The goal of Limitless is to bring together bright minds to share their experience and expertise on the issues relevant to sustainable development to inspire and foster learning for collaborative thinking and collective action.
Crisis To Hope: How Corporations Can Lead Sustainable Change
August 2nd 2022
10:00 – 11:00 AM SGT
Key Note Address and Opening Remarks
The opening plenary would focus on the plausible solutions that lie ahead in addressing the challenges to the global goals and the catalytic role of corporations, civil society and communities
Simoun Ung
President and CEO of OmniPay Inc.
Simoun Ung
Simoun Ung has an extensive background in international business in the Asia Pacific, both as a professional in the financial industry, as well as being a successful entrepreneur. He is the President & CEO of OmniPay, Inc., the Philippines’ leading issuer of prepaid payment cards and innovator for financial inclusion. He is also the Vice Chairman of Bastion Payment Systems Corporation, which developed and launched the first proprietary payment gateway in the Philippines certified to Payment Card Industry standards. Simoun is likewise the Vice Chairman of Sansin Mineral Resources, Inc. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Transpacific Broadband Group International, Inc.
Simoun’s past experience includes Adviser-Origination of Hambrecht & Quist Philippines Inc. and President of Four Star Consulting. He was a Service Provider to RBS Coutts Bank Ltd. He served as an advisor to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He was also a consultant to the Commission on Elections and the Office of the International Policy and Special COncerns of the Department of National Defense. Simoun was a member of the Board of Directors of Mobiclear, Inc [NASDAQ OTCBB: MOBI], Revonergy Plc. [NASDAQ OTCBB: RNRG] and was a member of the Board of Advisors of Essential Innovations Technology Corp. [NASDAQ OTCBB: ESIV].
Simoun maintains extensive ties with the Philippine community. He is the Chairman of the Wycliffe Bible Translators Philippines, Inc. He is also a Deacon and Presider at Grace Christian Church of the Philippines. He is the Chairman of the Security Disaster Group Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. Simoun is also the Vice Chairman of the Overseas Security Advisory Council – Manila Country Council, a Federal Advisory Committee with the U.S. Government charter to prompt security cooperation between the U.S. Department of State and American business and private sector interests worldwide. Simoun is a Commander in the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Deputy Comptroller, National Headquarters. He is also the Ambassador to the Philippines for Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario. He is also a member of the Management Association of the Philippines.
Sustainable Food Systems – Interplay of Community, Corporations and Civil Society
Kim-See Lim
Regional Director, East Asia and the Pacific International Finance Corporation
Kim-See Lim
Ms. Kim-See Lim is the Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific. Ms. Lim oversees the implementation of the region’s strategy, investment, and advisory business. IFC, the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, has a US$10 billion portfolio in region.
With a career spanning more than 25 years of investing in emerging markets across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, Ms. Lim has developed a strong track record as a global investment professional and leader in development finance. She has been responsible for originating and subsequently managing multi-billion regional equity and debt investment portfolios across the consumer services, infrastructure, and financial sectors. She has successfully led and motivated multicultural and multidisciplinary teams to execute on IFC’s strategy and business globally. Ms. Lim has also served on the boards and advisory committees of private companies in various emerging markets.
Her global career in development finance has taken her to more than 30 countries including frontier markets such as Belarus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Mozambique, Myanmar, Rwanda, and many others.
Ms. Lim is passionate about climate change, inclusive growth, and innovation. She is based in Hong Kong and is fluent in English, Cantonese, and Bahasa.
Marcus Frost
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at World Vision International
Marcus Frost
With nearly 30 years of experience, Marcus Frost is a seasoned executive who has designed innovative marketing and communications strategies to move organisations to higher levels of performance. He has worked across a broad range of sectors, including not-for-profit, consumer technology, mobile, automotive, telco, retail, and industrial. An energetic leader, Marcus is passionate about using disruptive marketing solutions to transform organisations.
Marcus currently serves as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at World Vision International, where he is a member of the executive leadership team. He is also a member of the World Vision UK Board. Since 2019, Marcus has led his team in fundraising, global product development, public engagement, brand positioning, and storytelling initiatives. He first joined World Vision in 2017 as part of the Strategy Realisation Office, where he focused on high-quality sustainable funding, and then moved on to leading the global communications and marketing teams.
