Unsaved Changes

https://sg.rajahtannasia.com

Allen & Gledhill - Emerging Trends in Commercial Dispute Resolution from Singapore

Afzal's main areas of practice include commercial litigation, international arbitration, intellectual property disputes and technology related disputes.

Afzal has represented clients over a wide array of commercial and corporate disputes including high-net worth banking disputes, shareholder and joint venture disputes, trust disputes, employment disputes and libel claims. He has also represented clients in intellectual property disputes and IT related disputes. He has acted for statutory boards, public healthcare institutions and large corporates, including banks. He has appeared as lead counsel on significant matters at all levels of the Supreme Court.

Afzal also maintains a Cybersecurity & Data Protection practice. He has advised victims of cyberattacks (including company directors) and represented clients in relation to regulatory investigations arising out of data exfiltration that arise from cybersecurity events. Afzal regularly advises internet intermediaries on sector specific obligations.

Afzal graduated from the National University of Singapore with an LL.B. (First Class) in 2014. He won many academic prizes including for Contract Law, Tort Law, Company law and Equity \& Trusts. Afzal graduated from New York University with an LL.M. in 2014, having pursued an LL.B. and LL.M. concurrently.

Prior to joining Allen \& Gledhill in 2017, Afzal was a deputy public prosecutor with the Attorney General's Chambers and subsequently a justices' law clerk to the Chief Justice and judges of the Singapore Supreme Court. In 2020, he was appointed and appeared before the Singapore High Court as an amicus curiae. Afzal has been a facilitator at the Singapore Institute of Legal Education for Land Law since 2016.

Kala ANANDARAJAH

Head, Competition & Antitrust & Trade at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Rajah & Tann - Cross-border digital trade in services and goods: Critical Legal Pain-Points – An ASEAN Review

Kala Anandarajah is always a forerunner in niche areas of the law, practices in Competition (merger control, cartels etc), Trade (export controls, FTAs, sanctions etc), and Consumer Protection. She also has strong practices in Employment, EHS / ESG and Telco/Media Laws. Named Thought Leader for Competition for several years now by Who’s Who Legal, she is lauded by clients as having “unrivalled knowledge and understanding of the law and uniquely… able to understand very complicated businesses and their likely reactions” by Chambers Asia Pacific and has a “solid, can-do attitude and excellent client management skills … and is very good at working out a strategic solution to a legal problem ... one of the few practitioners who is truly at the cutting edge …”. Chambers Asia Pacific also note that "She thinks creatively within the law and provides useable advice for navigating difficult situations."

In 2023, Anandarajah was named as one Singapore’s Top 100 Lawyers, A-List: Asia Business Law Journal, as Women Lawyer of the Year in Southeast Asia in ALB Women in Law Awards and won the Lexology Client Choice Award for Trade. In 2022, Anandarajah won the Lexology Client Choice Award for Competition, named Top 10 Most Innovative Practitioner in Asia Pacific by FT Most Innovative Lawyers, and Top 50 Female Employment Lawyers in the World by International Employment Lawyers. In 2021, Anandarajah was awarded the Highly Commended Lawyer in Private Practice at the Legal 500 Southeast Asia Awards (one of only two), awarded the Outstanding Achievement by Women in Business Law Awards Asia and recognised as one of only two Most Highly Regarded in the Southeast Asia chapter by Who’s Who Legal: Southeast Asia Competition. She is also named as Top 100 Women Competition Lawyers by GCR.

For her public service, in 2022, she was awarded the Public Service Star (Bintang Bakti Masyarakat) and in 2014, she was awarded the Public Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat), both of which are conferred by the President of Singapore.

Tze Phern ANG

Partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Managing the Legal Team: What Should Be the Most Influential Factors in Hiring, Terminating & Promoting?

Tze Phern advises and acts for local and international institutions and individuals in a wide range of commercial disputes, and has particular experience with financial and insurance-related litigation, debt recovery, and professional negligence claims.

On the employment front, Tze Phern has a strong employment litigation record and regularly acts for employers and employees in significant employment related litigation in the State Courts and the High Court of Singapore. Tze Phern also actively advises on Employment Claims Tribunal disputes.

His experience includes advising on wrongful and constructive dismissal claims, remuneration disputes and clawbacks of payments, contentious exits, enforcing and resisting restrictive covenants (such as non-competition and non-solicitation clauses), workplace fairness, harassment and discrimination claims, and breaches of confidentiality obligations.

Tze Phern also has significant expertise advising employers dealing with regulatory investigations and sanctions by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower ("MOM") for breaches of Singapore's employment legislation and regulations and the Tripartite advisories on employment matters. He also actively advises employers on its dealings and negotiations with the trade unions and MOM on a wide variety of industrial relations and disputes matters, including unionisation of employees, collective agreements and the conduct of retrenchment and restructuring exercises.

Tze Phern was previously seconded to the Global Disputes Team of an international bank where he managed the bank's high value disputes, financial crime compliance and government/regulatory investigations in the Asia Pacific Region.

Tze Phern was an Adjunct Faculty member at the National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law, where he taught the Legal Skills Programme. He presently teaches the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Course at the Singapore Institute of Legal Education.

Sarah ANN

Solutions Consultant, Legal Contents, AEM at Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters - Supercharge Your Legal Research with Cutting-Edge Technologies

Sarah Ann is the pre-sales legal content specialist based in Singapore, helping customers understand legal content platforms from Thomson Reuters. Prior to Thomson Reuters, she worked as an in-house counsel in Korea.

Saket BHARTIA

Managing Director, Forensic Investigations & Intelligence of Kroll

Kroll - From Unicorn to Unraveling: High-Profile Startup Frauds

Saket Bhartia is a managing director in the Forensic Investigations and Intelligence practice, based in Singapore. Bhartia leverages more than 20 years of experience assisting clients in investigating financial statement fraud, siphoning of funds, embezzlement, asset misappropriation, bribery and corruption issues, regulatory non-compliance, code of conduct violations, supply chain leakages and ethics violations.

Prior to joining Kroll, Bhartia served as an Associate Partner, Forensic & Integrity Services at a big 4 firm in Singapore where he assisted clients with financial/bribery/corruption/code of conduct/supply chain investigations. He also has extensive experience working on compliance and regulatory matters related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the UK Bribery Act (UKBA) and has helped several global and local clients set strong compliance frameworks, including performing fraud risk assessments, data analytics etc.

Early in his career, Saket was the executive director at a Big 4 firm in India, where he established and led the Bangalore, India Forensics team. During this time, he led a variety of high-profile, complex investigations, working closely with regulators and law enforcement. He also helped several multinational and Indian companies conduct fraud and corruption risk assessments, set up effective anti-corruption frameworks and fraud monitoring systems, and perform pre transaction investigative due diligence.

In addition, Saket has held global roles at Capgemini and Hewlett Packard where he worked on projects relating to Sarbanes Oxley (SOX), executed transformation projects and reviewed internal control frameworks for clients around the world.

Hemiksha BHOJWANI

Regional Counsel APAC & Global Supply Chain Counsel at Atmus Filtration Technologies

https://www.atmus.com/

Navigating Trade & Supply-Chain Problems in the Recent Global Environment: Key Legal Considerations

Ms. Hemiksha Bhojwani currently serves as the Global Supply Chain Counsel and Regional Counsel APAC for Atmus Filtration Technologies Group and is based out of Singapore. She extends her legal expertise on Global Supply Chain legal initiatives, corporate strategies including M\&As, process improvements, and corporate governance matters.

She has overall corporate experience of $19+$ years in various legal and governance areas including Compliance Management, IP, Litigations, Legal Operations, Supply Chain, and Corporate Governance.

Prior to Atmus, Hemiksha has been with Cummins Group of Companies in India for 12 years where she served as the lead Counsel for different businesses across the Group. She was also the Compliance Officer and Company Secretary for Cummins India Limited, the flagship Company of Cummins in India which is listed on BSE and NSE. She was the first women from the Cummins India Law Department to graduate from the Global Leadership Development Program and to undergo Global Leadership Representation in the US. Aside of the core assignments, Ms. Bhojwani had volunteered as a Trustee for Cummins India Foundation and was passionately driving the pro-bono activities for the legal team at Cummins.

Before joining Cummins, Ms. Bhojwani worked with InterGlobe Enterprises Group, Delhi (Aviation and Hospitality) and Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, Mumbai (FMCG). She was awarded and recognised as the "Legal Professional of the year in India" in the year 2019 by UBS Forum. Ms. Bhojwani is a Law graduate, M.B.A (Finance) and a qualified Company Secretary.

David BLANCO

ASEAN Head Of Law, Patents & Compliance / APAC Regional Counsel at Bayer SEA Pte Ltd

https://www.bayer.com

Digital Transformation: How Is It Changing the Way APAC GCs Do Their Job?

David is accountable and leads a diverse ASEAN Law, Patents & Compliance Team of lawyers which manages complex and high-risk strategic matters across all Bayer Group legal entities, partnering close to all businesses (Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, and CropScience) and geographies; including emerging markets. At the same time David serves as the APAC LPC business partner/ Regional Counsel for Bayer CropScience Division as a core member of its APAC Leadership Team providing strategic legal, compliance, and licensing business partnering counselling & advice, while providing innovative-creative solutions in different capacity to several functional leadership (category) teams including its Digital Venture Incubator (Climate Corporation). Prior to this role, he held various legal & compliance and licensing portfolios in different geographies of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

As an in-house corporate lawyer with 27 years living and working in Asia, serving in several Board membership capacities throughout his career, David has developed particular expertise in the buildup of a culture of innovation and transformation into legal functions, antitrust/ competition law and merger regulation, licensing, IP defense, mergers integration, and dealing with significant regulatory, reputational, and legal matters related to Life Sciences industries and markets. Currently, however, he is focusing on the impact of digital transformation for all Bayer core businesses (Digital Incubator & Ventures) as well as the Legal & Compliance function itself, the evolution of frameworks that will be necessary to cope with digitization, and how legal and compliance departments will digitally evolve and benefit from analytics and AI.
As an in-house corporate lawyer with 27 years living and working in Asia, serving in several Board membership capacities throughout his career, David has developed particular expertise in the buildup of a culture of innovation and transformation into legal functions, antitrust/ competition law and merger regulation, licensing, IP defense, mergers integration, and dealing with significant regulatory, reputational, and legal matters related to Life Sciences industries and markets. Currently, however, he is focusing on the impact of digital transformation for all Bayer core businesses (Digital Incubator & Ventures) as well as the Legal & Compliance function itself, the evolution of frameworks that will be necessary to cope with digitization, and how legal and compliance departments will digitally evolve and benefit from analytics and AI.

Ben BOWDEN

Senior Regulatory Lawyer & Compliance Officer

Cryptocurrencies, Asset Tokenization & Blockchain Technology: Are APAC GCs Ready For The Tsunami?

Ben Bowden is a senior regulatory lawyer and compliance officer specialising in cryptocurrencies. He has been based in Singapore for nearly 25 years. He began his career at Linklaters before moving in-house to Standard Chartered Bank. He then worked at two payments fintechs and most recently at major crypto exchange OKX.

Kevin BRAINE

Managing Director & Global Head of Compliance Risk & Diligence at Kroll

https://www.asiapartners.com/

Kroll - Resilience in Supply Chains: Lessons from Third-Party Failures

Kevin Braine is a Managing Director and Global Head of the Compliance Risk and Diligence practice, based in London. He has extensive experience assisting multinationals, government bodies and financial institutions with identifying, understanding and mitigating reputational and regulatory risks.

Kevin is an expert in anti-bribery and anti-corruption, and works closely with Kroll’s investigation, regulatory consulting and transaction advisory practices. He is interested in ethical investing and ESG risk management. He advises boards and assists general counsel, heads of ethics and chief compliance officers with setting up or enhancing internal compliance programs.

Prior to joining Kroll, Kevin was a journalist and spent over 25 years living and working in countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. His previous roles include Director, Business Intelligence Services at Deloitte LLP, Director of Corporate Investigations for Western Europe at Control Risks and setting up the Risk Advisory Group Paris office and working for International SOS, a health and security services firm.

Kevin’s personal casework includes advising a wide range of FTSE 100 clients on pre-transaction integrity due diligence, the implementation of regulatory technology and post-event crisis management and investigations.

Rishi Ballakhan

ASEAN Law Transform and Operate Leader; Partner at EY

Thomson Reuters - Legal Spend Management: Proving Value & Driving Growth with Predictive Analytics

Rishi leads the Legal Operations practice in Southeast Asia, overseeing a team delivering legal function consulting and legal managed services to companies across the region.

He provides strategic advice to legal departments on the design of operating models, identification and implementation of technologies, evaluation of sourcing options as well as the development of analytical solutions and KPIs to help realize greater business value.

Previously, Rishi led the Forensic Technology practice at Ernst & Young LLP in Illinois, US where he oversaw a team delivering technical solutions and consulting services to support corporate legal and compliance departments. Prior to this, Rishi worked at a US law firm and the in-house legal department of a US pharmaceutical corporation.

Christopher CHAN

General Counsel, APAC at Jones Lang LaSalle

https://www.jll.com.sg/

Generative AI: What Are The Current And Future Implications For APAC GCs

Christopher Y. Chan is currently the APAC General Counsel at Jones Lang LaSalle. Chris oversees 70 members of the legal team in Asia and serves on JLL’s Asia Pacific Executive and Global Legal Boards. Before his stint at JLL, Chris joined Alibaba as their EVP for legal and Government Affairs after selling his e-commerce grocery to them. He was also the first Federal Circuit Judicial Clerk to Hon. Raymond T. Chen, litigated patents for Finnegan, and was a management consultant in India.

Chris' service extends beyond his professional roles, with over 20 years of bar leadership. From being an ABA Law Student Regional Governor to serving as President of the APABA-DC and its Educational Fund, NAPABA Convention Co-Chair, DC Mayor’s Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs, and ACC Singapore Chapter Board. He has been honored with several recognitions, including the ACC’s Top-10-30-Somethings, Asia Legal Business’ Southeast Asia's In-house Lawyer of the Year, NAPABA Best-Under-40, and Case Western’s Distinguished Recent Alumni of the Year. In addition, Chris enjoys rock climbing, sailing, and hosting at his rooftop craft beer speakeasy in Singapore.

Jill CHEONG

Co-Founder, Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer of Asia Partners

Kroll - From Unicorn to Unraveling: High-Profile Startup Frauds

Ms. Cheong spent the last 15 years in New York in the banking, financial services asset management space. Prior to joining Asia Partners in Singapore, Ms. Cheong was the Chief Financial Officer and key member of the management team of VWH Capital, a distressed credit and whole loans private equity fund. She oversaw all non-investment aspects of the fund, which includes fund accounting, financial reporting, compliance, tax, human resources, IT, and office administration.

Prior to VWH Capital, Ms. Cheong was Vice President at Blackstone’s credit investment platform (“GSO Capital”) and was responsible for fund accounting and financial reporting of hybrid private equity and hedge fund styled funds that invest across a variety of credit-oriented strategies. In addition, Ms. Cheong held various roles within Finance groups at Macquarie Bank (Fixed Income Credit Trading Division) and KBC Financial Products (Investment banking operations of KBC Bank, Belgium). Ms. Cheong also supervised audits and provide advisory services to hedge funds, private equity and multinational clients at Ernst and Young, New York and KPMG Singapore.

Ms. Cheong holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and is a Chartered Accountant of Singapore.

Jonathan CHEONG

Head of Legal & Compliance at Bybit

https://www.bybit.com/

Cryptocurrencies, Asset Tokenization & Blockchain Technology: Are APAC GCs Ready For The Tsunami?

Jonathan has a decade of experience in crypto finance, risk management and regulatory compliance. He enjoys analysing data, generating key risk indicators, formulating analysis models and computing of logic funnels, internal controls, tools and systems.

Gregory CHEW

General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer at Nanyang Technological University

https://www.ntu.edu.sg/

Cybersecurity: How Should In-House Counsel Deal with the Biggest Problems (e.g., Ransomware, Hacking, Phishing)?

Greg is General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU).

Greg was Vice President, Legal at Firmenich before he joined NTU. He also held other in-house positions at Motorola and Keppel Offshore & Marine. Greg spent time in private practice at Ashurst, and Allens Arthur Robinson, in their projects, energy, infrastructure, transport and construction practice.

Greg is a British citizen, Australian citizen and Singapore PR. He received his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Hons) from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, his Bachelor of Commerce (Banking and Commercial Law) from Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia, and his Graduate Diploma in Business (Marketing) from Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Greg is also a qualified company secretary and a member of the Chartered Governance Institute.

Greg is passionate about “People” and “Purpose”.

Huai Yuan CHIA

Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

https://www.parkplacetechnologies.com/

Dentons Rodyk - Navigating Employment Disputes in Singapore: An insight into trending topics

Huai Yuan is a partner in our Litigation, Dispute Resolution and Arbitration practice groups. He also holds a regional responsibility for the firm’s ASEAN portfolio and has worked on matters in all levels of court and in arbitration proceedings. In 2018, he was appointed onto the Singapore Supreme Court’s panel of lawyers (known as amicus curiae or ‘friend of the court’) tasked with assisting it on select cases involving important questions of law of public interest. In a reported matter which Huai Yuan assisted on as amicus curiae, his submissions were commended for greatly assisting the Court in reaching its decision and helping establish a new framework in the area of law concerned.

Huai Yuan’s experience spans a wide range of contentious and non-contentious civil and commercial matters. He has also acted on and advised on matters concerning fraud, debt recovery, investigations, breaches of directors’ duties, claims for breach of trust, banking, finance and securities claims, insolvency, insurance claims, labour and employment disputes, non-compete disputes, misuse of confidential information, professional negligence and medical negligence.

Huai Yuan has been recognised in several ranking publications as a leading practitioner, including Asian Legal Business as one of Asia’s Super 50 dispute lawyers and one of Singapore’s Rising Stars in the legal industry, The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific as a notable practitioner and key lawyer in the firm’s dispute resolution, insurance and employment practices, Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific as a Future Star in the field of Commercial and Transactions, and Singapore Business Review as one of Singapore’s 30 most influential lawyers under 40.

Prior to entering private practice, Huai Yuan held appointment first as a Deputy Public Prosecutor / State Counsel with the Attorney-General’s Chambers and later worked as a Justices’ Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of Singapore and justices of the Supreme Court. He also taught in the National University of Singapore’s Law Faculty as a Teaching Fellow on a part time basis during that time. He graduated with First Class Honours from the National University of Singapore’s Law Faculty and won awards such as the Law Society of Singapore’s Book Prize for topping his cohort in the third year of studies.

Jillian CHIA

Partner at Skrine

https://www.skrine.com/

Jillian leads the Privacy and Data Protection practice and is also part of the firm's TMT practice.

