Steve Forbes is Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media, the technology driven global media and branding company.

Forbes.com has become one of the world’s most influential websites, with nearly 60 million unique visitors a month.

The company’s flagship publication, Forbes, is the nation’s leading business magazine, with a readership of 6.2 million in the U.S.. The company’s 38 local editions around the world, including Forbes Asia, together have a circulation of almost 1.2 million.

Mr. Forbes writes editorials for Forbes under the heading of “Fact and Comment.” A widely respected economic prognosticator, he is the only writer to have won the highly prestigious Crystal Owl Award four times. The prize was formerly given by U.S. Steel Corporation to the financial journalist whose economic forecasts for the coming year proved most accurate. 

In both 1996 and 2000, Mr. Forbes campaigned vigorously for the Republican nomination for the Presidency. Key to his platform were a flat tax, medical savings accounts, a new Social Security system for working Americans, parental choice of schools for their children, term limits and a strong national defense. Mr. Forbes continues to energetically promote this agenda. 

Mr. Forbes’ most recent book is Reviving America: How Repealing Obamacare, Replacing the Tax Code and Reforming the Fed will Restore Hope and Prosperity, co-authored by Elizabeth Ames (McGraw-Hill Professional). 

His other books include Money: How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy – and What We Can Do About It, co-authored by Elizabeth Ames (McGraw-Hill Professional); Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets are Moral and Big Government Isn’t, co-authored by Elizabeth Ames (Crown Business, August 2012); How Capitalism Will Save Us: Why Free People and Free Markets Are the Best Answer in Today’s Economy, co-authored by Elizabeth Ames (Crown Business, November 2009); and Power Ambition Glory: The Stunning Parallels between Great Leaders of the Ancient World and Today…and the Lessons You Can Learn, co-authored by John Prevas (Crown Business, June 2009). He also wrote: Flat Tax Revolution: Using a Postcard to Abolish the IRS (Regnery, 2005); and A New Birth of Freedom (Regnery, 1999), a book of bold ideas for the new millennium. 

In 1985, President Reagan named Mr. Forbes Chairman of the bi-partisan Board for International Broadcasting (BIB). In this position, he oversaw the operations of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Broadcasting behind the Iron Curtain, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty were praised by Poland’s Lech Walesa as being critical to the struggle against communism. Mr. Forbes was reappointed to his post by President George H. W. Bush and served until 1993. 

Mr. Forbes serves on the boards of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and the Heritage Foundation. He is on the Board of Overseers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He previously served on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University for ten years. 

Steve Forbes was born on July 18, 1947, in Morristown, New Jersey. He received a B.A. in history from Princeton in 1970. 

H. Roger Wang is the Chairman of Golden Eagle International Group. Founded in 1992 with headquarters in the historic city of Nanjing, Golden Eagle has grown into a diversified and wide-ranging enterprise specializing in both real estate and retail within China. The Group is comprised of various companies spanning from real estate development, retail operations, hotel management, auto services, healthcare, and education, aiming to provide China’s most promising cities with top-quality service.

As of April 2018, Golden Eagle International Group has amassed over 12 million square meters of developed/developing projects. Operating area covers 4.24 million square meters throughout Shanghai, and the provinces of Jiangsu, Shanxi, Yunnan and Jilin, with nearly 6 million square meters are currently under planning.

In 2006, Golden Eagle Retail Group was successfully listed on the Hong Kong Exchange under 3308.HK. Its market value tops the list of HK-listed department store groups and was honored as "The Best Department Store Group in China" by Morgan Stanley. Since the opening of its first department store in 1996, Golden Eagle now owns 32 chain stores nationwide with a total shopping area of 2.75 million square meters. With the changing consumer tastes, Golden Eagle has evolved from department stores into comprehensive lifestyle centers, striving to be the one-stop destination for every daily need. 

In giving back to the community that has given him so much, Mr. Wang continues to incorporate philanthropy into the Group’s management philosophy. Under his guidance and initiative, the Group established the Golden Eagle International Charity Foundation and has donated over $10 million to charitable causes both in the United States and China. 

Founder of the first foreign-invested company in Nanjing, Mr. Wang is one of the most respected businessmen in the city and has received numerous honors, such as "Honorary Citizen of Nanjing", “The Friendship Award of Jiangsu”, “Best Foreign Contribution Award” and “National Star Enterprise”. Meanwhile, he also holds the positions of professor in Nanjing University Business School and Honorary President of Jiangsu Overseas Exchange Association.

Mr. Wang is also the Chairman and CEO of Transpacific Management, a company founded in 1978 whose main businesses are in California.

Mr. Wang grew up in Taiwan and obtained his bachelor’s degree in economics from Chinese Culture University in 1969 before receiving an MBA from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1973.

Mr. Suphachai Chearavanont is the Chief Executive Officer of Charoen Pokphand Group (C.P. Group), one of Asia's leading conglomerates that consists of over 100 companies and 350,000 employees operating in 20 countries in agri-food, retail and telecommunications.  He also serves as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of True Corporation (listed on the Thai Stock Exchange), where he was previously President and Chief Executive Officer, and oversees group-wide strategies on sustainability policies and corporate communications. 

Mr. Chearavanont has been a member of the Thai Government’s Independent Committee for Educational Reform since May 2017 and Chair of the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Global Compact Network Thailand since 2016. In 2013, he helped launch Thailand’s first telecommunications infrastructure fund (Digital Infrastructure Fund) and established True’s CSR initiative that helped deliver education to underprivileged children in 6,000 schools in rural areas of Thailand.  

In 2015 he was awarded “Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Telecom CEO of the Year” at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards and also elected President of the Telecommunications Association of Thailand appointed under The Royal Patronage. He was appointed a Counselor and Advisory Board Member for One Young World Summit 2015. 

He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration focusing on Financial Management from Boston University, and awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree in Mass Communications from Ramkhamhaeng University in March 2016. 

Miwako Date is President and Chief Executive Officer at Mori Trust Co., Ltd., one of the foremost major developers in Japan, which works with a wide variety of high-class hotels originating from outside Japan. She’s the third generation of leaders hailing from one of the foremost business-owning families in Japan.

Her grandfather, Taikichiro Mori (who Forbes ranked number one on its World’s Billionaires List in 1991 and 1992) founded the Mori Group, the precursor to the Mori Trust Group, which was later formed by Taikichiro’s third son, Akira Mori (who is consistently ranked on the Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List since taking over the business in 1993 and was ranked as Japan’s richest person in 2008). Akira Mori is Miwako’s father and serves as Chairman of the Board at Mori Trust Group. Miwako Date took over the business in June 2016.
 
With a primary focus on the real-estate and hotel & resort businesses, Mori Trust Group is also involved in a wide range of investment businesses (such as overseas investing and M&A). 

Even before taking over the company as President and CEO, Miwako expanded upon its business. And now in Mori Trust’s mid-to-long term vision express its readiness to spend more than JPY 800 billion on new investments by 2027. 

In the year since assuming her post, Miwako has aimed for the creation of an international business base in Tokyo and given shape to the "Tokyo World Gate Project" and "Akasaka 2-Chome Project". Both projects are large mixed-use development projects in the heart of Tokyo spanning a total floor space of around 200,000 square meters. Furthermore, she actualized investments into two large buildings found at choice locations in Boston in the US, as well as the listing of a REIT specialized in hotels (which has been evaluated as top-class within Japan). 

In addition she’s been vigorously moving business forward, which is evident by occurrences such as attracting EDITION (a luxury lifestyle hotel that’s enthralled celebrities from across the globe) to Tokyo’s Toranomon and Ginza districts, acquisition of new sites, and investing actively in various start-up firms. As the leader of luxury hotel development in Japan, Miwako is currently looking ahead beyond the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She has deployed various projects not bound by precedent, such as those entailing the opening of 10 new luxury hotels featuring 1,000 rooms by around 2023.
 
Miwako has been recognized for many achievements such as these and despite her young age, she currently serves as Permanent Secretary at Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Secretary at the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, and as Director at the Japan Hotel Association. What’s more, Miwako has been invited to give recommendations as a member of numerous expert panels hosted by entities such as the governments of Tokyo and Japan, thereby contributing significantly to the development of Japan’s business world and tourism industry.
 

Mr. Chartsiri Sophonpanich is President of Bangkok Bank, Thailand’s leading corporate and business bank and one of the largest banks in ASEAN. 

Since opening its first overseas branch in Hong Kong more than 60 years ago, the bank has played a leading role in the economic development of Thailand and ASEAN, as well as building international business relationships in major economies around the world, including China, Japan, the US and the UK.

Under Mr. Chartsiri’s leadership the bank has doubled its international branch network, expanded its branch presence across ASEAN, and became the first Thai bank to have a local banking license in China. Bangkok Bank’s international network of 32 branches in 15 economies is the largest of any Thai bank.

Bangkok Bank’s domestic operation in Thailand includes approximately 1200 branches and 240 business centers and business desks, along with an extensive self-service network. Its digital banking services are continually being expanded to support evolving lifestyle trends and include the award-winning mobile-banking service, Bualuang mBanking.

Along with its successful commercial operations, the bank is also a strong supporter of Thailand’s community and plays an active role in many social development and educational initiatives.

