Speakers

Moderator's Profile:

Experienced entrepreneur and seasoned leader with a passion for creating impactful businesses and products.

Speakers

Speaker's Profile:

Hugh is an entrepreneur with 30 years success leading ventures and building innovation communities around startups and corporations. He is currently CEO at JFDI.Asia and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at NUS Enterprise. Since 2012 Hugh has co-founded, mentored or invested in more than 70 startup companies. Hugh's Physics degree was sponsored by GEC-Marconi Research, where he worked on digital radar, radio propagation and home automation. This gave him the opportunity to train as a TV producer-director with the BBC's Tomorrow's World. Hugh left the BBC to found Narrateo, an independent TV production company. In 2001, Hugh co-founded Pembridge Partners a London-based investment and advisory firm. In 2009, Hugh co-founded JFDI.Asia. JFDI has also supported thousands of start-up founders through its outreach programs. Outside work, Hugh co-founded UAS - a UK education charity. Born a UK citizen, Hugh is now a Permanent Resident of Singapore.

Speaker's Profile:

Yanling Toh is a Regional Partnerships and Strategy Manager at Applied Materials. In this role, she scouts for, accelerates, and builds Applied Materials’ deep tech programs from the CTO office into the Singapore ecosystem. Through fostering partnerships in a vibrant innovation network of researchers, government organizations, venture investors and entrepreneurs, she finds purpose in developing strategic collaboration among multiple stakeholders. Yanling’s career has been rooted deeply in technology commercialization and in part, the associated legal documentation around innovation and partnerships. Her roles include program management in the public sector (A*STAR), to leading startups (from Singapore-Stanford Biodesign and as CEO to a deep tech startup NephTech), and corporate venture building, new business development and investments (Esco Aster and Applied Materials). She is trained in Mechanical Engineering and Commercial Law and Tech Transfer.

Speaker's Profile:

Vanessa is a senior legal associate at Openspace Ventures managing legal matters for Openspace and advising Openspace’s portfolio companies. She has worked in Singapore and international law firms, specialising in corporate matters with a focus on venture capital and private equity, cross-border mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. Vanessa holds a LLB in Law from the National University of Singapore.

Moderator's Profile:

Faith is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer with over 20 years’ experience helping clients successfully structure and negotiate corporate and commercial deals valued in aggregate at over US$30 billion. She is ranked as a leading corporate and commercial lawyer in Singapore and has a particular focus on venture capital transactions. Faith is Managing Director of FSLAW, a firm she founded and built it into a firm ranked among the top Singapore law firms for corporate work. FSLAW is one of the law firms on the VIMA 2.0 working group which helped to draft and settle Singapore’s model documents for venture capital transactions. Prior to founding FSLAW, Faith worked in top corporate law firms in Sydney and London as well as in-house as the first General Counsel of Aspen Pharmacare Australia.

Speakers

Speaker's Profile:

Calum has led innovation and digitalisation efforts globally, and has also advised governments around the world. Calum has a wide-ranging background that includes experience in central and local government, the private sector, civil society, and international development. He has drafted and led legislation, policy, and strategy to catalyse innovation; delivered digital infrastructure programmes; and shaped the development of numerous digital and innovation initiatives. Calum is also Co-Chair of the Digital Infrastructure Taskforce, part of the World Economic Forum’s G20 Working Group on Smart Cities. He is a Panel Member of the Mayor of London’s Infrastructure Advisory Panel, a Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy, and a Churchill Fellow.

Speaker's Profile:

Felipe is an accomplished global business and technology trailblazer with over two decades of experience leading, designing and delivering transformative business and digital strategies for startups and Fortune 500 companies – including Google and AWS. As both a visionary and hands-on pragmatic leader, he is respected in the technology industry as a catalyst for transformation, customer obsession and building high performing diverse teams. A truly international executive, Felipe has lived and led teams in Singapore, USA, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Portugal and Doha, and supported business development and led operations across North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Felipe is passionate about mentoring and promoting culture and diversity in technology. In addition to the Google Launchpad Accelerator, he has formally mentored and advised several startups in Asia and the US, in addition to being a board member.