She focuses on advising local and multinational companies in respect of data protection and privacy issues. Jillian’s experience in this area includes reviewing and drafting of relevant documentation such as privacy policies, data processor agreements and data transfer agreements as well as undertaking comprehensive data protection exercises to bring her client’s internal practices, in line with the requirements of the privacy and data protection laws.

She is also well versed in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications industry and advises a wide range of global telecommunications and technology companies in respect of their investments and service offerings into Malaysia.

Her other areas of practice include intellectual property, online gaming and gambling. She also handles registration of industrial designs and general advisory work relating to intellectual property rights.

Samantha CHIA

Regional General Counsel at Park Place Technologies

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Are We Winning the Battle?

Samantha Chia is the Regional General Counsel, APAC of Park Place Technologies. She has been in-house for over 30 years, primarily with Nokia and Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN), where she advised and worked on a broad range of legal and compliance-related matters in Asia, Middle-East and Europe. She has developed and led legal & compliance teams regionally and globally for over 20 years. Samantha is an advocate & solicitor of Singapore.

Pei Lin CHO

Managing Director of APRW

https://www.aprw.asia/

Dentons Rodyk - Navigating Employment Disputes in Singapore: An insight into trending topics

As the leading litigation and crisis PR agency in Singapore, APRW has worked with some of Singapore’s leading litigation, white collar, financial and criminal defense law firms and legal teams to craft narratives and shape public perception around high-profile and complex litigation issues. The practice group is led by team leader Cho Pei Lin, who has an Honours Bachelor of Law Degree from NUS and remains called to the Singapore Bar. Her experience in general litigation work in the early part of her career means she is familiar with complicated legal contexts and sensitivities. It puts her in the best position to help clients prepare for and manage communications around legal issues, working with clients’ legal teams and relevant commercial teams to resolve matters whilst protecting reputation. She has been involved in many high-profile cases, consulting and advising various organisations with response to criminal investigations, prosecution and civil litigation matters; taking a case to the “court of public opinion” on behalf of a company wrongly accused of anti-competition; intentionally drawing media and public attention to litigation by a small corporation against prominent businesses and governmental entities.

Daniel CHOO

General Counsel & Privacy Responsible (APAC) at Bruker

https://www.bruker.com/

Daniel serves as Co-President of the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association (SCCA), and is the Co-Chair of Data Protection & Cybersecurity Chapter and Student Chapter. He is also part of the Executive Committee (representing SCCA) with In-house Counsel Worldwide (ICW).

Daniel is also currently General Counsel and Privacy Responsible (APAC), Asia Pacific at Bruker, a German & American based manufacturer of high-performance scientific instruments and medical devices. Daniel heads the APAC legal team that covers legal & compliance, M&A, data protection/privacy matters for China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Daniel graduated with a degree in law from University of Leeds. He holds active IAPP Certificates such as CIPP/A, CIPM and CIPP/E. Recently, he completed the SAL-INSEAD Legal Leadership Programme.

Prashant CHOUBE

General Manager, Solutions Advisory at Icertis

https://www.icertis.com/

Generative AI: What Are The Current And Future Implications For APAC GCs

Prashant is a technology leader, currently spearheading the Presales & Platform Experience team at Icertis, covering the expansive APAC, Middle-East, and Africa regions. With a remarkable track record in Digital Transformation and Contract Intelligence, he is regarded as a trusted advisor to companies seeking industry best practices, business process design, and IT strategy guidance.

Prashant's expertise lies in delving deep into the core of organizations' needs, pain points, and decision-making processes, enabling him to provide tailored solutions that drive transformative results. He possesses a wealth of consulting experience across an impressive range of industries, including Logistics, Manufacturing, Retail & E-commerce, IT/ITeS, Telecom, and Pharma, making him a versatile expert capable of addressing the unique challenges of diverse sectors.

Prashant has a keen interest in cutting-edge technologies that are shaping the future of business. He keeps exploring the practical applications of emerging technologies such as Generative AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain, and IoT to unlock unprecedented levels of efficiency and innovation for his clients.

Jansen CHOW

Co-Head, Fraud, Asset Recovery & Investigations at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

https://sg.rajahtannasia.com

Rajah & Tann - AI / GenAI risk aspects and Disputes & Crisis Management concerning the Data and Digital Economy

Jansen co-heads the firm’s Fraud, Asset Recovery & Investigation practice and covers a wide range of commercial matters with a strong emphasis on cross-border disputes.

A leading practitioner in Cryptocurrency and Digital Technology, Jansen successfully obtained Singapore’s first reported case of a worldwide mareva injunction against “Persons Unknown” and third party disclosure orders against cryptocurrency exchanges.

Jansen also specialises in Anti-Corruption and Regulatory Investigations, having acted for one of the largest Singapore conglomerates in a highly publicised corruption scandal in Brazil. This was the first ever FCPA resolution involving a Singaporean company, and an unprecedented global settlement co-coordinated with criminal authorities in three jurisdictions in the U.S., Brazil and Singapore. The firm was awarded “Boutique or Regional Practice of the Year” at the Global Investigations Review Awards in 2018 for its role in this matter, which was also nominated for “Most Important Development of the Year”.

Cheng Kwee CHUA

Regional Director of Sales & Business Development, Asia at iManage

https://imanage.com/

Cheng Kwee has been running the Asia market business for over 25 years in several technology companies. Before moving into the Sales role, Cheng Kwee manages a team of consultants working on implementation solutions for the Asia Pacific market – including financial & case management solutions.

He has been working in the legal industry in various capacities since 1996. He has also worked in a law firm that has a sizable litigation management team and has used litigation management system to assist in e-discovery, case tracking, and issues management.

Cheng Kwee has led many in-house seminar panels and presentations, focusing on how In-house legal teams can drive innovation and improve efficiencies, as well as how they can showcase value to their organization.

Before joining iManage, Cheng Kwee was working with Thomson Reuters in charge of the Asia & Emerging Markets to promote practice management solutions. He was also involved in managing the business of law for several law firms in Australia. In his last capacity as the Chief Operating Officer, he was responsible for driving operational efficiencies and marketing efforts for the law firm.

Before moving to Australia in 1996, Cheng Kwee was managing his own IT consulting firm focusing on Infrastructure design, networking, and Software turnkey solutions delivery.

Trevor CHUAN

Partner at WongPartnership LLP

https://www.wongpartnership.com/

ESG: Does It Really Make Sense and Is It Really Worth It?

Trevor Chuan is a Partner of WongPartnership's Sustainability and Responsible Business Practice which specialises in advising clients on sustainable investments, encompassing clean and renewable energy, waste management, green building, and sustainable infrastructure. Apart from his role in the Sustainability and Responsible Business Practice, Trevor is also a Partner in the Debt Capital Markets Practice, focusing on debt capital markets, securities offerings, structured products, and corporate law.

Notably, Trevor recently led the representation of Frasers Property Limited and Frasers Property Treasury Pte. Ltd. in pioneering the first corporate issue of retail green bonds in Singapore. This involved restructuring the Euro Medium Term Note ("EMTN") program to accommodate the exempt bond issuer framework and issuing S$500 million 4.49% green bonds to retail investors, setting a significant precedent in sustainable finance. He also advised DBS Bank Ltd, United Overseas Bank Limited and CIMB Bank Berhad, Singapore Branch, as joint lead managers, for the issue of S$350 million 4.6% Green Notes due 2030 ("Green Notes") by Sembcorp Financial Services Pte. Ltd. ("SFS") under the S$3 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme established by SFS and Sembcorp Industries Ltd ("SCI"). The Green Notes are guaranteed by SCI and the proceeds raised will be used to finance / refinance projects under SCI's Green Financing Framework. The transaction was an important step in supporting SCI's brown to green transformation strategy and was anchored by Clifford Capital. Apart from subjecting the use of proceeds to SCI’s Green Financing Framework, the principal amount of Clifford Capital's investment in the green notes was further restricted to the financing of certain eligible projects (namely new or existing wind, solar or energy renewable projects outside Singapore where SCI has a direct or indirect ownership of an agreed percentage or higher), thereby allowing the anchor investor to have a greater say in the use of proceeds. These are notable developments in the green financing space which will help shape future financing structures.

Joanne CHUANG

General Counsel, APAC at Ingenico

https://ingenico.com/

Thomson Reuters - Navigating the Future of Contract Management with Advanced Automation

Joanne is the APAC General Counsel at Ingenico and manages a team of lawyers based in Pacific, Singapore, India, Malaysia and China to drive business excellence and transform legal services in the global payment ecosystem. Prior to this, Joanne led Clifford Chance’s Create+65 Innovation Lab in Singapore and SYKE in APAC. At Syke, Joanne helped multinationals to deliver complex contracting projects and also trained Legal Engineers in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, India and UK. During her time in Unilever, Joanne was the General Counsel and subsequently the Global Legal Transformation project manager, where she successfully implemented Unilever’s global contracting transformation project in 33 countries within 18 months.

Her experience in legal transformation is extensive which has enabled her to lead and manage large scale global legal transformation projects for global multinational corporations, involving optimisation of legal support, end-to-end implementation of contract lifecycle and automation tools, develop bespoke workflows and train artificial intelligent contract abstraction tools for local and global clients.

Joanne read Law at the University of Durham, UK and is a dual qualified lawyer with more than 20 years of private practice experience in the UK and Malaysia specializing in technology and intellectual property. Joanne was previously a lawyer at Field Fisher Waterhouse and Baker & McKenzie.

Joanne was nominated in the Asian Legal Business top 3 In-House Lawyer of the Year Award in 2017 and recipient of Unilever’s World Class Legal Winner in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

Joanne is proud of being at the cutting edge of data driven legal innovation and has a keen interest in the interaction between human and technology through the use of automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Thomas CHUANG

Solutions Consultant, Legal Solutions, AEM at Thomson Reuters

Thomas is a Solutions Consultant with the Thomson Reuters Legal Solutions team, where he works with law firms and in-house legal departments to streamline their processes through the use of HighQ and Legal Tracker. He has experience across several areas of the legal industry, having worked in legal tech companies as well as in law firms, both as a lawyer and in the business development team.

Renita Sophia CRASTA

General Counsel & Group Data Protection Officer at TGR Real Estate

SCCA Co-Presidents Welcome Message

Renita serves as the Co-President of Singapore Corporate Counsel Association (SCCA) and is the Co-Chair of the Sustainability Chapter, Real Estate Chapter and Women’s Chapter. She also sits on the General Council and Steering Committee (representing SCCA) with In-house Counsel Worldwide (ICW).

Renita is also the General Counsel and Group Data Protection Officer with TGR Real Estate. Following her graduation from NUS Faculty of Law, Renita joined Allen & Gledhill LLP, where she acquired both Litigation and Corporate experience during her 7 years there, before spending the next 10 years in-house with to real estate landlord/developer entities Ascendas and CapitaLand, covering both local and international portfolios.

She has since completed a Masters of Law and Public Administration, as well as attended the SMC and SIMC courses, along with the SAL Specialist Accreditation Course in Construction Law. For her various efforts, she was awarded the ALB Young In-House Lawyer of the Year Award for 2020, has been named a finalist for the ALB Woman In-House of the Year Award 2021 and 2022 and is a Generation Tatler awardee for her contributions to the law and community. She also sits on the board of Women in Sustainability and Environment to encourage more women in ESG areas.

Nadav DAVIDAI

Partner at Control Risks

Control Risks - Preventing investigations from escalating to crisis (case study simulation)

Nadav Davidai leads the Crisis & Security consulting practice for Asia Pacific. Nadav has 15 years’ experience helping clients develop crisis management and resilience capabilities and has advised companies around the region during complex or acute crisis situations.

Before moving to Singapore, Nadav worked in Control Risks’ Greater China and North Asia practice in Shanghai.

Nadav holds a Master of Arts in international affairs and international economics from the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a double major in history and political science. He is conversant in English, Hebrew, Arabic and Japanese.

Tristan DELGADO

Senior Associate at Romulo

https://www.romulo.com/

Tristan Delgado is a senior associate at Romulo handling mergers and acquisitions primarily in technology, media, and telecommunications, including e-commerce, payments, financial and insurance technologies, and gaming. Tristan advises clients on various issues relating to data protection and privacy, having participated in the drafting in 2015 of the implementing rules and regulations of the Data Privacy Act of 2012. He regularly represents clients before the National Privacy Commission especially in recent years where the said regulatory body has become more active in compliance and enforcement.

Torsten DUWENHORST

Regional Managing Director, Data Insights & Forensics of Kroll

https://www.marubeni.com/

Kroll - Following the Digital Trail

Torsten Duwenhorst is Regional Managing Director in Kroll's Data Insights and Forensics practice, based in Singapore.

Torsten leverages over 20 years of data analytics and legal technology consulting experience assisting corporate clients and law firms on large-scale cross-border matters in Asia Pacific and Europe.

Leveraging cutting-edge solutions with a pragmatic approach, Torsten typically helps clients around data privacy issues, the identification and collection of financial data sources, compliance regulations and related responses to fraud, anti-bribery and corruption, and regulatory inquires.

Prior to joining Kroll, Torsten was a Big Four partner in Hong Kong and Zurich responsible for local and regional IT forensics projects, including projects related to IP theft, fraud and anti-bribery and corruption matters.

Torsten further led numerous litigation support projects in Asia Pacific in relation to FCPA investigations and responses to regulatory inquiries for SIBOR. During his time in Europe, Torsten led litigation support and data analytics teams for special audits into banks headquartered in Europe. He led large cross-border IP damages claim projects for pharmaceutical and life sciences companies as well as responses to regulators with regards to know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) review and remediation projects for financial transaction services companies in the fintech space in the UK.

Torsten holds a B.A. (Honors) in international management and Chinese studies from the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen. He also holds a Diploma of Chinese Language from Beijing Normal University. He is fluent in German and English, and he has professional proficiency in Mandarin Chinese.

Alvin ENG

Head of Enterprise AI & Analytics Transformation at UOB Group

https://www.uob.com.sg/

Data for the Future of AI : Key Issues for General Counsels

Alvin is the Head of Enterprise AI and Analytics Transformation in the Data Management Office in UOB Group. In his current role, he is primarily responsible for bringing AI and data analytics solutions to solve business challenges, AI ethics and model governance, machine learning engineering, as well as driving the analytics transformation of the Bank.

Prior to this, he served in various roles across the Bank, including in Investment Management, where he was responsible for managing the Bank’s proprietary investments in hedge funds; in Finance, where his focus was on balance sheet optimisation, capital management and spearheading finance analytics; as well as in Corporate Banking, where he served as head of business management.

A Monetary Authority of Singapore scholar, Alvin began his career as an economist at MAS focusing on macroeconomic surveillance and financial stability research. He also served as a diplomat and Adviser to the Executor Director representing the Southeast Asia Voting Group at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, and was a Management Associate at Standard Chartered Bank where he focused on private equity valuation.

Alvin graduated with a double degree in Statistics and Economics (First Class) from the National University of Singapore. He also hold a MSc in Financial Economics from Oxford University Said School of Business and a MSc in Business Analytics from New York University Stern School of Business. He is currently pursuing his third Masters degree in Computer & IT from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Cia Ai ENG

General Counsel at Marubeni Asian Power Singapore

Transitioning Away from Oil & Gas to Renewables: The Perspective of In-House Counsel

Cia Ai is a seasoned general counsel in the energy and power sector.

Her work places her at the forefront of the transition from coal to Net Zero. She specialises in low carbon and renewable energy projects, with a focus on solar PV, battery storage, green hydrogen, and cross border energy import. Over the years she has advised on more than 30GW of power projects across Asia Pacific, giving her the opportunity to witness the region’s unprecedented push for green energy.

Cia Ai is an advocate and solicitor of Singapore. Prior to joining Marubeni, she was part of the power and infrastructure practice of Hogan Lovells where she worked closely with renewable energy developers and RE100 MNCs.

In her free time, Cia Ai hosts a series of monthly drinks for in-house lawyers to build relationships and exchange ideas.

Jantapa ERJONGMANEE

Partner, Corporate & Commercial at R&T Asia (Thailand) Limited

https://www.citibank.com.sg/

Rajah & Tann - Legal & regulatory issues to consider when investing in tech companies

Jantapa is a Partner in the Corporate & Commercial Practice of R&T Asia (Thailand) Limited. A licensed Thai lawyer, Jantapa graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Thammasat University in 2007 and a Master of Laws from University of Southern California in 2009.

Prior to joining the firm, Jantapa was a legal counsel (AVP) at a leading Thai commercial bank and in private practice at a reputable international law firm in Thailand. She has amassed years of experience advising and representing domestic and international companies in matters relating to foreign direct investment, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory and licensing, personal data protection, banking and finance, and general commercial matters (with particular focus in the areas of employment, intellectual property, information technology and communications, anti-bribery / corruption, anti-competition).

Natalie EVERAERT

Managing Director, Head of Commodities Legal & Markets ESG Counsel at Citibank

Transitioning Away from Oil & Gas to Renewables: The Perspective of In-House Counsel

Natalie Everaert is Managing Director, Head of Commodities Legal and Markets ESG Counsel at Citi. Ms. Everaert previously led Citi’s Commodities legal team, Securities Services legal team and Legal Documentation Unit in Asia.  Before moving to Singapore in 2012, Ms. Everaert was Head of the EMEA Commodities Legal team at Citi in London for 6 years.  Prior to joining Citi, Ms. Everaert was a partner at Teigland-Hunt LLP in New York, focused on commodities trading and regulation. She began her career with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in the firm’s Commodities, Futures and Derivatives group in New York.  Ms. Everaert serves as chair of ISDA’s Energy, Commodities & Developing Products Committee (ECDPC) and co-chair of ASIFMA’s Carbon Markets Working Group. Ms. Everaert is qualified in the State of New York and holds law degrees from Northwestern University, Universiteit Leiden, Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas and Université Aix-Marseille.

Nick FELL

General Counsel & EVP at BW Group Limited

https://www.bw-group.com

Transitioning Away from Oil & Gas to Renewables: The Perspective of In-House Counsel

Nicholas Fell is an Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the BW Group. He is currently also a Director of North Standard P&I, Chairman of the Documentary Committee of BIMCO, an Associate Mediator of the Singapore Mediation Centre, and is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.

In his role as General Counsel of the BW Group, Nick oversees the Legal, Insurance and Corporate Secretarial departments of the Group. Nick has worked with BW since 2012.

Prior to joining BW, Nick was Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel for AET Group (a tanker owner and operator). From 1996 to 2005, Nick worked in San Francisco as In House Counsel at GATX Financial Corporation and as a management consultant with A.T. Kearney. He has also practiced law in Hong Kong and California.