Mr. Chartsiri has won many awards for Bangkok Bank during his tenure, including Thailand’s Best Bank from The Banker and Euromoney, and Bank of the Year from Thailand’s Money and Banking magazine on many occasions, most recently in 2018.  He has also received highly prestigious awards honoring his leadership. In 2001 Mr. Chartsiri received the Banker of the Year award from Money and Banking. In 2005 he received the Achievement Award for Leadership in Thailand from the Asian Banker magazine and also the Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award from Worcester Polytechnic Institute for exceptional achievement in business.   

Mr. Chartsiri is a Director of Post Publishing PCL and the Electronic Transactions Development Agency. He is a Member of the National Strategy Committee and the National Economic Reform Committee, sits on the Board of the National Science and Technology Development Agency, is a Director of TRG Management LP and TRG Allocation LLC, and is a Member of the Board of Trustees of Bangkok University.

He holds Master’s degrees in management and chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
 

Mr Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Frasers Property Limited (“FPL”), a multi-national company listed on the Singapore Exchange (“SGX”) with assets under management totalling S$33.7 billion as at 31 March 2018. 

FPL owns, develops, and manages an integrated portfolio of residential, retail, commercial, logistics and industrial properties in Singapore, Australia, Europe, China and Southeast Asia. Its hospitality arm owns and/or operates properties in over 80 cities internationally. In addition, FPL is a sponsor of three REITs and one stapled trust, all listed on SGX. FPL is also the development manager of One Bangkok, Thailand’s largest integrated development in the heart of Bangkok.  

In addition, Mr. Sirivadhanabhakdi is a board member of several listed companies, including Ticon Industrial Connection Public Company Limited, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, and Golden Land Property Development Public Company Limited. He is also a member of the Singapore Management University Board of Trustees. 

Mr. Sirivadhanabhakdi holds a Master of Science from the School of Management at London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering from Boston University in the United States. 
 

Chairul Tanjung is the founder and Chairman of CT Corp., Indonesia’s leading consumer-focused business group, with core focus on financial services, media, lifestyle, retail, and entertainment. His prominent businesses include: Bank Mega - the largest Visa credit card issuer in Indonesia, Carrefour – the largest hypermarket player in Indonesia, Trans TV and Trans 7 – the two leading free-to-air channels, TransVision – the 2nd largest pay TV provider, Detik.com - #1 online portal, Metro, Baskin Robbins, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Wendy’s and leading high-end fashion brands (including Salvatore Ferragamo, Tod’s, Furla, Aigner); as well as theme parks, shopping malls, property, and hotels. CT Corp is also the largest private shareholder of Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia’s flagship carrier.

Mr. Tanjung is one of Indonesia’s most prominent and well respected business leaders. In 2017, he was listed as #6 richest man in Indonesia with a net worth of $4.9B. He is a first generation entrepreneur, establishing his business during his first year of studying at Faculty of Dentistry, University of Indonesia. He has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees by the University of Airlangga, Surabaya; the University of Padjadjaran, Bandung; and the MARA University of Technology, Malaysia. He is also a Professor for Entrepreneurship at the University of Airlangga and a Visiting Professor for Entrepreneurship at the MARA University of Technology.

Mr. Tanjung is a recipient of numerous accolades, some of which include “Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana” from the Government of Republic of Indonesia (2014), “Man of the Year” from Globe Asia (2011), “Indonesia’s Rising Star” from Forbes (2010), “Entrepreneur of the Year” from Enterprise Asia (2009), “Banker of the Year” from Globe Asia (2008), and “Marketer of the Year” from Indonesian Marketing Association and Markplus (2007) among others.

Mr. Tanjung served as the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s second presidential term and prior to that was also Chairman of the National Economic Council. 

Mr. Tanjung is also active in various social activities under CT Corp Foundation and other institutions. He is the Chairman of the Indonesia Kidney Foundation and Member of the Advisory Board of Majelis Ulama Indonesia, Advisory Board Member of Singapore Forum, Honorary Advisor of the Asian Financial Forum, and Honorary Advisor of the Belt and Road Summit among others.
     

Dr. Allan Zeman, GBM, GBS, JP, is the Chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, a major property owner and developer in Hong Kong’s Lan Kwai Fong Area, one of Hong Kong’s most popular tourist and entertainment districts. The new California Tower at the heart of Lan Kwai Fong which features cues to the Group’s flair for design and attracted the top leisure brands that will take the district to new heights. Dr. Zeman is also the Chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Association. Lan Kwai Fong Group in recent years, has expanded to various cities in China which include Chengdu and Shanghai. Lan Kwai Fong Chengdu was opened in 2009. The Shanghai Dream Center project is a joint venture between Lan Kwai Fong Group, China Media Capital in China and DreamWorks Animation in the United States. It is a world-class cultural and entertainment lifestyle complex.  Its GFA is 475,000 square meters. Dr. Zeman is also the owner of Paradise Properties Group, a property developer in Thailand which includes the award winning Andara Resort in Phuket.

Dr. Zeman serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Sino Land Company Limited, Tsim Sha Tsui Properties Limited, Global Brands Group, Television Broadcasts Limited (“TVB”) and is the Non-Executive Director of Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited, all of which are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Dr. Zeman is also the Non-Executive Chairman of Wynn Macau Limited, a prominent gaming operator in the US and Macau. Dr. Zeman is a director of the “Star” Ferry Company, Limited.

Having lived in Hong Kong for over 45 years, Dr. Zeman has been very involved in government services as well as community activities. He was the Chairman of Ocean Park from 2003 to 2014 and is now the Park’s Honorary Advisor. During his tenor at Ocean Park, Dr. Zeman managed to raise visitor numbers despite the opening of rival Hong Kong Disneyland, making the park more attractive and generating record profits. A 2007 article in Forbes magazine, referred to Zeman as "Hong Kong's Mouse Killer" because of the success that Ocean Park enjoyed.

Dr. Zeman was a member of the Board of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority from 2008 - 2016. He is now an honorary advisor.

Dr. Zeman is an appointed member of the Economic Development Commission of Hong Kong, a Representative of Hong Kong China to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and also is a Board of Governors of Our Hong Kong Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting the long-term and overall interests of HK.

Dr. Zeman is also a board member of Hong Kong Airport Authority.

In March 2018, Dr. Zeman is appointed by the HKSAR Chief Executive as a member of the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Council of Advisers on Innovation and Strategic Development which aims to provide advice to the Chief Executive on Hong Kong’s strategic positioning in the global and regional contexts and direction of economic development aiming at enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness and growth potential.

In addition, Dr Zeman is a member of the newly established Human Resources Planning Commission (HRPC) which was a new initiative announced in the Chief Executive’s 2017 Policy Address and is chaired by the HKSAR Chief Secretary. It aims at formulating coordinated human resources strategies for developing Hong Kong further into a high value-added and more diversified economy.

Dr. Zeman is a Board of Directors of the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund. This is a HKD1 billion funds which aims to support the aspirations of entrepreneurs who wish to take advantage of the resources offered by Alibaba’s ecosystem in e-commerce, logistics, mobile platforms, cloud computing and financial services.

Dr. Zeman is also a member of the Board of Governors of The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the Vice Patron of the Hong Kong Community Chest.

In 2001, Dr. Zeman was appointed a Justice of the Peace in Hong Kong.

He was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star in 2004 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2011.

In 2008, Dr Zeman was awarded Business Person of the Year by the Hong Kong Business Awards.

Dr Zeman is a holder of an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from The University of Western Ontario, Canada. In 2012, he was awarded Honorary Doctorate Degrees of Business Administration from City University of Hong Kong and University of Science and Technology of Hong Kong.

Dr Zeman also is a holder of Chinese Nationality since 2008.

Enrique K. Razon Jr. is Chairman of the Board and President of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), a Philippine-based company involved in the management and operation of 27 ports and terminals in 17 countries.  He is also Chairman of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. (BRC), owner of Solaire Resort and Casino, an integrated resort complex in the Philippines’ Entertainment City.  ICTSI and BRC are both listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange.
 
Mr. Razon belongs to the third generation of a family involved in the business of marine cargo handling.  The Razon Group has a long-standing reputation of being pioneers and innovators in the management and development of ports, terminals and related facilities.  The group’s proven track record stems from over 90 years’ experience in integrated cargo handling, stevedoring and other port services in the Philippines and abroad.  

In 1987, the Razon Group and the Soriano Group incorporated ICTSI, initially to bid for the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) in the Philippines. After winning the MICT contract 1988, Mr. Razon spearheaded the MICT’s development program.  The MICT today is the country’s premier international gateway.  ICTSI also operates seven other terminals in the Philippines.

After consolidating and strengthening its base and flagship operation at the MICT, ICTSI launched an international and domestic expansion program in 1994.  ICTSI is recognized today as a leading operator, innovator and pioneer in the field of port management with a track record that confirms its ability to rapidly adapt to different operating environments, and to add substantial value to its operated terminals by enhancing their efficiency at every level.  The company continues to pursue prospects in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and Europe.

Mr. Razon sits on the board of most ICTSI subsidiaries worldwide and of several leading foreign and Philippine corporations.  His other investments are in real estate, power, mining, oil and gas exploration, and leisure facilities including a golf course in the Philippines.  Mr. Razon also chairs the ICTSI Foundation, Inc., which oversees the ICTSI Group’s corporate social responsibility advocacies.  He also chairs Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc., which stages the largest professional golf circuit in Southeast Asia.  

