SHRM NxT brings HR and business leaders under one virtual roof, setting forth an ambitious agenda for forward-thinking leaders across APAC. With talent becoming one of the most critical differentiator in today’s ever-changing business climate.
The talent landscape has transformed and Unleashing Potential is all about finding working methods and management techniques that work for your people. Gain practical insights on how to effectively unleash the human potential to create a steady pipeline of “Ready Now” candidates capable of moving into challenging roles of greater scope and responsibility.
Join SHRM NxT APAC to stay ahead of the Best People Practices and Strategies for growth by “Unleashing Potential” for Future Talent and to create new possibilities in the world of work. Get concrete and practical take-aways with a focus on transforming your organization and accelerating growth in the dynamic business environment
Get the SHRM Learning edge with relevant and thought – provoking sessions where leaders and experts with share their expert views
Virtual Expo to give exhibitors increased exposure
Invest in your learning with world class SHRM workshops
Thought provoking sessions with global leaders and experts
Forge new connections & grow your peer network
President & CEO, SHRM
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management.
With over 300,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world, impacting the lives of 115 million workers every day.
As a global leader on the future of employment, culture and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers and the workplace. He is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors a weekly column, “Ask HR,” in USA Today.
Mr. Taylor’s career spans over 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit space. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/Interactive Corp, Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and Blockbuster Entertainment Group, McGuireWoods LLC, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
He is a member of the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and was appointed by President Donald Trump as Chairman of the President’s Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He serves on the boards of the University of Miami, Jobs for America’s Graduates and the American Red Cross and as an adviser to Safe Streets & Second Chances. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Washington, D.C.
Co-Founder & Chief Spiritual Officer, The Ken Blanchard Companies
With a passion to turn every leader into a servant leader, Ken Blanchard shares his insightful and powerful message with audiences around the world through speeches, consulting services, and bestselling books. Universally characterized by his friends, colleagues, and clients as one of the most influential and compassionate leadership experts in the world, Ken is respected for his lifetime of groundbreaking research and thought leadership. In fact, few people have influenced the day-to-day management of people and companies more than Ken Blanchard.
When Ken speaks, he speaks from the heart with warmth and humor. No matter how large the audience, he is able to communicate with each person as if the two of them were alone and talking one on one. Ken is a sophisticated storyteller with a knack for making the seemingly complex easy to understand.
Dr. Ken Blanchard is the cofounder and Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Margie Blanchard, began in 1979 in San Diego, California. In addition to being a renowned speaker and consultant, Ken is a trustee emeritus of the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, Cornell University, and he also teaches students in the Master of Science in Executive Leadership Program at the University of San Diego.
Ken’s impact as an author is far reaching. His iconic 1982 classic, The One Minute Manager®, coauthored with Spencer Johnson, has sold more than 13 million copies and remains on bestseller lists today. In the past three decades he has authored or coauthored 60 books whose combined sales total more than 21 million copies. His groundbreaking works-including Raving Fans, The Secret, and Leading at a Higher Level, to name just a few—have been translated into more than 42 languages. In 2005 Ken was inducted into Amazon’s Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time.
Ken has received many awards and honors for his contributions in the fields of management, leadership, and speaking. The National Speakers Association awarded him its highest honor, the Council of Peers Award of Excellence. He was inducted into the HRD Hall of Fame by Training magazine and Lakewood Conferences, and he received the Golden Gavel award from Toastmasters International. Ken also received the Thought Leadership Award for continued support of work-related learning and performance by ISA, The Association of Learning Providers.
Born in New Jersey and raised in New York, Ken received his master’s degree from Colgate University and his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from Cornell University.
Co-Founder, CoveyLink & FranklinCovey
Stephen M. R. Covey is cofounder of CoveyLink and the FranklinCovey Speed of Trust Practice. A sought-after and compelling keynote speaker and advisor on trust, leadership, ethics, and collaboration, he speaks to audiences around the world. He is the New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust, a groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting book that challenges our age-old assumption that trust is merely a soft, social virtue and instead demonstrates that trust is a hard-edged, economic driver. The Speed of Trust has been translated into 22 languages and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.
Stephen is also coauthor of the # 1 Amazon bestseller Smart Trust: The Defi ning Skill That Transforms Managers Into Leaders. Stephen asserts that trust has become the new currency of our world, and that having the ability to develop, extend, and restore trust with all stakeholders is the number one competency of leadership needed today. He passionately delivers this message and is dedicated to enabling individuals and organizations to reap the dividends of high trust throughout the world. Audiences and organizations alike resonate with his tangible, practical approach to trust.
Stephen is the former CEO of Covey Leadership Center, which, under his direction, became the largest leadership development company in the world. He personally led the strategy that propelled his father’s book, Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to become one of the two most influential business books of the 20th Century, according to CEO Magazine. A Harvard MBA, Stephen joined Covey Leadership Center as a Client Developer and later became National Sales Manager and then President & CEO.
Under Stephen’s leadership, the company grew rapidly and profitably, achieving Inc. 500 status. As President & CEO, he nearly doubled revenues while increasing profits by 12 times. During that period, both customer and employee trust reached new highs and the company expanded throughout the world into over 40 countries. This greatly increased the value of the brand and company. Within three years of being named CEO, Stephen had increased shareholder value by 67 times in a merger with then FranklinQuest to form FranklinCovey.
Over the years, Stephen has gained considerable respect and influence with executives and leaders of Fortune 500 companies as well as with mid- and small-sized private sector and public sector organizations he’s consulted. Clients recognize his unique perspective on real-world organizational issues based on his practical experience as a former CEO.
Stephen serves on numerous boards, including the Government Leadership Advisory Council, and he has been recognized with the lifetime Achievement Award for “Top Thought Leaders in Trust” from the advocacy group, Trust Across America/Trust Around the World.
Stephen resides with his wife and children in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains.
Executive VP & Chief People Officer, Booz Allen Hamilton
Betty serves as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) and a member of its Leadership Team. In this role, she oversees the people services functions and strategy for a global workforce of more than 27,000 people.
Since joining the firm in 2008, Betty has been instrumental to Booz Allen’s workforce transformation as the firm has deepened investments in innovation, advanced technology, and highly skilled talent and reshaped its portfolio toward mission-critical, high-margin solutions.
A pioneer in human capital strategy, Betty drives forward-leaning workforce initiatives with a particular focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), culture and change, holistic employee wellness, employee engagement, and technical skill building. She led a complete reimagining of the firm’s employee value proposition and executive talent management processes, as well as the reshaping of recruitment, retention, and development programs. Under her leadership, Booz Allen has received numerous awards and recognitions for its workplace, culture, employer brand, DEI, and more.
Her prior corporate experience includes VP, Human Resources at Fannie Mae (1993 – 2008) and several senior Human Resource positions at IBM.
Betty holds a Master of Science degree in Human Resources and Personnel Management from American University in Washington, D.C. and is SHRM-SCP certified. She is member of the Board of Directors for SHRM, a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and a founding member of Chief DC. She was recognized in 2019 as a Top 10 HR Exec to Watch by Washington Executive and in 2015 with the Activist Woman of Excellence Award by the National Association of Female Executive.