Nick has an LLB from University of Liverpool, an LLM from the University of Leicester and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is qualified as an attorney in England, Hong Kong, New York and California.

Leighton FITZPATRICK

Regional Sales Director of Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters - Legal Spend Management: Proving Value & Driving Growth with Predictive Analytics

Leighton Fitzpatrick serves as Regional Sales Director at Thomson Reuters, where he leads legal technology initiatives across the MENA/APAC region. His expertise in developing Go-To-Market strategies and building strong relationships with legal professionals underpins his role in guiding organizations through digital transformations. Focused on legal technology strategies, Leighton enhances legal operations and service delivery, contributing to the modernization of legal departments. His efforts have significantly propelled Thomson Reuters' growth in the legal tech sector, particularly in expanding its SaaS Cloud and data platforms.

Jim FITZSIMMONS

Principal at Control Risks

Control Risks - The role of internal counsel in responding to a cybersecurity incident (case study simulation)

Jim Fitzsimmons is a Principal leading our digital risk team in the Asia Pacific region. His work with clients includes evaluating and mitigating the business risks of information and technology regulations, threat-led cyber security risk assessments and supporting clients to manage cyber security incidents and crises.

He has over 25 years of experience in providing IT security and consulting services to a variety of government agencies and industry verticals in the United States, China, Vietnam and Singapore.

Jim has extensive experience working with clients in the identification, management and mitigation of security and resiliency risks. He has led project teams that have developed and evaluated cyber security strategies, operational policies, security architectures, and governance and management models. He has experience in the technology and processes that support data protection and personally identifiable information.

Jim has a BA from Boston University where he studied sociology.

Diane FLETCHER

Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel at National University of Singapore

https://www.nus.edu.sg/

Digital Transformation: How Is It Changing the Way APAC GCs Do Their Job?

Diane joined the National University of Singapore as General Counsel, working in the Office of the President, in 2004. She played a pivotal role in the setting up of the Office of Legal Affairs in 2005 as a separate unit of the University and was its inaugural Head. The Office of Legal Affairs represents the University in all legal matters, and provides legal counsel to the Board, senior management, academic, administrative and research units of the University and related organisations, arising from University activities.

Diane was appointed to her current position as Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel in 2018.
In the span of her career at NUS, Diane has been privileged to play a small part in the growth and evolution of both NUS and the autonomous university sector in Singapore, participating in the corporatisation of NUS, and the establishment of the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore’s flagship graduate-entry medical school, and the Yale-NUS College, Singapore’s first liberal arts college.
Diane was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Silver) (Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (Perak)) at the 2021 National Day Awards, and was a recipient of the Certificate of Special Recognition, Public Sector Category at the 2022 Singapore Chief Legal Officer Awards presented by the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association.

Diane came to NUS from private practice, and was a partner in Singapore’s oldest law practice, with extensive experience in corporate and commercial, employment and real property law. She also served as Executive Director of a mid-sized law firm, overseeing its human resource, finance, IT and administrative functions. Diane is an alumna of NUS and received her Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree in 1988. She was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 1989.

Maw Jiun FOO

Senior Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

https://www.cliffordchance.com/

Dentons Rodyk - The new economy of digital assets: Opportunities, challenges & solutions

Maw Jiun is a Senior Partner in Dentons Rodyk's Intellectual Property & Technology practice group and Co-Head of the Patents practice. He is also Co-Head of the Data Privacy & Protection and Cybersecurity practices.

Maw Jiun's areas of practice encompass worldwide registration of intellectual property, infringement and counterfeiting actions, commercial litigation involving intellectual property, commercialization of intellectual property rights (such as licensing and assignment agreements) and compliance with data protection and cybersecurity laws.

Maw Jiun has acted for and advised both customers (seeking to procure IT resources) and IT service providers, for IT infrastructure projects, data centers, hardware, software licensing, software development, software escrow, managed services and maintenance. Maw Jiun's IP litigation experience includes copyright suits, trademark infringements and revocation, patent infringements and breach of confidentiality cases.

Maw Jiun is also experienced in advising on data protection and cybersecurity issues and has assisted clients in various industries on data breaches, data protection impact assessments, and developing data protection policies and compliance programmes.

Tess FORGE

Counsel at Clifford Chance

Kroll - From Unicorn to Unraveling: High-Profile Startup Frauds

Tess Forge specialises in conducting cross-border white collar crime, corruption, money laundering and regulatory enforcement investigations. In particular, Tess has considerable experience in conducting investigations in emerging markets.

Coupled with investigating corporate criminal conduct, Tess also specialises in how to prevent compliance failings and on developing, redesigning and implementing compliance programmes.

Joy FUYUNO

Asia Regional Director, Commercial & Strategic Projects of Microsoft

https://www.microsoft.com

Data for the Future of AI : Key Issues for General Counsels

Joy Fuyuno is Asia Regional Director, Commercial & Strategic Projects for Microsoft, based in Singapore. Prior to this role, Joy was the Asia Financial Services Industry Legal & Regulatory Lead and the Director of Competition Law for Asia for Microsoft. Joy joined Microsoft and moved to Singapore in 2011.

Joy co-authored a chapter on Responsible AI in the recently published book, Artificial Intelligence in Finance: Challenges, Opportunities and Regulatory Developments.

Joy has practiced law for over 25 years, sixteen based in Asia (Singapore and Japan). Prior to joining Microsoft, Joy was a partner in White & Case LLP’s Tokyo office. She is admitted to the California bar and graduated from Stanford University and Columbia Law School.

Rachel GAN

Senior Consultant, Data Analytics at Control Risks

https://scventures.io/fintechbridge/company/5106

Control Risks - Using technology to transform the way you manage compliance risks

Rachel helps clients leverage internal and external data to bolster risk management across their organisations. She supports clients by performing data assessments and by developing and supporting data-driven strategic plans for compliance, audit, and risk functions. Rachel collaborates closely with experts from other areas of Control Risks’ diverse network to enhance our clients’ risk management programmes through integrated analytics and visualisation.

Recent tasks that Rachel has worked on include:
• Undertook data-led investigations into conflicts of interest, bribery, and corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations
• Helped clients manage risks in the supply chain such as counterfeit issues, channel stuffing, product diversion, and retail fraud
• Helped clients manage brand risks through consumer sentiment monitoring and counterfeit and IP infringement investigations
• Developed and ran global risk-based fraud and compliance monitoring programmes by using internal client data to identify red flags, assess trends and statistics, and prioritise risk profiles using proprietary risk models
• Helped clients transform their internal audit processing by conducting data-driven audits and presenting outcomes and results through visual representations

Prior to joining Control Risks, Rachel was a forensic auditor. In this role she focused on anti-bribery and corruption (ABAC) and procurement fraud investigations, asset misappropriation investigations, and litigation support.

Rachel holds a Bachelor of Business and Commerce from Monash University, where she majored in accounting and banking and finance. She is also a Certified Practicing Accountant.

Serene GAN

Board Director & Treasurer of Singapore Corporate Counsel Association

https://scc.org.sg

Does every company’s dependence on software technology warrant greater involvement from GCs?

Serene serves as board director and treasurer of the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association. She is the Chair of the SCCA Pro Bono Chapter and SCCA Student Chapter.

Qualified in Singapore and New York, Serene heads up the Singapore legal team of an international property company. She is passionate in encouraging volunteering volunteerism among in-house lawyers and nurturing and developing generations of legal thinkers.

Prerna GANDHI

Head Of Legal, Amazon Consumer, Singapore at Amazon

https://www.amazon.com

E-Commerce, Social Media & Digital Communications: The Rising Dominance Of The Virtual World From A Legal Perspective?

Prerna Gandhi is Head of Legal at Amazon Consumer, Singapore. She was previously the lead counsel supporting Kindle eBooks, Alexa content (which covers Alexa skills and voice services), and Amazon devices (Kindle e-readers and Echo devices) teams in India and South East Asia. Prior to joining Amazon, Prerna spent a decade at law firms in Singapore, London, and Mumbai at Sidley Austin LLP, Latham & Watkins, and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, respectively advising on equity and debt securities transactions in the US, India, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Prerna is dual qualified in New York and India and obtained a Masters in law from the NYU School of Law, New York, and her Bachelor’s degree in law from the National Law School of India, Bangalore.

John GAO

Regional Legal Director ASEAN & New Growth Platforms of Reckitt

https://reckitt.com/

Navigating Trade & Supply-Chain Problems in the Recent Global Environment: Key Legal Considerations

John Gao heads Reckitt’s legal team for the ASEAN region as well as its global New Growth Platforms business. Reckitt is a multinational consumer goods and healthcare business with household brands including Dettol, Strepsils, Enfamil, Nurofen, Gaviscon, Finish, Vanish and Durex. In his role, John supports Reckitt businesses in 8 countries in the ASEAN region, including Korea and Japan, 10 factory sites across Asia, and over 50 countries as part of the global New Growth Platforms business.

John is an Australian qualified lawyer with degrees in Law and Electrical Engineering from The University of Melbourne. He has been an inhouse legal practitioner for over 15 years, and has been practicing in Singapore for the past 11 years.

Dan GEWIRTZ

Executive Director & Legal Head, Real Estate & Private Markets of UBS

https://www.ubs.com/

The APAC GC: What Are the Biggest Challenges Today?

Dan is an Executive Director and Legal head of UBS's Real Estate & Private Markets business, a global segment of the Asset Management division. He is a private equity and M&A lawyer by background, having worked in private practice with Weil, Gotshal & Manges, followed by private equity coverage at Credit Suisse, starting in 2006. He moved to Singapore in 2015 with Credit Suisse as the legal and compliance head of the APAC region for its Asset Management division and was recently appointed to his current role with UBS. In his role, Dan heads a number of teams across the U.S., Europe and APAC.

Francis GOH

Independent Strategic Advisor at Bain & Company

https://www.bain.com/

Digital Transformation: How Is It Changing the Way APAC GCs Do Their Job?

Francis Goh is the Independent Strategic Advisor for Bain & Co. Just prior, he was the Digital Innovation Leader, for Amazon, leading innovation engagements with key clients of Amazon in the region. In 2016, he founded Hehsed Consulting, which specializes in Corporate strategy, innovation, CX, Agile and leadership strategies. He was also a mentor at NTU Nanyang (MBA) Business School. Francis was the CEO at the global HR consulting firm, Mercer and President CEO at Fujitsu Singapore.

Francis has 29 years of international experience in the technology and energy industries, having had numerous P&L and high impact leadership roles with global leaders such as Accenture, SAP, HP, Microsoft and ExxonMobil. During this time, Francis has lived and worked across Asia, Europe and the United States.

Francis specializes in the areas of emerging solutions, breakthrough business models and innovation. He has a proven track record in building #high-performance teams and overachieving both revenue and profit targets consistently. He has a strong reputation for developing and deploying new business go-to-market strategies across sales, operations and resource management. He establishes core innovative business models which further enhanced brand positioning and grew both topline and profits as a result. Francis is a hands-on leader with deep solution and value-selling expertise across a broad spectrum of clients in the Asia Pacific region across all industries.

Yolande GOH

SVP, Global Regulatory, Public Policy, Privacy & Compliance at Equinix

https://www.equinix.com/

Digital Transformation: How Is It Changing the Way APAC GCs Do Their Job?

Yolande Goh is the Senior Vice-President of Equinix Inc's Global Regulatory, Public Policy & Compliance Office (GRPC). As a key member of Equinix's Global Legal Leadership Team, she oversees all matters relating to regulatory matters, public policy and government affairs, privacy, ethics and compliance within the organization. Prior to taking on this global leadership role, Yolande led Equinix Asia Pacific's Legal Team for over two decades. During this time, she played a crucial role in facilitating Equinix’s M&A activities, organic market expansions and joint ventures, contributing to Equinix's rapid growth and transformation into the world’s digital infrastructure company.
In addition to a law degree, Yolande holds an MBA in Business Administration and Management from INSEAD and another MBA from Tsinghua University.

Yolande is also deeply committed to supporting ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives and promoting diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace. Yolande is a member of the Equinix Allies Council, a group of senior leaders who advocate for underrepresented communities within Equinix, striving to create equal opportunities for all. Additionally, she serves as an Executive Sponsor for Equinix Professionals Connect, a global community that fosters intergenerational collaboration and supports the career development of young professionals at Equinix.

Christian GREISSINGER

General Counsel at Siemens

https://www.siemens.com

Generative AI: What Are The Current And Future Implications For APAC GCs

Christian started his career at the international law firm Lovells (now HoganLovells) in Munich specializing in IT, data protection, sports law and outsourcing projects. Following a secondment at a large US e-commerce corporation, Christian joined the legal department of Siemens AG in Munich (2007) and since then has worked for Siemens in different functions and countries: In 2009 Christian moved to Casablanca (Morocco) and had the unique chance to set-up a legal department for Siemens in North-West-Central Africa as Cluster General Counsel. After three years in that position, Christian returned to Germany and was appointed as General Counsel for the Siemens Division Smart Grid based in Nuremberg. In 2017 Christian has moved to Singapore and since then works as the General Counsel for the ASEAN-Australia region.

Christian has studied in Wuerzburg (Germany) and London, holds a doctorate degree in law and was admitted to the bar in Germany (2002). Before his law studies, Christian served his compulsory community service in a mental hospital for 18 months. Christian is married and has 3 children, is a passionate skier, tennis player, and soccer fan.

Andrew GROTOWSKI

Chief Legal Officer at Libeara

Cryptocurrencies, Asset Tokenization & Blockchain Technology: Are APAC GCs Ready For The Tsunami?

Andrew serves as the Chief Legal Officer of Libera, an institutional-grade tokenisation platform. He has over 20 years of experience in digital assets, FinTech and traditional finance. He worked and lived in Singapore, London and New York.

Prior to Libeara, Andrew was the Head of Regulatory Legal and Compliance at AirWallex and managed a global team of lawyers and compliance professionals based in seven countries across APAC, EMEA and Americas. Before AirWallex, Andrew was the Head of Legal, APAC at Coinbase – he was employee no. 1 at Coinbase Singapore and established the company’s legal function in the region, including building a market-leading team of digital asset lawyers across two regional hubs, Singapore and Tokyo. Prior to Coinbase, Andrew was the Head of Legal, Asia-Pacific at a Silicon Valley start-up focusing on FinTech, commodity-based stablecoins, real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation, and blockchain-based provenance of RWAs.

Andrew’s traditional finance experience includes working for Deutsche Bank AG in Singapore where he covered legal and regulatory aspects of global markets transactions across a wide range of asset classes (rates, credit, FX, Islamic Finance, longevity and cross-asset) across 14+ markets in APAC, and was involved in the implementation of post-2008 global financial crisis regulatory reforms, including the Volcker Rule and the Living Wills regime. Andrew started his career at a Magic Circle law firm, Linklaters LLP, and worked in the firm’s equity and debt markets team in London, and derivatives and structured products teams in London and New York. He was also seconded to the firm’s European and Japanese investment banking clients in London and New York.

Andrew is a qualified solicitor (England and Wales) and holds master’s degrees in common and civil law, including an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science where he studied as a Chevening scholar.

Trina HA

Chief Legal Counsel at Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS)

https://www.ipos.gov.sg/

Generative AI: What Are The Current And Future Implications For APAC GCs

Ms Trina Ha is the Director of the Legal Department at IPOS where she manages the legal affairs of the IP office. Her work includes supporting IP policy reform, advising on IP issues in international agreements and advising public sector bodies on IP management issues. She also jointly spearheaded the Singapore Copyright Review with the Ministry of Law.

Before joining IPOS, Trina was in private practice where she specialised in matters involving the protection and management of intellectual property rights, particularly in the fields of entertainment and the arts. During her time in legal practice, she had been ranked in the intellectual property industry and TMT industry by the Asia Pacific Legal 500.

She is currently listed in the IAM Strategy 300 :The World’s Leading IP Strategists guide since 2020.

Ana HAYNES

General Counsel – SEAK, Japan & India at EssilorLuxottica

https://www.essilor.com/

ESG: Does It Really Make Sense and Is It Really Worth It?

Ana Silvia Dias Haynes, dual Brazilian and British citizen, with over 22 years of solid experience working for and advising multinational and locally-based companies in Southeast Asia, South Korea, Japan & India, Brazil & Latin America, EMEA regions.

She has practiced in the São Paulo office of Baker & McKenzie between 1997-2005 as part of the M&A, Tax and Corporate teams, when she was actively involved in the preparation of bids for public and private partnerships, auctions, privatization, and selective proceedings; M&A projects of all sectors and tax and corporate structuring.

In 2005 she joined BG Group/Shell to be their Legal Manager for mid and downstream business, involving the structuring and negotiation of energy and gas supply agreements and deals to deliver energy and cogeneration solutions to industries and commercial business in Brazil and abroad, as well as vehicular natural gas to gas stations throughout different countries. While at BG Group she was promoted to lead the BG Group South Cone legal projects, including their shareholding position at the largest gas utility of the Brazil/Comgás and other Brazil/Bolivia gas pipeline and other legal matters.

She joined Diageo in 2007 to work as their South America region Senior Legal Manager, with the important role of building a solid locally based compliance and legal team, having a seat on the regional Comex Board, and acquiring selective assets and business in the region, as well as providing compliance support and implementing their AML and ABC policies in LatAm. In 2010 she joined the Diageo PLC head office in London as their Legal Counsel for Corporate, Compliance and support for FP&R/Finance team. As part of the Diageo experience, she participated in the auditing of a few business units and important M&A projects worldwide.

In Europe she also had the experience of head of Legal Compliance for the EMEA region at the AES Electric (part of the AES Corporation), involving the legal support for the development of their renewable energy and coal and gas-fired projects in EMEA, and leading the AES UK Bribery Act and FCPA based compliance program.

She returned to Brazil in 2014 up to mid-2021 was the General Counsel for Essilor in Brazil and Latin America, working in several M&A deals with a LatAm and Brazil Comex seats. She was also their local Compliance Director until 2019, when she developed their “Somos Essilor” compliance program in the region and helped to shape the compliance culture of the business to achieve their mission of “improving lives by improving sight”.

Ana Silvia joined the EssilorLuxottica SEAK, Japan, and India team as the General Counsel based in Singapore since 2022, to manage a team of initial 15, now 20 team members. Since mid-2021 she has actively participated in Asia Pacific projects, including selective buy-outs and partnerships, implementation of legal entities optimization, and integration of EssilorLuxottica business units in the region, also leads the regulatory team in the region.