Prior to joining World Vision, Marcus worked for global brands such as Motorola and Google. During six years at Motorola, he led the regional marketing team for Europe, Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia through acquisitions by Google and then Lenovo. At Google, as Senior Marketing Director, he led regional marketing, strategy, and ecommerce, where he stewarded a $120m annual budget and resources to support the mobile devices portfolio.
Marcus began his career with Perkins Engines and then Ford Motor Company, where he became Brand Manager for Ford of Europe. He also held senior marketing roles in telecommunications (with Bulldog, part of Cable and Wireless) and automotive retail (with Inchcape plc).
Rakesh Ranjan
Mission Director – Aspirational Districts Programs NITI Aayog, Government of India
Rakesh Ranjan
Mr. Rakesh Ranjan, IPS, is Mission Director- ADP, Niti Aayog, Government of India.
Aspirational Districts Programs, which aims at rapid transformation of identified under-developed pockets in India. This programme actively supports transition towards data based governance where districts are being ranked on the basis of real time data.
Mr. Ranjan is also heading a team on creation of a federal level knowledge portal ‘Ease of living Index.’ He has received the Presidents’ Police medal for Meritorious Service in 2007 and President’s medal for Distinguished Service in 2016.
He is part of the team which finalized the strategy for efficient urbanisation in the 12th plan. He was also a member of the Committee on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for recommending its improved architecture and is a convener of the committee on Capacity Building and Urban Planning. His other major responsibilities have been to examine proposals of large urban transport projects like Metro Rail and help in optimal restructuring and financing of such projects. He has also worked Biographies of Speakers/Presenters and other Resource Persons 94 International Conference on Sustainable and Inclusive Urban Development in India as Director in Infrastructure Division (Highways and Power sector) in erstwhile Planning Commission where creation of a suitable regulatory framework for attracting private investment under PPP was the main focus
Cherian Thomas,
Regional Leader, South Asia & Pacific Region, World Vision International
MODERATOR
Cherian Thomas
of Karnataka, Delhi and Uttarakhand in India.
Mr. Thomas has worked in the areas of infrastructure, banking, project finance, policy advocacy, capacity building, programme support and advisory services for corporate & government clients and community engagement. Apart from the IDFC group, where he worked for almost 18 years, he has worked with leading corporates such as Tata Industries Limited, ICICI Limited, SCICI Limited and Citibank in the areas of corporate finance, project finance and banking.
“You”th As Drivers Of Inclusive Economic Growth
August 2nd 2022,
11:00 – 12:00PM SGT
Fire-Side Chat
The next generation of global leaders face an enormous challenge – the unemployment rate for young people is three times higher than it is for adults. The needs are even greater among low-income and minority youth who encounter even bigger hurdles accessing education, skills training opportunities and jobs. How can corporations help young people build skills, expand their networks and become career-ready through first jobs, internships, and leadership and entrepreneurship training?
Christine Lee,
Regional Operations Director, Vision Fund Inc.
MODERATOR
Christine Lee
With more than 30 years’ experience in consumer services, banking and wealth management, Ms. Christine Lee is focused on championing future business models, financial inclusion, fintechs and payments.
Currently, she is the Regional Operations Director of Vision Fund Inc.– World Vision’s financial services provider offering small loans, savings and insurance to enable the world’s most vulnerable communities to turn business ideas and opportunities into successful enterprises.
Christine is also a certified executive coach for C-suite, particularly with women in leadership.
Yibin Chu
Head of Community Investing and Development, Asia Pacific, Citi
Yibin Chu
Mr. Yibin Chu is currently the Head of Community Investing and Development for Asia Pacific at Citi, based in Singapore. He leads Citi’s efforts to drive economic opportunity and invest in equitable and inclusive growth of communities in the Asia Pacific region across 17 markets, through community partnerships and engagement, and strategic investments of Citi and Citi Foundation.