Co-founder & CEO, Leapgen
Jason Averbook is a leading analyst, thought leader and consultant in the area of human resources, the future of work and the impact technology has on that future. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Leapgen, a global consultancy helping organizations shape their future workplace by adopting forward-looking workforce practices and fast-innovating technologies personalized for their business. Prior to founding Leapgen, Jason served as the CEO of The Marcus Buckingham Company (TMBC). In 2005, he co-founded Knowledge Infusion LLC and served as its CEO until 2012, when the company was sold to Appirio. Earlier in his career, he served as the Chief Business Innovation Officer at Appirio Inc., where he led the HCM business. He has also held senior leadership roles at PeopleSoft and Ceridian Corporation. Jason has more than 20 years of experience in the HR and technology industries, and has collaborated with industry-leading companies in transforming their HR organizations into strategic partners.
CHRO & Advisor (Workforce Development), Singapore Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office
As the Chief HR Officer and Advisor (Workforce Development) for the Public Service Division (PSD), Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore, Peck Kem is responsible for professionalising HR in the public sector of 16 Ministries and more than 50 Statutory Boards.
She is also the elected President of the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI).
Prior to her current appointment at the PSD, she was the Senior Director for HR & OD for a not for profit organisation, The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) based in Geneva, where she was responsible for human resource, organisation development, legal, internal audit and corporate administration for its 15 global offices.
Peck Kem has the unique combination of experience, from quality engineer to manufacturing manager to VP human resources in the private sector (Tandon, Western Digital, Hewlett Packard, Agilent Technologies & Avago Technologies), from a Divisional Director of National HR Division in the Singapore Ministry of Manpower in the public sector, to Senior Director ODHR in GAIN, to currently Chief HR Officer for Singapore Public Service Division. This combination has widened her perceptions in the private, public and NGO sectors, and enabled her to view leadership from both the Asian and European perspectives.
Peck Kem has a Masters in Human Resource Management from Rutgers University and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Nanyang Technological University. She is also a Chartered Companion of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and IHRP Master Professional.
CEO, Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP)
Mayank Parekh is the CEO of the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP).
IHRP is the national HR certification body, set-up in 2016 to professionalise and strengthen the HR practice in Singapore.
IHRP sets the HR standards of excellence through a range of nation-wide programmes such as the IHRP Certification, Human Capital Diagnostics Tool and Skills Badges. Its mission is to develop HR to be a strategic enabler of business transformation. IHRP also works closely with government agencies to foster a vibrant HR services eco-system to drive innovation and change.
Mayank has over 30 years of experience in regional, global HR and general management roles in both the public and private sectors.
Country HR - MD, Accenture Philippines
Ira is the Country Human Resources Managing Director of Accenture in the Philippines. In her role, she oversees the full spectrum of human resources strategy. She leads the people and culture agenda for the Accenture business in the Philippines. Ira and her team ensures that talent and leadership priorities are aligned with Accenture’s growth ambition.
Ira has more than 30 years of experience in human resources and organizational development. She started her career as a training associate at Caltex Philippines, and since then, assumed roles with increasing responsibilities. Among her career highlights was being Unilever’s HR Director for Southeast Asia and Australasia of Global Marketing. She has also held key HR roles with DHL, Coca-Cola, Caltex and Philip Morris International, Philippines.
Ira considers herself a full-time wife and mom. Outside work, she enjoys long drives, culinary arts, yoga, and golf. Ira and her husband, Dan, are blessed with three children, Monica, Miggy, and Miko.
Global Business Development Officer, SHRM
Nick Schacht is a highly experienced executive with more than three decades of experience in professional services, education, and corporate learning and development. He has a history of driving product innovation, growth and profitability, and he has led organizations operating worldwide.
Schacht is Chief Global Development Officer for SHRM, the world’s largest HR professional society. Before joining SHRM, he was the founder and CEO of KnowCyber, a learning and development company focused on improving the cybersecurity-related skills of people in all types of organizations worldwide. Prior to KnowCyber, he was President and Chief Operating Officer for PetroSkills, a provider of training and development services to the worldwide petroleum industry. Prior to that, he was CEO and President of Learning Tree International, a publicly traded provider of IT and management learning and development. Schacht was also the President of Global Learning Systems, a start-up focused on e-Learning and digital content. He served in a variety of capacities at ESI International, culminating in his role as President when ESI was sold to the Institute for International Research (IIR) and then as Group President for the Americas for IIR. He has been a Research Fellow at the Logistics Management Institute, and began his career as a U.S. Navy Supply Officer, on the headquarters staff of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.
Schacht graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy, and holds Master’s degrees in Administration from the University of Maryland University College and Information Systems Technology from The George Washington University.
Chief Knowledge Officer, SHRM
Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Knowledge Officer leading operations for SHRM Certification, Research functions, SHRM's Paragon Labs, and SHRM Foundation. During his career, he has led numerous global business initiatives with the aim of unleashing human potential through evidence-based management. His works have been published in top peer-reviewed journals and he has published several books including The Price of Pettiness, a guide to enhancing workplace culture. His works have been recognized by groups such as the American Psychological Association for their contribution to real-world issues having received more than $10 million in research funding from well-known foundations. Dr. Alonso serves as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington. Dr. Alonso is a Fellow of the Society of Industrial & Organizational Psychology, Division 14 of the American Psychological Association. He received his doctorate in industrial-organizational psychology from Florida International University in 2003.
CEO, SHRM India, APAC & MENA
Achal Khanna is the CEO for SHRM India, APAC & MENA. SHRM India is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), which is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management with more than 3,00,000 HR and business executive members in 165 countries.
Achal is responsible for leading the India operations of SHRM, as well as Asia Pacific operations including Middle-East. She serves on the global SHRM Leadership Team and is responsible for building the brand, expanding its business and developing professional relationships with government agencies, and other HR and business associations in the region.
Achal has over 30 years of work experience. Prior to joining SHRM, she was Managing Director for Kelly India operations; Vice President for GE; and Country Manager for Polaroid India. She has also worked with Dupont, ITC and Cosmo Group in various capacities.
She is a recipient of the “Best Women Executive in India” award.
Achal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics; a Master’s Degree in English Literature and she is an MBA from Delhi.
Workforce Diversity Director, Google
Sally Hornick Anderson, SHRM-SCP, is the Workforce Diversity Director at Google, leading a team of Diversity Business Partners, Diversity Program Managers, and Retention and Progression Consultants. Prior to this role, she was the Director of the Americas Organizational Development Practice. Sally also was the Head of PeopleDev in the Global Business Organization, and worked with Sales teams as a HR Business Partner for 10 years at Google and DoubleClick.
Sally started her career with Human Resources at Hyatt Hotel's Corporate Office. She graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management.
She is a member of the SHRM Board of Directors and is a three term past President of Chicago SHRM.
The Penn State Alumni Association recognized Sally as the 2005 Recent Alumnus of the Year, and as the 2016 Outstanding Alumni Council Member. The Illinois Diversity Council recognized Sally with the "Most Powerful & Influential Women Award" in April 2016. Crain's recognized Sally as a 2020 Notable Leaders in HR.
Sally has lived in the Chicago area for 20 years with her husband and their three children.