Joshua HIEW

Senior Associate at Allen & Gledhill LLP

https://www.autodesk.com/

Allen & Gledhill - Emerging Trends in Commercial Dispute Resolution from Singapore

Joshua has a broad disputes practice which spans the entire spectrum of dispute resolution proceedings. He acts for a diverse range of clients, including state-owned and state-linked entities, multinational corporations, institutional insurers, technology companies, and professional practices. These matters cover the energy; automotive; construction; commodities; hospitality; medical; information technology; engineering; and insurance sectors.

Joshua has particular expertise in litigation and arbitration. He has appeared as counsel before different levels of the Singapore courts in trial and appellate proceedings concerning civil and criminal matters alike; as well as a wide array of domestic and international arbitration tribunals, both ad hoc and institutional. His experience lies in commercial disputes; professional liability disputes; joint venture and shareholder disputes; employment disputes; arbitration-adjacent proceedings such as provisional reliefs, stays of action, and award enforcement; as well as contentious corporate governance matters.

Joshua is recognised in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (International Arbitration), where he has been described as “a star in his generation”, “super smart”, and “a guy [you] should have on your side”. Clients have noted him to “work tirelessly”, with mention also made of his “effective dispute resolution experience” and “dispute management and client management abilities”.

Joshua is a contributor to Singapore Civil Procedure and the Dispute Resolution module on Litigation in Lexis Practical Guidance. In 2021, he was appointed by the Supreme Court of Singapore to assist the Court of Appeal as young amicus curiae with the determination of sentencing in a prominent criminal case. Joshua’s experience includes a stint at Essex Court Chambers, a magic circle barristers’ chambers in London, where he had the opportunity as the winner of the 2018 Essex Court Chambers-Singapore Academy of Law International Mooting Competition to learn from King’s Counsel working on complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters.

Rebecca HONG

APJ General Counsel at Autodesk Asia Pte Ltd

Does every company’s dependence on software technology warrant greater involvement from GCs?

Rebecca started her career in private practice, including with Magic Circle firm Linklaters in London and Hong Kong, where she worked on M&A and Corporate transactions. In 2003 she joined Intel Capital (venture capital arm of Intel Corporation) as their Senior Attorney supporting venture capital investments and related M&A work throughout APAC. Since then, she accumulated rich commercial legal experience and deep technology knowledge supporting different business groups within Intel Corporation, most recently as Managing Counsel for the Sales and Marketing Group.

At the start of 2023, Rebecca is appointed the General Counsel for APJ at Autodesk and manages a team of over ten lawyers and legal professionals in the region. Rebecca is currently based in Singapore and she is happy to have returned to her home country after 23 years away.

Rebecca currently serves on the Board of HandsOn Hong Kong, a charity NGO that mobilises volunteers for over 50 charities by leveraging on technology. Rebecca is also deeply passionate about mentoring professionals and was part of The Women’s Foundation for many years. Rebecca is a mother to three young teenagers and continues juggling her time with the different roles she plays.

Li Chuan HSU

Senior Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

https://www.mcdonalds.com.sg

Dentons Rodyk - The new economy of digital assets: Opportunities, challenges & solutions

Li Chuan is a Senior Partner in Dentons Rodyk's Corporate practice group and Co-Head of the Fintech/Blockchain practice group. He is also Co-Head of the Regional practice and the Singapore-China relationship partner.

Li Chuan's main areas of practice encompass corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and Blockchain & DLT. He is effectively bilingual in both English and Chinese, and has advised various Chinese clients and companies. Li Chuan has been actively advising on fund-raising projects from start-up to pre-IPO, IPO and post-IPO, across a range of jurisdictions and exchanges, whether via traditional debt or equity securities, to security and non-security tokens.

Li Chuan is recognised in legal directories Legal 500 and IFLR 1000 for both Capital Markets and Corporate/M&A. He was also listed in Asian Legal Business in 2016 as a top 40 under 40. Clients have remarked that he is “highly responsive and professional, provided solutions and accommodated all requests willingly”, and is “very sharp” and “patient and professional”.

Matthew HUNTER

Chief Legal Officer at Trust Bank

https://trustbank.sg/

Doing More with Less: Managing Outside Counsel, Alternative Legal Service Providers & Internal Outsourcing

Matt is the Head of Legal and Company Secretary at Trust Bank in Singapore. Matt has worked in the financial services industry and in the technology sector. Matt is passionate about digital transformation, including in the legal industry. He has experience in building legal teams, functions, and processes at start-up companies.

Faz HUSSEN

Head of Legal, Government Relations & Sustainability at Hanbaobao Pte Ltd (Licensee of McDonald's)

Cybersecurity: How Should In-House Counsel Deal with the Biggest Problems (e.g., Ransomware, Hacking, Phishing)?

Faz has been Head of Legal, Compliance and Government Relations at McDonald’s Singapore since 2015. It has been his privilege to have helped grow and lead the legal and cross-functional teams to deliver concise, practical commercial contracts, advice and solutions, as well as develop compliance infrastructure, investigation protocols and internal training. He has recently been made Head of Sustainability for McDonald’s Singapore as well.

Having been both in private practice and in-house practice for almost 2 decades, Faz has experience in litigation as well as transactional matters at Tan Kok Quan and Wong Partnership respectively. He also has Public and Private sectors experience given his time advising on research & development and related agreements, clinical trials, technology licences as well as the public sector issues as legal counsel with the Agency for Science Technology and Research (ASTAR) before his role in McDonald’s. He was part of the McDonald’s team that transitioned the franchise for Singapore and Malaysia from under the McDonald’s Corp ownership. Faz has been repeatedly named as one of the leading influential in-house lawyers in business in Asia in The Legal 500: GC Powerlist.

Beyond his professional roles, Faz serves on the Football Association of Singapore disputes panel as well as the Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Anti-Doping Association. Faz is passionate about travel and real estate development, having taken 2 Round-the World trips on sabbaticals, and being well-travelled, he loves to discuss global insights and perspectives on business and cultural issues that matter in today's connected world.

Tadashi KAGEYAMA

Managing Director, Forensic Investigations & Intelligence of Kroll

https://www.allenandgledhill.com

Kroll - Navigating the Labyrinth: Asset Tracing Strategies Post-Fraud

Tadashi Kageyama is a Managing Director in the Forensic Investigations and Intelligence practice, based in Singapore. Tadashi leverages over 25 years of experience in conducting sensitive and complex business intelligence assignments across multiple jurisdictions in the aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding, construction, engineering, chemical, retail, finance, telecommunication, and pharmaceutical sectors. He helps clients mitigate the risk of fraud, respond to regulatory and compliance violations, and resolve disputes and litigation matters.

Prior to joining Kroll, Tadashi was a global purchasing agent for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd and spent three years in Tokyo and four years in the U.S. head office in New York. Tadashi’s responsibilities included negotiating and securing a number of multimillion-dollar contracts with suppliers worldwide and investigating suspicious and disputed contracts.

Earlier in his career, Tadashi worked as a staff writer for Nihon Keizai Shinbun (Nikkei) and served as an advisory member on the subcommittee of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry on intellectual property protection and enforcement policies.

Kelvin KEK

Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Are We Winning the Battle?

Kelvin’s areas of practice encompass various aspects of commercial disputes, both in litigation and international arbitration. These matters include JV-related disputes, directors’ duties, shareholder disputes and various property-related issues. The cross-border nature of his work often necessitates travel to other jurisdictions like Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. Kelvin is also listed as a key lawyer in leading legal publications both in the field of construction and international arbitration.

As part of his construction practice, Kelvin frequently advises on large-scale infrastructural and engineering disputes. In particular, he has acted for a government-linked entity in a $100 million dispute over the construction and operation of a coal-fired power plant; and for a multinational contractor in contentious proceedings before a FIDIC-appointed dispute adjudication board in claims of over S$120 million arising from the construction of a hydro-electric power plant. Both matters deal with complex issues of delay, acceleration, and defect rectification.

Locally, Kelvin acts for publicly-listed developers and owners in various disputes over the construction and design of commercial and infrastructure developments in Singapore. He has also advised a number of Singaporean statutory boards on a variety of construction claims against contractors and sub-contractors. He often prosecutes and defends substantial claims in construction adjudications under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (Cap 30B).

Kelvin also acts for employers in various employment disputes, fraud/corruption investigations, and has experience in dealing with high profile white collar criminal matters. In 2015, Kelvin acted as amicus curiae in a criminal matter concerning offenses under the Securities and Futures Act (Cap 289) before a Court of three judges under the Supreme Court’s Young Amicus Curiae Scheme.

Kelvin graduated from the National University of Singapore with an LL.B. (First Class Honours) degree in 2008. He was called to the Singapore Bar in 2009 and the New York State Bar in 2012. Prior to pursuing his legal career, Kelvin graduated from the National University of Singapore with a first degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. Kelvin is recognized as an Accredited Specialist in Building and Construction Law by the Singapore Academy of Law and is an Accredited Mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre.

Jay KIM

Senior Director, Data Insights and Forensics of Kroll

Kroll - Following the Digital Trail

Jay Kim is a senior director in the Data Insights and Forensics practice, based in Hong Kong. Jay leverages more than 17 years of data analytics experience in assisting legal and corporate clients with investigations, bankruptcy and regulatory matters involving large-scale data and systems. He specializes in providing clients with practical technology solutions and data-driven insights when investigating instances of fraud, corruption, misconduct and other anomalous activity.

Jong Seok KIM

Co-Chairman of Regulatory Reform Committee & Senior Advisor at Kim & Chang

https://www.claytonutz.com/

Kim & Chang - Political and Economic Landscape in Korea after the General Election

Ave KING

Chief Compliance Officer at FalconX

https://www.falconx.io/

Cryptocurrencies, Asset Tokenization & Blockchain Technology: Are APAC GCs Ready For The Tsunami?

Ave King is the Chief Compliance Officer for FalconX, an Institutional Digital Asset Platform. Based in Singapore, Ave helps manage the Compliance and AML Global Program across the USA and International Entities. Ave began her career in London on the Listed Derivatives desk for Deutsche Bank and has since gained more than 20 years of experience in Regulatory Compliance, AML/CFT and Product Development. Prior to joining FalconX in 2022, Ave held positions at Bitstamp, Coinbase, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan and worked in Sydney and London. Ave is originally from Ireland but calls Singapore home where she is raising her two children as she continues to work in the exciting and nascent digital assets industry.

FalconX is a fully comprehensive digital asset platform (“FalconX 360”) allows institutions to access and manage all of their crypto strategies through a single interface and seamless workflows, making it easy to execute trading, credit and clearing all in one place.

Steven KLIMT

Senior Partner at Clayton Utz

Steven is a senior partner with over 33 years' experience. He practices in two areas, including major projects with an emphasis on IT procurements and service contracts and regulatory, including privacy and data protection regulation, retail banking and financial services regulations.

As part of his practice, Steven extensive advises in relation to privacy and data protection to many organisations including financial institutions, IT suppliers, systems integrators, government, manufacturers, medical services providers, property developers and multinational companies. His work has included drafting privacy policies, consents and disclosures, general advice and advice in relation to offshore data disclosure, data protection and data breaches.

Steven has worked continuously in the area of privacy and data protection since the 1990s and is a member of the Law Council of Australia's Business Law Section's Privacy Committee. He is also recognised as a leading individual in Regulatory Practice, by Best Lawyers Australia.

Haksoo KO

Chairperson at Personal Information Protection Commission, Korea

https://www.pipc.go.kr/

Data for the Future of AI : Key Issues for General Counsels

As a widely respected scholar and lawyer with degrees in economics from Seoul National University and Columbia University, as well as a J.D. from Columbia Law School, Mr. Ko previously served as the Head of the Center for Law and Economics at Seoul National University and the President of the Asian Society of Law and Economy. He is also a renowned expert in the field of data and artificial intelligence and has served as the President of the Korean Association for Artificial Intelligence and Law and the Vice President of the Seoul National University AI Research Institute.

Teck Wah KOH

Head of Legal, APAC at Syngenta Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

https://www.syngenta.com.sg/

E-Commerce, Social Media & Digital Communications: The Rising Dominance Of The Virtual World From A Legal Perspective?

Teck Wah is the Head of Legal, APAC for Syngenta, a Chinese owned Switzerland headquartered multi-national agribusiness company. Syngenta is the world’s No.1 provider of crop protection products and No. 3 provider of Seeds.

Teck Wah leads a team of 15 legal professionals supporting a business with sales of more than US$2.1 billion sales in 2022 from 11 countries in the Asia Pacific region (excluding China). The APAC Legal Team members are highly dedicated Business Partners to the various functional and country leadership teams overseeing all legal aspects of the company’s businesses.

Teck Wah obtained his LL.B from the London School of Economics and before joining Syngenta in 2000, he was in private practice in Malaysia.

Penny KOO

General Counsel at AIA Singapore

https://www.aia.com.sg/

Doing More with Less: Managing Outside Counsel, Alternative Legal Service Providers & Internal Outsourcing

Ms. Penny Koo is the General Counsel and Company Secretary of AIA Singapore. As part of the AIA Singapore management team, Penny supports the company's continued business growth and transformational strategies with her legal expertise and strong track record, delivering success across the Group. She is responsible for all legal and corporate secretarial matters and leads her team in providing strategic legal advice and commercial-minded, practical legal solutions for AIA Singapore and its subsidiaries.

Rita KRIZ

DGC, Head of Legal Asia at McKinsey & Company

https://www.mckinsey.com

The APAC GC: What Are the Biggest Challenges Today?

Rita Kriz is the Deputy General Counsel and Head of Legal for Asia at McKinsey & Company. She leads a team of legal professionals across Asia in responding to legal matters. In her role, Rita provides strategic legal counsel and advice to leadership, oversees litigations and internal investigations, and mitigates legal risks over such diverse topics as sanctions, anti-corruption, privacy, public sector, geopolitics, and data management. At the FT Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Awards in 2022, Rita’s team was recognized as the “most innovative in-house legal team in Asia-Pacific” and Rita herself received the FT Innovative Lawyers award for Talent Management.

Rita has over two decades of business, legal, government, and compliance experience. Prior to joining McKinsey, she engaged in private practice with a focus on M&A at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett in New York and Los Angeles and with White & Case in Singapore. In addition, she spent time in the public sector in San Francisco, where she established a compliance department responsible for tendering public infrastructure projects.

Rita graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelors of Arts in Economics and holds a JD from Harvard Law School.

Jayne KURIAKOSE

Head, Litigation (Asia) at DXC Technology

https://dxc.com/

Litigation, Arbitration or Mediation: What Is the Best Way to Resolve Disputes?

Jayne Kuriakose is the Head of Litigation (Asia) at DXC Technology. She started out as a Corporate and commercial and M&A lawyer and is admitted to the Bar in the UK and India. She set up and ran the Singapore office of a large Indian law firm before moving to an in-house role to satisfy her deep interest in the technology space. Her in-house experience in Hewlett Packard comprises of complex technology transactions, managed services, data centre and network transactions, infrastructure and cloud services, software licensing, hardware leasing contracts, security services etc. She moved to the disputes and litigation side few years back with DXC Technology to better manage the legal and commercial relationship on complex technology accounts. She is widely experienced in managing dispute resolution from an in-house perspective and has extensive expertise in driving pre-litigation and litigation strategy for her stakeholders. She is passionate about the use of technology in the pre-litigation and litigation space and changing business perspectives on disputes and litigation.

Veronica LAI

Chief Corporate & Sustainability Officer, General Counsel at StarHub

https://www.starhub.com

Opening Keynote by Guest of Honour

Veronica is the Chief Corporate and Sustainability Officer, as well as General Counsel for the StarHub group. She is responsible for StarHub’s Legal, Corporate Secretariat, Regulatory and Sustainability functions.

With over two decades of experience in the info-communications industry, Veronica also helmed Corporate Communications and Investor Relations during her tenure at StarHub. Prior to joining StarHub, she practised law at Rajah and Tann Singapore LLP.

Veronica serves as the Honorary Treasurer of the Global Compact Network Singapore’s Management Committee and is appointed as a specialist mediator by the Singapore International Mediation Centre. She is appointed by the Ministry of Finance to serve on the Income Tax Review Board. Veronica was conferred the Chief Legal Officer 2020 Award by the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association and is listed in Legal 500’s GC Powerlist since 2017. 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.

Nopparat LALITKOMON

Partner at Tilleke & Gibbins

https://www.tilleke.com/

Nopparat Lalitkomon is a partner in Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group, leading the firm’s data privacy and cybersecurity practice in Thailand and Vietnam. His expertise in technology, media, and telecommunications has earned him recognition as an “Associate to Watch” by Chambers Asia-Pacific and a “Rising Star” by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific.

Nopparat is a trusted advisor to domestic and multinational companies alike, advising clients across industries on a wide range of tech-focused matters in Southeast Asia, including cybersecurity, data protection, digital assets, e-commerce, e-payments, e-transactions, fintech, gaming, and insurtech. Nopparat also advises clients on general corporate and commercial matters, including banking, direct marketing, foreign direct investment, investment incentives, labor and employment, M&A, and joint ventures. Nopparat graduated with an LLB from Thammasat University and an LLM in International Competition Law and Policy from the University of Glasgow. He is a member of the Thai Bar Association and holds a notarial services certificate.

Chee Kin LAM

Managing Director & Head Group Legal & Compliance of DBS Bank Ltd

https://www.dbs.com.sg

The APAC GC: What Are the Biggest Challenges Today?

Chee Kin is accountable for the team which manages the legal and regulatory risk of DBS across legal entities, segments, and geographies. Prior to joining, he held various legal and compliance portfolios in Standard Chartered Bank, JPMorgan, Rajah & Tann, and Allen & Gledhill, including a stint as Chief Operating Officer, South East Asia for JPMorgan.

A lawyer by profession, he has particular expertise in financial services regulation, and financial markets product and business structuring. Currently, however, he is focusing on the impact of digitisation, and the evolution of frameworks that will be necessary to cope with digitisation and data, together with second-order issues such as how criminal activity will also evolve, and how legal and compliance departments can benefit from analytics and AI.

Chee Kin currently serves on the Advisory Board to the Singapore Management University School of Law and the Advisory Panel to the NUS Centre for Banking and Finance Law. In 2015, Chee Kin was recognised as a Distinguished Fellow by the Institute of Banking and Finance in the field of compliance.

Chung Nian LAM

Head of the Intellectual Property, Technology & Data Group at WongPartnership LLP

https://www.wongpartnership.com/

Cryptocurrencies, Asset Tokenization & Blockchain Technology: Are APAC GCs Ready For The Tsunami?

Lam Chung Nian is the Head of the Intellectual Property, Technology & Data Group. He handles both contentious and non-contentious matters in the areas of intellectual property ("IP"), media, information technology ("IT"), data protection and telecommunications law, and has extensive experience working on regulatory, transactional, enforcement and advisory projects in these areas, counting among his clients multinational companies, listed corporations and government regulators.