William Chiu
Global Head of Future Skills, Corporate Sustainability, HSBC
William Chiu
William Chiu is currently Global Head of Future Skills of HSBC’s Group Corporate Sustainability function. Based in Hong Kong, William oversees the bank’s global philanthropic strategy that aims to build inclusive resilience in our communities by helping people respond to future challenges – in particular, in response to low-carbon transition, digital transformation, as well as the pandemic – through building employability and financial capability skills.
William joined HSBC Hong Kong in 2004 and had since led a wide range of charitable and corporate citizenship programmes in the region. In 2015, William was hired by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to drive philanthropic projects on education innovation and community leadership development. William returned to HSBC in 2019 to head the bank’s Future Skills programmes for Asia Pacific and was appointed to its current global role in 2021.
A Hong Kong native, William obtained a Bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Minnesota in 1997, a Master of Business Administration degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2006, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Hong Kong in 2012.
Prateek Hedge
CEO, Generation.org Singapore
Prateek Hedge
Prateek Hegde is the COO of Asia-Pacific region and the CEO for Generation in Singapore. In his role, he oversees the implementation of Generation programs run in partnership with SkillsFuture and Post-Secondary Institutions in Singapore, and also leads Generation’s outreach and expansion efforts in Asia-Pacific. Prior to this, he led the country operations for Generation India where he oversaw Generation’s scaling to over 3,000 graduates within a year with above-market placement and on-job retention outcomes. He also led efforts to embed the Generation methodology within public-funded training providers. Before Generation, he led the country operations of a skill-development startup that trained and certified over 25,000 school/college drop-outs in India in various employable skills of the future.
Prateek is among the founding cohort of 50 ‘Young India fellows’ at Ashoka University and has studied Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai.
Ved Mani Tiwari
Chief Operating Officer, National Skill Development Corporation
Ved Mani Tiwari
Mr. Ved Mani Tiwari serves as the Chief Operating Officer at National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and is responsible for managing the organisation’s operations. A key member of the senior leadership team, Ved plays an integral role in developing and executing NSDC’s strategies to drive skilling operations through Sector Skill Councils (SSC), Training Providers and Industry Engagement.
Ved has over 30 years of professional experience where he served the Government of India, and worked with private sector in Infrastructure (Energy, Urban Development, and Transportation). In his previous roles, he has held key managerial positions – as Director, Welspun, Global CEO, Sterlite Power, MD, SunEdison, Director, Ministry of Railways, and Director in Kochi Metro, Chennai Metro and Nagpur Metro.
Ved is credited with many business model related and financial/technological innovations such as developing a unique Social Marketplace led business model for Kochi Metro, setting up an EV power transmission development business in Latin America and the first public listed InVIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust) for Sterlite Power, acquisition of the first large scale utility Solar Park (500 MW) business for SunEdison, and setting up the first phase of Delhi Metro as a part of the core leadership team.
Is Technology An Enabler Or Barrier For Equitable Education?
August 2nd 2022,
01:00 – 02:00PM SGT
Panel Discussion
The pandemic disrupted education of more than 760 million children across the region. National governments across Asia have been quick to implement remote learning – but it did not reach all children, especially the most marginalized. Mobile phones were primarily used as a medium for learning, as reach is high across the region. But with competition within family for screen time, high costs of data and the limitations of learning on a small screen coupled with limited skills for remote learning – the issues of equitable and accessible education continue to be significant. What are the key challenges, the innovations in place and the way forward?
Lilian Chung
CEO and National Director, World Vision Singapore
MODERATOR
Lilian Chung
Lilian has more than 25 years’ experience in the Information and Communication Technology industry. She spent 17 years in various senior roles in HP and was the Asia Pacific Head of Marketing, Office Printing Systems before joining World Vision. She has also worked for EMC International as their Asia Pacific Senior Director of Partner Marketing, and with Motorola Mobility Device as their Senior Regional Marketing Director for the Asia Pacific and Middle East region.
Hosea Lai
Regional Head of Philanthropies, Microsoft
Hosea Lai
Hosea is the Regional Director of Microsoft Philanthropies, APAC. His core work involves reaching the underserved communities with skills training so that they can participate in the Digital Economy across the region. Along the way, he hopes to inspire everyone to help others in providing that opportunity, without biases.