Mr. Razon is a member of the Management Association of the Philippines, the US Philippines Society, the ASEAN Business Club and Philippines, Inc.

Peter Moore joined Liverpool FC as Chief Executive Officer in June 2017, a role that brought the lifetime LFC supporter back to his hometown of Liverpool. Bringing his tremendous personal passion for sports, competition, games and the Reds’ to the role; Peter is responsible for all business, commercial and operational areas of the Club – reporting directly to the Club’s ownership, Fenway Sports Group.

Peter previously lead EA’s Competitive Gaming Division where he brought to life new global competitions for EA franchises including FIFA, Madden NFL and Battlefield. Prior to that Peter served as Chief Operating Officer of EA, providing strategic leadership for all global operations that enabled EA to bring products to market via retail and digital direct-to-consumer channels. He also previously held the position of President of EA SPORTS, overseeing the delivery of some of the top-selling sports videogames from franchises including FIFA, Madden NFL, NCAA Football and NHL. He also oversaw the growth of the FIFA Interactive World Cup, growing it into one of the world’s largest gaming tournaments.

Peter has more than 30 years of experience in gaming, entertainment and consumer products. He has held leadership positions as the Corporate Vice President of the Interactive Entertainment Business of Microsoft Corp., as President and COO of SEGA of America and Senior Vice President of marketing at Reebok International Ltd.

Peter holds a bachelor’s degree from Keele University, United Kingdom, and a master’s degree from California State University, Long Beach. He also currently serves as a VP of SpecialEffect, a nonprofit that uses technology to enhance the quality of life of people with physical disabilities.
 

Suthiphand Chirathivat is Executive Director, ASEAN Studies Center, Chairman, Chula Global Network, and emeritus professor of economics at Chulalongkorn University. Until recently, he was Dean, Faculty of Economics, Chairman of the Ph.D. Program in Economics, Chairman of Economics Research Center and Center for International Economics at Chulalongkorn University.

Professor Suthiphand previously held a position as Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Transport and Communications, thus including Economic Affairs Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Thai Parliament. He represented Thailand for the East Asia Expert Study Group (ASEAN+3 until 2009) and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (ASEAN+6 until 2010). He was recently in the Advisory Committee for the ASEAN 2030 project, run by the Asian Development Bank Institute and other research projects supported by the ASEAN Secretariat.

His academic interests involve the issues related to international trade, investment, finance, regional integration and development, and new emerging issues in Asia in relation to the global economy and society. Recent publications include China’s Rise in Mainland ASEAN: New Dynamics and Changing Landscape (co-eds) (forthcoming 2018), Celebrating the Third Decade and Beyond: New Challenges to ASEAN-India Economic Partnership (co-eds) (2017), Global Economic Uncertainties and Southeast Asian Economies (co-eds) (2016), ISEAS Publishing, Economics of Regional Integration (2011), (in Thai), Chulalongkorn University Press, Emerging’s Asia Growth Practices (2009), Chulalongkorn University, EU-ASEAN Facing Economic Globalisation (co-eds) (2006), Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, Asia’s Monetary Future (co-eds) (2004), Edwards-Elgar. He had also published numerous articles in journals and books. He is advisory board member of Asian Economic Journal and was editor of Chulalongkorn Journal of Economics, advisory board of ASEAN Economic Bulletin, and Asian Business and Management.

Professor Suthiphand holds a Doctorat en Economie from the University of Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris I. He also serves as Honorary President of the Association of Former Student in France, Thailand and was Vice President of Economics Discipline, National Research Council of Thailand.

Goodwin is the Founder and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners, a uniquely positioned real estate private equity fund management company that focuses on markets in Greater China and other high barrier to entry markets globally. Gaw Capital has raised five commingled funds targeting the Greater China and APAC regions since 2005. The firm also manages value-add/opportunistic funds in Vietnam and the US, a Pan-Asia hospitality fund, a UK creative office vehicle, and also provides services for separate account direct investments globally. Gaw Capital Partners has raised equity in excess of USD$9.6 billion as of 2018 Q1 and currently commands assets of over USD$18 billion under management encompassing residential developments, retails centers, hotels, commercial and logistic properties. 

Goodwin has over 20 years of real estate investment and management experience in the United States and Asia. He founded Downtown Properties in 1996 and serves as Managing Principal. He’s especially interested in re-positioning distressed heritage properties. These include the renovation of the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and conversion of over 456,000 square feet of empty historical buildings into hip residential lofts in downtown Los Angeles including the acclaimed Douglas Building. He also served as Vice Chairman of Pioneer Global Group and former Chairman of Global Gateway. 

Goodwin received a BS in Civil Engineering from the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, a BS in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a MS in Construction Management from Stanford University.

Carrie Jones-Barber is the Chief Executive Officer of global bakery leader, Dawn Foods. Carrie uses her intimate knowledge of the bakery industry to help drive greater growth and success for Dawn, while ensuring the organization retains a strong focus on people, products and customers.

Carrie has been with Dawn for 30 years and since becoming CEO in 2006, has helped establish the company as a global leader in sweet bakery, operating in over 100 countries worldwide. Introducing global strategic planning processes and overseeing one of the company’s largest acquisitions to date in Europe, Carrie has built Dawn into a multi-billion dollar leader in the bakery industry. 

Prior to her role as CEO, Carrie served as the President of Dawn International, where she was responsible for delivering unprecedented growth and profitability to the company’s international operations. Throughout her time at Dawn, Carrie has served in roles across Dawn’s sales, information technology, strategy and international business units.

A graduate of Western Michigan University (BA) and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University (MBA), Carrie serves on multiple business and charitable boards. She is also an active member of the Committee of 200, a membership organization including the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate innovators.  

Mr. Gan has been a Managing Partner and member of the investment committee of Qiming Venture Partners since 2006. Mr. Gan was named as a top venture capitalist in the world three years in the row by Forbes Magazine’s Midas List，and was ranked #8 globally in 2018. He has been named a top ten venture capitalist in China by multiple magazines and institutions including ChinaVenture, Zero2IPO Group, and CBN Weekly. His successful investments include Meitu Inc. (HKEX: 1357), Ctrip.com International Limited (NASDAQ: CTRP, a director since 2001), Dianping.com (merged into China Internet Plus Holding), Jiayuan.com, Taomee, PPS Inc. (acquired by iQiyi), and ATL. 

Previously, Mr. Gan spent five years at The Carlyle Group and was a Director and founding member of Carlyle’s Asian venture fund. He also worked at KongZhong Corporation as its Chief Financial Officer, as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, and as a consultant at then-Price Waterhouse. 

Mr. Gan obtained his BBA from the University of Iowa and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, of which he is a member of the Global Advisory Board. 

Antoine Blondeau is co-founder and Managing Partner of Alpha Intelligence Capital, a venture capital firm investing in deep algorithmic science-based Artificial Intelligence companies, globally. A seasoned entrepreneur and investor, Antoine has 25 years of experience in the technology industry, having held senior leadership positions at Good Technology, Salesforce.com, and Sybase.

Antoine’s career highlights include leading Dejima as CEO, the company that powered DARPA’s foundational CALO project that later evolved into Apple’s Siri. Antoine was also chief operating officer of Zi Corporation, whose smart text input software was embedded in hundreds of millions of devices. He is also the co-founder and chairman of Sentient Technologies.

Antoine is an investor, board member and advisor in a number of companies in California, Greater China and Japan, and is the author or co-author of 6 patents. Antoine holds a MBA from the Paris Graduate School of Management (ESCP) and has studied at Chuo University in Tokyo.

Dr. B. R. Shetty is the Founder and Chairman of NMC Healthcare, Finablr, Neopharma and BRS Ventures. 

Dr. Shetty is one of the most successful business tycoons of UAE. A visionary, who follows his heart and intuition. Dr. Shetty has explored untapped markets and paved new paths in his successful entrepreneurial journey. He started his innings in 1975 with the launch of New Medical Centre (NMC), the first private healthcare facility in UAE. His distinctive capabilities and foresight have transformed the healthcare industry in the region. His commitment to provide state-of-the-art facilities has got NMC listed as a part of FTSE 100 on the London Stock Exchange in 2012. Recently, NMC got inducted to an exquisite club of MSCI Global Index.

The burgeoning expatriate population in UAE triggered the need for a formal and safe money transfer channel. Dr. Shetty sensed an opportunity in that challenge and ventured into the remittance sector through launching UAE Exchange; which is now a leading global remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions brand. He also identified an opportunity in currency exchange business and acquired Travelex, the world’s leading foreign exchange specialist. With this acquisition, he was successful in bringing two category leaders under a single umbrella. All these leading brands are now a part of the recently formed holding company – Finablr.

In a step towards backward integration into the healthcare sector, Dr. Shetty set-up Neopharma in 2003. Neopharma is a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and has collaborations with multinational companies like Pfizer, Merck, Abbot Laboratories, Hetero Pharmaceuticals and Biocon to name a few. 

Diversified business interests of Dr. Shetty, led him to open quality institutions in the education, hospitality, and environment sectors. 