Chief Learning Officer, Singapore Institute of Management
Dr. Kevyn Yong is Chief Learning Officer at the Singapore Institute of Management. His areas of expertise include creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership, with a focus on design thinking, strategic leadership, leading change and digital transformation. He has delivered customized leadership and innovation programs for many corporate partners, including Amazon and ATOS in France, eBay and Nike in China, and Danone, Deutsche Bank, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and the United Overseas Bank in Singapore.
Prior to joining the Singapore Institute of Management, Dr. Yong was an Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at ESSEC Business, and also served as Dean of ESSEC Asia-Pacific, Academic Dean of ESSEC Asia-Pacific, and Associate Dean of Executive Education at ESSEC Asia-Pacific. Dr. Yong was also Associate Professor of Management at HEC Paris and taught courses at Cornell University and the National University of Singapore. Recognized for teaching excellence, he has been awarded the Pedagogy Innovation Prize by the HEC Foundation in 2011 and making the Dean’s Honor roll at the S.C. Johnson School of Management at Cornell University in 2005 and 2006.
Dr. Yong received his Ph.D. in Management and Organizations from the S.C. Johnson School of Management at Cornell University. He also holds undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from the National University of Singapore and a Masters degree in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard University.
Managing Partner - The Preparation Company, Co-Founder - MyLearningNFT
Hari Abburi is a leading global thought leader on agility and strategy. He is an internationally recognized global executive and consultant to Fortune 500 firms, mid-size enterprises and start-ups. Through his firm, The Preparation Company, he helps CEOs, Chief Transformation Officers, Chief Digital Officers and Chief HR Officers and their teams develop strategies to change faster than the industry curve. He is a board advisor to start-ups in US and Europe. His industry experience that spans 55+ countries is focused on M&As, Integrations, Start-Ups and Transformations includes executive roles with Hoerbiger, Aon Hewitt, Walmart JV, Baxter, Coca-Cola, GE and Andersen He is a member of the Los Angeles Business Journals Leadership Trust, Forbes HR Council, Fast Company Executive Board and an instructor for Caltech Future Skills Academy.
Co-Founder & Director, TLG
Melanie is specialist in Learning Solutions and passionate about researching and implementing latest and most relevant trends in the L&D industry. A learning professional at heart and an entrepreneur in my mindset, I just started a new venture along with two like-minded friends and colleagues. The Learning Gym is a platform for learning professionals to exchange ideas, discover new tools and stretch/build/flex their learning muscles.
Being the first Kirkpatrick Certified facilitator in India, I effectively assists individuals and organizations in building memorable learning experiences linked to performance. I firmly believe in creating learning solutions that are guaranteed to deliver results. I am also one of the early adopters of Accelerated Learning, a methodology that has been proven to deliver effective learning, saving time and money in the process.
My tryst with training began with my award-winning thesis, “Managing Cultural Differences - A Key to Successful Offshore Collaboration.” This led me to joining a Bangalore-based offshore product engineering company. After a three-year stint in International Sales and Account Management, I moved to training & development and started building bridges between companies and people around the globe. I am also a frequent lecturer for Cross Cultural Teamwork, Communication and Negotiation in France, Germany and Switzerland.
I grew up in the tri-national area of the Upper Rhine and received my degree in International Business Management through a four-year course conducted in the three neighbouring countries of Germany, France and Switzerland.
My belief: "People need to enjoy their work just like they enjoy the other aspects of their lives. Life is too short to do anything but it. With the help of facilitation, I want to contribute by equipping people with the skills and mindset shift to enjoy work and excel at it while having fun."
General Manager, HR, Microsoft Asia
I am fortunate to be working with a team of 30,000+ talented individuals along with hundreds of innovative teams to empower companies and people across this region to thrive in today’s digital world.
At Microsoft, we believe our work is not just about technology, but about how technology helps humanity. I’m focused on making Microsoft an exceptional destination for employees to work by encouraging curiosity, passion for learning and drive to make a difference.
Since the start of my Microsoft journey, I’ve had the privilege to work across every major time-zone, based out of: Dubai, London, Toronto, Beijing, and now Singapore. I’m passionate about global thought leadership, talent inclusion and the development of exceptional leaders.
Outside of Microsoft, I’m driven by family, fun and adventure.
Deputy CEO & Group Director, Human Capital & Organisationa Development Group, NCSS
Dr. Fermin Diez is the Deputy CEO and Group Director, Human Capital and Organization Development Group of NCSS. Having rich experience in Human Resources, he held consulting, corporate and academic roles in organizations worldwide. He sits on the Board and chairs the Assessment Committee of the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) and on the PSD HR Talent Development Committee (TDC). He co-authored three books on Strategic Human Resources, Remuneration and HR Analytics and serves as adjunct faculty at Singapore Management University and Nanyang Technological University. Fermin is certified as an IHRP Master Professional (IHRP-MP)
Founder, Millennial Minds Pte Ltd
VIVEK IYYANI is the Founder of Millennial Minds Pte Ltd, and an Author of 2 books, Empowering Millennials and Engaging Millennials. He has been featured on regional media such as Channel NewsAsia and in MySingaporeStory covered by National Integration Council. He works with large organisations to build a Millennial-Friendly Employer Brand as well as with Institutes of Higher Learning to impart the future-ready skills for the workplace to the next generation. In his free time, Vivek works with youths and helps them to identify their Ikigai so that they can have a purposeful and passionate career. He is currently writing his next book, Millennial Leaders which will be out in 2022.
Senior Director, Strategy, People & Organization GovTech, Singapore
D N Prasad is an Executive Coach (PCC, International Coach Federation), transformational HR Leader, Mentor/Advisor and a Talent & Culture Strategist, with expertise in leading scaled transformation, building and scaling Organizations & functions (in-country, region and global) and shaping & nurturing cultures and careers. Prasad was conferred as a Master Professional by the Institute of Human Resource Professionals(IHRP), Singapore in November 2019, and, is one of the 27 HR leaders with this recognition.
DNP, as he is known in the professional circles, is currently Senior Director for Strategy, People and Organization with Government Technology Agency(GovTech), Singapore and is a Public Service Coach, with the Public Service Division, Singapore Government. Prior, he founded Noetic step, an Executive Coaching and Talent Advisory practice, working with leaders and organizations, globally. In his last corporate stint, he served as Director and Head of Google People Services for APAC and as a Leadership Coach, at Google Inc.
His progressive career leadership experiences spans seven and a half years with Infosys (where he was the global head of early career hiring, campus relations and HR Operations) and more than a decade with Google. He also brings extensive experience with coaching (in-market, regional, functional and ambassadorial) leaders across APAC, Middle-East, India and US, across a range of industries - Technology/Digital, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Transport, Consulting, Media, Insurance, Healthcare, Education, SMEs and start-ups.
He serves on the Advisory board for a Bespoke HR Solutions company, on the Board of Management Studies of T.A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal - India and as a member of The Professional Practices Committee for IHRP, Singapore. He is also an invited member of the Forbes Coaches Council.
Founder & CEO, Ignite Global
Master storyteller, passionate educator and trend translator, Kim Seeling Smith helps organisations move from disruptable to indestructible in the post-pandemic world.