Prior to his current position, he was the Head of Social Impact at LinkedIn, held various positions in public and people sectors, such as the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre and Habitat for Humanity. At Habitat for Humanity International, he held multiple portfolios, such as the Director of Programmes for Singapore, the Regional Programme Manager, looking after Northeast Asia, and the Sichuan Earthquake Response Director, overseeing the post-earthquake recovery projects in Sichuan.
Outside of work, Hosea has worked in Myanmar working among the child soldiers, worked on Cyclone Nargis project in Myanmar, Asian Tsunami recovery projects in Indonesia and Sri Lanja. He is very passionate about leadership training, and has done leadership training work in Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, and Singapore. He has volunteered locally as well as overseas, such as in India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
His motto – Do good and have fun along the way!!
Abhishek Gupta
CEO and Co-founder, Navgurkul
Abhishek Gupta
An IIT Delhi alumnus and a Software Engineer, Abhishek leads NavGurukul a non-profit which runs a 1-year job guaranteed residential courses for women from rural and tribal India. More than 750 students from 20+ states in the country stay on their campus, learn and get jobs as Software Programmers – without a degree, college, professor or exams. Abhishek earlier co-founded two startups in the past but made a switch to Social Sector to use his skills for what he truly believed in.
Heather Suksem
Deputy Chairman, OCS ROH Limited
Heather Suksem
A highly motivated and committed professional with a career spanning over 30 years based in Thailand.
Led the region for OCS Group (known as PCS in Thailand) to position itself as a leading total facilities management provider in the region. Growing the business from 1 country to 10 countries and a team from 1000 to 57000 staff. Retired from the Regional CEO position December 2017.
PCS was awarded the prestigious Frost & Sullivan Thailand Facility Management Company of The Year Award for four consecutive years and in 2015 OCS group was awarded the Queen’s award for Enterprise in International trade, with Thailand being a major contributor to this award.
A fluent Thai speaker and was awarded Thai Nationality in December 2017. An avid and active supporter of OCS’ community activities. Serves as Vice Chairperson of the Manna Home Foundation for women and children at risk and part of the advisory board and support team of Samaritan’s Creation which rescues, restores and empowers women from the Sex trade.
Served on the Nok Airline Board as an Independent Director and member of the Corporate Governance Committee from May 2018 to July 2020.
Became a Chartered Director in 2018 (Thai Institute of Directors).
Was awarded an OBE in the 2015 New Year Honors List for services to British business interests, the community and charitable interests in Thailand.
Anusha Alles
Head of CSR, Brandix Inc., and Project Director – Right to Read Sri Lanka
Anusha Alles
Following a stint in the UN, in 2007 Anusha Alles developed and headed the Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) Division of Brandix Lanka Limited, Sri Lanka’s largest apparel company. The
Brandix CSR Division has been working to alleviate the stress of water poverty, especially in the lives
of women, and coordinating greater impact social -investment work across the country.
She is a highly engaged Corporate Social Responsibility leader with more than fifteen years’
experience in end-to-end complex project management, senior stakeholder engagement and strategic
planning and implementation. She has a passion for community development, empowering peoples’
personal development and setting the benchmark for corporate sustainability initiatives that positively
changes peoples’ lives and have real, tangible, long lasting positive impact. Having significant
experience in developing and implementing CSR and Sustainability strategy and community
development programs, achieving strong commercial outcomes and improving social and business
return through forming innovative partnerships including internal and external stakeholders such as
Executive, Government, Investors and NGOs.
Her work has been recognised as best practice in shared value and innovation with a 2018 award for
100 Most impactful CSR Leaders (World CSR Day) in addition to a 2019 Asia’s Women’s Leaders
award.
In 2021, she was appointed CEO of RightToRead Sri Lanka, a non-profit national programme to
initiate technology-enabled learning in English reading across public/Government schools. Backed by
Brandix as its Founding Strategic Partner and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Sri
Lanka and EnglishHelper Global, RightToRead Sri Lanka embarked on a mission to enable the
proficiency of English as a language across the 4.2 million school children in Sri Lanka.