As a part of the strategy to provide innovative solutions across varying verticals, Dr. Shetty has recently established BRS Ventures. The company has already earned itself the reputation as one of the leading and premium business groups in United Arab Emirates. The company has also established a global presence with successful acquisitions and strong partnerships.

With a belief of giving back to the country, Dr. Shetty has established a leading healthcare services brand – BR Life. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Dr. Shetty currently operates multi-specialty healthcare facilities in India and Egypt.

Dr. B. R. Shetty’s business accomplishments and exceptional social work have earned him the “Order of Abu Dhabi”, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the Government of Abu Dhabi. He is a recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri award, one of the highest civilian honors from the Government of India. The former President of India, the late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam conferred upon him the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, for his outstanding contribution towards betterment of NRI community.
 

Goh Choon Phong joined Singapore Airlines in 1990 and has held senior management positions in Singapore as well as overseas. Mr Goh joined the Airline’s Board on 1 October 2010 and was appointed CEO on 1 January 2011.

Mr Goh became Executive Vice President Marketing and the Regions in June 2010. Prior to that he was President of Singapore Airlines Cargo for four years. Previous senior positions with Singapore Airlines include Senior Vice President Finance, Senior Vice President Information Technology and Senior Vice President Commercial Technology. His overseas assignments were in China and Scandinavia.

Mr Goh is a Board Director of SIA Engineering Company; is Chairman of Budget Aviation Holdings Pte Ltd, which owns and manages Scoot; is a member of the National University of Singapore Board of Trustees; and is an Independent Director on the Board of Mastercard Incorporated.

Mr Goh is a member of the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association, and was its Chairman between June 2017 and June 2018.

Mr Goh is also a member of the MIT Presidential CEO Advisory Board, made up of CEOs from leading companies in a variety of industries around the world.

Mr Goh previously served on the Board of Directors for Mount Alvernia Hospital as well as Virgin Australia Holdings Limited. He was also a member of the Care and Share Committee of the Singapore50 Steering Committee of the National Council of Social Service.

Mr Goh was the 2015 recipient of the Centre for Aviation’s ‘Asia-Pacific Airline CEO of the Year Award’. In 2016 he received the ‘CEO Lifetime Achievement Award’ from the Airline Passenger Experience Association as well as the ‘Eisenhower Global Innovation Award’ from the Business Council for International Understanding. He was also named the ‘Outstanding Chief Executive Officer of the Year’ in the Singapore Business Awards 2017.

Mr Goh holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as well as three Bachelor of Science degrees, in Computer Science and Engineering, Management Science and Cognitive Science, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mr. Apichart Chutrakul is currently Chief Executive Officer of Sansiri and is primarily responsible for overseeing the financial performance of the company. Due to the high investment required in a real estate business, every aspect of what he is tasked with needs to be carried out with extreme caution, taking into account the fluidity of the operations, accounting and financial discipline in line with transparency and good governance in management. In addition, Mr. Apichart puts emphasis on the mechanics of marketing and branding closely for Sansiri, so as to be certain that the company can effectively respond to the customer’s needs, creating brand loyalty amongst a group of customers in the long run.

Aside from the aforementioned routine duties, Mr. Apichart also holds a position of the Director of Plus Property Co., Ltd, one of the biggest subsidiary companies that runs a property management business in Thailand with its aim to control the provision of excellent customer service to customers in general. Other positions include being a qualified member of the Central Land Development Sub-commission, Real Estate Business Promotion Bureau, Department of Lands and subsequently a Committee on Central land, Real Estate Business Promotion Bureau.

Mr. Apichart Chutrakul received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of San Diego in the US and has since become a full-fledged expert on the real estate business, finance and banking.

William E. Heinecke came to the Kingdom of Thailand in 1963 and founded the Minor Group in 1967.  Five decades later the group has grown substantially into a large company with revenue of over USD1.7bn and market cap of over USD5.2bn. Listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1988, Minor International Public Company Limited (MINT) is now a global company focused on three primary businesses: restaurants, hospitality and lifestyle brands distribution, all of which are now under one umbrella with presence in over 60 countries. The group currently employs more than 66,000 employees. 

MINT is a hotel owner, operator and investor with a portfolio of over 160 hotels and serviced suites under the Anantara, AVANI, Oaks, Tivoli, Elewana, Marriott, Four Seasons, St. Regis, Radisson Blu, the Beaumont and Minor International brands in 26 countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe and South America. In addition, MINT is expanding its footprint further in Europe with the recent announcement of the acquisition of NH Hotel Group in Spain, a world-leading urban hotel operator, listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange with over 380 hotels under the brands NH Collection, NH Hotel, nhow and Hesperia in 30 countries across Europe, the Americas and Africa. As a result, MINT’s hotel network increased to over 550 hotels system-wide.  Moreover, MINT operates mixed-use businesses which are complementary to the hotel business. This includes real estate, retail and commercial development, comprising sale of luxury residences and the Anantara Vacation Club, MSpa and Entertainment.

MINT is also one of Asia’s largest restaurant companies with over 2,100 outlets operating system-wide in 27 countries under The Pizza Company, Swensen’s, Sizzler, Dairy Queen, Burger King, Thai Express, BreadTalk, The Coffee Club, Riverside and Benihana brands. In addition, it operates cheese and ice cream manufacturing facilities.

MINT is one of Thailand’s largest distributors of lifestyle brands focusing primarily on fashion and household products. Its brands include Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, Esprit, Bossini, Etam, OVS, Radley, Anello, Charles & Keith, Pedro, Zwilling J.A. Henckels, Joseph Joseph, Bodum and Minor Smart Kids. MINT is also a contract manufacturer of household products, with its own manufacturing plant.

Now 69, Mr. Heinecke currently serves as the Chairman on the Board of Directors and Group Chief Executive Officer of MINT. He holds the position of a Director of Indorama Ventures PCL, the largest PET production company in the world. Mr. Heinecke is the author of 'The Entrepreneur - 25 Golden Rules for Global Business Manager’. 

Mr. Heinecke became a naturalized Thai citizen in 1991.

Madam Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao is Vietjet’s President & CEO. Madam Nguyen earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree (“Ph.D.”) in Economic Cybernetics; a bachelor’s degree in Credit-Finance; and a Bachelor’s degree in Labour Economic Management. She was named as the only South East Asia’s Self-Made Women Billionaire in 2017 by Forbes.

Madame Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao - the first self-made woman billionaire in ASEAN, is the founder and CEO of Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (Vietjet Air). Since its IPO in February 2017, the airline’s market capitalization currently reaches to more than 3 billion USD. Thanks to this, Nguyen was listed in Forbes' 100 most powerful businesswomen in the year 2017. Her current assets is USD3.5 billion as well as the two listed companies on HOSE, Vietjet Air and HDBank. In 2018, Vietjet commences about 100 domestic and international routes.
  
Nguyen is also a major shareholder cum Standing Vice Chairwoman of HDBank, a private joint-stock commercial bank whose average growth rate remains over 30% during last 10 consecutive years. The bank’s capital is VND 9.8 trillion and its total assets reaches VND 192 trillion as of Q2/1018. In addition, Nguyen also serves as Chairwoman of Sovico Holdings, a multi-industry company homing more than 25,000 staff. Sovico Holdings owns and develops major real estates throughout the country, such as Furama Resort, Aryana, Ana Mandara, An Lam Ninh Van Bay (Nha Trang), Dragon City (South of Saigon) and Splendora (Hanoi).

Born in Hanoi in 1970, Nguyen obtained her Bachelor of Finance and Credit at Trade Institute of Moscow and her PhD. degree in Economic Cybernetics at the Mendeleev Institute.

Min-Liang Tan is the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Razer Inc (HKEX Stock Code: 1337). He is also Chairman and CEO of THX Ltd.

His leadership has resulted in the growth of Razer from a two-man startup to a multinational market leader that was honored on Fortune Magazine’s “Unicorn List” in 2015 (private companies valued at US$1 billion or more). Razer went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2017. 

Tan was named one of "The 25 Most Creative People in Tech" by Business Insider in 2015. Juniper Research distinguished him as a “Top 10 Most Influential Leaders in Tech” while Tech in Asia has ranked him No. 1 of the 30 top Southeast Asia tech founders. In 2016, he was named one of the “Straits Times Asians of the Year”.

Tan graduated from the National University of Singapore Law School.

Meng Ru Kuok is CEO & Co-Founder of BandLab Technologies. BandLab Technologies is a collective of global companies encompassing digital, brand and retail businesses focused on innovating for music creators and fans, with the aim of redefining the music industry. Meng is also the Managing Director of Swee Lee Music, music instrument and accessory retailer. He has been leading this business since 2012, when he acquired the legacy music retailer and subsequently transformed it into the largest musical instrument retail, distribution and e-commerce business across Southeast Asia. Meng graduated from Cambridge University in Mathematics.

Moira Forbes is the Executive Vice President of Forbes Media where she is responsible for driving new business initiatives across the company¹s diverse media platforms and branding Forbes events worldwide. She is also the President and Publisher of ForbesWomen, a multi-media platform dedicated to successful women in business and leadership. She is currently the host of "Success with Moira Forbes," a video series on the Forbes Video Network featuring candid, one-on-one interviews with today¹s top women leaders and writes a dedicated leadership column for Forbes.com profiling today’s most dynamic business leaders. In 2013, Moira launched the annual Forbes Women’s Summit in New York City which brings together 250 female leaders to discuss and solve the world’s most intractable issues. 