Speaker's Profile:

Tan Szue Hann, MBA, MArch, is an award-winning architect, sustainability professional and business strategist in sustainable development. Hann is Head of Sustainability and Deputy General Manager, Sustainable Urban Renewal, at Keppel (Real Estate), Singapore. He is also the Chairman of Sustainability, Singapore Institute of Architects, the professional body for Architects in Singapore. He has also been Director of Sustainability Development and Engineering at Marina Bay Sands, Managing Director of Miniwiz, and Head of Sustainability at Surbana Jurong. Hann graduated with an M Arch and BA Arch (First Class Honours) from NUS, with a visiting fellowship to UCLA in 2007, and an MBA with Distinction from Northumbria University in 2022.

Speaker's Profile:

Thuy is a highly creative and passionate climate change activist and business entrepreneur. She actively participates in agricultural and tech startup development, as well as the establishment of both business and social enterprises. Thuy has successfully initiated new business ventures and sections for various organisations, including DECATHLON, Gophatdat.com, EURO-ASIA ISRAEL, MEKONG COCONUT OIL COMPANY, TRACE-VERIFY. Additionally, she volunteers her time to set up different NGOs such as SIVANANDA YOGA CENTER, MAI TAM HIV CENTER, AFT. Thuy is deeply motivated to address environmental issues through profitable business solutions on a global scale.

Speaker's Profile:

Zac is a Senior Principal with the Investment team at the Radical Fund, responsible for deal sourcing, conducting due diligence, negotiating and executing deals, and managing portfolio companies. He started his career with The Procter & Gamble Company learning to operate businesses before kickstarting his entrepreneurial journey cofounding Freshman, a D2C F&B company, scaling up to a chain of 7 outlets across Singapore. Post his graduate school, Zac joined EDBI, a strategic sovereign wealth fund of Singapore investing in global growth equity. Prior to joining The Radical Fund, Zac led the investment team at K3 Ventures, a stage-agnostic VC focused on backing and supporting high caliber founders across Southeast Asia and China. Zac holds a First-Class Honors in Bachelor of Engineering from the National University of Singapore, an MBA (with Distinction) from INSEAD, and is also a CFA Charter Holder.

Moderator's Profile:

In his capacity at the Public Sector Startups Asia Pacific & Japan team at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Tuan engages with startups, investors and partners in sectors such as healthcare, smart cities, sustainability, agriculture, digital government, space technology, etc. to help such companies scale through technology mentorship, community networks, and go-to-market support. Tuan is passionate about science and technology innovation for economic and social good. Prior to AWS, Tuan spearheaded various programs, such as an Open Innovation initiative that catalyzes corporate-startup collaborations across Asia, and the Deep Tech for Good platform showcasing startup solutions that contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Speakers

Speaker's Profile:

Fuji Foo is Chief Executive Officer at EVCo, the pioneer electric-Mobility-as-a-Service (eMaaS) provider in the region that focuses on accelerating decarbonisation with digitalisation and data. He is responsible for spearheading the development of the Electric Mobility-as-a-Service (eMaaS) ecosystem in ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand. As a trusted mobility decarbonisation partner, EVCo offers end-to-end e-mobility solutions ranging from the leasing and maintenance of electric vehicles, vehicle charging, green financing, and operational optimisation, all delivered through an integrated digital platform. Prior to joining EVCo, Fuji was Chief Digital Officer at Certis Group, Asia’s leading security services provider. During his tenure, Fuji played a key role in driving business growth through digitalisation and supported the execution of Certis’ key strategies with emerging technologies and new organisational competencies.

Speaker's Profile:

Mari brings extensive experience in internet business development across sales, marketing, market research, web production and product management functions for organizations including JEPICO Corporation, IMJ Corporation and Fourth Valley Concierge Corporation. She has also been involved in growing start-ups in the semiconductor industry. She has been CPO of noco-noco since October 2022 and the General Manager of the platform development team of 3DOM Alliance since April 2021. As CPO, she works closely with the Research & Development team and has overseen the development of the X-SEPA™️ battery technology. Prior to noco-noco, Mari has worked in domestic and international industries. Mari holds a Bachelor of Arts in international legal study from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.