She currently serve as Director on several Boards including World Vision Lanka
Sustainable Food Systems – Interplay Of Community, Corporations And Civil Society
August 3rd 2022,
10:00 – 11:00AM SGT
Fire-side Chat
The target of a zero-hunger world by 2030 is under threat. Despite the promise of global leaders in 2015 to end hunger and poverty and to reduce inequality, hunger rates are on the rise again due to conflict, climate change and COVID. Asia and the Pacific is home to nearly half a billion undernourished people. Sustainable food systems need support from a vast range of stakeholders from the farmers to the final consumer, from governments to private sector to civil society. What are the challenges, best practices and innovations to a hunger-free world?
Paul Newnham,
Director, UN SDG2 Advocacy Hub
MODERATOR
Paul Newnham
advocacy to achieve food systems transformation.
To this end, the SDG2 Hub facilitates a network of 1000+ chefs from over 90 countries to support chef action on the SDGs. Chefs are equipped with a simple set of actions called the Chefs’ Manifesto, to drive progress to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The Hub also lead the development of the Good Food For All Campaign that has been taken on by the UN Food System Summit to drive Public Engagement.
Paul is a strategic innovator and executive leader with demonstrated expertise in driving teams, connecting people, sustainability and development, and delivering impressive global
solutions to complex community challenges. He is a passionate and dynamic leader with twenty five [25]+ years of proven expertise in Sustainability, Food Systems, Non-Profit Management, Communications, Campaigning and Advocacy, delivered through consistent and competitive methodologies, strong network development, superior client service and executive presence.
His extensive knowledge of the Not-for-profit sector and vast experience in managing complex stakeholder relationships is complemented by his work with communities in Africa, Asia, The Middle East, Europe and The Americas. A skilled communicator, with a narrative that entices people to get on board, Paul starts movements that make global impact and change. He possesses strong business acumen, and exceptional advocacy skills, with the ability to build deeply engaging relationships and influence decision makers, improve
practices, drive change, and deliver impactful solutions to complex problems alongside communities around the world.
Amri Ilmma
COO, Edufarmers Inc.
Amri Ilmma
Amri is the Chief Operating Officer at Edufarmers International, a non-profit organization that aims to improve the agricultural practices and livelihood of smallholder farmers in Indonesia through education & training, research, and technological innovations.
He previously worked as the Head of Public Policy at Ruangguru, where he led various policy advocacy, impact initiatives, and government relations activities. He has also worked at various positions in start-ups, research, and development sectors such as at the President of Indonesia’s special staff office, Enveritas (sustainability assurance company), Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Indonesia (UI), and at the World Bank, where he conducted research, policy advocacy, and impact projects on education, poverty alleviation, social assistance, sustainability, and other international development areas.
Amri holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and master’s degree in economics from the University of Indonesia, and a Master’s of Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School.
David Whitehead
Chariman, Mavin group
David Whitehead
David first came to Vietnam in 2003 to interview, select and offer students places and scholarships at Australian Universities. In 2004 he moved to live and work in Vietnam,and located in Hanoi.
He has taught English throughout Vietnam at schools and English centres and conducted corporate training for a variety of enterprises.
He was inaugural Deputy Principal and English Master at Newton Grammar School, My Dinh, Ha Noi. He continues to tutor selected Vietnamese students.
In 2004 David joined Austfeed Vietnam as a founding Director. Austfeed became the Mavin Group and David was appointed Chairman of the Board. Mavin is a large fully integrated farm to table agribusiness headquartered in Hanoi with feedmills, veterinary medicine and food manufacturing plants and farms throughout Vietnam. Mavin employs 2,500 people throughout the country.
Mavin is one of the top 10 agribusinesses in Vietnam and holds an enviable position as the most innovative in the industry embracing advanced technology and a digital transformation program which began in 2019.
David is in Auscham Board of Directors, and is Head of the Agribusiness Working Group of the Vietnam Business Forum.
David has experience and expertise in many fields from education to business, management, logistics, agribusiness, marketing, media and tourism.
In Australia, David worked in the Federal Government sector until 1994 as a Ministerial adviser in Transport and Defence, and as a Comcare State Manager. In the education sector from 1994 to 2004 he was employed as Principal Adviser to the RMIT University Vice-Chancellor, and later as Business Manager at Monash University, then General Manager Corporate Marketing at Box Hill Institute of Technology.