Zhao Changpeng is the founder of Binance and in just 180 days, he went from the CEO of a start-up, to CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. He is a 41 year old Chinese/Canadian coder who spent his youth flipping burgers before studying at McGill University Montreal. He then spent time in Tokyo and New York, first building systems for matching trade orders, then developing software for Bloomberg's futures trading on Wall Street. In 2005 he quit his high flying role and moved to Shanghai to start Fusion Systems. It was there that he learnt about Bitcoin before joining Blockchain.info as the Head of Technology. Then, when the ICO boom began, he decided to launch Binance and raised a total of 15 million dollars in the token sale. Binance has become the most popular and the largest trading volume exchange in the world with supporting 148 coins and 328 trading pairs.

Work Experiences:

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Mitch Garber, a Canadian born lawyer, is Chairman of Invest in Canada, the Canadian government's federal agency responsible for foreign direct investment in Canada. He is also Chairman of Cirque du Soleil a leading global entertainment company in which he is also a co-investor with TPG and Fosun. He is a board member and co-investor with Apollo Global Management of Rackspace, a leading hosting and technology company, and is a board member of leading French fashion house Lanvin. He is the former CEO of Caesars Acquisition Company & Playtika. Caesars Acquisition was successfully merged into its parent Caesars Entertainment in 2017, and Playtika which he acquired and oversaw from its start-up stage in 2011, was sold under his leadership to a Chinese consortium including Giant Interactive and Alibaba founder Jack Ma for 4.4b USD in 2016. He sits on the board and leads a number of important philanthropic activities in Canada and Israel. He has a BA from McGill University ('86), a law degree from the University of Ottawa ('89) and an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa ('17).

Tan Hooi Ling is the Co-Founder of Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments platform. She oversees critical pillars of Grab’s operations, focused on business strategy and growth, analytics, customer experience and people operations.

Prior to returning to Grab in 2015, Hooi Ling led high priority strategic and operational projects for Salesforce.com in San Francisco. There, she specialised in Corporate Strategy, Corporate Operations, Pricing Intelligence & Monetisation.

She was also previously a consultant at McKinsey & Company, advising global corporations in Southeast Asia, North America, Latin America and Australia.

Hooi Ling has a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) from the University of Bath, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

She finds joy in picking up new skills and experiences. Some of her favourite activities include swing dancing, snowboarding, and playing the ukulele. 

Peter Sands became Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in March 2018. Sands is the former Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered PLC, one of the world’s leading international banks operating across over 70 markets, primarily in emerging markets. After a distinguished career in banking, Sands was a research fellow at the Harvard Global Health Institute and the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School, where he immersed himself in a range of global public health projects.

In 2016-2017, Sands chaired the International Working Group on Financing Pandemic Preparedness at the World Bank. In 2015-16, he was Chairman of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine’s Commission on a Global Health Risk Framework for the Future, which published the influential report “The Neglected Dimension of Global Security: a Framework to Counter Infectious Disease Threats” in January 2016. Sands is also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Science’s Forum on Microbial Threats and is serving on a Committee on Ensuring Access to Affordable Drugs.

Sands served as Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered PLC from 2006 to 2015, having joined the bank in 2002 as Group Finance Director. Under his leadership, Standard Chartered successfully navigated the turbulence of the global financial crisis in 2007-2009, continuing to support clients and counterparties throughout the worst of the financial stresses and without drawing on government support of any kind. Sands led Standard Chartered’s transformation into one of the world’s leading international banks, reinforcing its focus on emerging markets and driving the development of world-class product, risk management and technology capabilities, underpinned by a highly collaborative culture.

During Sands’ tenure as CEO, Standard Chartered focused its corporate responsibility initiatives on health issues, including avoidable blindness, AIDS and malaria. Sands served on the board of the Global Business Coalition on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and was Lead Non-Executive Director on the board of the United Kingdom’s Department of Health.

After stepping down from the bank in 2015, Sands has deployed his skills and experience in international finance in global health. Sands has chaired and participated in a range of high profile initiatives and has published articles on global health and epidemics in various peer-reviewed journals. His published works on global health include: “The Neglected Dimension of Global Security – A Framework for countering Infectious-Disease Crises,” in the New England Journal of Medicine, January 2016; “A Stitch in Time saves Nine: Financing Pandemic Preparedness through Domestic Resource Mobilization,” Global Health & Diplomacy, April 2016; “Assessing Economic Vulnerability to Infectious Disease Outbreaks,” The Lancet, May 2016; “Beyond the Ebola Battle – Winning the War against Future Epidemics,” British Medical Journal, January 2017; and “From Panic and Neglect to Investing in Health Security: Financing Pandemic Preparedness at a National Level,” World Bank, May 2017.

Sands has served on numerous boards and commissions, including as a governor of the UK’s National Institute for Economic and Social Research, as a member of the International Advisory Board of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as board director of the Institute of International Finance, and as a director of the World Economic Forum.

Born in the United Kingdom, the son of a naval officer and an artist, Sands was educated in Malaysia, the UK, Canada and the U.S. He began his career in the UK’s Foreign Office and then joined McKinsey & Company, where he worked for 13 years in the London office, advising clients in the financial services and telecommunications sectors.

Sands graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford University with a First Class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He also received a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University, where he was a Harkness Fellow.

Professor of Economics, Peking University，Director of National Economic Research Institute (NERI), and President, China Development Institute which is one of 25 “High Level Think Tank of the State”. He received his Ph.D in Economics from CASS on 1988. His publications include over 100 academic papers published in Chinese and English academic journals and 12 books, on Macroeconomics and Economics of transition. He is also an advisor to various departments of Chinese Central government and provincial governments; he was appointed by the State Council as the academic member of Monetary Policy Committee of Bank of China (the Central Bank) during 2006-2010 and in 2015- again ( for third term). He has been guest professor of number of universities and graduate schools; and served as economic consultant to various international organizations and played leading roles in research projects commissioned by The World Bank, ADB, UNDP, OECD, etc.  He was listed as one of “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” jointly by Foreign Policy and Prospect, in 2005 and 2008 consecutively；and listed as one of “100 Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy in 2010. He has served as a member of advisory boards, or as an advisor, of numerous multinational companies and financial institutions.

Noni Purnomo holds an Industrial Engineering degree and an MBA in Finance and Marketing. She is a Business Woman, Philanthropist, and mother of 3 daughters. In 2015 she was listed in “Power Women in Asia” by Forbes, 2017 Globe Asia’s “99 Most Powerful Women” and 2017 Endeavour Indonesia Mentor of the Year. 

Noni’s late grandmother, who founded Blue Bird Group, taught her that the soul of the company is: Integrity, Hard work, Perseverance and Care for employees and society. 

Noni is currently the President Director of Blue Bird Group Holding, and manages the group’s business portfolio, which includes passenger land transportation (taxis, rental car & limousine, and charter bus), logistics, heavy equipment trading, property, and IT supporting services. 

The Group’s core passenger transportation division currently serves millions of customers every month in almost 20 cities in Indonesia, owns around 39,000 vehicles and employs almost 50,000 drivers and staff in Indonesia. 

Noni founded Blue Bird Peduli (Blue Bird Care – a philanthropy division of Blue Bird Group) which recently launched the 'Women Empowerment Project' to empower the more than 40,000 wives of Blue Bird Group employees and drivers. Blue Bird Peduli focuses on Education, Women Empowerment, sustainability and Culture. Since 2006 alone, Blue Bird Peduli has given scholarships to more than 15,000 children of Blue Bird drivers, and many of them have finished University degrees. 

Beyond Blue Bird Peduli scholarship program, Noni has more than 120 children she personally supporting. She also mentors new talent and startups through Endeavour Indonesia. Noni is a founder member of Angel Investment (ANGIN) started as a Women Fund that empowers women entrepreneurs through investment, mentorship and networking opportunities. 

Noni is passionate about entrepreneurship. She launched her personal Express Service company, NEX, which has been growing very rapidly to support Indonesia’s ecommerce growth and expanded its business by a Joint Venture with Kerry Logistics. 

Noni serves as a board member of the Australia Indonesia Institute by the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs. She also serves as a Chairperson of Intelligent Transport System Indonesia Chapter, Indonesian Transport Society Board of Presidium, Board of Advisor of IPMI (Institut Pengembangan Manajemen Indonesia), Coca Cola Amatil Indonesia and Antler. A Young Presidents Organization Member since 2003 and served in various board positions within YPO. 

Mario Moretti Polegato was born in Treviso in 1952. After studying oenology, he followed in the steps of three generations by joining the family's renowned winemaking business.

In the mid 1990s, he revolutionised the shoe industry by inventing and patenting a new technology that allows the foot to breathe while wearing a rubber sole. With this invention, Mario Moretti Polegato turned Geox into an industry leader worldwide in just a few years. 

Mario Moretti Polegato is Chairman of the Geox group, the leading footwear brand in Italy and a major player in the lifestyle and casual industry worldwide, with 30,000 employees and collaborators working in over 110 countries. On 1 December 2004, Geox was listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.

He has been named Italian World Entrepreneur by Ernst & Young, Borsa Italiana and Il Sole 24 Ore for his strategic use of market opportunities in Italy and worldwide and his consistent ability to innovate.