Chung Nian's IP experience covers all aspects of transactional, enforcement and advisory work involving IP, technology, media and telecommunications matters, including franchising, licensing, securitisation, due diligence, acquisitions and divestments. He also acts on behalf of international rights protection agencies in the music and movie industries, and some of the world's best-known content producers in the motion picture and music industries, as well as collecting societies, television networks and other creative sector clients.

His IT experience covers software licensing, outsourcing, systems development and integration agreements, as well as maintenance, service level and "as-a-service" agreements. He has worked on projects involving key IT infrastructure and mission critical systems, having represented both IT system developers and consultants as well as large institutional customers in the aviation, banking, financial services, public transport and healthcare sectors.

In the telecommunications sector, he has handled customer and vendor agreements, infrastructure roll-outs, submarine cable projects, VoIP, SIP and unified communications as well as regulatory clearance projects, having advised international cloud service providers, multinational telecommunications and networking companies.

He also has extensive experience advising on personal data protection matters, having handled numerous projects involving the treatment and handling of customer and/or employee data across a range of sectors, with clients including some of Singapore's largest banks, insurers, telecommunications, transport, media, hospitality, healthcare, and property companies.

Chung Nian is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and has also been appointed as an IP Adjudicator empowered to hear disputes before the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore ("IPOS"), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Panel of Arbitrators for Intellectual Property Disputes as well as to the World Intellectual Property Organisation ("WIPO") Panel of Film and Media Mediators, Arbitrators and Experts, and the panel of mediators for the IPOS-WIPO initiative for Mediation for Proceedings Instituted in IPOS.

He is the President of the Asian Patent Attorney Association (Singapore Chapter), a member of the International Trademark Association, and the Intellectual Property Committee of the Law Society of Singapore. He has also served as a Co-Chair of the International Bar Association ("IBA") Communications Law Committee, of which he is now a member of its Advisory Board, and is currently also a member of the Projects Committee of the IBA, and has also been appointed as a member of the IBA Presidential Task Force on Cyber Security.

Edmund LAM

Head, Legal & Secretariat at NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Limited

https://www.fairprice.com.sg/

Navigating Trade & Supply-Chain Problems in the Recent Global Environment: Key Legal Considerations

Edmund heads the FairPrice Group, Legal & Secretariat Department, that takes charge of legal, corporate secretarial, DPO, licensing and insurance matters. He also serves as the Secretary and/or a management board member of the subsidiaries and a joint venture within the FairPrice Group.

He has 25 years of working experience in legal practice, in-house counsel roles in various industries and public service as a Deputy Public Prosecutor, Deputy Senior State Counsel, Military Prosecutor and regulator. In-addition, he was previously a director and/or investor in Food & Beverage, Agri-tech and Legal Tech start ups.

Antony LEE

Director of Strategic Engagements at Singapore International Mediation Centre

https://simc.com.sg/

Litigation, Arbitration or Mediation: What Is the Best Way to Resolve Disputes?

Antony is dedicated to driving SIMC’s strategic business development. He has more than 38 years’ experience in legal practice and as an in-house lawyer. He is well-versed in seeing both the legal and commercial perspectives in any issue.

Before joining SIMC, Antony was in HSBC for 18.5 years as the General Counsel for HSBC Singapore and Deputy General Counsel, Asia Pacific for HSBC, a regional role. As HSBC Singapore GC, Antony has managed a department of 36 persons that is responsible for the management of legal and regulatory matters for all HSBC entities in Singapore. As Deputy GC Asia Pacific, Antony looked after legal teams from 7 Asia-Pacific countries. Antony sat on various committees and work groups within the global HSBC legal function where he had the opportunity to work with persons from diverse backgrounds, geographies and legal systems.

Before HSBC, Antony has worked in various capacities in the banking sector and in private legal practice as a financial services and commercial lawyer (both contentious and non-contentious).

Antony has been active in various professional and industry bodies including the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association (SCCA). In 2022, SCCA recognised Antony’s contributions to the in-house legal community and presented him with the Chief Legal Officer’s Award for the Year in the MNC category.

Antony is an accredited mediator of the Singapore Mediation Centre and the Singapore International Mediation Centre. He has mediated a range of commercial and civil disputes. Antony actively promoted mediation while he was GC as he saw its benefits as a cost-efficient and sustainable dispute resolution mechanism. He has, therefore, seen the benefits of mediation as a mediator and a user.

Antony is also involved with a number of non-profit community organisations to promote and support charitable and humanitarian causes both in and out of Singapore aimed at helping disadvantaged persons live more meaningful and independent lives so that they too may have opportunities for sustainable relationships.

Carol LEE

Senior Attorney at Microsoft Asia

https://www.microsoft.com/

Rajah & Tann - AI / GenAI risk aspects and Disputes & Crisis Management concerning the Data and Digital Economy

Hemi LEE

Attorney at Kim & Chang

https://www.internationalsos.com/

Hemi Lee is a senior attorney in the firm’s Antitrust & Competition and Anti-Corruption & Corporate Compliance Practices.

Since 2008, Ms. Lee has been counseling a broad range of international and domestic corporate clients in highly sensitive internal and high profile government investigations relating to antitrust and anti-bribery issues. Seasoned in a diverse array of antitrust and competition law issues, she is particularly known for her expertise and experience with abuse of market dominance, cartels, unfair trade practices and merger controls.

While Ms. Lee has advised clients in a diverse array of industries, she has extensive experience in helping multinational and domestic clients in the healthcare and IT industries.

In addition to her experience in Korea, Ms. Lee was a visiting attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in 2014, and a research fellow at the American Antitrust Institute in 2014 and in 2015.

Ms. Lee received her law degree from Seoul National University's College of Law in 2006 and graduated from the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea in 2008.

Lorraine LEE

General Counsel, Assistance Services Worldwide & Chief Privacy Officer at International SOS

Data Privacy: What Are The Key Challenges Facing APAC GCs?

Lorraine Lee is the General Counsel, Assistance Services Worldwide & Chief Privacy Officer, at International SOS.

A dual Singapore and UK-qualified lawyer with more than 20 years’ track record, she started her career in private practice at Wong Partnership and Rajah & Tann in real estate and corporate/ capital markets, before moving into an in-house counsel position at Keppel Corporation, Hilton Hotels Corporation and in her last role, at International SOS, for the past 15 years.

Lorraine loves a good problem-solving challenge, and is passionate about partnering with her business stakeholders on legal and data privacy matters.

Lorraine is also one of the founding committee members of AsiaDPO, a peer-to-peer group to represent an active community of data protection officers (DPOs) in Asia.

Lyn LEE

Group Head, Legal at OCBC Bank

https://www.ocbc.com/

Data Privacy: What Are The Key Challenges Facing APAC GCs?

Lyn Lee is Group Head, Legal at OCBC Bank. She manages teams that provide legal advisory, transaction management and documentation support to businesses in OCBC, including treasury, investment banking, corporate and commercial banking, consumer banking, transaction banking, trade finance, technology and operations. She also manages the Data Protection Office of OCBC Bank.

Lyn is an experienced Treasury and Investment Banking legal specialist who has been working in the Singapore banking industry since 2006. She was a senior treasury counsel at DBS Bank before moving to OCBC Bank in 2012 to head up the global treasury and investment banking legal team. She served as Co-Chair of ISDA Legal and Regulatory Committee from May 2016 to June 2019. She participates actively in industry workgroups facilitated by ISDA, ICMA and EMTA. She is currently actively involved in the SOR to SORA transitioning plans at the industry level and sits as a core member of the Legal Sub-Group under the industry level SC-STS (Steering Committee for SOR and SIBOR transition to SORA).

Lyn was conferred the IBF Fellow Award in Oct 2018 and she sits on one of IBF industry panels. She has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of DTCC Singapore since August 2018 and is the Acting Chair of the Audit Committee.

Prior to her career in the financial services industry, she was a legal practitioner of mergers and acquisitions transactions and corporate finance transactions in Allen & Gledhill and Rajah & Tann respectively, both leading law firms in Singapore. She also worked as a Senior Legal Counsel in the General Counsel’s Office at Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Lyn is passionate about leadership based on diversity and inclusion, coaching and mentoring and she is involved as a mentor in different programs at OCBC Bank. From March 2019 to March 2021, she sat on the OCBC Scholarship Committee, which grants bond-free scholarships to deserving applicants. She has been invited to speak about psychological safety at the workplace and to share her experience as a female leader in various events.

As a leader in the legal and compliance division in OCBC Bank, Lyn works closely with the HR partners on workforce transformation programmes and supports continuous learning, learning agility and growth mindset in the legal teams.

Lyn graduated with Bachelor of Laws (Dean’s List) from National University of Singapore. She further received her Master of Laws (LL.M.) from King's College London. She was called to the Singapore bar in 1999.

Lyn is a John Maxwell Team certified speaker, coach and trainer.

Michael K. LEIGH

Foreign Attorney at Kim & Chang

https://www.allenandgledhill.com

Kim & Chang - Korean Criminal Procedure & Cross-border Investigations

Michael K. Leigh is a foreign attorney at Kim & Chang and a member of the firm’s Anti-Corruption & Corporate Compliance and Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense Practices. He advises major global clients on disputes, criminal investigations, regulatory enforcement and internal investigations.

Mr. Leigh has advised multinational corporations in criminal defense, internal investigations and regulatory audit matters, and has advised clients on matters concerning trade secrets, anti-corruption and bribery laws, corporate fraud and embezzlement, breach of trust and fiduciary duties, and Korean criminal procedures.

Prior to joining Kim & Chang, Mr. Leigh served as a prosecutor for the State of New York for over a decade (Kings County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the New York State Attorney General), handling a wide range of cases, including false claims act and white-collar criminal matters, many of which involved international asset tracing and forfeiture.

Yi-Ming LEONG

Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP

Allen & Gledhill - The move to Web 3.0? Lessons from new technologies & their industries

Yi-Ming’s practice focuses on complex commercial disputes in litigation and arbitration with particular specialisation in cross-border and intellectual property disputes.

Her broad experience covers areas of company and shareholder disputes, equity and trusts, cryptocurrency and technology disputes. Yi-Ming also regularly advises on corporate governance, intellectual property, domain names, confidentiality and cybersecurity. Yi-Ming has also appeared as amicus curiae in the Supreme Court to assist on the sentencing framework for stalking under the Protection from Harassment Act.
Prior to joining Allen & Gledhill, Yi-Ming was a Justices’ Law Clerk of the Supreme Court of Singapore. Thereafter, Yi-Ming was awarded the Singapore Academy of Law Overseas Attachment Award in 2017 and was seconded to Essex Court Chambers in London where she worked with leading English barristers and Queen’s Counsel.

Yi-Ming graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with First Class Honours (LLB).

Gloria LIM

Chief Executive Officer at Singapore International Arbitration Centre

https://siac.org.sg/

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Are We Winning the Battle?

As the Singapore International Arbitration Centre’s (SIAC) Chief Executive Officer, Gloria works closely with the Chairman and the Board in formulating and fulfilling the vision and strategies for SIAC, and is responsible for the overall management and operations of the institution.

Gloria was previously the Director of the Legal Industry Division in Singapore’s Ministry of Law and concurrently held the statutory appointment of Director of Legal Services, heading its Legal Services Regulatory Authority. As Director of the Legal Industry Division, she oversaw the development of Singapore’s legal sector, as well as the development and promotion of the international dispute resolution regime in Singapore. In 2008, Gloria was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) for her contributions as General Manager of the Community Mediation Unit. In 2016, she was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) for her contributions as Director of the Legal Industry Division.

Gloria also headed the Singapore delegation involved in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group II (Dispute Settlement) discussions from 2019-2021. Gloria is experienced in legal policy, alternative dispute resolution and community mediation.

She graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and is called to the Singapore Bar. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in International Arbitration from NUS and an LL.M from Harvard University.

Jason LIM

Manager, Enterprise Solutions at ServTouch-Wywy (S) Pte Ltd

https://www.servtouch.com/

Jason has been involved in the Legal Technology industry for almost 20 years, starting first in Technical role before moving to Sales. He currently oversees business development and sales initiatives in Asia as well as manages a team of consultants and solutions engineers working on implementation and support of ServTouch clients in Asia.

Jason has worked several years as an IT engineer, developer and consultant, before moving into the Legal Technology field, where he spent several years implementing and supporting various legal technology solutions, including iManage.

He has then transitioned into project management, helping clients implement and transition to the iManage solution, before moving on to his current role in Business Development and Sales.

He hopes to share his end-to-end experience working with legal professionals, to assist counsels in their adoption of legal technology.

Margaret Joan LING

Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP

https://dentons.rodyk.com

Allen & Gledhill - Future and trend of ESG disputes

Margaret's areas of practice comprise wide-ranging matters including shareholder disputes, employment matters, and sale of goods. She specializes in minority oppression claims and share valuation disputes.

Margaret has significant experience in proceedings before the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC). She has appeared before all levels of the Singapore courts. Margaret has also been appointed amicus curiae under the Supreme Court's inaugural Young Amicus Curiae Scheme.

Additionally, Margaret regularly advises and acts for multinational corporations in international arbitrations. She has experience as arbitrator under the ICC and SIAC Rules. Margaret was a Council Member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Core Committee of the ICC Arbitration Group in Singapore. She is currently the is the subject editor (arbitration) for the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) Practitioner, a sub-committee member of the ICC Arbitration Group in Singapore and a member of the YSIAC (Young SIAC) Council.

Margaret is recognized for her expertise in multiple legal publications. Legal 500 Asia Pacific notes that Margaret is "really good, articulate and highly diligent great on feet and on paper". She is also "hardworking and knows the law at her fingertips". In Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific, Margaret is described as being "able to quickly understand the contractual points that were at issue", presenting the claims "in a way that made the points hard to argue against", and being "very effective at putting forward the [client's] case”. Global Arbitration Review (GAR) notes that Margaret has been "praised" for her "knowledge of cases and law" and is “always willing to help”. Who's Who Legal: Southeast Asia also recommends her for both arbitration and commercial litigation.

Margaret was a tutor for the advocacy course at the National University of Singapore. She also authored the Singapore chapter of Global Legal Insights: International Arbitration 2019 and co-authored the Singapore chapter of The International Arbitration Review (10th edition).

Yang LIU

Partner at JunHe

https://www.junhe.com/

Yang LIU specializes in data privacy and cybersecurity, telecommunication and the Internet, mergers and acquisitions, e-commerce and general corporate matters.

Yang advises multinational corporations and Chinese companies on data protection and cybersecurity matters, assists the clients to develop their corporate compliance and cybersecurity policies, participates the negotiation of internal and external data privacy policies and data processing agreements, advises on data localization and cross-border data transfers, security incident responses, and other data compliance related issues. Yang also provides data protection advice in the context of M&A transactions and acts as a PRC legal adviser in respect of PRC data compliance law in overseas IPOs.

Yang also has experience advising multinationals, foreign investment enterprises, and large Chinese state-owned and private companies in their corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, venture capital/ private equity investments, foreign direct investments and cross-border transactions in industries of healthcare, e-commerce, hi-tech, media, real estate and energy, etc.

Yang obtained a Bachelor of Laws from China University of Political Science and Law, and later pursued her Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Columbia Law School. She is admitted to practice law in both China and the State of New York.

Jen Wei LOH

Senior Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

Dentons Rodyk - Navigating Cross-Border Risks: Insights for General Counsels

Jen Wei is a Senior Partner in Dentons Rodyk’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group and Co-Head of the Shipping practice.

Jen Wei's practice is in civil and commercial litigation and international arbitration. Jen Wei acts for and advises clients on a range of transport and trade related disputes including charterparties, commodity sale contracts, marine and cargo insurance, and carriage of goods by sea and air. She also regularly advises clients on trade related regulatory and compliance issues. She handles contentious shipping and admiralty matters in the Singapore courts and in arbitration, and advises ship owners, charterers, banks, shipyards and marine insurers. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and aside from counsel work, she has been appointed as arbitrator in several international arbitrations.

She was awarded Lawyer of the Year for Shipping & Maritime, 2023 at the Women in Business Law Awards APAC. She has been also been recognised by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific as a key lawyer in the area of Dispute Resolution, 2024 and by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific as a Future Star in Shipping, 2023.

Raymond LUM

Group Chief Executive Officer at Rajah & Tann Technologies

https://www.rttechlaw.com/

Rajah & Tann - Legal & regulatory issues to consider when investing in tech companies

Raymond brings more than 25 years of experience in operations and management, of which 17 years within the technology sector. He held various management roles in publicly listed companies, corporate finance advisory firms, and government related organisations.

He led efforts in digital transformation, mergers & acquisitions, corporate planning, business operations, and international business expansion within the technology, built environment, real estate, retail, distribution and logistics & fulfilment sectors.

Timur MAHISWARA

Senior Associate at ABNR

https://www.abnrlaw.com/

Timur joined ABNR as an associate in June 2015. He has focused on IT-related assignments such as telecommunications networks (including for submarine cables and satellites), and services; cybersecurity; privacy and personal data protection; digital content compliance; cloud computing and services; e-commerce; broadcasting; over-the-top services; data center operation; digital platforms and services in Indonesia; the Internet of Things; and online games. He has advised start-up clients and leading multinational technology, social media, and streaming companies.

His extensive understanding of the regulatory, technical, and practical aspects of technology, media, and the telecommunications business has enabled Timur to assess client needs and provide precise, comprehensive advice as well as practical solutions well-tailored to client needs and business operations.

Omar MAHMOOD

Legal Solutions Advisor at Thomson Reuters

I have a mixed background of working in private practice and in-house. This has given me insight into the demands of the legal profession and how their business operates. Working as a Legal Solutions Advisor at Thomson Reuters, I advise corporate legal departments and law firms on how they can adopt technology to increase the output of their team, maximize their efficiency and reduce admin work.

Melissa MAK

Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP

https://quantlegaltech.com/

Allen & Gledhill - The move to Web 3.0? Lessons from new technologies & their industries

Melissa's practice focuses on commercial litigation and international arbitration, with a specialisation in complex cross-border disputes.

Melissa has broad experience in a range of areas, including banking and shareholders claims, and joint venture and trust disputes. She regularly advises large corporates, internet intermediaries, statutory boards, and regulatory agencies on licensing matters, financial and technology regulation, and corporate governance.

Prior to joining Allen & Gledhill, Melissa was a Justices’ Law Clerk and an Assistant Registrar at the Supreme Court of Singapore. During her time at the Supreme Court, she was also involved in the establishment of the Singapore International Commercial Court and was the Secretary to the Rules of Court Working Party. She taught Principles of Property Law at the National University of Singapore and is currently a facilitator at the Singapore Institute of Legal Education for civil procedure and professional ethics. She has also contributed chapters in Singapore Civil Procedure and Singapore Law - 50 Years in the Making.