He is an active member in the international ex pat business community in Vietnam through his involvement with the Vietnam Business Forum and its committees.
Peggy Chan
Executive Director, Zero Food Print Asia
Peggy Chan
In 2012, Peggy opened Grassroots Pantry (GP) in Hong Kong with a mission to raise awareness of the inequities in our food system and to share knowledge on the benefits of whole food plant-based cuisine. GP became carbon neutral in 2018 and its first sustainability report was recognized by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ESCAP as a best practice case study on sustainable sourcing and responsible management.
Over the years Peggy has emerged as one of the region’s most authoritative voices on organic sourcing and systems thinking design; where she is often invited to speak on panels related to food policies on behalf of the food-service industry, develop educational programmes, consult industry peers on sustainable practices while empowering them to take action. In 2020, Peggy developed Grassroots Initiatives Consultancy to assist foodservice professionals in their transition towards best practices that meet both human and planetary health goals.
Later that year, she gave a talk at TedxTinHauWomen as part of the TED Countdown global initiative on ‘Food Literacy as The Secret Recipe for Solving the Climate Crisis’, further sharing her ambition to transform the food system with the public. More recently, Peggy successfully self-published her first cookbook through a crowdfunding campaign – ‘Provenance: Principles of Plant-Based Cookery’, available in English and Traditional Chinese.
She has recently been tasked to lead non-profit projects in the region including scaling impact-venture Zero Foodprint to Asia – an NGO that works to rapidly mobilize funding from the food industry and restaurant sector to scale agricultural climate solutions.
An environmentalist at heart with a natural penchant for holding oneself accountable, she is currently furthering her expertise to assist food businesses in their journey towards a net zero transition.
Peggy is an alumni of Global Shapers Hong Kong, World Economic Forum, an active member of the Chefs’ Manifesto SDG2 Advocacy Hub, a two time Ted X speaker, and a HK Environmental Excellence Awardee in the service sector.
Judy Boucek
Nutrition Improvement Segment Lead, DSM Health Nutrition & Biosciences, APAC
Judy Boucek
Judy Boucek is the Nutrition Improvement segment lead for DSM’s APAC region. Creating brighter lives for all inspires her to work alongside like-minded civil society, public and private sector partners to find sustainable, affordable and accessible nutrition solutions for our world’s most vulnerable. She shares more than 30 years of experience in business and market development in the food and nutrition industry. She joined DSM North America 11 years ago and is delighted to now be part of the APAC family.
Climate Change And The Bottom Line – How Can Corporations Reverse The Trend?
August 3rd 2022,
11:00 – 12:00PM SGT
Moderated Discussion
Climate change and disasters threaten the long-term sustainability of development in Asia. The region has experienced a significant increase in the number, intensity, and impact of extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, floods, droughts, and heat waves which have caused significant loss of lives and economic damage. Over the past five years’ disasters have led to damages more than $50bn.
How are corporations and civil society adapting to and enabling reversal in climate change trends?
Sarah Bearup
Chief Operations Officer, World Vision Asia Pacific
MODERATOR
Sarah Bearup
Sarah Bearup is a global humanitarian and development leader with deep expertise in protecting the most vulnerable and responding to complex protracted crises. Having lived in South East Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Sarah has worked at the intersection of humanitarian and development programming for more than 20 years. She has also led emergency responses to natural disasters and protracted crises.
Sarah is a former diplomat and humanitarian advisor for the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She has extensive experience with international NGOs in leadership roles including National Director for World Vision International in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Country Director for Hagar International in Cambodia.
Sarah has developed deep domain expertise in protection and inclusion, specifically responses to gender-based violence, child protection and disability inclusion.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Anthropology) from Monash University, Masters of International Development from Deakin University, and Executive Leadership Certificate from Stanford University.
Pierre Lorinet
Chairman, Lorinet Foundation
Pierre Lorinet
Pierre Lorinet is the Co-founder and Chairman of the Lorinet Foundation, which supports pioneering, impactful, and sustainable initiatives promoting education, employment, and access to clean water and energy for vulnerable communities in Mongolia and South East Asia. He also serves as the Non-Executive Director for various businesses, agencies, and philanthropic organisations and a number of technology start-ups.