He was awarded the title of "Innovator of the year" by CNBC and the Financial Times during the European Business Leaders Awards, for developing a brand that combines fashion and technology.

Mario Moretti Polegato dedicates a great deal of personal time to lecturing on intellectual property in schools and universities in Italy and abroad.

He is a lecturer in intellectual property. 

He holds a degree in "Chemistry and environmental compatibility" from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

He holds a degree in "Economic Science" from the University of Florence.

He holds a degree in "Industrial Design and Product Development" from Cardenal Herrera University, Valencia.

He is Honorary Consul General for Romania in North-East Italy.

He is a member of the General Council of Confindustria, the italalian confederation of industralists

He is a member of the jury of the “European Inventor Award”, organised by the European Patent Office.

He is a member of Aspen Institute Italia.

He is founder and CEO of the charitable organisation “Il Ponte del Sorriso”, an Italian association which helps underage Romanian orphans.

As Owner and Chief Executive Officer of the Sintesa Group (www.sintesagroup.com), Shinta is responsible for the Management and Expansion of the Group’s business interests in Indonesia. The Sintesa Group is an Indonesian group with 16 subsidiaries, which operate in the Property, Energy, Industrial Products, and Consumer Products. 

As a businesswoman, Shinta also involves in numerous business and social activities, including as the Vice Chairwoman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN Indonesia) and Employers’ Association of Indonesia (APINDO), as well as President of Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD), Founder of Angel Investment Network Indonesia (ANGIN), Chairwoman of Indonesia Business Coalition on Women Empowerment, and as International Board Member of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). She is also the member of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Indonesia.

Shinta graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University New York in 1989 and Executive Education at Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 2002. 

As part of her achievement, she received awards amongst others from FORBES Asia’s 50 Powerful Businesswomen (2012, 2013, & 2016) and the Asia’s Leading Businesswoman of the Year Award from Women in Leadership Forum (2013), Women Entrepreneur of the Year from Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (2014), Women of Power from Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) Abu Dhabi  (2012), 30 Best CEOs by Business Indonesia Award in 2015. And in 2017, she was decorated as the Commander of the Polar Star by the King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and the Commander of the Order of Leopold of Belgium.

 Mr John Lim is Group Chief Executive Officer and Director of ARA Asset Management Holdings Pte. Ltd., the ultimate holding company of ARA Asset Management Limited and its subsidiaries. He is a Non-Executive Director of ARA Asset Management (Fortune) Limited, ARA Trust Management (Suntec) Limited, ARA Asset Management (Prosperity) Limited, ARA Trust Management (Cache) Limited and Hui Xian Asset Management Limited. Mr Lim is also the Chairman of APM Property Management Pte. Ltd., Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Services Pte. Ltd. and the management council of The Management Corporation Strata Title Plan No. 2197 (Suntec City). In addition, Mr Lim is an Independent Director and the Chairman of the remuneration committee of Singapore-listed Teckwah Industrial Corporation Limited, the Chairman of the property management committee of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Managing Director of Chinese Chamber Realty Private Limited and a Director of the Financial Board of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He is also Chairman of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (“APREA”) and the Consultative Committee to the Department of Real Estate, National University of Singapore.

Mr Lim has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate industry, and has received many notable corporate awards. These include the PERE Global Awards 2016 Industry Figure of the Year: Asia, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of the Year Singapore 2012, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of the Year – Financial Services 2012 and the Outstanding CEO of the Year 2011 at the Singapore Business Awards 2012. Mr Lim, along with the Board of Directors of ARA, is also a recipient of the prestigious Best Managed Board (Gold) Award at the Singapore Corporate Awards 2012. In 2017, he was conferred the Public Service Medal (PBM) by the President of Singapore in recognition of his contributions to the community.

Mr Lim holds a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, as well as a Diploma in Business Administration, each from the National University of Singapore.

Jean Eric Salata is the Chief Executive and Founding Partner of Baring Private Equity Asia (or “BPEA”), Chairman of the Investment Committee and member of the Portfolio Management and Exit & Liquidity Committees. Mr. Salata oversees all investment and divestment decisions made at the Firm, as well as its strategic direction. Mr. Salata has been responsible for the investment activity of the Firm since 1997 when he started the regional Asian private equity investment program for UK-based Baring Private Equity Partners Ltd. Mr. Salata later led the management buyout of this program in 2000 to establish BPEA as an independent firm. Before that, Mr. Salata was a Director of Hong Kong based AIG Global Investment Corporation (Asia) Ltd., the Asian private equity investment arm of AIG. Before that, he was the Executive Vice President of Finance of Shiu Wing Steel, a Hong Kong based industrial concern, and prior to that a management consultant with Bain & Company based in Hong Kong, Sydney and Boston. Mr. Salata has lived and worked in Hong Kong since 1989, and graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton school of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Finance and Economics. Mr. Salata was born in Chile and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Baring Private Equity Asia is one of the most experienced, best-resourced and strongest performing private investment firms in Asia. The Firm has a 20-year track record and advises over $16 billion of committed capital¹.  

The Firm runs a pan-Asian private equity investment program focusing primarily on mid- and large-cap buyouts and corporate partnering transactions across the Asia Pacific region, as well as a pan-Asian real estate investment program and a private credit fund. The Firm also invests in the US and Europe in companies seeking to expand to Asia. Notable investments include Nord Anglia, the world’s largest premium international school operator, St. Georges University, the world’s largest private medical college, HCP, a leading prestige packaging company for cosmetic products, and Hexaware Technologies, a leading Indian IT services company. BPEA has been investing in Asia since its formation in 1997 and has over 160 employees located across offices in Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia Japan and Singapore.  BPEA currently has over 30 portfolio companies active across Asia with a total of 158,000 employees and sales of approximately USD30 billion (as of June 30, 2018). The Firm has received numerous awards for its outstanding performance, including 2015 “Large Cap Firm of the Year in Asia” by Private Equity International. Asian Venture Capital Journal selected Baring Asia as the 2015 winner for “Fundraising of the Year – Large Cap” and Jean Salata as “PE Professional of the Year.” 

¹ Cumulative capital advised by BPEA across all funds including co-investments.

Hans-Paul Bürkner is Chairman of The Boston Consulting Group. He was previously President and Chief Executive from 2003 to 2012. He joined BCG in 1981 and was a member of the teams that opened BCG’s Düsseldorf (1982) and Frankfurt (1991) offices. Before becoming the firm’s CEO, he was head of BCG’s global Financial Services practice, Chair of the Practice Areas, and a member of the Executive Committee.

As CEO, Hans-Paul has driven BCG's expansion by geography, industries and functions. Among others, he has established the Social Impact Initiative and the Public Sector Practice. The Social Impact Initiative supports WFP, The Gates Foundation, Save the Children, Teach for All, WWF, and the Yunus Foundation, besides hundreds of local NGOs. Through the Public Sector Practice, BCG supports governments in addressing critical issues in education, employment, social welfare, taxation, etc.

He has counted among his clients many of the world’s leading companies and public entities during his more than 30 years at BCG. He has worked with them to redefine their strategies and organizations, spearheaded major global expansion initiatives, and supported them in the fundamental restructuring of their businesses.

Hans-Paul studied economics, business administration, and Chinese, receiving a Diploma from the University of Bochum, an MA from Yale University, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. 

Today, he retains offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Frankfurt, Jakarta, Moscow and Mumbai. Besides his extensive travel to the countries where BCG operates in order to support key clients and teams, he is strongly engaged in global and regional conferences such as the World Economic Forum events in Europe, Asia and Africa, and the China Development and Boao Asian Forums. Hans-Paul is also Chair of the Centre for Public Impact, a new global not-for-profit BCG foundation that connects governments and their partners around the world to share and develop ideas that result in better outcomes for citizens. As the co-chair for various taskforces of the B20, he moderates a multitude of public and private institutions to provide input for the G20 leaders meeting.

Mr. Yoshito Hori established GLOBIS Management School in 1992 and GLOBIS Capital Partners in 1996. In 2003, GLOBIS started its original MBA program which, in 2006, gained “university” status. GLOBIS started a part-time MBA program in English in 2009 and a full-time MBA program in English in 2012.

A Harvard MBA graduate and former Sumitomo Corporation employee, Mr. Hori founded the EO Japan Chapter in 1995 and became the first board member from Asia in charge of Asia Pacific region in 1996. He also served on the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s New Asian Leaders Executive Committee and Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership, as well as the Harvard Business School Alumni Board from 2005 to 2008. Currently, Mr. Hori serves on the Global Advisory Council of the Wilson Center (based in the US).

In 2008, he launched the G1 Summit - a Japanese version of the WEF's annual Davos Forum. This led to the foundation of G1 Institute in 2013, which Mr. Hori serves as President, and Mr Hori's publication of "100 Actions," a vision for a better Japan.

Just days after a huge earthquake struck northeast Japan in March 2011, Mr. Hori launched Project KIBOW to support the rebuilding of the disaster-affected areas. Mr. Hori now serves as the President of the KIBOW Foundation and manages the KIBOW Impact Investment.

An avid enthusiast of the Japanese game Go since age 40, Mr. Hori has been Director of the Nihon Ki-in (Japan Go Association) since June 2013. He also serves as Ambassador for his hometown Mito City and Ibaraki Prefecture. In April, 2016, he purchased the Ibaraki Robots Sports Entertainment and serves as its CEO and principal owner.