Melissa graduated from the University of Cambridge with a B.A. (Hons) Degree (Double First Class) in 2009, where she received various university prizes. She also obtained a B.C.L. (Distinction) from the University of Oxford on a university scholarship and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.

John E. MATHESON

Co-Founder & General Counsel of Quant LegalTech

Does every company’s dependence on software technology warrant greater involvement from GCs?

After 3 decades of legal roles in Asia, which included stints as an IP Lawyer, law firm partner, MNC General Counsel and policy work, the magnetic draw of legal-tech was too great. John’s current roles include Co-founder of 2 legal-tech companies;

QUANT LEGALTECH PTE LTD. (Singapore & India. 2020). A technology developer and SaaS provider focused on the automation of legal compliance and the digitization of legal services. The flagship product is the Complius™ Platform which automates, tracks and records the execution of compliance obligations along with a cloud-based proof repository and multiple report functions.

LEGALVERSE.AI. (Austin, Texas, London, Singapore. Launching soon)
A merger of cutting-edge technology and legal innovation. The flagship product is a secure, AI-powered collaboration platform for VC, M&A and deal management, which integrates compliance and a suite of services.

John started his Asia journey as an IP lawyer in Hong Kong during British rule, from where he was posted to Tokyo, before joining Intel Corporation in Hong Kong and then in Singapore, where he has been based for the past 17 years.

Kalindee MEHTA

Regional General Legal Counsel - Asia Pacific & Japan at SAP ASIA PTE LTD

https://www.sap.com

Does every company’s dependence on software technology warrant greater involvement from GCs?

Kalindee Mehta is the Regional General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for SAP Asia Pacific and Japan. She has about 20 years of experience working in diverse sectors like manufacturing, FMCG, Investment Banking and technology while working for organizations like Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse, GE, Pernod Ricard and SAP.

In her role, Kalindee advises the senior management of SAP on broad spectrum of complex commercial transactions, legal entity management, employment & competition laws, topics pertaining to privacy, security, data protection, Intellectual Property management etc. She has also represented her organisation with various regulators and is involved in public policy discussions on emerging topics.

Prior to her role as Regional General Counsel, Kalindee was the Chief of Staff to the SAP Asia President and had the opportunity to work on many diverse business topics like Customer Success, Strategies, Products and GoToMarket plans etc. Her business knowledge coupled with legal skills is helping her navigate the current challenges in the external environment.

Ramesh MOOSA

Asean and Singapore Leader at EY Forensic & Integrity Services

https://ey.com/

Cybersecurity: How Should In-House Counsel Deal with the Biggest Problems (e.g., Ransomware, Hacking, Phishing)?

Ramesh Moosa is the EY Asean and Singapore Forensic & Integrity Services Leader. He has more than 27 years of experience in forensic investigation, dispute & litigation support, expert witness, digital forensics & eDiscovery, data analytics and cybersecurity services.

His international experience spans the US, Greater China, and other Asia-Pacific countries, serving clients subject to regulatory cases enforced by the Singapore Exchange, US Securities and Exchange Commission, US Department of Justice, Monetary Authority of Singapore, HK Monetary Authority, HK Securities and Futures Commission and the HK Competition Commission. He has supported regulatory agencies in their enforcement activities, provided expert testimony in the High Court of the Hong Kong SAR, and prepared expert reports for cases at the High Court of Singapore and the International Arbitration Centres in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Ramesh started his career as a senior officer in the Singapore Police Force where he served as a criminal investigator and later managed the agency’s IT infrastructure and data security operations. From 2000 to 2020, Ramesh worked at another Big 4 accounting firm at its offices in Singapore, US and Greater China, before joining EY. Ramesh is a founding council member of the Association of Information Security Professionals in Singapore. He frequently speaks at conferences on topics related to Forensic Investigations, Cybersecurity, Ethics, and Compliance. He holds an MBA and Engineering degree, CPA, CFE, and CCI qualifications. He is a fellow at the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and fluent in English and Mandarin.

Tomonobu MURATA

Partner at Nishimura & Asahi

https://www.nishimura.com/

Lex Mundi - Cross-border data transfers

Tomonobu is a Japanese lawyer admitted to practice law in Japan and New York. His practice focuses on data protection and cybersecurity in Asia. He handles more than 50 data protection matters every year, including those involving Japan, and other Asian countries. He leads multinational projects involving data protection law at Nishimura & Asahi’s Asian offices. He is registered as an Information Security Specialist in Japan and Certified Information Privacy Professional/Asia (CIPP/A).

Chun Ying NG

Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

https://www.gehealthcare.com/

Dentons Rodyk - Navigating Cross-Border Risks: Insights for General Counsels

Chun Ying is a Partner in the Tax and Trusts, Estates and Wealth Preservation Practice of Dentons Rodyk. Chun Ying is a tax lawyer based in Singapore with more than a decade of experience advising and representing a diverse range of clients, including multinational corporations and individuals, on a broad range of cross-border tax issues, as well as tax disputes. Chun Ying's practice covers all aspects of Singapore taxes including income tax, stamp duty, goods and services tax, and transfer pricing. She is also well-versed in regional and global tax issues, having worked on many multijurisdictional tax matters.

Her non-contentious experience includes corporate restructuring, IP restructuring, M&A, tax incentives, blockchain and ICOs, fund structuring, startup ESOPs/founder shares planning and many others. On the contentious side, Chun Ying has represented many taxpayers in audits, objections and appeals.

Chun Ying is recognised as a Next Generation Partner for Tax by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and has been awarded Lawyer of the Year for Tax by Women in Business Law Awards APAC for her expertise.

Kenneth ONG

Senior Privacy Counsel, Asia Pacific Privacy Leader at GE Healthcare

Data for the Future of AI : Key Issues for General Counsels

Prior to joining GE HealthCare Pte Ltd. (“GEHC”), Kenneth has worked for various Fortune 500 organizations including Singapore Airlines Limited, Deutsche Bank AG, General Electric International, Inc., and Aon Global Operations SE, Singapore Branch. Currently, as GEHC’s Senior Privacy Counsel, Asia-Pacific Privacy Leader, he is the subject matter expert for GEHC in relation to privacy/personal data protection matters and provides both privacy advisory and privacy operations support to GEHC in the Asia-Pacific region. Kenneth’s expertise includes artificial intelligence governance, cross border data transfers and emerging personal data protection laws and has participated in several discussions with personal data protection regulators in the region.

Kenneth is both a Barrister-at-Law in England & Wales and an Advocate & Solicitor in Singapore. He is a proud member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (“IAPP”) and a founding member of the Asia Data Protection Officers, a Singapore registered society. Kenneth is a Fellow of Information Privacy, an IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional in Asia and EU and an IAPP Certified Information Privacy Manager.

Jonathan OOI

Chief Legal Officer & Company Secretary at SingPost

https://www.singpost.com/

Litigation, Arbitration or Mediation: What Is the Best Way to Resolve Disputes?

Mr Jonathan Ooi joined SingPost in January 2019 and is the Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary, leading the Group Legal, Compliance and Corporate Secretariat functions. Together with his team, Jonathan is responsible for the legal advisory and compliance governance of the Group. Jonathan was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 2000 and has more than 20 years of legal and company secretarial experience, including serving as in-house counsel in major listed companies in Singapore. Jonathan has a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the National University of Singapore and a Masters of Laws from the University of Virginia in the United States.

Ju-Lien OOI

Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Commercial, Regulatory & Employment at Christopher & Lee Ong

https://www.christopherleeong.com/

Rajah & Tann - Legal & regulatory issues to consider when investing in tech companies

Ju-Lien commenced her legal practice in the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia under the International Affairs Advisory division, prior to joining private practice in 2013. Her areas of practice are mergers and acquisitions, corporate commercial, regulatory and employment.

Ron OONG

Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

Dentons Rodyk - Navigating the Energy Transition: ESG at the Forefront

Ron Oong is a Partner in the Dentons Rodyk Projects and Energy group and Banking and Finance group. He has extensive experience in infrastructure, energy and banking and finance (including project finance) transactions.

He handles a wide range of finance and commercial work, particularly in the areas of project investment, project development and project financing. He has handled numerous transactions involving sale and purchase of energy (including natural gas) and construction and operation of infrastructures, such as the development of both traditional and renewable energy (including hydroelectric, solar, wind and waste-to-energy) power plants.

He has experience representing clients in various sectors, including in the infrastructure and energy sectors, and has acted for clients in complex cross-border transactions involving Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Bangladesh.

Edric PAN

Joint Deputy Managing Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

Dentons Rodyk - Navigating Employment Disputes in Singapore: An insight into trending topics

Edric is the Joint Deputy Managing Partner of Dentons Rodyk. He is a senior partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group and is Co-Head of the firm’s Employment practice. In addition, he heads the firm’s Aviation practice, and co-heads the firm’s Insurance practice.

Edric is a highly experienced litigator, with a particular focus on corporate/commercial disputes, employment disputes and insurance defence work. In the employment field, he regularly acts for and advises corporate clients, including multinational companies, in non-compete disputes as well as matters involving wrongful dismissal and discrimination issues, among others.

Edric has delivered numerous workshops and seminars on employment, professional negligence, insurance, aviation and contractual issues. He has also co-authored a chapter in the Employment Law volume of Halsbury's Laws of Singapore.

Edric is regularly named in legal ranking publications. Among the many accolades Edric has received are:
• Recognized as an Acritas Star in 2019, 2020 and 2021
• Recognized in Best Lawyers in Singapore in the areas of Litigation, Arbitration and Mediation in 2022, 2023 and 2024
• Recognized in Who’s Who Legal as a Global Elite Thought Leader in the area of Professional Negligence in 2023
• Recognized in Asia Business Law Journal as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Singapore in 2023

William PANLILIO

Investment Manager at Litigation Capital Management

https://lcmfinance.com/

Allen & Gledhill - Future and trend of ESG disputes

William is an Investment Manager with LCM where he continues to specialize in international arbitration and cross-border litigation, including investor state and sovereign disputes, international commercial arbitration, and international litigation on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.

Before joining LCM, William was a Senior Associate for over five years with King & Spalding where he was involved in a number of landmark cases, including Chevron v. Ecuador, and the global enforcement litigation in Stati v. Kazakhstan. Before that, he was an Assistant Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, The Netherlands. While at the Court, he assisted arbitral tribunals in treaty and commercial arbitrations involving various combinations of States, State entities, international organisations and private parties.

Marie PARK

Attorney at Kim & Chang

Kim & Chang - Korea Competition Law Overview & Trends: Focusing on Distribution & E-commerce

Marie Park is an attorney at Kim & Chang and specializes in antitrust & competition, mergers & acquisitions, and corporate matters.

Ms. Park practices in a wide range of corporate law areas, with a focus on antitrust and competition, corporate governance, foreign direct investment, and mergers & acquisitions. She also has extensive experience advising the firm’s clients in the IT, automotive, and sports & luxury industries.

Ms. Park advises clients on antitrust compliance and competition law issues arising from their daily operation and mergers and acquisitions transactions, investigations by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) into alleged violations of competition law, and global merger filings. In particular, her practice focuses on antitrust issues in the IT, automotive and other industries where the KFTC is highly keen on uprooting abuse of market dominant position and related restrictive practices.

Ms. Park graduated from the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea in 2007, received an LL.M. from New York University School of Law in 2004 and received an LL.B. from Seoul National University in 2000. She was also a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School from 2013 to 2014. She is admitted to the Korea bar and the New York bar.

Stanley PARK

Co-Chairman of APAC Legal Congress & Board Director at Singapore Corporate Counsel Association

https://www.scca.org.sg/

Stanley Park is a member of the Board of Directors of the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association, joining the Board in 2014.

Stanley was Managing Director and Head of Legal - Asia Pacific Region for Scotiabank's Global Banking and Markets Division from Mar 2014 – Apr 2023. Based in Singapore, Stanley was responsible for all legal matters across the region, including China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Among other responsibilities, Stanley provided (i) transactional advice and support to the Bank's businesses related to capital markets, investment banking, commodities, corporate lending/trade finance and global transaction banking; (ii) regulatory advice and support re the Bank's businesses; (iii) management of litigation and disputes; (iv) advice and support to the Bank's internal or proprietary functions (including proprietary investments, HR matters, Finance); and (v) participation in corporate governance or oversight.

Prior to joining Scotiabank, Stanley was with Daiwa Capital Markets, as Senior Legal Counsel, in Singapore and Hong Kong from 2011 – 2014; with Barclays Global Investors, as General Counsel, in Tokyo from 2009 – 2010; with DKR Oasis, as Chief Compliance Officer, in Hong Kong in 2008; with Salomon Smith Barney and UBS Securities in Tokyo from 2001 – 2007; and with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and Coudert Brothers in NYC, from 1992 - 2001.

Stanley graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1985 and received his law degree from the Harvard Law School in 1988, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Stanley has been a member of the New York State Bar since 1994.

Sunny J. PARK

Foreign Attorney at Kim & Chang

Data for the Future of AI : Key Issues for General Counsels

Sunny Park is a senior foreign attorney at Kim & Chang. Her areas of expertise include corporate law, crisis management, anti-corruption and public policy. She is in Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Group, and part of Privacy & Data Security, Anti-Corruption & Corporate Compliance, Antitrust & Competition Practice at the firm. She advises multinational and domestic clients on technology related issues, including cloud adoption, privacy, cyber security, cross-border data transfer and regulatory compliance.

Ms. Park has experience advising clients on a wide range of corporate issues, including labor, IP, corporate and compliance investigations and audit. She has also advised a number of multinational and domestic corporations on inbound and outbound M&A, technology transfer and licensing matters.

Prior to joining Kim & Chang, Ms. Park worked for Microsoft for over 12 years, most recently as its Asia Pacific General Counsel from Singapore. As an in-house counsel, she has managed a wide range of issues to support the business and its diverse customers on adopting technology, and managed and mitigated business and reputational risks and engaged with government and regulators to advance tech policies around Asia. With her extensive experience as an in-house counsel, she has deep understanding of business clients. She has over 25 years of experience in Korea and other parts of Asia.

Alex PARKER

Assistant General Counsel at GSK

https://www.gsk.com/

ESG: Does It Really Make Sense and Is It Really Worth It?

Alex is an international business lawyer with a practice spanning all five continents and a multitude of industries. His specialism is advising on and managing critical legal risk, including in crisis scenarios. He trained and qualified in the City of London, practicing as international counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton for several years before joining GSK, a leading global pharmaceutical company, in 2018 where he has divided his time between its global headquarters in the UK and, presently, Singapore covering APAC markets.

Pamela QIU

Partner at Control Risks

https://www.christopherleeong.com/

Pamela is a Partner and leads the South-East Asia business at Control Risks. She is responsible for the development of the business in South-East Asia, managing key client relationships and partnerships, and advising senior business leaders on areas of risk that impact their operations. She has over 15 years of experience working in public policy, consulting and professional services.

Before joining Control Risks, Pamela was Head for Business Development at the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a global non-profit organisation engaging with major stakeholders across the plastic value chain to drive systems change in the management of plastic. In her role, she was responsible for developing the business strategy to significantly increase private sector investment commitments into the Alliance.

Prior to that, Pamela was Network Director at The Economist Group, where she led its CEO insight and intelligence service in South-East Asia, and drove its thought leadership agenda and client engagement programme in the region. She was also a frequent chair for Economist events and roundtables, and regularly delivered custom briefings to senior business executives.

From 2007 to 2011, Pamela worked at the Singapore Ministry of Finance, where she developed policies to tackle socio-economic challenges such as inequality and unemployment. She also worked on policies that were featured in the Singapore Budget. From 2009 to 2011, she was also a researcher for the Center for Public Economics at the Civil Service College, the Singapore government’s core institution for public policy and economics research. Her research areas included the role of government in markets, public private partnerships, privatisation, fiscal policy, and behavioural economics. Between 2004 and 2006, Pamela also worked as a market analyst with Prudential Health Insurance, based in London.

Pamela holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Development Studies, both from the London School of Economics (LSE). She has appeared on Bloomberg News, BBC, CNBC and Channel News Asia, and has been interviewed for a range of print media publications.

Anna QUAH

Vice President, Legal at UPS Asia Pacific

https://www.ups.com/

Doing More with Less: Managing Outside Counsel, Alternative Legal Service Providers & Internal Outsourcing

Anna Quah is Vice President for Legal, UPS Asia Pacific, and is responsible for legal and regulatory matters for the company in the Asia Pacific region. UPS is a global leader in logistics with headquarters in Atlanta, from which UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The UPS Asia Pacific region, with headquarters in Singapore, covers more than 26 countries and territories and employs approximately 11,000 employees.

Prior to joining UPS in 2006, Anna practiced maritime and aviation law in Singapore for about 8 years. As a partner of that law firm, Anna also wrote several papers on maritime law and presented them at international conferences organized by the International Bar Association.

Anna was a founding member of the UPS Women’s Leadership Development (“WLD”) in Asia Pac when it launched in Singapore in 2010, and also chaired the group from 2011 to 2013. Since then, the WLD program has organised numerous activities promoting skills development and connectivity amongst female employees within UPS, with customers and with the community.

A firm believer in contributing towards the community we live in, Anna has been actively involved in a variety of volunteer programs – most notably spending 3 and a half weeks in 2017 in the Lower East Side of New York City serving at the Henry Street Settlement, supporting homeless individuals recovering from mental illnesses. Since then, Anna continues to support her local community actively by delivering dry food rations to needy families for YWCA Singapore every month. In addition, Anna has been supporting Hope for the Family in Thailand, a nonprofit organization established in Chiang Mai, Thailand that provides shelter to vulnerable children at risk of being trafficked into prostitution.

Anna Quah graduated from the law faculty of National University of Singapore in 1997 and was called to the Singapore Bar in 1998. Anna currently lives in Singapore with her two teenaged children, Emma and Edward. In her limited spare time, Anna enjoys running, practicing yoga, as well as indulging in her dream to be an aerial (circus) performance artist. Anna is a certified yoga and mobility instructor and conducts mobility classes weekly. Anna considers one of her greatest athletic achievements the completion of a 12-hour Spartan Ultra race that spanned 50 kilometers (30+ miles) and 60+ obstacles in 2018, as well as participating in a 30 km trail race in Cameron Highlands (CULTRA) in 2023.