Kim is a leading Future of Work Expert. She has literally had a seat at the table with Richard Branson, was named a Top 101 Global Influencer on Employee Engagement, wrote THE how to guide on 1:1 employee check-ins, Mind Reading for Managers, and co-wrote a book with mega author Brian Tracy. You will frequently see Kim on The Today Show and in Forbes, the AFR and the SMH.
CEO, MicroSourcing & Beepo
Haidee is the Chief Executive Officer of MicroSourcing and Beepo, representing the largest and leading provider of managed or hosted offshore services in the Philippines. Prior to this, she spent 20 years in the HR profession, most recently as Chief People Officer of one of the biggest outsourced customer experience providers in the world.
Haidee is recognized as one of the handful of Filipino BPO professionals who have made a distinction in the local, regional, and global stage due to her professional track record and active involvement in initiatives to uplift the practice of people and business management in the country.
She is an alumna of the Harvard Business School, and in 2017 was awarded the distinction “People Manager of the Year” by the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP).
Chief Research Officer, i4cp
Kevin Martin is the chief research officer at the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp); the leading research firm focused on discovering the people practices that drive high-performance.
In addition to guiding i4cp’s research agenda and deliverables, Kevin also advises corporate and human resources leadership teams on best- and next-practices in a broad range of topics that range from talent risk management and corporate culture, to human capital strategy and organizational agility. He also serves as executive sponsor of i4cp’s distinguished Chief HR Officer Board.
Prior to i4cp, Kevin worked for several years at research firm Aberdeen Group where he built one of the industry’s leading human capital management (HCM) research practices and then held a variety of roles of increasing responsibility which included SVP of Research Operations with general management oversight of the company’s 17 research practices, and SVP of International Operations where he led the firm’s expansion efforts in to Europe.
A highly sought-after international keynote speaker on all aspects of human resources and talent management, Kevin has been recognized as a “Top 100 HR Influencer to Follow on Twitter” by Witty Parrot and a “Top 100 HR Influencer” by HR Examiner. His and his team’s research have been cited in leading business media, including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, CFO Magazine, CIO Applications, and on CNBC.
Kevin currently serves on the advisory councils for the University of Dayton’s school of business administration and school of engineering. He also serves on the board of advisors for Bullseye Engagement. From 2005 to 2014, Kevin served on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Massachusetts, which included a two-year term as board chairman (2009-2011). In 2006, Kevin was awarded the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s “Big Brother of the Year”.
Kevin earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Dayton. He resides in the Massachusetts with his wife (Laura) and their three sons.
Managing Partner, Global Training Transformation
As Managing Partner of Global Training Transformation, Susan is an internationally recognized Speaker, award-winning Talent Development Expert, and Author. In the last 20+ years Susan has spoken in over 40 countries on 6 continents, developed and trained over 500 workshops and helped over 150,000 people around the world transform their personal and professional lives.
Susan specializes in Training Architecture to improve the performance of people, custom designing programs in The Art of Persuasion, Leading with Emotional Intelligence, Managing Generations in the Workplace and, Resilience, to name a few. She has worked with such organizations as Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Philips, Medronic, and SABIC to design global training programs that raise individual and organizational performance. Her experience ranges from Healthcare, Medical Devices, Banking, Mining, Pharma, Timber, Oil & Gas as well as training the Ministers of several foreign nations.
Susan is an Instructional Designer and Master Trainer. Global Training Transformation’s programs have won the CSTD Gold Award for Excellence in Training (Vendor Category) as well as having a Leadership Program custom designed for a Central Asian client named as one of the top 5 Leadership programs in the world by HR.com
CHRO, Singapore University of Technology & Design
Dr Jaclyn Lee is currently the Chief Human Resource Officer for the Singapore University of Technology and Design. She has over 25 years of HR experience and is viewed by the community as a thought leader in the areas of HR Technology and Analytics. Her diverse HR experience hails from senior HR roles held in manufacturing, social services, education, high tech and the security industry. She also has international and regional HR experience having worked in three large global firms such as General Motors, NEC Corporation and Certis.
In 2019 she received the Public Administration Medal (Silver) for her contributions to Education.
Jaclyn has a PhD from University of Twente, Masters in both Business and HR and a BSc in Psychology.
Former CEO, Citibank
Sanjeev Nanavati is a successful CEO, leader and banker with deep Asian experience. As a senior line executive and advisor to banks, companies and C-suite executives he has consistently improved bottom line results and built high performing teams.
Sanjeev was a senior advisor to the Asian banking practice of McKinsey & Co, a senior advisor to PwC in Malaysia, Vietnam and India, the longest serving CEO of Citibank in Malaysia and a senior executive at VP and OCB bank in Vietnam. He was also an Independent Board member and member of the risk and nomination committees of Minda Global-a publicly listed company in the field of education.
Sanjeev has direct line experience leading large and complex P&L's and as CEO has managed over 6,000 people. His corporate finance and strategy skills allow him to act as a trusted advisor to companies across a range of industries. He has developed a unique group and individual based leadership development framework, which has generated impressive results helping senior executives to improve their performance in a very tangible way.
As a banker, Sanjeev has experience across Retail, Corporate and Investment Banking covering risk management, transaction banking, treasury, retail banking, wealth management, credits cards and mortgages, capital markets and M&A. Functionally, Sanjeev has experience in strategy formulation and execution, sales and product management, creating differentiation, hiring and selection.
His operating breadth is unique. Sanjeev has deep Asian experience, extensive senior contacts across the region and has done business in every major Asian country (most recently Vietnam). He has also lived and worked in the US done business in Europe and Latin America.
Sanjeev has contributed articles for the Business Times, Singapore on senior management issues and was elected President of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce three times for a total of six years.
Sanjeev has an MBA from the Whitman School of Business, Syracuse University in the US.
Vice President, Malaysian Employer Federation
Spanning over two decades of career in different industries, I comes with a wealth of professional insights. During my tenure, I have taken on assignments in Switzerland, South Africa and the Philippines before returning home to Malaysia in 2014.
I graduated with Bachelor in Business Studies (Human Resource Management) and completed business and leadership programs by Cambridge Judge Business School, Oxford Said Business School, INSEAD and IMD. I have been awarded four global professional certifications, namely HRCI-HR Management Professional, HRCI-Global HR Professional, SHRM-Senior Certified Professional and Global Remuneration Professional.
I attained an international recognition when I were conferred the "Upcoming Personality in Islamic Finance 2017 " award at the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) 2017 held at the Kazakhstan and “CHRO of the Year” award at the World HRD Congress 2018.
Presently, I am the Vice President of Malaysian Employer Federation, and strongly advocates leadership excellence initiatives for the younger generation of workforce.
CEO, PM Consulting
Engelbert “Gilbert” T. Camasura, FPM, MBA is a seasoned business and people leader known for his great passion for people. He is an advocate of #advancingHR and #transformHR in the Philippines in order to create better workplace and workforce ready for the future of work.
Gilbert has more than 25 years of experience in strategic people and business management. His areas of expertise include human capital management solutions and talent acquisition among other HR functions. Gilbert is the Chief Executive Officer of PM Consulting, partner of SHRM in delivering programs in the Philippines; also, the Chief Take IT Forward Officer of HRTX, Inc. an enabling HR + Technology consulting company in the Philippines. His vision is to support people become better and challenge organizations transform to future-ready state through HR + Tech resources.