He has authored several books including “Visionary Leaders who Create and Innovate Societies”, “Six Dimensions of Life”, and “My Personal Mission Statement”.

Mr. Hori received his BS in Engineering from Kyoto University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

He is an avid swimmer and enjoys spending time with his family, especially his five sons.

As Co-Founder and Group CEO of Catcha Group, Patrick Grove is recognised as one of the leading entrepreneurs in the Asia Pacific region. Over the last nineteen years he founded and took five companies from start-up to IPO, recently selling one of those companies, iProperty Group in a transaction valued in excess of US$534m. The iProperty Group sale was one of the largest Internet exits in ASEAN history.

He is Co-Founder and Chairman of Catcha Group’s newest business, iflix, the world’s leading Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) service for emerging markets. In 2017 alone, iflix raised USD$220mil for its local content strategy bringing it to a total of USD$303mil in funds raised. He is additionally Co-Founder and Director of iCar Asia (ASX: ICQ) and Co-Founder of Frontier Digital Ventures (ASX: FDV), a leading operator of online classified businesses in frontier markets.

Over the last decade, Patrick has been independently and widely recognised with numerous international awards, including: Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum; New Asian Leader by the World Economic Forum; Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Singapore; Asia’s Best Young Entrepreneur by Bloomberg Business. Patrick has also been included on Forbes Malaysia 50 Richest list and the BRW Rich 200 list. Patrick is passionate about the Internet, driven by digital media opportunities and committed to making such businesses work.
 

Dr. Xiang Bing is the Founding Dean and Professor of China Business and Globalization at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB). Prior to joining CKGSB, Dr. Xiang was a Professor at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, where he pioneered the school’s Executive MBA program. He was also one of the seven founding faculty members of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai. Previously, Dr. Xiang served on the faculty of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

He has been an independent board member of a number of companies (including two Fortune Global 500) listed in Hong Kong, mainland China and the US. He is also a member of board of trustees of Asia House (UK), as well as a member of International Advisory Council of Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC) in Brazil and a Counselor for One Young World Summit in Dublin. He also served as a member of board of trustees for United Way Worldwide (US) (2010-2017).

Dr. Xiang’s research interests include state and business relations, reform of state-owned enterprises, innovation and the role of the private sector in China. He is a leading authority on Chinese business, innovations in China, globalization of Chinese companies and global implications of China’s transformation. His writings and cases on these subjects are considered among the most influential in China.

Dr. Xiang has served as keynote speaker at many influential forums and conferences around the world. His recent keynote speaking engagements include APEC Global Innovator Conference (2015), Sydney China Forum (2016), Committee of 100 Annual Conference (2016), China-Europe Trade and Investment Forum (2017), FT Banking Summit (2017), Harvard China Forum (2017 and 2018), CKGSB – Princeton China US Forum (2017), etc.

He is also a regular speaker of World Economic Forum, Bo’ao Forum for Asia, Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, Fortune Global Forum, the Economist Innovation Summit, etc. He also participated in distinguished closed door conferences including Rome Roundtable Meeting (2017 and 2018), Yale CEO Summit (2016), and conferences held by Asia House (UK), Ditchley Foundation, and US Council on Foreign Relations, etc.

He has worked with many leading companies to offer consulting and training in China and globally, including China Mobile, China Telecom, Huawei Technologies, TCL, Midea, Petro China, CNOOC, Ernst & Young, IBM (China), GE (China), Siemens (China), Goldman Sachs (Asia), Clifford Chance, Cummins, DFS, Lenovo, Bank of China and China Railway Construction Corporation, among others.

Dr. Xiang received his Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Alberta in Canada and his bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University in China.
 

Dr. Binod K. Chaudhary is the Chairman of CG Corp Global, a multi-dimensional conglomerate with a portfolio of over 100 businesses spread over 30 countries with a 10,000 - strong staff. Some of the major businesses of the group are present in the US, Africa, Dubai, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Nepal and China.

He is the only Forbes-listed billionaire from the Himalayan republic of Nepal. Some of his core strengths are his vision for the future, an unshakable commitment to work, high adaptability and an ability to lead his team through turbulent times. Contrary to popular perception, he has proved that an entrepreneur can build business in challenging environments and still emerge successful.

Binod has controlling shares in Nabil, the largest private-sector bank in Nepal, and numerous hotel investments, joint ventures and brands worldwide (such as Taj, Alila, Fern, Radisson and the ultimate wellness destination The Farm at San Benito).

He is a global player in FMCG and is the man behind Wai Wai, the iconic brand from CG, which has earned him the sobriquet Noodle King.  Thanks to Wai Wai, he has 2.3% shares of the world's noodles market. His other business interests include energy, infrastructure, realty, telecom and education among the 15 business verticals he runs within CG. 

Besides business, Binod is an internationally renowned philanthropist. He led the rehabilitation works of Chaudhary Foundation after the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and built almost 3000 houses and 40 school buildings in the affected areas. He has been awarded several humanitarian awards and accolades due to his post-earthquake rebuilding initiatives in Nepal. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorate from His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Founder, Art of Living) on behalf of Sri Sri University. 

Some of the important positions Binod has held are: Member of Nepal’s First Constituent Assembly, President Emeritus of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI), Advisor to the Prime Minister of Nepal, World Economic Forum’s Global Leader for Tomorrow (1995), Member of World Presidents Organization (WPO/YPO) and he is currently the Member of Parliament.

Gary is the CEO and Co-founder of Water.org and WaterEquity, nonprofit organizations dedicated to empowering people in the developing world to gain access to safe water and sanitation. (Water.org is the resulting organization of the July 2009 merger between WaterPartners, co-founded by Gary in 1990, and H2O Africa, co-founded by actor Matt Damon). Gary developed Water.org’s WaterCredit Initiative, creating new financing options for poor populations to meet their water supply and sanitation needs. Gary also developed and now leads WaterEquity, the first-ever impact investment manager dedicated to ending the global water crisis in our lifetime, with an exclusive focus on raising and deploying capital to water and sanitation businesses that serve the poor throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Over the past 25 years, Gary’s entrepreneurial vision has driven innovations in the way water and sanitation projects are delivered and financed, innovations that now serve as a model in the sector.

Gary is a leading advisor in the water and sanitation space, counseling organizations such as the Skoll Foundation, Bank of America Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, IKEA Foundation, and the Caterpillar Foundation on responses to the global water crisis. Gary is a founding board member of the Millennium Water Alliance and Water Advocates.

Gary was selected as a Skoll Foundation Social Entrepreneur in 2009 and a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur in 2012. In 2011, he was named to the TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people. In 2014 he was named to the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Water. In 2017 Gary received the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

Gary’s educational credentials include three degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Missouri University of Science & Technology.
 

A native of Yangon, Myanmar, Pun spent his formative years in China during the great Cultural Revolution and arrived in Hong Kong at the age of 21.  He started out his career as a salesman at a Hong Kong-based real estate firm where he worked for ten years.  In 1983, Pun went on to found Serge Pun & Associates Limited in Hong Kong and eventually returned to the country of his birth to establish SPA Myanmar in 1991.  

In 1992, he founded one of the first public companies in Myanmar - First Myanmar Investment (FMI), which later became the first listed company on the new Yangon Stock Exchange on 25 March 2016. He led two other companies to successful listings on the Singapore Stock Exchange; Yoma Strategic Holdings on the mainboard in 2006 and Memories Group on the Catalist Board on 5 January 2018. 

Today, Yoma Group has grown to become one of Myanmar’s leading corporations with 40 companies actively operating in seven business sectors: banking and financial services, real estate development, automotive, agriculture and logistics, luxury travel and tourism, consumer services and healthcare. 

Pun is currently a member of the World Economic Forum ASEAN Regional Group and ASEAN Business Council, a standing member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference of Dalian, and a member of the Asia Business Council.  Additionally, he served as an Honorary Business Representative of the International Enterprise Singapore for Myanmar from 2004 till 2006. He is also the chair of Singapore Management University International Board of Advisors for Myanmar. 

He is frequently invited to be a speaker in international forums on Myanmar and ASEAN. In 2014, Pun was awarded the special honor of being selected as one of the 65 outstanding Overseas Chinese Model worldwide to feature on a series of commemorative postage stamp celebrating the 65th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.  

Pun now resides in Yangon with his wife and four sons.

Jack Leslie is Chairman of Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s leading global communications and engagement firms.  A strategic communications executive, political consultant and international development activist, Jack brings a long track record of helping clients integrate global political, economic, cultural and communication trends to create innovative, forward-looking strategy and plans.  Some of the companies he has counseled include American Airlines, Bank of America, GE, HP, Johnson & Johnson, MasterCard, Merck & Co, Microsoft, Nestle, Novartis, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, Siemens and Unilever.

Jack was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003 to serve on the Board of Directors of the US African Development Foundation.  He was named Chairman of the USADF Board by President Barack Obama in 2009, and was re-confirmed for the position by the U.S. Senate in 2016.  He was also appointed to the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa in 2016.  Jack is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member and former Chairman of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid, Chairman of Duke Global Health Institute’s Board of Advisors and former Chairman of the Ron Brown Scholar Program.  He is also a member of the board of directors for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatrics AIDS Foundation, a member of the InterAction Business Council Advisory Board, a trustee of the Circumnavigators Foundation, and former Chairman of the Board of USA for UNHCR (the UN refugee agency).