Eunice QUAY

Senior Associate, Corporate Commercial at Christopher & Lee Ong

Rajah & Tann - Cross-border digital trade in services and goods: Critical Legal Pain-Points – An ASEAN Review

Eunice is a Senior Associate with the Corporate Commercial Practice Group of Christopher & Lee Ong. She assists on corporate transactions and advises on matters involving regulatory & trade. Eunice has advised multi-national entities on regulatory requirements, import & export controls and trade licensing, among others. Eunice also assists clients on appeals to and negotiations with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry as well as assisting with the drafting of clients’ internal compliance programs.

Ling Yi QUEK

Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

Dentons Rodyk - Navigating Cross-Border Risks: Insights for General Counsels

Ling Yi is a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group and the Trust, Estates & Wealth Preservation/Family Office practice. She advises high net worth individuals, private banks and trust companies on tax matters, as well as trust and estate planning matters, and co-heads the Non-Profit / Philanthropy practice. Ling Yi heads the firm’s Cambodia and Laos desks, and is also a partner of Dentons Myanmar Limited. She has advised clients on debt recovery, environment law, employment law, company law, and other laws and regulations.

She advises clients on succession planning, and provides a broad range of advice to assist them and their families on their activities across the globe. She has vast experience on investments and cross-border transactions, and has advised many clients on regulations, investment structures, commercial dispute resolution, infrastructure projects, mergers and acquisitions as well as direct investment transactions.

She has been recognized in Asian Legal Business' Top 40 under 40 list of outstanding legal professionals in the region in 2020, and was awarded the Wealth Management Institute Chairman’s Award for Individual Excellence in 2023. She has worked on cross-border projects in emerging markets, where due diligence, project development, execution and financing are challenging. Through her familiarity and understanding of the business environment and legal regulations, she has advised clients on structuring, risks transfers and risk mitigation solutions to navigate these markets.

Terence QUEK

Deputy Head, Mergers & Acquisitions at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Rajah & Tann - Legal & regulatory issues to consider when investing in tech companies

Terence Quek is the Deputy Head of the M&A practice with more than 22 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, PE/VC deals, local and cross-border joint ventures, corporate restructurings, corporate rescues and general commercial law.
He has advised on the sale and purchase of companies, undertakings and businesses in almost every sector of industry, including technology, banking, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, property development and healthcare, just to name a few.

Terence is also actively involved in a wide spectrum of investment transactions for both investors and entrepreneurs/founders, ranging from seed financing to early-stage investments to growth capital as well as exits, and joint venture deals involving both local and cross-border entities.

He is recommended by Chambers Asia Pacific and recognised as a key lawyer by The Legal 500 for being "excellent" and "offering a ready ear to bounce ideas with the client throughout a transaction at all hours of the day, offering insights and solutions". He is commended by clients in IFLR1000's report as being "very approachable and pays close attention to clients’ needs". Clients also described him as “[having a] very in depth understanding of subject matter” and for “[providing] solutions and a different perspective to solving issues”.

Noted for driving the firm's growth in Singapore's startup space, Terence has also been ranked in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024 for his vast experience in acting for investors and emerging companies on investment and financing mandates.

Darshini RAMIAH

Manager, AI Governance Data, Innovation & Protection Group at Infocomm Media Development Authority

https://www.imda.gov.sg/

Allen & Gledhill - Shaping Tomorrow’s AI: Legal and Policy Insights into Generative AI Regulation

Darshini is a manager in the AI Governance Team (Data Innovation & Protection Group) in IMDA. Her work includes the formulation and implementation of policies relating to AI governance and ethics as well as data protection. She also engages ecosystem stakeholders on collaboratively building evaluation and testing capabilities for Generative AI, including designing and implementing sandboxes. Darshini is an Advocate and Solicitor of the Singapore Bar. Prior to joining IMDA, she was a State Counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers where she advised on data protection issues for 2 years. Darshini also has an LL.M. in Law & Technology and served as a Justices’ Law Clerk in the Supreme Court.

Amber RILEY

Senior Managing Director of Macquarie Bank

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Are We Winning the Battle?

Amber Riley is the lead regional lawyer for the Commodities and Global Markets team in Asia at Macquarie Group Limited. She has been with Macquarie for over 18 years, previously with the Sydney head office and based in Singapore for over 5 years. Amber leads a team of lawyers across Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. She is passionate about mentoring female talent and is the co-head of Macquarie’s Asia Women’s Network.

Adrio RIVADI

Head of Business Development at KPMG Law Asia Pacific

https://kpmg.com.sg

Thomson Reuters - Supercharge Your Legal Research with Cutting-Edge Technologies

Adrio leads the business development team for KPMG Law in Asia Pacific which encompasses 10 law firms across the region. With over 14 years in the industry, he oversees the development and implementation of client strategies throughout Asia Pacific ensuring active cross-border and cross-functional collaboration.

Adrio obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Hons) from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom and is a certified Intellectual Property Consultant in Indonesia.

Carsten ROSENKRANZ

Director - Legal, Risk, Compliance – AEM of Thomson Reuters

https://inhousecounselww.org/

Thomson Reuters - Navigating the Future of Contract Management with Advanced Automation

Carsten Rosenkranz has over a decade of experience at Thomson Reuters, where he's played a key role in leading the business of legal products in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. His work focuses on developing strategies to grow the company's legal and compliance services, making sure they meet the needs of local markets. He has successfully led teams to achieve significant growth by understanding market trends, creating effective marketing campaigns, and working closely with industry partners and government agencies. Carsten's hands-on approach and deep knowledge of the legal and compliance fields have made him a respected leader in the sector.

Stephen ROTSTEIN

President at In-house Counsel Worldwide (ICW)

Keynote Address by In-house Counsel Worldwide (ICW)

Stephen has served in various senior leadership roles in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. He is currently a Vice -Chair at Tribunals Ontario where he adjudicates Landlord and Tenant Board matters. Previously, Stephen was the Director, Global and Domestic Affairs at the Ontario Securities Commission. As part of their Executive Management Team, he managed the OSC’s relationship to the Ministry of Finance, and coordinated efforts with other federal, provincial, and international regulators on policy issues.

Stephen has also served as the Vice-President, Policy & Regulatory Affairs & General Counsel at FP Canada where he oversaw policy and regulatory matters and played a key role in the introduction of financial planning regulation in Canada.

Stephen has extensive voluntary leadership experience. He is currently the President of In-House Counsel Worldwide. He is also an elected Bencher (Board Member) of the Law Society of Ontario and sits on the Federal Judicial Advisory Committee for the Greater Toronto Area. He previously served as President of the Canadian Bar Association, Canada’s largest legal association representing more than 37,000 lawyers and judges. Stephen has also served as, Chair of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association.

Stephen holds a BA in political science and history from the University of Western Ontario and was awarded an LL.B. by Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. He is a member of the Bar in Ontario and New York State and holds the Certified In-House Counsel - Canada certification (CIC.C).

Hideyuki SAKAMOTO

Chairman at Japan In-house Lawyers Association (JILA)

https://www.jila.jp/

Keynote Address by Japan In-House Lawyers Association (JILA)

Hideyuki Sakamoto was appointed as the Chairman of the Japan In-house Lawyers Association (JILA) on April 1, 2022. The Japan In-house Lawyers Association (JILA) is a voluntary organization founded on August 1, 2001 by in-house lawyers and those with experience. It aims to contribute to the realization of social justice and the promotion of the interests of society as a whole, and to promote friendship among members, by conducting research on the current situation of in-house lawyers and carrying out various activities to promote the spread of in-house lawyers.

Glenn SEAH

MD & Head Legal, Compliance & Corporate Secretariat at Singapore Exchange Ltd

https://www.sgxgroup.com

Managing the Legal Team: What Should Be the Most Influential Factors in Hiring, Terminating & Promoting?

Mr Glenn Seah is Managing Director and Head of Legal, Compliance and Corporate Secretariat, and a permanent invitee to the Executive Management Committee of the SGX Group. Mr Seah is responsible for providing legal and compliance leadership and managing regulatory relationships on a global basis, for the Group’s businesses across equities, fixed income, FX, commodities, market data and indices.

Mr Seah previously headed country and regional compliance roles for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore and South-East Asia. He also served in various roles in SGX, including Regulatory Policy, Staff Assistant to the CEO, and Head of Market Surveillance and Enforcement. Mr Seah was also a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel with the Attorney-General’s Chambers for several years. In 2017, he was recognized as a Fellow of the Institute of Banking and Finance, for his thought leadership and commitment to industry development. He also serves on non-profit boards, including the Harvard Business School Club of Singapore.

Mark SEAH

Senior Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

https://dentons.rodyk.com

Mark Seah is a Senior Partner in Dentons Rodyk’s Dispute Resolution department and co-heads the Commercial Litigation practice. A member of the firm’s Executive Committee, he is also the firm’s Singapore-Australasia Relationship Partner.

Mark commands a strong practice in commercial litigation and arbitration involving complex, high value disputes concerning Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, commodities, international trade, supply chains, energy, restructuring and insolvency, derivatives, shareholder and corporate matters and employment. Mark has acted in significant cross-border litigation involving in excess of US$1 billion, and has represented prominent companies including some of the world’s largest, governments, state owned entities and leading banks.

Ramesh SELVARAJ

Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP

https://www.farrerpark.com/

Litigation, Arbitration or Mediation: What Is the Best Way to Resolve Disputes?

Ramesh is the Deputy Head of the Firm's International Arbitration Practice. His expertise lies in advising across a broad spectrum of contentious work.

He has acted as lead counsel in both domestic and international arbitrations across various corporate and commercial sectors, including the hospitality, oil and gas, commodities and construction industries. He is recommended for his expertise in international arbitration and commercial litigation in leading publications, such as The Legal 500 Asia Pacific where he has been described as an "excellent attorney", and as one who provides "cogent, timely answers". Ramesh "is an outstanding lawyer. He has an excellent grasp of many areas of the law. He seeks to understand the business/technical/policy concerns of clients, and gives practical legal advice to support decision making. He is calm in the face of adversity and ambiguity, especially in complex matters. He is very approachable and patient with clients. He is also honest in his case assessments".

He has a strong professional liability practice having defended claims in negligence asserted against lawyers, accountants and architects.

On the employment law front, he is regularly consulted by employers and employees on their contracts of employment, termination issues, including advising on claims against wrongful dismissal, disciplinary issues as well as other related employer-employee issues.

Ramesh is a member of the Governing Council of the Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry's (MCCI) Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation Centre. Ramesh served as the Co-Chair of the YSIAC Committee from 2019 to 2020, formed under the auspices of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

Barbara SENG

Chief Legal Officer, Company Secretary & Data Protection Officer at The Farrer Park Company Pte Ltd

Data Privacy: What Are The Key Challenges Facing APAC GCs?

Ms Barbara Seng has over two decades of experience in senior management positions and is one of the C-suites of The Farrer Park Company Pte Ltd which owns the latest private tertiary specialist hospital Farrer Park Hospital in Singapore and the award winning 5-star One Farrer Hotel which both sit directly above Farrer Park MRT station. In June 2023, One Farrer Hotel was voted the top hotel in Singapore based Trip Advisor’s customer feedback, ahead of other established hotels.

As Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary for the Group, Barbara advises the Group on all legal matters. Barbara brings with her a wealth of experience in amongst other things, cross-border acquisitions including reverse takeover, joint ventures, corporate finance, banking, corporate and commercial law (including for procurement of medical equipment), medical law, information technology, intellectual property, litigation and arbitration. While in private practice and in a listed group, she dealt with projects including five star luxury hotels, condominiums, the Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay, factory, schools, commercial buildings and governmental and other facilities. While acting as Company Secretary of the listed group, she advised on corporate governance and compliance issues and was also one of the authorised representatives to liaise with and respond to the Stock Exchange of Singapore.

Barbara also acts as the Data Protection Officer for The Farrer Park group of companies.

Barbara is the Chairman of the Management Corporation Strata Title (“MCST”) Plan No. 4466 of Connexion building which houses Farrer Park Hospital, Farrer Park Medical Centre with 189 medical suites, One Farrer Hotel, Owen Link retail and food & beverage units and numerous gardens (including an urban farm).

Zachary SHIM

Asia Pacific General Counsel at SHEIN

https://www.sheingroup.com/

Navigating Trade & Supply-Chain Problems in the Recent Global Environment: Key Legal Considerations

Zachary is the Asia Pacific General Counsel at SHEIN, a leading global online fashion retailer. With his expertise in corporate and finance laws and experience in the tech and e-commerce industry, he plays a pivotal role in SHEIN's legal strategy and operations across the Asia Pacific region.

Prior to joining SHEIN, Zachary held key legal positions where he demonstrated his ability to navigate complex legal landscapes and drive business success. He is known for his problem solving skills and strategic approach to legal challenges, ensuring compliance with regulations while fostering innovation and growth.

Zachary is qualified in three jurisdictions, and he continues to stay abreast of legal developments and industry trends. He is committed to fostering a culture of integrity and legal excellence within SHEIN, supporting the company's mission to making the beauty of fashion accessible to all.

Seoung-Ho SHIN

Attorney at Kim & Chang

Kim & Chang - Korean Criminal Procedure & Cross-border Investigations

Seoung-Ho Shin is an attorney at Kim & Chang. His practice focuses on white-collar criminal defense, anti-corruption & corporate compliance, intellectual property, and international trade & customs.

Prior to joining Kim & Chang, Mr. Shin served as a public prosecutor and state attorney in the Ministry of Justice, and also served for the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York.

As a public prosecutor, he engaged in investigations, prosecutions and trials of various criminal cases involving stock market manipulation, tax evasion, customs violations and intellectual property issues. While serving for the International Legal Affairs Division of the Ministry of Justice, he dealt with free trade agreements, international trade and international arbitration. In particular, he launched an initiative to establish in Korea the first Regional Center for Asia and Pacific of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). As a Legal Adviser for the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, he handled a wide range of international legal issues such as international trade law and international criminal justice.

Mr. Shin has authored various articles including “Recent Developments in the U.S. Federal Sentencing Regime after Booker Decision” (2008) and co-published “Intellectual Property Practice Casebook” (2012). He participated, as a government representative, in a number of negotiations and meetings including Korea-Australia FTA negotiations, UNCITRAL Working Group meetings and the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Mr. Shin received an LL.B. from Seoul National University College of Law in 1995, and his LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 2007. He graduated from the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Korea in 2000. He is admitted to the Korean bar.

Sean SIM

Senior Associate at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

Dentons Rodyk - Navigating Employment Disputes in Singapore: An insight into trending topics

Sean is a Senior Associate in Dentons Rodyk's Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. Sean has acted for high profile individuals, institutions, and subsidiaries of various listed companies at all levels of the Singapore Court. He also has an active arbitration practice and has represented clients at several SIAC-administered arbitrations. He has experience in handling complex commercial disputes as well as industry specific disputes such as disputes in the field of construction, employment and insurance.

Specifically on the employment law front, Sean has acted in Singapore High Court proceedings involving the enforcement of a non-compete clause against a C-Suite executive and in proceedings where the dismissal of a key employee unravelled allegations of conspiracy, “moonlighting” and corporate espionage. Sean is also frequently asked to assist in non-contentious work and advises the firm’s institutional clients on issues relating to remuneration, retrenchment and fair dismissal.

Prior to commencing his practice, Sean was an outstanding mooter who represented Singapore Management University in several international moot competitions. He captained SMU at the Frankfurt Investor-State Arbitration Moot (2017) leading SMU to a 1st place finish. He also captained the SMU's Vis (East) International Arbitration Moot team (2016) that clinched 1st runner-up in Hong Kong. Sean was also part of the SMU's Attorney-General's Cup Moot (2014) team that emerged champion and helped his law school secure 1st runner-up in the Asia Cup Moot (2015) in Tokyo.

Ting SIM

General Counsel & Head of Corporate Services Group at GenZero

https://genzero.co/

ESG: Does It Really Make Sense and Is It Really Worth It?

Ting is Head-Designate of the Corporate Services Group at GenZero. She holds the role of General Counsel concurrently, where she provides leadership on legal support for climate investments, compliance and corporate governance matters.

Before GenZero, she was at Shell for around 13 years, where she was the lead lawyer for significant investments, assets and projects in the energy value chain which spans across the upstream, LNG, gas, downstream and decarbonisation space.

Ting started off in private practice, focusing on project finance and M&A work. She has broad in-house experience across industries such as IT, F&B, printing and hospitality.

Ting graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Laws and has been admitted to practice law in Singapore.

Arpinder SINGH

Global Markets and India Leader at EY Forensic & Integrity Services

https://ey.com/

Digital Transformation: How Is It Changing the Way APAC GCs Do Their Job?

Arpinder Singh has significant experience spanning over 25 years in multi-jurisdiction investigations, forensic accounting and dispute advisory in India, US, UK and other regions. As a trusted advisor, he has worked with corporates, regulators and law enforcement officials on many high profile and global investigations across diverse sectors. He has acted as an expert forensic accountant in several disputes and arbitration cases and has been consistently recognized as one of the foremost practitioners in the “Who’s Who Legal”.

He is a forensic accountant with significant knowledge of the law and one of the few experts in India who was an internal auditor, statutory auditor, financial controller, and leads forensic investigations. He is an ISO 37001 Certified Lead Auditor, Founder of the Mumbai Chapter of the ACFE, and Special invitee to the ICAI’s Digital Accounting and Assurance Board (2020-21).

Tanveen SINGH

Head of Legal & Data Protection Officer at IRD Global

https://ird.global/

Data Privacy: What Are The Key Challenges Facing APAC GCs?

Tanveen is an experienced legal counsel, with an expertise in technology. Having practised in law firms & corporate organisations, she has over 15 years of legal experience in structuring and negotiating deals, data protection, regulatory matters and compliance across industries in India, Singapore, Australia and Africa.

As Head of Legal & Data Protection Officer, Tanveen brings leadership and legal proficiency to IRD. She provides the strategic legal vision and capabilities to minimise risk, ensure compliance and data privacy management.

Benjamin SMITH

Country Counsel & Head of Legal, Singapore; Region Counsel, Greater Asia at HP, Inc.

https://www.hp.com/

Allen & Gledhill - Future and trend of ESG disputes

Benjamin is currently the Singapore Head of Legal and a Region Counsel for Greater Asia at HP Inc., a Fortune 100 company and one of the world’s largest manufacturers and providers of IT equipment and services. He oversees the legal affairs of HP in Singapore (where HP has its Greater Asia headquarters and one of its largest country presences outside the US) and also handles legal matters for other countries in the region such as Australia and New Zealand. In this role, Benjamin handles and advises on a wide scope of matters, ranging from contracts and negotiations with enterprise customers and channel partners to corporate governance, litigation, regulatory, HR, and integrity matters. Prior to this, Benjamin previously practiced for 7 years at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, specialising in commercial dispute resolution.