Tony Rinaudo
Principal Climate Action Advisor, World Vision Australia
Tony Rinaudo
Mr. Tony Rinaudo served as an agriculturalist and missionary with ‘Serving in Mission’ in Niger Republic from 1981 to 1999. There, he oversaw long-term rural development and periodic, large-scale relief programs. Through these he contributed to a transformation in how Nigeriens farm, and the reforesting of over six million hectares of land, which still inspires re-greening movements globally. For his 18 years’ service to humanity and the environment, the government of Niger awarded him its highest honor for an expatriate “The Order of Agriculture with Merit” (Merite Agricole du Niger).
Since joining World Vision Australia in 1999, Tony initiated and/or oversaw important land regeneration projects, worldwide. Serving now as Principal Climate Action Advisor, he promotes forestry and agro-forestry initiatives globally within the World Vision partnership, and beyond.
He is widely recognized for his influential contribution to heightened international awareness on the impact and efficacy, and uptake of, simple, low cost, scalable methods of reforestation known as FMNR (Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration). Among major awards Tony and FMNR have recently received are the 2018 Right Livelihood Award “for demonstrating on a large scale how drylands can be greened at minimal cost, improving the livelihoods of millions of people”, and the World Future Council Agroecology Award. In 2019, Tony was appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division).
Dr. Vincent Cheng
Arup Fellow, Director of Climate & Sustainability, ARUP
Dr Vincent Cheng
Dr Vincent Cheng is a Fellow and Director of Climate and Sustainability Services at Arup in East Asia. He leads a group of design engineers and specialists working on some of the most sustainable projects across the region and advising clients on their transition to zero carbon.
Some of his most exemplar projects include the Green Building Grand Award winners Victoria Dockside, The Henderson and The AIRSIDE in Hong Kong, South Beach in Singapore and Samsung Green Tomorrow in South Korea. In particular, his work on the Kai Tak District Cooling System is pivotal in responding to Hong Kong’s climate action plan.
Dr Cheng actively shares his expertise to the industry through involvement in professional institutions and government committees, including Hong Kong Green Building Council’s Board of Directors and Environment Bureau’s Energy Advisory Committee. His visions in green buildings, masterplanning and policy advocacy have been encapsulated in his book Building Sustainability in East Asia – Policy, Design and People. His life-long dedication in sustainability has earned him the Sustainability Leader of the Year in Hong Kong Sustainability Award 2018/19.
Nomundari
Child Representative, Mongolia
Nomundari
Nomundari has a strong opinion on children’s rights. She is a resident of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the world’s coldest capital and one of its most polluted. Air pollution particles harm anyone who breathes them in, but children are the most impacted. She thinks that air pollution violates all of the aforementioned rights. She wishes to see some change in this world. Furthermore, she wants for children to have a say in politics. Adults could see the world from a kid’s perspective by listening to their opinions on certain topics.
Nomundari is a member of a “Children’s club”. The club is consists of 25-30 students who meet regularly to debate and discuss issues related to environmental health, gender issues and violence against children. The group opens the space for the students to share their ideas on many topics that they consider relevant, such as sharing ideas on how to be a responsible citizen and how they can develop and improve the school environment where they study. She is the vice president of her school’s student council and the president of Fridays for Future Mongolia. She is also a young leader of world vision since 2019 and a member of CRC (Child Rights Connect) since 2020.
In 2018, she participated in the Demo Crazy Carnival festival, which took place in Mongolia. The festival is held every year in order to promote human rights and gender issues. Nomundari participated in the festival by working on an island called Stop the children’s right and violence against children. In 2019, she participated in a competition with a presentation for the children who want to change Mongolia. The topic of her presentation was “Why people should classify their waste and dispose of them accordingly”. Moreover she took part in SDG 2030 and gave a speech about “How air pollution affects our health” to over 100 children. She helped distribute coal and student necessities to kids who live in poor conditions. She participated in the High Level Political Forum and made an opening speech in 2019. She has participated in many World vision events and one of them being Webinar on children’s rights in the time of covid-19 she made an opening speech in 2020.