Speaker's Profile:

Throughout his career, Tobias has actively contributed to various research and industry initiatives. His notable projects involve advising governmental agencies on Singapore's electric road transport system, developing concepts for micro-grids powered by intermittent energy sources and flexible loads, and harnessing Singapore's geothermal potential. As of October 2022, Tobias has taken on the role of coordinator for a groundbreaking TUMCREATE project focused on Singapore's journey to carbon neutrality. This initiative aims to devise innovative solutions for Singapore's low-carbon energy supply in the future. Tobias Massier's research interests encompass the integration of electric vehicles and renewable energies into the power grid, exploring future energy supply possibilities, energy systems and modeling, and conducting life cycle assessments.

Speaker's Profile:

Marc is the founder of Allotrope Partners and a recognized leader in the world of international emissions trading and low carbon finance. He has significant business development expertise and an in-depth technical understanding of the complexities of project development and the need for simplified and transparent procedures to enable large-scale investment. Marc has been involved in the global emission reduction economy since 1993 and co-founded EcoSecurities in 1997. He has served on the board of Verra (previously Verified Carbon Standard) since its inception in 2008 and chairs the Risks and Opportunities Committee. He is also on the advisory board of the Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, the London School of Economics, and the Claremont Graduate University.

Moderator's Profile:

Within SGInnovate, Jerry fosters collaborations and partnerships to develop the Deep Tech ecosystem in the sustainability and advanced manufacturing domains. His responsibilities include community strategies, nurturing networks, facilitating discussions, and devising impactful programmes. Prior to SGInnovate, Jerry was involved in strategic partnerships in the Singapore Institute of Technology, and catalysing energy R&D and deployments in the Energy Market Authority of Singapore. Jerry's educational qualifications comprise a Master of Science in Management of Technology and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, both obtained from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Speakers

Speaker's Profile:

Albert Solana is the Chief Business Officer at Qilimanjaro. Holds a postgraduate in Quantum Engineering (UPC), an MBA at ESADE & Stern NYU and a BSc in Computer Science (UPC). He developed his professional experience in the consulting business in innovative technologies. Currently focused on the software development for the quantum computers and design B2B services to let companies take the quantum benefits to their business processes. Qilimanjaro is a 2019 funded company that brings practical applications of quantum computing to the market in a shorter timeframe than digital quantum computers, by using a different but complementary model of quantum computation: the analog model.

Speaker's Profile:

Jing Yi is the Head of Operations and Business of Entropica Labs. She started her career with IBM and has held various roles in ASEAN markets on projects involving hardware and hybrid cloud platforms, high-performance computing, AI, Big Data and IoT software solutions for Industry 4.0. She was also an IBM Quantum Distinguished Ambassador and has led the Cognitive Solutions portfolio in Singapore. Jing Yi holds a physics degree from Imperial College London, where her final year research was on direct and indirect detection methods on identifying dark matter candidates. Entropica Labs is a company focused on building software tools for designing, constructing and deploying large-scale quantum algorithms to quantum computers. Using their expertise, Entropica Labs designs software that works on the most advanced cloud quantum computing platforms, ensuring a smooth integration, testing and benchmarking across workflows, models and systems.

Speaker's Profile:

Rubén Criado is CEO at Arquimea Research Center. Business leader and serial entrepreneur, tech generalist, and results-oriented business leader with a deep belief in technology as a central tool for society's advance, with 15 years of experience in Deep Tech, with a deep understanding from R&D to market value delivery. In 2020 he created Arquimea Research Center. Arquimea is a tech company that operates in high-demanding sectors to contribute to the development and progress of society. Arquimea provides innovative solutions based on proprietary tecnologies in sectors such as Space, Defense, Aeronautic, Agrotech, Healthcare & Welness or Astrophisics. Arquimea Research Center has the goal of develop disruptive technologies, through basic and advanced research, going beyond the state-of-the-art with a product-oriented approach.