He obtained his Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Laws (with Distinction) from Georgetown University, during which time he spent a semester working in the Legal Department of the International Monetary Fund. Outside of his day job, Benjamin serves as the Vice Chairperson of the Law Society of Singapore’s Information Technology Committee and sits on the Law Society’s Artificial Intelligence Working Group. Benjamin is a member of the Singapore and the New York State bars.

Rajesh SREENIVASAN

Head, Technology, Media & Telecommunications at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

http://www.singaporeair.com

Rajah & Tann - AI / GenAI risk aspects and Disputes & Crisis Management concerning the Data and Digital Economy

Rajesh is a Partner and Head of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Law Practice at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and the Coordinating Partner for the firms’ multidisciplinary and cross-practice Data and Digital Economy (DDE) Legal Services. He is a Director and Co-founder of Rajah & Tann Technologies Pte Ltd and Rajah & Tann Cybersecurity Pte Ltd which are the Legaltech arms of Rajah & Tann Asia.

With over 20 years in practice, he has been universally recognised as the leading technology, media and telecoms lawyer in Singapore by all major professional ranking agencies and noted as one of the top TMT lawyers in the Asia Pacific region.

Rajesh has been at the forefront of legal, regulatory and policy matters relating to technology procurement, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data protection, analytics and governance, telecommunications, electronic commerce, cloud computing, distributed ledger technologies, digital forensics and digital media in the region.

Natasha SULAIMAN

Vice President Legal & Compliance at Singapore Airlines

Does every company’s dependence on software technology warrant greater involvement from GCs?

Natasha leads a team of highly motivated lawyers who advise on a wide array of legal and regulatory compliance issues at Singapore Airlines.

Before joining Singapore Airlines, she practised as a disputes lawyer at Drew & Napier and Morgan Lewis Stamford. She is listed in The Legal 500’s GC Powerlist: Southeast Asia 2022, and was a top 3 finalist in the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association’s Chief Legal Officer Awards 2022. Natasha holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the National University of Singapore.

Nerissa TAN

Head of E-commerce Legal SEA AUNZ at TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/

E-Commerce, Social Media & Digital Communications: The Rising Dominance Of The Virtual World From A Legal Perspective?

Nerissa is the Head of E-commerce Legal SEA AUNZ at TikTok. Together with a team of lawyers based across 7 markets, she provides legal and regulatory advice and commercial contracting support to the e-commerce business team.

Nerissa began her career as a commercial litigation and arbitration lawyer at global law firm Dentons Rodyk. She then moved in-house as as the first legal hire and regional senior legal counsel for foodpanda in APAC, and led the legal team across 11 markets.

Nerissa graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from Singapore Management University, and is qualified to the Singapore Bar.

Steve TAN

Deputy Head, Technology, Media & Telecommunications at Rajah & Tann Singapore

https://www.rajahtannasia.com/

Steve is a Partner and Deputy Head in Rajah & Tann Singapore’s TMT practice group. He has been recognized as a leading lawyer for TMT / data protection in the Asia Pacific Legal 500; the AsiaLaw Profiles; the Practical Law Company Which Lawyer; Chambers Asia Pacific Best Lawyers; Who’s Who Legal : Data. In Chambers Asia Pacific 2019, Steve received praise from a client who characterised him as a "truly dedicated and passionate TMT lawyer. His knowledge in data protection laws and understanding of policymaking are key. His wealth of experience in this area of law gives me the confidence that I have been advised by one of the best in class.”. In Legal 500 2019, Steve was cited as being “one of the gurus in the field of data protection”. Steve achieved top 10 in the Financial Times (FT) Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Award 2019. In Legal 500 2022, a client gave testimony that “Steve Tan has always displayed himself standing among the top of the data protection practice. His knowledge on the topic is immense and extensive, he is well-liked and trusted by his customers. His sense of professionalism and responsibility is at the highest level expected by any client.”. Steve was additionally picked as a top 30 individual practitioner worldwide for Privacy and Data Protection in Best of the Best Global Expert Guide 2019. In 2022, Steve was awarded ALB Asia’s Top 15 TMT Lawyers 2022. In 2023, Steve achieved ALB Asia’s Top 15 TMT Lawyers list. Steve won ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2023’s award of Data Privacy and Protection Lawyer of the Year.

Steve co-founded and is a Director of (i) Rajah & Tann Technologies Pte Ltd, a company that provides technical solutions to help organisations navigate the digital economy such as contract management, e-discovery, e-learning; and (ii) Rajah & Tann Cybersecurity Pte Ltd, a company specialising in cybersecurity and data breach incident response.

Steve is Adjunct Professor of the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore, teaching Privacy & Data Protection law.

Steve is an Asia Advisory Board member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Zhi Feng TAN

Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP

https://singaporeland.com/

Allen & Gledhill - The move to Web 3.0? Lessons from new technologies & their industries

Zhi Feng specialises in financial services regulations. His practice focuses on advising financial institutions on regulations affecting their business, and their relationship with the regulator.

He regularly advises banks, fund managers, broker-dealers, prime brokers, corporate finance advisers, market operators, payment services firms and insurers. He has experience in licence applications, the structuring of product offerings, the implementation of policies and processes, preparing client documentation, transactions involving financial institutions and regulatory investigations.

He also has expertise in the documentation of derivatives transactions, and advising on netting issues and collateral arrangements relating to derivatives.

Zhi Feng graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from the National University of Singapore. He also spent a year at Stanford Law School, where he was awarded an academic prize and several distinctions. He joined Allen & Gledhill after being called to the Singapore Bar in 2014 and has been on secondments with two major banks.

Welly TANTONO

Group General Counsel at Secretlab

https://secretlab.sg/

The APAC GC: What Are the Biggest Challenges Today?

Welly Tantono is the group general counsel and interim head of cybersecurity for Secretlab, one of the top global brands in esports. She honed her legal skills in New York, California and Singapore, handling bet-the-company IP litigations and advising high value, complex M&A and capital markets transactions. As in-house counsel, she partners with the business teams to successful growth in complex legal jurisdictions and to streamline processes for increased operational efficiency. Welly’s interest in cybersecurity has led her to serve as a lecturer at the National University of Singapore on the legal aspects of cyber security. As a a commissioner of PT Steel Pipe Industry of Indonesia (SPINDO), a publicly listed company on the IDX, Welly works closely with SPINDO’s ICT team to ensure a disciplined security-focused implementation of their digital transformation journey.

Hwee Ping TEO

Head, Legal & Company Secretary at Singapore Land

Managing the Legal Team: What Should Be the Most Influential Factors in Hiring, Terminating & Promoting?

Hwee Ping is responsible for the legal, corporate secretarial and compliance functions of the Group, and is also its Data Protection Officer. Prior to her current role, she was SingLand’s Assistant Company Secretary. She built her experience in dispute resolution when she practised as a litigation lawyer and also in her role as business development director at an international maritime arbitration centre. Hwee Ping is actively involved in the Group’s corporate social responsibility initiatives and is passionate about advancing women empowerment, gender equality and sustainability.

Hwee Ping holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law (Second Class Upper Honours) from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.

Melissa THNG

Senior Partner at Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP

Dentons Rodyk - The new economy of digital assets: Opportunities, challenges & solutions

Melissa is a Senior Partner in Dentons Rodyk’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Arbitration practice, and Co-Head of International Trade. Melissa specialises in cross-border, trans-national litigation and arbitration, and has a particular interest in disputes involving novel or complex issues.

Her practice covers a diverse range of industry sectors, including energy and projects, international trade and commodities, aviation, digital assets, blockchain and technology and construction. She has also advised both private and public sector clients on regulatory matters and sanctions. Melissa regularly conducts seminars and workshops on international arbitration, and in 2014 was invited to be a part of the inaugural YSIAC Committee (formed by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre to promote international arbitration amongst practitioners under 40 years old). In 2019, she was named one of Singapore’s 20 most influential lawyers aged 40 and under by the Singapore Business Review. In 2023, she was recognised as one of Asia’s 40 under 40 by Asian Legal Business.

Sheng Rong TNG

Partner, Commercial Litigation at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Rajah & Tann - AI / GenAI risk aspects and Disputes & Crisis Management concerning the Data and Digital Economy

Sheng Rong specialises in complex commercial disputes in the intellectual property, technology and digital practice areas.

He is frequently engaged to act in challenging and significant disputes in these various areas. He acted in Riot Games v NetEase, a multi-jurisdictional dispute involving breach of copyright in a global eSports video game franchise before the Singapore International Commercial Court, which was named the “Impact Case of the Year” at the asialaw Awards 2023. He also acted in the landmark breach of confidentiality case of I-Admin (Singapore) v Hong Ying Ting before the Singapore Court of Appeal, which was named the “Impact Case of the Year” at the Managing IP Asia-Pacific Awards 2021.

Sheng Rong was recently named as one of “Asia’s Super 50 Disputes Lawyers” by Asian Legal Business 2023, and one of “Singapore’s Most Influential Lawyers Under 40” by Singapore Business Review 2023.

Prior to joining the firm, Sheng Rong was a Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, where he was a founding member of the Technology Crime Unit, tasked with investigating and prosecuting technology and cyber crime.

Jia Yi TOH

Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP

https://www.microsoft.com/

Allen & Gledhill - Shaping Tomorrow’s AI: Legal and Policy Insights into Generative AI Regulation

Jia Yi is a Partner in the Firm's Intellectual Property, Litigation, International Arbitration, and Cybersecurity & Data Protection Practices.

Jia Yi's main areas of practice are commercial litigation and international arbitration, with a specialisation in contentious and non-contentious intellectual property matters involving patents, trade marks, copyright, designs, domain names and confidential information.

She has represented clients in a wide range of commercial disputes, including contractual disputes, IP and technology disputes, shareholder disputes and breach of directors' duties, and employment disputes. She also regularly advises on regulatory issues. Apart from her commercial practice, she has niche expertise in public and administrative law, having advised and acted for both statutory boards and private corporations in matters of judicial review and ministerial appeals.

Jia Yi joined the Firm in 2011 and was an Associate at the Firm until 2015. She then spent two years with the Singapore Legal Service, where she was posted to the Ministry of Law. In her position as Assistant Director and Deputy Counsel for Parliamentary Affairs, she undertook law reform and legal policy work. She rejoined the Firm in 2017.

Jia Yi is a Council Member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb), and currently serves on the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Singapore Arbitration Group Core Committee and the Beihai Asia International Arbitration Centre (BAIAC) Committee. She is actively involved in the Law Society of Singapore as a founding member of the Women in Practice Committee. She is also a Member of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and an Accredited Mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre.

Jia Yi graduated from the University of Cambridge with a B.A. (Hons) degree in 2011, where she won several university prizes including the Norton Rose Prize for Commercial Law. She is a tutor for the Preparatory Course leading to Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations.

Barbara TSAI

Assistant General Counsel, Asia Head of Compliance at Microsoft

Generative AI: What Are The Current And Future Implications For APAC GCs

Barbara has developed deep expertise with regulated financial service and tech entities, in the areas of regulatory compliance, Financial Crime Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC), internal investigations and general compliance matters. She started her career with the U.S. Department of Commerce and also spent time in private practice advising MNCs in Asia on securities compliance, capital markets, employment law and FCPA compliance. Prior to her current role leading the Asia Compliance team at Microsoft, she was at UBS where she led the APAC ABC team and acted as Global Deputy Head of ABC. Since joining Microsoft, Barbara has enhanced her program of work and expertise across Compliance in technology and is a frequent speaker on Compliance best practices including third party risk management, effective internal investigation programs, Responsible AI and Generative AI in Compliance. Barbara is also deeply passionate about Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) and is an executive sponsor for DEI efforts.

Melisa UREMOVIC

Deputy Managing Partner at R&T Asia (Thailand) Limited

https://www.mapletree.com.sg/

Rajah & Tann - Cross-border digital trade in services and goods: Critical Legal Pain-Points – An ASEAN Review

Melisa Uremovic has more than twenty years’ experience in Thailand, representing multinationals in trade & customs matters, as well as in all aspects of their licensing and compliance requirements. She has a particular expertise in complex regulatory matters involving foreign ownership issues, antibribery, competition, and data protection, focusing on both compliance and investigations.

Melisa is one of a small number of attorneys recognised as a National Leader for Trade & Customs in Thailand by Who’s Who Legal in 2022 and 2023, noting that Melisa is highly regarded as “an excellent and seasoned trade lawyer” and “a very knowledgeable expert who possesses a sharp commercial mind”. She is also recommended as a Global Leader in the same category for the 2022 edition. According to The Legal 500, “…the team has a standout practice in trade and customs, where Melisa Uremovic is a name to note.” Who’s Who Legal also features Melisa as both a Global and National Leader for Competition in 2022 and 2023.

Chambers and Partners (2020) also lists Melisa as a Recognised Practitioner for her work in Technology, Media and Telecoms, noting that Melisa “is respected for her expertise in this space, including for telecommunications and data privacy issues. She is also well versed in regulatory matters related to e-commerce.”

Tunggul Purusa UTOMO

Partner, Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions & Banking & Finance at Assegaf Hamzah & Partners

https://www.ahp.id/

Rajah & Tann - Legal & regulatory issues to consider when investing in tech companies

Tunggul has 20 years of legal experience and focuses his practice on capital markets, general corporate and M&A, and banking and finance. He regularly advises domestic and international companies across a variety of industries, including natural resources, energy, financial services, telecommunications, and private equity. In the capital markets sector, Tunggul’s reputation continues to grow, supported by his excellent track record in initial public offerings and bond issuances.

Tunggul has played a key role in a variety of transactions for AHP’s retainer clients, such as private equity houses Recapital (acquisitions, financings and refinancings, and asset disposals) and Northstar Group (acquisition), the Indonesian national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia (corporate and operational actions), telecommunication provider XL Axiata group (acquisitions), tower operator Tower Bersama Infrastructure Group (financing and corporate actions), palm oil plantation Provident Agro (corporate actions and acquisitions), petrochemical company Chandra Asri (acquisitions and debt refinancings) and the diversified Indonesian conglomerate Barito group (acquisitions).

Raj A. VASHI

APAC Head of Commercial Legal at Stripe

https://stripe.com/

Doing More with Less: Managing Outside Counsel, Alternative Legal Service Providers & Internal Outsourcing

Raj A. Vashi is currently the APAC Head of Commercial Legal for Stripe. Raj is responsible for building and managing a multi-jurisdictional team of lawyers that support Stripe's APAC Sales team. Together with his team, Raj negotiates billions of dollars' worth of cross-border payments processing and product agreements with Stripe's most strategic users while also building and scaling the APAC commercial legal team's infrastructure from the ground-up, including drafting template agreements, negotiation playbooks, and creating, deploying, and improving internal processes to maximize operational efficiencies.

A legal leader with over a decade of experience, Raj cut his teeth at both a white-shoe US law firm (Debevoise & Plimpton) and a magic circle UK law firm (Linklaters). His practice has taken him from New York City to Houston to Singapore, and along the way he has managed and closed complex cross-border transactions in both developing and developed markets, ranging from $10 million loans to rice farmers in Cambodia to billion-dollar energy financings in the Middle East. Raj has advised on several "first-of-their-kind" transactions, including the first ever privately placed green bond in Indonesia and the development of the world's first cross-border open architecture fintech platform aimed at fostering financial inclusion.

In his spare time, Raj enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons, sipping bourbon, and obsessing over the University of Michigan football team (Raj is a regular columnist for “MGoBlog.com”, one of the most visited sports websites in the U.S., with over 13 million monthly views).

Agnieszka VERLET

Head of Legal at SCVentures

https://scventures.io/

E-Commerce, Social Media & Digital Communications: The Rising Dominance Of The Virtual World From A Legal Perspective?

Agnieszka (“Agi”) Verlet is an expert digital transformation lawyer with almost two decades of experience. She is Head of Legal at SC Ventures, Standard Chartered Bank’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm.

Agi joined SC Ventures in September 2018 to advise on creation and legal structuring of new business models at the intersection of technology and finance. Since then she advised on creation and scaling of over 30 ventures in the space of digital assets, trade finance and e-commerce.

She previously worked with Standard Charted, HSBC and DLA Piper in various roles with a focus on payment systems, outsourcing, third party platforms, mobile wallets and new financial technologies.

Agi holds a Law Magister degree from Mickiewicza University, Poznan, Poland; a Masters in Management of Intellectual Property from Queen Mary University, London; and Master of Laws from London School of Economics and Political Science.

She brings energy and flair to discussions on the need for the law to reshape traditional safeguards and enable innovation.

Kwong Weng WAN

Group Chief Corporate Officer & Group General Counsel at Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd

The APAC GC: What Are the Biggest Challenges Today?

Apart from being a long-serving Board member and Vice-President of SCCA, Kwong Weng serves as the Co-Chair for SCCA’s Real Estate Chapter.

Kwong Weng is also the Group Chief Corporate Officer and Group General Counsel of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd, a real estate development and capital manager headquartered in Singapore. He takes charge of all legal, compliance and corporate secretarial matters as well as oversees all of administration, corporate communications, human resource and sustainability functions.

Mr Wan is called to the Singapore Bar, where he was awarded the Justice FA Chua Memorial Prize, and is also on the Rolls of Solicitors (England & Wales). He was conferred the Public Service Medal (PBM) in 2012 and Public Service Star (BBM) in 2017.

Mr Wan is also appointed as a Member of the Valuation Review Board since 2019. In addition, he is Secretary/Member of the SMU Advisory Board for the Real Estate Programme.

Charlie WARREN

Partner at Control Risks

Control Risks - Preventing investigations from escalating to crisis (case study simulation)

Charlie is the head of Control Risks’ business intelligence practice for Southeast Asia, based in Singapore. Charlie leads a team of regional experts who help support clients’ critical decision-making around potential partnerships, acquisitions, market entries and other commercial relationships and opportunities.

Charlie has over ten years of experience leading complex intelligence-driven assignments in Southeast Asia on behalf of clients with interests a number of sectors, including financial services, manufacturing, energy, FMCG, construction, real estate, and technology.

Prior to joining Control Risks, Charlie spent seven years based in the Philippines, mostly as the head of due diligence & investigations for a Manila-based US risk consultancy. In this role he oversaw the growth of the firm’s forensics and business intelligence teams.

Charlie has also worked as an independent journalist and political and security risk consultant covering Southeast Asia. He began his career in Rwanda and the DRC, combining project management work in the NGO sector with intelligence gathering for a number of UK-based risk consultancies.

Charlie studied at the University of Bristol, UK, where he obtained an MSc (Hons) in Development and Security, and a BSc (Hons) in Politics and Sociology. He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). He is a frequent speaker at industry events and has written a number of articles on risk management and political risk.

Steve WILFORD

Partner at Control Risks