The Great Resignation: Volunteerism And Re-engagement
August 3rd 2022,
01:00 – 02:00PM SGT
Moderated Discussion
The “great resignation” or “the big quit” has been an economic trend since early 2021 when employees have begun to voluntarily resign from their jobs en-masse due to various economic, social and psychological reasons. According the estimates, one in four in Asia are planning to leave their current job in 2022. As we become more socially conscious, corporate volunteering is becoming more and more popular. Integrated modelling of social and company values to uniformly fight for the greater good can reignite passion in the workplace and allow employees to find their own meaning. How to re-engage employees by creating volunteering opportunities for global good?
Rebekah France
Regional P&C Director, World Vision Asia Pacific
MODERATOR
Rebekah France
Rebekah is the Regional Director of People & Culture for World Vision International in Asia Pacific, responsible for end to end HR across the region with a primary focus on People Strategy, Leadership and Culture, Organisational Structure and Staffing, Performance and Talent Management and the Employee Lifecycle Experience.
Rebekah has 28 years of work experience, (nearly two decades in HR), accumulated through living and working in six countries, five industries and three functions. Prior to joining World Vision International, Rebekah was Head of Human Resources, Asia Pacific Medical Devices at Johnson & Johnson from 2017-2021 and before that was based in Norway as Global Head of Human Capital for BW Offshore from 2011-2017. Rebekah’s past experience includes the role of Global Head of HR and Communications at BW Shipping from 2003-2011, Account Director at Text 100 Public Relations in India from 1997-2002 and Finance management trainee for Kraft Foods Asia Pacific in Hong Kong in the mid-1990s.
Born in India, Rebekah graduated with an MBA from INSEAD in 2003, on the Dean’s list and gained a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree from Delhi University in 1994. Rebekah lives in Singapore with her husband of 25 years, her 16-year-old daughter and their 9-year old beagle. In her spare time, she enjoys birdwatching, baking and reading and is active in her local church St George’s Singapore.
Rebekah’s vision is “for every human being to have fulfilling work and make the unique contribution only they can on this planet”. Her mission is “to help transform workplaces by liberating people’s potential to create high performing organizations”. Her personal values inspired by her faith are – truth, love and courage.
Abhishek Humbad
Founder & CEO, Goodera
Abhishek Humbad
Abhishek is the Founder and CEO of Goodera, the world’s leading volunteering management company enabling 7mn+ employees to volunteer in 100+ countries globally.
Featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list and the MIT Innovators under 35 list, Abhishek is a leading voice in the evolution of responsible and sustainable businesses. Abhishek holds a BS in Engineering from BITS Pilani and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Michael San Diego
Chief Finance Officer, The EON Group
Michael San Diego
Mr. Michael “Mike” San Diego used to be a World Vision Scholar under the Ebenezer Project of Salinas Evangelical Church from 1984 – 1987. He has been sponsoring kinds of WV Philippines since 2002. He is an active ambassador and has been promoting the advocacies of World Vision.
Mike was Senior Vice President for Finance and Management Services and concurrently Chief Finance Officer of EON from 2007 to 2013. He was instrumental in establishing EON’s financial and administrative frameworks. He is a specialist in operations management, audit, and managerial accounting. In 2022, he returned to EON Group as the Chief Finance Officer.
Mike has 15 years of experience as a full-time CFO, out of the almost three decades (30 years) of relevant experience and of Accounting, Finance, Banking, Tax Management, Audit and Operations.
He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1987 and finished his MBA in 2003 from DLSU Graduate School major In Finance and Management. He is also a Certified Financial Consultant (CFC), as well as a Certified Internal Control Auditor (CICA).
He was featured in various publications such as Future CFO (CXO Society), CT Corporate Treasurer, World Vision, Hero Accountants and Entrap Professional Accountants – Top 50 Inspiring Stories.
Having been a sponsored child himself, he supports World Vision Philippines, and delivers testimonies during Donors’ Café, providing inspiration to both child sponsors and sponsored children. He has been also featured in one of the AD campaigns of World Vision Philippines