A graduate of Behavioral Science from the University of Santo Tomas; pursued education through an Executive Leadership Program at IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and in New York, USA. In addition, he completed his certification in Talent Management Certification with Penn State University, USA. Gilbert completed his Global MBA Program at Aden University, Miami, Florida, USA with highest honor – Summa Cum Laude. He has also been conferred the honor of being a Fellow in People Management (FPM), the Society of Fellows in HR. His dedication to advancing HR has earned him a seat as a member of the Board of Advisers in the Human Resource Management Program at the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde.
Gilbert held strategic HR roles with local and global companies in the Philippines mostly at start up stage where he developed and introduced programs for HR that were aligned to business strategy. He has been supporting family-owned corporations to future-proof their organization through various people strategies. He has also conducted several learning sessions on talent management, workforce planning, HR Transformation, and other HR leadership development programs.
Those who know Gilbert have placed their trust and confidence in him because he believes that “People Matter” and that life is a continuous journey for learning and excellence.
CEO, Roffey Park Institute
Dr Robert Coles is the Chief Executive of Roffey Park Institute. He has been deeply involved with human development over many years, most recently as the Co-Founder and Chair of The Centre for Alternative Leadership & Management - Place of CALM™, an academic research collaboration, think tank and consultancy, created in response to the global financial crisis in 2007/8.
Previously, Robert has built three Executive Education practices and, in addition, was also the European Director for one of the world’s ‘next 4’ global audit and accounting organisations, leading a European organisation of 10,000 people and $1.6 billion in revenues.
Robert’s business background spans the fields of retail, the arts, financial services and HR and OD Consultancy and he has extensive international experience as a Mentor, Coach and Consultant, having worked with clients across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and USA.
Those clients have offered a wonderfully diverse set of challenges, encompassing top team development, major global change programmes, mentoring CEOs and other C-Suite executives, as well as cross-cultural consulting and education. A particular focus over the last decade has been researching and consulting with international joint ventures in the civil engineering and utilities sectors in Europe and USA, using action research to design organisational practices that enable effective and timely delivery of high-value, high-complexity infrastructure projects.
Robert is a graduate of Oxford and Leicester Universities in the UK. His Ph.D. research was in Collaborative & Confucian Leadership, and his post-graduate degrees are in Cross-Cultural HRD, and Organisational Leadership. His continuing research interest is in Collaborative InterCompetence©, exploring collaborative behavioural mechanisms for promoting interdependent leadership and management, using AI tools.
His approach to organisational change is that we should understand ourselves as part of ‘between-person’ social networks. He argues against the individualist, ‘leader as hero’ approach as both outdated and dangerous. Leaders and managers must and can be both inclusive social contributors and champions of business success.
CHRO, S P Setia Berhad
Nadiah comes with more than 25 years of HR expertise, with focus on Organizational Development and Change Management. Her experiences span across both local and Fortune 500 multinationals in various industries with local/regional and HQ roles, winning regional and global awards for her contributions. This has given her both breadth and depth of understanding for the business, and ability to connect business results through creative People strategies.
A graduate of BA International Relations from the UK, she has the advantage of looking at HR from a global and holistic perspectives. Her expertise lies in driving Change initiatives focusing on developing the optimum organizational structure, attracting the best talent using creative and strategic channels. She has been actively involved in creating positive and sustainable development platforms for enhanced talent capabilities and employee engagement for sustainability.
Her passion has always been in the work around Women and Leadership and has played lead roles within diversity advocate initiatives with TalentCorp (facilitating work with women agenda and flexible work arrangements including the future of work with companies working with TalentCorp), Advisor to Gorgeous Geeks and CyberJaya Women network and now leads the Talent Pipeline pillar for the 30% Club in Malaysia. A strong believer in Coaching and Mentoring. She is a certified Coach and an NLP Practitioner.
Her contribution has been highly accorded with recognition through a number of Awards; Women Leadership Achievement Award at the 2nd World Women Leadership Congress Award 2015 in Mumbai; she received the Top 50 HR Leaders Award (Malaysia) by World HRD Congress in April 2017; in August 2017, she was awarded the prestigious Asia HRD Award for her contribution to development in the HR Community; Nadiah was also honoured with the award of The Top 100 Global HR Leaders Award at the World HRD Congress 2018 in Mumbai; in 2019, she was awarded the HR Leader with CSR Initiatives at the Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards in Singapore; and most recently on 29 September 2020, she was awarded the Best HR Leader of the Year 2020 by HRM Asia.
Senior Director, Knowledge & Advisory Services, SHRM India, APAC & MENA
At SHRM India, Nishith leads a growing advisory practice focussed on enabling clients realize business goals though better alignment of people practices. He is focused on achieving business growth through effective execution of client consulting mandates for the whole practice in domains such as Vision & Values cascade, Organization Structuring, Performance Management System & other HR process design. In his stint in a corporate role, Nishith has worked with the Bharti group- as a part of the Organization Design and Talent Management team. Here – he worked on projects such as shared service design and implementation, manpower planning, and organization structure design and evaluation. Prior to working with SHRM, Nishith was with the HR consulting teams of PwC, ECS, and Aon Hewitt. Nishith holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and Organizational Development (MHROD), presently MBA-HRD, from Dept. of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi and is a certified practitioner of BIOSS tools and methodologies for organization design and leadership capability assessment.
Head of People Operations and People Systems, APJ, Workato
Choon Yen is the Head of People Operations and People Systems, APJ in Workato. She manages regional people operations with over 200 employees spread across 10 locations in 6 countries, and also helms the systems portfolio within the HR team. True to the Workato spirit of innovation and powering productivity, Choon Yen works closely with her colleagues to reimagine and (re)design HR workflow processes to ease the administrative burdens and increase productivity around talent acquisition, offer-to-new hire process, leave application, benefits administration etc. Using Workato (as a product) for Workato (as a company), these automation projects have allowed her team to keep 'People' as the centre of their focus, allowing them to engage with candidates and employees at a deeper level and bonding the burgeoning team.
Head Human Capital & Office Administration, Straits Trading Company
Based in Singapore, Mr Foo Chek Wee serves as the Human Capital Head with Straits Trading, an conglomerate-investment company with diversified operations and financial interests in resources, property and hospitality.
Previously, Chek Wee had served ten years in large companies, such as VISA Inc and American Express, as a country, regional and international HR Business Partner. Also, he had six years of HR experience blitz scaling startups, including Zalora, Riot Games and Oriente.
For his contribution to the HR profession, Chek Wee was honoured with the following accolades: Singapore’s LinkedIn Power Profile in 2015 and 2016; one of the four winners across APAC to be awarded the coveted Linkedin Conscious Business Award (APAC) in 2015; Captain of HR recognition by HRM Magazine in 2014; winner of Best HR Manager by HRM Awards in 2013.
Co-Founder and Director, The Learning Gym
With a background in psychology, Shilpa Subramaniam has been in the learning space for more than a decade. After having worked in multiple HR roles across sectors from manufacturing to architecture. Shilpa found her niche in designing and facilitating learning interventions. At “The Learning Gym”, a company which she co-founded, Shilpa addresses the different learning challenges faced by learning professionals in both the corporate and education sectors. She channels her years of experience in the Learning and Development field, into diagnosing, designing and facilitating learning interventions across the globe.
