and 2022.  Dr. Tanvi is the is also the only Asia-based HR influencer to be on the SAP global influencer HXM list. As President of the Asia speakers’ Association Singapore (2021) she was also the first woman of colour in that role. She considers learning to accept herself an imperfect mom as a noteworthy achievement.

Find out more at www.leadersupgraded.com

Eddie Lee

HR Consultant (Chief People Officer), Mewah Group
Bio

Eddie is a seasoned transformational strategist.  He has a wide spectrum of human resources experience in large organisations, both in the private and public sectors.

Eddie is the HR Consultant (Chief People Officer) of Mewah Group, a Singapore-listed company.  He is also the Executive Director of ASEAN Human Development Organisation (AHDO), Founder & CEO of Future Of Talent Economy (FOTE) Network and the Business Advisor and Mentor to a number of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Start-ups, partnering the founders on business and people strategies.

Previously, Eddie was the Executive Director of Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI).  Prior to that, he was the Regional Chief Human Resource Officer of a European multi-national company for the Asia-Pacific region.

Eddie is a member of the Board of professional bodies, charitable organisation and had previously been involved in a number of governmental advisory committees.  He is also the Certified Master Career Coach and frequently speak at national and global professional conferences.

Eddie is an accredited member of a number of professional associations, in Singapore and globally.

Ale Ferraro

CHRO, Growth Markets, Accenture
Bio

Ale Ferraro is passionate about transforming people´s life, impacting in community, supporting clients on their transformation journeys. Along the past 25 years, she has developed strong experience in Human Capital Transformation leading Talent and Human Capital end to end for all 11 business units across 6 countries in Latin America over 20 years and three years in Europe based in France. Ale relocated to Asia in early 2023, to Singapore to lead Accenture’s HR for Growth Market with scope of seven Market Units including South East Asia, ANZ, Japan, Greater China, Philippines, LATAM and India MU.

She has vast experience in talent strategy creation, defining and promoting innovation in HR including AI, Machine Learning, automation, and is passionate about people and sustainability.

She was a Board member of Idea Argentina in 2020 and 2021 and studied Business Administration in University of Buenos Aires and did her post-graduate studies in Human Resources Direction in IAE University. Certified coach, Di Tella University.

Low Yen Ling

Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth; and Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Singapore
Bio

Ms Low Yen Ling is presently the Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY). Prior to that, she was the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Education (MOE) from 2015 till July 2020 and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) from 2018 till July 2020. She had also previously held office in the Ministry of Social and Family Development (2013-2015), MCCY (2014-2015) and MTI (2015- 2018).

Zaid Hamzah

Executive Education Fellow, National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Computing’s Advanced Computing for Executives
Bio

Zaid Hamzah is an AI and data practitioner who specializes in AI in law and finance, AI and data governance and AI in information security. He is an Executive Education Fellow at the National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Computing’s Advanced Computing for Executives where he runs industry-oriented capability building programmes on AI Innovation Management, Intellectual Property Rights in AI Innovation, and Commercialisation of AI Innovation, AI in finance, AI Governance and AI for Cybersecurity. Zaid is also currently as an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University where he specializes in cybersecurity and food security. He has taught legal AI at the Singapore Management University School of Law. Zaid is deeply involved in AI R&D. In 2021, Zaid filed an AI patent at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.

Author of 11 books spanning law, technology, intellectual property and AI, Zaid has over 35 years of professional transactional experience. He has previously served as (i) Microsoft’s Director for intellectual property and commercial software; (ii) Senior Legal Advisor to Singtel’s joint venture with Warner Bros and Sony Pictures (iii) Chief Regulatory Legal & Compliance Officer at listed Telekom Malaysia; (iv) Associate, Khattar Wong & Partners (Singapore law firm) and (v) Singapore Government service.  Zaid is a Board Member of NIE International which is wholly owned by Nanyang Technological University. He has a law degree from the National University of Singapore and completed his Masters in International Relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University on a Fulbright scholarship.

Jessica Zhang

Senior Vice President, APAC, ADP
Bio

Jessica currently is the Senior Vice President, ADP Asia Pacific and is responsible for leading a diversified team located in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines.

ADP’s Asia Pacific business provides service to thousands of clients and pays their employees in 23 countries across 8 different languages ranging from small, local companies up to our largest global. Jessica is responsible for driving strategic growth and operational excellence throughout this fast growing and dynamic region of APAC.

Prior to her current role, Jessica was the General Manager, ADP North Asia. She led the business to achieve significant revenue growth and built a strong and diverse leadership team in North Asia. She has also led demanding projects, including the successful management of the safety and support of ADP clients and associates at the outbreak of COVID. Before this she was CFO, ADP Asia Pacific and CFO, ADP China.

Before joining ADP, Jessica held several financial and general management leadership roles in large multinational corporations such as the Bristol-Myers Squibb. She has over 30 years of extensive leadership experiences and has accumulated a wealth of overseas experiences in the UK, Australia, India and other countries.

Sameer Mishra

Vice-President and Head of Sales, India and South-East Asia, Whatfix
Bio

Sameer is the Vice President and heads the Sales function for Whatfix across India and South-Ease Asia. He comes with over 17 years of diversified experience ranging from Solution consultant to Team builder with organisations like SAP, Uber and Aramco. Digital Transformation, organisational behaviour and change management are his key areas of interest. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow and is a passionate learner who believes the sum is more than its parts. He re-energizes himself through badminton and loves to shake a leg when given a chance. He is blessed with two kids and an architect wife, who compliments his passion with creativity and patience.