Jack began his career as an aide to Senator Edward Kennedy, serving as his political director and as Executive Director of the Fund for a Democratic Majority.  He joined Sawyer Miller Group, a prominent political consulting firm, in 1983 and became president of the company in 1985.  During the 1980’s and 1990’s, Jack provided political counsel to dozens of presidential and statewide campaigns in the United States, Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Jack is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

V Shankar ("Shankar") is Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in the dynamic growth markets of Africa, Middle East and Asia.

Shankar is non-executive director of Dangote Cement PLC, Nigeria, Enterprise Singapore and Gateway Delta Development Holdings, Mauritius; and on the advisory board of Institute of Societal Leadership at Singapore Management University.

Shankar previously served as CEO - Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas and a member of the global board of Standard Chartered Plc and prior to that as Head of Investment Banking for Asia Pacific at Bank of America.  His past appointments in a non-executive capacity on various institutions and committees include the boards of the Inland Revenue Authority Singapore; Majid Al Futtaim Holdings; Economic Strategies Committee and  National Integration Council constituted by the  government of Singapore; Asia Society, New York; Sub-Saharan Advisory Board of the Exim Bank USA; Singapore Indian Development Association; Global Business Coalition for Education; Vice Chair of Future of Banking Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum; and, financial centre task force appointed by the Treasurer of the State of California. 

Mr. Shankar was awarded the Public Service Medal by the government of Singapore in 2014. 
 

Rich Karlgaard is the Editor-at-Large / Global Futurist of Forbes Media. His writing is known for its keen assessment of technology, economic, business and leadership issues. He is a regular commentator on the Fox Business channel, a speaker and panel moderator at business events, and a Silicon Valley investor and advisory board member. 

Karlgaard’s 2014 book on innovation culture, The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Find Lasting Success made the lists of top business books of 2014 for Inc., Time.com, 800-CEO-READ and Huffington Post.

Karlgaard’s 2015 book, Team Genius: The New Science of High Performing Organizations, was published in 2015. The book was hailed by Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and Frederick Smith, CEO and chairman of FedEx.

His next book is called Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement. It will be published by Crown Business in March 2019.

Karlgaard holds a B.A. in political science from Stanford University. He and his family live in Silicon Valley. He is a past winner of the Northern California E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Yuwa is currently Global Chief Economist and Chair of the Academic Advisory Council at Mastercard Inc.  In 2019, he will also join the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore as Senior Fellow. Prior to his global role at Mastercard, he was based in Singapore as Economic Advisor to Mastercard in Asia/Pacific, Middle East, and Africa from 2001 to 2009. 

At Mastercard, Yuwa leads the effort in dissecting and clarifying structural and cyclical trends to evaluate investment and business opportunities worldwide. He also focuses on assessing emerging markets in the context of evolving patterns of international trade and globalization. 

In addition to Mastercard, Yuwa has served as economic advisors to over 30 leading global companies in the past two decades.

He was HSBC Visiting Professor of International Business at the University of British Columbia, Canada from 2010 to 2014; Adjunct Professor at the School of Management, Fudan University, Shanghai, China from 2006 to 2011, and Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, Singapore from 2003 to 2004. 

He is a Canadian who spent 25 years working in Europe, Sub-Sahara Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and Asia Pacific before returning to Canada in 2011.    

Yuwa studied philosophy, political science, history and economics at Trent University, and pursued post-graduate studies at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University in Canada, where he received his Ph.D. He lives on Salt Spring Island, off the West Coast of Canada, with his wife and their cat; where he gardens enthusiastically. 
 

Jim Walker is the founder and chief economist of Asianomics Group Limited, an economics and strategy research and consultancy company formed in late 2007 which primarily serves the fund management industry. 

Prior to establishing Asianomics in December 2007 he was the chief economist at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. He joined CLSA in late 1991. Over the years Dr Jim achieved numerous ‘best economist’ rankings in the Asiamoney, Institutional Investor and Greenwich surveys of fund managers. In 1995 he wrote about the prospect of Asia being forced off its de facto dollar peg “within the next two-three years”. The Asian Crisis, precipitated by the Thai baht devaluation, began in July 1997. 

In recent years he is best known for forecasting the US 2007 downturn and financial sector meltdown in his series of ‘Apocalypse’ reports and for becoming more upbeat on India and Southeast Asia in his Asia Connected and World War Three strategy reports. In December 2016, for the first time in ten years, he went overweight on China and reinforced that call in his April 2017 report, China: The Bull Among Us. 

He has also developed an approach to analysing Asian economies based on profit and credit cycles as well as a series of ‘Austrian’ stress indicators. Application of this approach allowed him to call early the upswing in the Indian stock market in the final quarter of 2013. The models are currently signaling a buy on China, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam. 

Before coming to Asia, he worked in his native Scotland as a research fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute for Research on the Scottish Economy, and then at The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Edinburgh headquarters. Between 1998 and 2002 he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree and a doctorate in economics from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Parag Khanna is a leading global strategy advisor, world traveler, and best-selling author. He is Founder & Managing Partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario based strategic advisory firm. Parag's newest book is The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict & Culture in the 21^st Century (2019). He is author of a trilogy of books on the future of world order beginning with The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (2008), followed by How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance (2011), and concluding with Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization (2016).

He is also author of Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State (2017) and co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012). In 2008, Parag was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.” He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, and Bachelors and Masters degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has traveled to more than 100 countries and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

Jixun Foo is a Managing Partner at GGV Capital. He has more than 20 years experience in venture capital investing and has worked with many successful entrepreneurs. Jixun led GGV’s investments in Qunar (NASDAQ:QUNR), Youku-Tudou (NYSE:YOKU), UCWeb, Didi Chuxing, Mogujie-Meilishuo, MediaV, and currently serves on the boards of Aiwujiwu, GrabTaxi, Tujia, Douguo and Diandian Yangche. Jixun played a critical role in many key strategic M&As, such as Youku-Tudou (first ever multibillion-dollar tech merger in China), Baidu/Qunar, Ctrip/Qunar, and Mogujie/Meilishuo. Previously, Jixun was a Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson ePlanet Ventures, where he led investment efforts in Asian companies such as Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU). Jixun led the Investment Group of the National Science & Technology Board of Singapore (NSTB), and was previously a R&D project group leader at Hewlett Packard. Jixun graduated from the National University of Singapore with a First-Class Honors degree in Engineering, and received a M.Sc. in Management of Technology from the university's Graduate School of Business.

Tim Ferguson is Editor of Forbes Asia, the English-language publication of Forbes magazine in the Asia/Pacific region, and posts on international topics at Forbes.com.  He is based in the company's New Jersey headquarters.
 
Mr. Ferguson joined Forbes as its West Coast Bureau Manager in 1995. He served as Assistant Managing Editor from 1998 to 2001, when he became global editor.  Prior to joining Forbes, he spent 12 years at The Wall Street Journal as Editorial Features Editor, Business World Columnist and Member of the Editorial Board.
 
Mr. Ferguson also sits on the board of the Overseas Press Club Foundation and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in NYC. He has twice been a Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and holds a BA in Economics from Stanford.
 
Tim Ferguson’s blog address: http://blogs.forbes.com/timferguson/
Twitter: @ForbesEditor

Pamela covers wealth, blockchain and the crypto economy as a senior reporter across digital and print platforms. Prior to Forbes Asia, she served as on-air foreign correspondent for Thomson Reuters’ broadcast team, during which she reported on global markets, central bank policies, and breaking business news. 

Before Asia, she was a journalist at NBC Comcast, and started her career at CNBC and Bloomberg as a financial news producer in New York. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School and holds an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. 

Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Yahoo, USA Today, Huffington Post, and Nasdaq. Pamela’s previous incarnation was on the buy side in M&A research and asset management, inspired by Michael Lewis’ book “Liar’s Poker”.
 

Rana joined the Forbes’ Hong Kong office as a Senior Digital Editor in October 2015 to kickstart Forbes’ successful Under 30 franchise in the APAC region. She has since edited all three editions of the 30 Under 30 Asia list and directed the programming for Forbes Under 30 Asia Summits. Apart from building Asia’s network of successful young entrepreneurs through this annual list, Rana has been recently promoted to be a key member of Forbes Asia operations, handling special projects that seek to expand the brand’s footprint in the region.

Born and bred in Beirut, Lebanon – Rana’s eclectic journey has taken her from Dubai to Singapore and now Hong Kong where she’s worked at global newsrooms taking on various editorial roles, last of which is APAC Group Editor in Chief for the Paris-based Reworld Media where she launched two lifestyle and fashion websites (Marie France Asia and BE Asia) setting their editorial strategy and growing their audience from day one. Before that, she ran an editorial fashion blog which focused on emerging Asian designers and grew a large following in Singapore and beyond.

Be it tech or fashion - Rana is always inspired by the creativity, energy and talent of those who dare to take a risk and follow their passion – something she personally thrives on.

Fascinated by Asia and its diverse culture, Rana loves to travel around the region and she’s equally fond of Asimov’s sci-fi novels and her skyhigh heels.