When it comes to the High Performance Learning Journey methodology, Shilpa believes that it helps create a paradigm shift in how we think about designing training programs by putting ensuring that every design element is performance and business focused. She has designed for and consulted with clients globally, implementing the HPLJ methodology to create robust and impactful leaning journeys which drive behavioural change which are business relevant.
Shilpa truly believes that she can help learning professionals stretch, tone and build their learning muscles.
Having lived and worked across continents, Shilpa enjoys immersing herself in different cultures and learning about the nuances of what makes the culture click. When she’s on a break from being a workaholic, she enjoys kick-boxing and running. Exploring local cuisines is a life-long obsession which Shilpa continues to nurture.
Managing Director & Group CHRO, Olam International
Joydeep Bose is the Managing Director and Global Head of Human Resources for Olam International Limited. Joydeep has been with the company since 2003, joining it at a startup stage to set up the Human Resources function. Over the years the function has played a key role in the expansion of Olam growing from a privately held company with 2500 employees to a publicly listed company with more than 40,000 employees. Headquartered in Singapore, Olam is a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed and fiber to 25,200 customers worldwide. Olam’s value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing, and distribution operations, as well as a sourcing network of an estimated 5 million farmers.
Joydeep has extensive experience in the Human Resources field having worked in industries such as chemicals, technology, food and agriculture. His expertise is in the areas of organization performance enhancement, transformational change, mergers & acquisitions. His earlier assignments included Human Resources consulting engagements with prestigious Fortune 100 companies in the US.
Joydeep plays an active thought leadership role in the Singapore human resources professional space. He has been a member of the HRD Workgroup of WDA, a Singapore government agency, working towards enhancing skills of Human Resource Professionals in the region. He was a member of the Singapore Ministry of Manpower’s HR Alliance and a member of Human Capital Leadership Institute’s CHRO Advisory Panel which comprises influential HR leaders from a wide range of industries. He is an invited member of the Educational Technology Alliance, a sub group of the Emerging Stronger Taskforce set up by the Government of Singapore to guide the country's economic recovery from Covid-19.
Joydeep has a bachelor’s degree in engineering and an MBA from XLRI, a premier Indian business school specializing in human resources management.
Founder & CEO, Produgie
Dr. Alison Eyring is the Founder and CEO of Produgie, a B2B SaaS building leadership capacity for better business growth. She is an award-winning author [Pacing for Growth (2017)], adjunct Professor at the NUS Business School, and serves on the Advisory Board to Shop Up in Bangladesh. In 2000, Alison founded Organisation Solutions in Singapore and led the business to become a global consultancy building growth leader, team, and organisation capabilities across 5 continents. In 2021 she spun off Produgie (www.produgie.com) to empower inclusive growth by offering premium growth leadership services as affordable, scalable pay-as-you-go products. With Produgie individuals and teams grow-in-the-flow of everyday work as their business scales growth capabilities. Alison earned her MA and PhD in Industrial/Organisational Psychology. Her domain expertise lies in large-scale organisation design and transformation.
Founder, OrgShakers
David Fairhurst is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading HR practitioners and is a respected thought leader, business communicator, and government advisor.
In early 2020, David founded OrgShakers - a global team of seasoned HR practitioners with extensive experience working in, and consulting with, leading organizations across multiple sectors. Combining a curiosity with novel AI- driven insights.
Relentlessly curious, OrgShakers seeks ways to combine their proven expertise with novel AI-driven insights to create innovative solutions to fuel sustained performance through the one asset that will always matter – People.
David's most recent role – Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer at McDonald’s Corporation – is one of the world’s largest HR and Training positions with oversight of almost 2-million employees in over 120 countries.
David is credited as one of the key leaders in delivering the company’s historic business turnaround, which saw the firm’s market capitalization rise from $93bn to$147bn in just 4 years. In doing so, he is one of very few HR leaders to have had the opportunity to deliver a truly global Cultural Transformation program at pace and at scale. A proven
‘Disrupter’, David combines hard data and personal intuition to challenge established thinking and ways of working.
For example, in 2014 the Financial Times reported his prediction that, within a decade, major global economies would be facing labor shortages on a scale which would impact business growth – a “workforce cliff”. This disruptive insight allowed McDonald’s and others to prepare for the challenges this presented - and it will be back.
Prior to joining McDonald’s, David was Group Manager for Organisation Development at H J Heinz; European Director of Recruitment and Leadership Planning at SmithKline Beecham (where he was part of the team which supported the merger to form GlaxoSmithKline); and Corporate HR Director at Tesco’s UK and International businesses where he also led the Global Talent function.
For four consecutive years David was voted ‘Most Influential Practitioner’ by HR Magazine, receiving their lifetime achievement award in 2012. He was also the first HR professional to be named ‘Business Communicator of the Year’ by the Institute of Internal Communications – a title previously awarded to leading business figures such as Body Shop founder Anita Roddick, and Virgin founder Richard Branson.
David earned his Bachelor’s Degree at Lancaster University and his Master’s Degree at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School which has recognised his ongoing contribution as a Visiting Professor with an honorary Doctorate in Business Administration. He also holds an honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from Middlesex University.
In 2011, David was appointed by the UK government to act as a Commissioner for the Commission for Employment and Skills – a role he held until the change of government in May 2015. Previously he had served as a Fellow of the Sunningdale Institute; a virtual academy of leading academics and thought leaders created to advise and advance public service. He has also advised officials and politicians at both the European Commission and the European Parliament.
David is a Chartered Companion of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development where he served for four years as its Vice President of Learning, Training and Development. He is also a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) whose mission t “create the conditions for the enlightened thinking and collaborative action needed to address today’s most pressing social challenges”. In the USA he graduated as a Fellow of the CEO perspectives program.
Born in 1968 in Wigan – an industrial town in the Northwest of England – David grew up as part of a family of retailers, and amongst his earliest memories are “helping out” in his grandfather’s grocery store.
He is married to Kara and the couple have two young sons, Emre and Ozan. David also has two grown up children – Thomas and Rebecca.
Strategist, Future of Work, Institute for HR Professionals (IHRP)
Adrian is the Strategist, Future of Work at IHRP, to better prepare Singapore companies for what is to come on the Future of Work through thought leadership and be the voice of leading topics and megatrends in human capital development.
He was a serial entrepreneur in the recruitment, career search, and HR consultancy space, leading to two HR Vendor of the Year awards, SHRI HR Entrepreneur award, and Global Recruiters Best Marketing award.
One of the Top Global Influencers in HR Tech by AIHR, Adrian writes extensively about the Future of Work on his blog and is the creator of Singapore HR Tech Market Map. He also interviews Future of Work enablers on his podcast – The Adrian Tan show.
An aspiring Youtuber and a struggling gardener, he is a father to four kids, a dog and a frog.
Chief People Officer, Pizza Hut Asia Pacific
Sanchita Singh is the Chief People Officer for Pizza Hut Asia Pacific, based out of Singapore. She is extremely passionate about building capability to fuel business results, driving diversity, equity and inclusion, and championing the organizational purpose and culture.