Narelle Burke

CHRO, Human Resources, Insights APAC & Global Consulting, Kantar
Bio

Narelle is an award winning international Human Resources (HR) leader with more than 20+ years’ experience working in strategic HR Business Partnering and Centres of Excellence roles. Based in Singapore, she has been with Kantar for the last 8 years and has held roles as Global Head of Inclusion & Diversity, Global Head of Talent Learning & Leadership and currently holds a dual role as CHRO APAC Insights and for Global Consulting. As CHRO for APAC Insights, she has a remit to support the accelerated growth of the dynamic region, with 13 market region and 3,000+ employees, with a focus on transformation, leadership, culture and capability. She has a Graduate Certificate in HRM through UTS, is a Certified Organisation Coach through IECL, is a Certified Change Practitioner through PROSCI, and has a Certificate in Inclusion & Diversity through Cornell.

Gianfranco Di Maira

Senior Vice President, Partner; and Managing Director, BTS Singapore & South-East Asia
Bio

Gianfranco is Senior Vice President, Partner, at BTS, Managing Director for Singapore & South East Asia. In his role he consults Clients addressing their business challenges with a focus on the people side of strategy execution, culture & leadership transformations.

He has worked on major business and cultural transformations, with passion and dedication to researching the ways companies, teams and leaders excel in their markets.

His domains of expertise are Strategy Alignment, Business Acumen, Culture Transformation, Leadership Development, Innovation & Digital Transformation.

Gianfranco engages with the C-Suite, Executives and Senior Leaders of large to very large organizations leading programs and initiatives on a variety of topics such as vision-building, enterprise-wide collaboration, strategy alignment, innovation and customer centricity – always with a focus on driving measurable business impact.

At BTS, Gianfranco has served as the Managing Director of BTS in Italy. With deep standing entrepreneurship background, he has founded and led 11 businesses, among which Cesim, Singularity, Design Innovation, Lebu, and Digital Sales. Prior to that, Gianfranco also held roles in fast-growing high-tech companies at Siebel Systems and PTC.

Gianfranco is fluent in Italian, English, Dutch and French.

Gianfranco has extensive experience in Banking, Insurance and the broader Financial Sector, Energy and Utilities, FMCG, Manufacturing, ICT and Professional Services.

Jennifer Yuan

HRBP Vice President, UPS APAC Region, UPS
Bio

Jennifer Yuan, the HRBP Vice President of UPS Asia Pacific Region. She takes charge of Leadership Development, Talent Management, Culture & Change Management, Succession Planning and Labor Relations for the region.

Jennifer’s journey with UPS began in 2008 when she joined as the head of China District Legal in Shanghai, marking the beginning of an illustrious UPS career in various key roles across Legal, HR, and Operations. Her performance and dedication led to her relocation to Singapore in 2014. Apart from her contributions as an HR executive, Jennifer is also an adept in-house counsel, skillfully managing complex legal matters, such as Mergers & Acquisitions, high-profile projects, data privacy, and litigation. Prior to UPS, her extensive multinational experience spanned across diverse industries, including real estate, media, logistics, education, and e-commerce, enriching her holistic approach to business challenges.

Jennifer’s commitment to fostering diversity-driven innovation shined through in her role as Co-founder of Ginkgo Upstarts team that reached the finals in UPS’ first global intrapreneurship competition in 2020, showcasing her leadership and entrepreneurial prowess.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Laws from Fudan University and is admitted to the bar in China. Outside of her professional achievements, Jennifer cherishes her role as a loving mother to two wonderful kids.

Joanne Flinn

Author of Greensight, the Sustainability Guide for Company Directors, and Chairwoman of the ESG Institute
Bio

Joanne Flinn, author of Greensight, the Sustainability Guide for Company Directors,and Chairwoman of the ESG Institute, walks alongside the C- Suite to build durable, sustainable organisations and teams that deliver results. She facilitates executive workshops for business sustainability strategy (virtual and physical) and runs masterclasses to build the mindset and competencies your people need for sustainable businesses. She led the country practice for Financial Services Consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, was the Head of Change on the ITExCo at DBS a leading Asian bank, published 3 books and has given two TEDx talks. Her clients range from leading ASEAN businesses to global brands.

Kris Wadia

CEO of Humanized Leadership
Bio

Kris Wadia is the CEO of Humanized Leadership. He focuses on putting human beings, not processes or technology, at the core of any business that wishes to be successful. A former Partner at Accenture, with global experience across multiple industry verticals, his career journey has spanned over 70 countries. Most recently, Kris was a keynote speaker on ‘Habitual Hybrid Leadership’ for the UK’s Centre for Army Leadership, with a world-wide audience of over 6,000 attendees.

Jonathan Cheung

CEO of the ESG Institute and ASEAN Development Advisor Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS)
Bio

Jonathan Cheung comes to the helm of the ESG Institute with over 37 years of leadership experience in 20 countries across the Asia Pacific region, North America, and Europe. His deep expertise in business, procurement and supply chain are uniquely situated to help organisations successfully tackle scope 3 emissions and improve value chains.

Jonathan brings invaluable expertise, collaborative muscle and big-picture vision to the ESG Institute through his external role as the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) ASEAN Development Advisor and his commercial acumen developed while the Executive Director/Regional Head of Citibank Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Services as well as his years at EDS, American Express, PwC Consulting, CAPCO, HP, and KPMG.

He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS); a licensed CIPS Procurement Excellence Programme assessor for Asia, and a Chartered IT Professional (CITP). He is also an Exco member of The Supply Chain Asia (SCA) Procurement Council.