Sanchita has 25 years experience of leading the Human Resource function, across the entire Asia Pacific spanning industry segments from technology and manufacturing to financial services and retail. Over the years, Sanchita has led across business cycles from setup to consolidation, growth and restructuring, has managed significant leadership transitions and also worked with unionized workforce.
Sanchita started her YUM! journey in India in 2013, as Chief People Officer for the India Division managing all the 3 brands, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell with a mix of equity and franchisee markets. Prior to joining YUM! she worked with GE for 10 years, with her last role as the HR Head for GE Capital India. Sanchita had earlier worked for Ford Motors, TechBooks, Avery Dennison and TATA.
Sanchita holds a graduate degree from Delhi University and Masters in HR and Labor Welfare from Delhi School of Social Work.
Head of Group, People & Culture, IOI Corporation BERHAD
Bhuvanes is a versatile HR practitioner with over 20 years of leadership experience in human resources strategies and is currently the Head of Group People & Culture in IOI Properties Group overseeing all aspect of people strategy in the group’s various business segments. Bhuvanes had also held leadership roles in Sunway Hospitality Group and Sunway Integrated Properties among others. Bhuvanes started her career as a chemist and took a switch into the field of HR by chance after being persuaded by her mentor and has never looked back since. Bhuvanes strongly believes that one should not be afraid to take on the opportunities and challenges that life throws at you.
Director, South & Advisory Services, SHRM India & APAC
A passionate and multi-tasking business professional with over a decade of experience, Dedeepya handles the portfolios including Advisory, Research and Academic Partnerships catering to the regions of India, as well as APAC regions. She further also heads the South Region for SHRM India and is responsible for business development and consulting in the area of Human Capital Management. Prior to this, she has worked with Oracle India as HR Consultant. Her areas of interest include Knowledge Management, Diversity and Inclusion, Competency Assessment and Development, Organization Development, Research and HR Analytics. She has been involved in the project design, content generation and implementation of consultancy projects in the above areas. She is experienced in using Quantitative and Qualitative research methods for diagnostic purposes including identifying relevant variables, designing questionnaires and using various statistical methods for analysis. She co-authored papers/ book chapters in the areas of Diversity and Inclusion and further has contributed extensively to various articles / interviews in leading newspapers. Dedeepya is a Mechanical Engineer from Jawaharlal Technological University (Kakinada, A.P) followed by a MBA from Indian Institute of Science (IISc, Bangalore, India). She is a certified SHRM Senior Certified Professional ( SHRM SCP), Level -1 Hogan Assessor and is certified in Job Evaluation by KornFerry - Hay. Along with her work, Dedeepya is passionate about painting, dancing and sports.
VP HR, Coca-Cola Company
Shalini is a Strategic HR leader with strong business background with expertise in Talent Management, Succession Management, and Learning Development & Diversity. She has 20 years of experience in very diverse roles in business and HR. She is currently the Group Director for Talent & Organizational Capability for Asia – Pacific at Coca Cola. In her current role she is responsible for the HR Function for Africa with the focus on succession management, identification and development of the potential pool across the region.
Shalini started her career in technical design and then joined Schneider Electric in sales. Since then she has done varied roles in business- mainly Marketing, Strategy and HR at local, regional and global levels. Her last role with Schneider Electric was Director Talent Management – for APAC and Middle East.
She has a personal passion for coaching and bringing out the best in people.
HR Director, RHT Law Asia & RHT Group of companies
Jacqueline is the HR Director at RHTLaw Asia and RHT Group of Companies. She is also an Associate Faculty with the Design & Specialised Businesses Cluster, Singapore Institute of Technology where she teaches HR Management.
She brings with her over 13 years of HR experiences from various industries. She started her career in an operational role, progressed to managing clients before focusing on the back of house in the events industry. She is responsible for the full spectrum of HR functions including business partnering to affiliate offices in Singapore and the region. In her current role, she works closely with the C-suite business leaders, legal counsel and department heads to align & implement HR policies & strategies with business goals.
Group Chief People Officer, Ramsay Health Care
Mrs Colleen Harris commenced with Ramsay Health Care on 8 January 2018 in the role of Group Chief People Officer.
In this role, Colleen is responsible for the talent strategy for the Group including mapping of where key expertise will be needed in the future, talent development and succession planning for the most senior leaders across our organisation.
Colleen is a successful Human Resources (HR) executive with more than 20 years’ experience across a variety of industries where she was responsible for designing and implementing talent, diversity, performance and reward programs linked to both individual and business performance outcomes. She has served in several senior executive HR positions reporting to the Group CEOs of National Australia Bank, Federation Centres and MyState Limited. She has also held senior HR positions at Crown Ltd and Yellow Pages.
She holds a Bachelor of Education (Science) from the University of Melbourne, is a Member of the AICD and a Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute.
Colleen has been a member of Chief Executive Women (CEW) for over 10 years and is currently a member of the CEW Board and Chair of the Scholarships Committee.
In 2020 Colleen was appointed a Director of Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care, Ramsay Health Care’s joint venture with Sime Darby.
Chief People Officer, Intrepid Group Asia
Alex possesses close to a decade of deep marketing and HR expertise across both Fortune 500 Companies and smaller-scale startups in SEA. He currently heads the People function at Intrepid Group as Chief People Officer.
In his previous companies: Circles.Life and Grab, he’s built teams from scratch and led them to win HR awards for recruitment, culture, engagement and employer branding.
His passion in the tech sector has led him to lend his expertise as a Startup Advisor at one of San Francisco’s foremost full stack SaaS venture companies, GTM Venture Studio.
He is certified as IHRP-SP and SHRP-SCM, holds a Bachelors' Degree in Business (First Class Honours)from Nanyang Technological University, and a MBA from the Quantic School Of Business and Technology. He’s also a certified Professional Life Coach dedicated to helping others achieve their
HR Regional Director (Asia-Pacific), Dexcom
As an HR advocate, Michelle is on a journey and a personal mission to be a Mover of United, Synergized, and EnlightenedFilipino HR Professionals across the country.
Her advocacy includes being a significant part of the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP), the biggest professional association of HR Leaders in the Philippines. In 2018, she was elected as the PMAP National President and today she sits as a member of its Council of Presidential Advisers. Continuing her active participation in the industry, this year, she was elected as officer of the HR Council of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines.
With close to 30 years in HR, Michelle has experienced working in various industries throughout her career managing HR from country, regional, to global scope. Her developed competence are in the areas of Talent Management, Organization Development, Total Rewards, People Operations; HR Systems and Analytics, and Labor Relations.
Today, she is the Regional HR Director for Asia-Pacific at Dexcom, the leader in transforming diabetes care and management by providing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology to help patients and healthcare professionals better manage diabetes.
Listed part of the 2020 Top 100 Filipinos to follow on LinkedIn, Michelle was accorded in 2018 as Fellow in People Management (FPM) by the Philippine Society of Fellows; she also received citation from CHRO Asia as one of the 2014 Global 100 Most Talented HR Leaders and 2015 Top 100 Influential HR Leaders.
A certified MindGym, DDI Facilitator & trained Investors in People (IiP) Champion, Michelle has led various organizational transformation initiatives. One of which is the Gold IIP Standard Accreditation of SGS and achievement of Gawad Maestro Award as Organizational Champion for Workplace Learning & Development.
A Psychology graduate and recipient of Jose Rizal Academic Excellence Award from De La Salle University, an alumna of the Asian Institute of Management and DLSU-College of St. Benilde for her post-graduate certificates in Management and Organization Development, and a certified International HR Manager (CIHRM) by the American Certification Institute, Michelle never stopped to develop herself leading her to graduate from other various post-graduate programs.
CIO-Business & Technology Transformation Leader, United States Postal Service
A catalyst for industry-defining innovation, Pritha oversees one of the world’s largest technology infrastructures. With breadth and depth of expertise across a range of verticals, from marketing to technology, she has been tapped to steward critical change in every role of her career. Today she serves as the Chief Information Officer of the United States Postal Service, where she is working to re-envision and transform the enterprise for greater performance and innovation at scale.
Pritha currently is focused on modernizing the USPS CIO organization to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive market environment, overseeing an operation that processes more than 90 petabytes of data a year. Recognized for her political savvy in a public organization that must perform like a private company, she builds win-win collaborations in a highly matrixed environment. As Vice President of Information Technology at USPS, she oversaw the organizational restructuring and evolution to Enterprise Architecture frameworks that embrace Cloud/Edge, Event Streaming, DevSecOps, Machine Learning, and AI models to drive its strategic goals for industry-leading customer experience, team collaboration, and performance. Pritha broke through silos and significantly boosted cross-organization collaboration through the introduction of future of work platforms, a multi-cloud environment, and modern collaboration tools, as well as stewarded a new focus on highly-skilled technologists from IT generalists.
Prior to that, as Vice President of Mail Entry and Payment Technology, she transformed the USPS business enterprise and mailing industry. Pritha oversaw widescale product and service innovations for end-to-end customer visibility and evolution to a modern mail supply chain, including electronic manifests, verification, and payment systems contributing to an annual of more than $40B revenue, $200M savings, more than $100M short paid revenue capture, and boosting customer satisfaction from a low 70% to 96%.
Pritha has been honored with numerous awards, including recognition for superior achievement and the Postmaster General Award., as well as being named a Top Boss in IT by Fedscoop in 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgetown University. She is a Lean Six Sigma Executive Green Belt.
HR strategy expert, Facilitator and University Lecturer (University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City and Massey Unversity New Zealand)
Join this session to gain insights on the Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions for the HR in the Uncertain Time by Mai Nguyen , HR strategy expert, Facilitator and Lecturer at University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City and Massey Unversity , New Zealand)
HR Director & Country Site Leader, Experian
Chai Ping joined Experian as the Human Resources Director in their Global Development Centre in Kuala Lumpur in June 2017. In November the same year, she was asked to assume the role of Country Site Leader in Experian, providing overall leadership for the centre locally. Over a career that spans more than 20 years, she joined the “Big 4” fraternity in Consulting before her foray into HR, providing strategic direction and driving the people agenda with the business. During her tenure in Accenture, she was the Country HR Lead of Malaysia & Vietnam and subsequently became the Asia Pacific HR Business Partner for Accenture Strategy, rolling out the Accenture Growth Model where Accenture reorganised its global operating structures. She also played a key role in leading and managing Accenture’s International Women’s Day and was awarded Champion of the Accenture Global Inclusion & Diversity Excellence Award in 2013.
Prior to joining Experian, Chai Ping was the HR Director of Mondelėz Malaysia. In addition, Chai Ping is one of TalentCorp’s Diversity Advocates and has been featured in various publications and the media. She is a Member of the MIHRM National Council, Mentor for LeadWomen/Women In Leadership programme, Mentor for the APEC Women in Transportation Mentoring Programme and an Industry Adjunct Faculty for INTI International Universities & Colleges. In August 2017, Chai Ping was bestowed the Asia HRD - Contribution to HR Community Award 2017. In November 2018, she won TalentCorp Life At Work CEO Champion Award. Under her leadership, Experian became the recipient of the HR Excellence Awards 2019, Asia Recruitment Awards 2019. Most recently, Experian was bestowed the prestigious HR Asia Awards 2021 for the 5th consecutive year.
SHRM Advisor & Co-Founder, Salto Dee Fe
Rajan works in the area of Business Enablement and Leapfrogging Organisations to the next orbit of growth. His firm focuses on 4 practice areas - Talent Management, Organisation Transformation, Executive Search and Leadership Skilling. He and his team has cre-ated the revolutionary One Minute Feedback mobile application tool, Karma Notes.
Rajan has a rich and varied 28 years experience in Human Re-sources . He does cuNng edge Talent Management work with Marc Effron for Fortune 100 companies across the globe, closer home he is involved with Harvard Business Press, Stanford Seed and SHRM advising, consulting, teaching and coaching their clients.
For the past 9 years Rajan has been consulting, advising, training, coaching and launching organisations in their next growth orbit. He has worked with over 100 clients in varied sectors including Fortune 100 Global, Indian private and public sector companies. His clients seek his advice to solve complex Talent/ Performance Management issues, build robust Talent strategies and Transform Organisations.
Since 1992, Rajan has garnered his expertise through hard-won experience across multiple sectors – in manufacturing industry he worked with Eicher and Ballarpur Industries, in FMCG with Coca Cola, and in consul;ng with Eicher Consultancy Services (ECS), before geNng into financial services with Max New York Life Insurance (MNYL). He spent over a decade in the financial services industry.
In his corporate career, Rajan has been instrumental in seNng up HR functions, formulating the philoso-phy, strategy and policies of the function. He has specific expertise in the areas of Performance Man-agement, Compensation, Feedback & Talent Management. He has been instrumental in Transforming Organisations over the last 15 years. He regularly tweets and publishes on LinkedIn.
Rajan has been trained by Harvard Business Publishing in Case study methodology, DDI in Performance Management & Coaching, by SHL in OPQ Assessments. He is an international speaker, expert in the areas of Human Resources & Performance Feedback.
Rajan is Masters in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from Panjab University, Chandigarh. He is certified in Organisation Design from IIMB and in Behaviour Economics 101 from Rotman School, Toronto.
SHRM Representative & Master Facilitator, Singapore
CP is a current practising Senior HR Business Partner based in Singapore with almost 10 years of HR specialist and generalist experience in various industries such as Government, Banking & Finance, e-Commerce, Logistics and IT. Accredited as a HR practitioner in Singapore US, UK, Australia and Canada, CP has consulted with numerous clients from MNCs to SMEs in various HR areas and has designed and conducted training workshops in HR, business and leadership skills, as well as facilitated management meetings and strategic planning workshop. He has also been invited to speak at many HR conference in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar. He is currently providing HR advisory services to local companies under the Singapore Government programs for SMEs and serves as a volunteer board and committee member in two local non-profit organisations.
Head Retail & Customer Experience, SHRM India
An MBA graduate from the University of West London with over 14 years of work experience across India and the UK. She has been a part of the SHRM India team for over a decade has worked in the areas of operations, events, trade support, research, business development and strategic management across organizations such as J.P. Morgan, DHL UK and Market Probe Europe. She is currently heading Retail Products Pan India and drives Memberships, Certifications, Virtual Professional Development Programs and other key initiatives. She has also been an integral part in launching the SHRM Certifications across India and Bangladesh.
