Asia Advisory Panel

Senior Technology Advisor; Former Group Chief Technology Officer, World Bank, Jakarta, Indonesia

Lesly Goh is a World Bank Senior Technology Advisor and former World Bank Group Chief Technology Officer. She is a Fellow at Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School and Senior Fellow at National University of Singapore (NUS) Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Lesly is a Professor of Practice at ZheJiang International Business School (ZIBS) and serves on the Advisory Board for Harvard College Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR).

At the nexus of technology and policy, Lesly brings an extensive international experience advising policymakers on the regulatory impact from digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Internet of Things and 5G, Cloud and Edge Computing. From her experience in public and private sectors, she develops strategic partnership to support the Sustainable Development Goals, leveraging data and technology innovations in emerging markets in FinTech, AgTech and Digital Government.

Lesly’s experience in the private sector covers a broad spectrum ranging from Capital Markets, Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, Asset Management, Development Banks and Financial Data Providers. Her personal mission is to empower women and girls to achieve the highest potential with Technology as the Equalizer.

stars Singapore alumni chapter Co-President; Entrepreneur, CEO, Co-Founder, Chairman, Tech Investor & Advisor, Singapore

Dr. Tom Ludescher is an experienced CEO and board member of regulated financial services companies. He holds a Ph.D. in financial market regulations and has been working in the intersection of finance, insurance, and technology for over 25 years, helping businesses to grow by making them bankable and insurable.

His Ph.D. and profound background in financial market regulations add to his profile as a builder and enabler, making tech start-ups fit for working with regulated partners and investors.

Tom’s pro-bono activities include serving as the Chairman of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Singapore, Vice President of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, Ambassador ASEAN of the International Insurance Society, and Co-Chair of the stars Stein am Rhein symposium Singapore alumni chapter, adding to his strong network to MNCs in Singapore, Europe, and the APAC region.

For the past 15 years, Tom has been an active angel investor and adviser in tech start-up companies with a focus on sustainability and financial inclusion, including ESG, insurtech, fintech, and novel food technologies. With this first-hand experience as a tech investor and co-founder, Tom gained a deep understanding of both sides of a successful tech start-up partnership. He knows the needs and challenges of successfully building a tech business, particularly in highly regulated industries such as financing, insurance, or food manufacturing.

stars Singapore alumni chapter Co-President; CEO and Strategist-General, Solaris Strategies Singapore; Success Coach/Program Leader, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Technology Officer programs, National University of Singapore with Emeritus; Series Editor, Routledge-Solaris series for strategy, wisdom and skills, Singapore

Dr Charles Phua is amongst global top 100 professor-author grade management consultant (Certified Management Consultant-Academic Fellow, CMC-AF by International Council of Management Consulting Institutes, ICMCI) specialising in trisector strategy-innovation-entrepreneurship. He chairs Solaris Consortium of Management Consultancies, offering comprehensive advisory and coaching services in APAC and MENA with past experiences including having advised a head of state 4 times in 7 days and supported 5YP for 916B tech MNC. He sits on corporate (non-executive director) and nonprofit boards in UK, Swiss, Australia, South and Southeast Asia and Singapore, and is success coach/program leader for Chief Strategy Officer, and Chief Technology Officer programs at National University of Singapore (NUS) Business and Computing schools with Emeritus for senior executives above 40 in APAC and MENA.

A unique practitioner-academic in trisector strategy-innovation-entrepreneurship, Charles has developed a train-consult-coach model where he runs capstone with learners involving real problems from real clients (government, corporate, nonprofit) either from the University executive education or as strategist-coach-in-residence. After refining his model at four Singapore and one Swiss universities, Charles now runs trisector strategy-innovation capstone for mid careers above 35 for NUS School of Continual and Adult Learning (SCALE) and NUS Computing, and exported this model to various countries in MENA.

A lifelong learner, Charles’ first PhD was in public policy before venturing into corporate strategy and finishing up his EdD in teaching strategy. His other postgraduate/degrees (including in progress) include systems thinking, accounting, education, international relations, organisational psychology, law, HRM, marketing, strategy and innovation, ops management, economics/finance, supply chain management, digital business/leadership, sustainable development, real estate, construction management. He learnt the best of strategy-innovation-entrepreneurship-sustainability-marketing from 11 top business schools and fused into his consulting-coaching practice. A Fulbright fellow with resident fellowships at Brookings, Columbia and Johns Hopkins, he is the series editor for Routledge-Solaris series for strategy, wisdom and skills with 6 strategy books covering geopolitical, military, policy and corporate strategy domains. He is a one of the Junior Chamber International’s Ten Outstanding Young Persons for academic leadership, and recipient of Singapore Skillsfuture fellowship for lifelong learning.

A programmer by training and a venture capitalist by profession, Aaron founded his first startup at the age of 13, and has already sold two companies before turning 21. He is currently the founder and CEO of Carro, an automotive marketplace. Prior to Carro, Aaron spent close to five years with Southeast Asia’s leading venture fund, Singtel Innov8 Ventures. He subsequently relocated to the United States and started Block71 San Francisco and the firm’s operations there before returning to Singapore in 2015.

He also represented Singapore in international programming competitions globally and was formerly awarded IT Youth of the Year. Aaron graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BSc from Singapore Management University’s School of Information Systems, and subsequently accepted a scholarship from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to study Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University where he graduated with an MSc.

Tan Chong Meng is the Group Chief Executive Officer of PSA International (PSA). He joined PSA on 1 October 2011, bringing with him a wealth of experience in managing the complexity, diversity and breadth of a global business. PSA International (PSA) is a leading global port operator and trusted supply chain partner to cargo stakeholders. PSA’s ports and cargo solutions portfolio comprises over 60 deepsea, rail and inland terminals, across 160 locations in 42 countries – including two flagship port operations in Singapore and Belgium, as well as affiliated businesses in supply chain management, logistics, marine and digital services.

Together with his management team, Chong Meng is responsible for the overall performance of the PSA Group and provides strategic direction on growing the company’s network value through maximising assets and engaging global business partnerships. Outside the PSA Group, Chong Meng serves as the Chairman of JTC and is a non-Executive Director on the board of the National University Health System (NUHS). In January 2022, he assumed the role of Governor Chair for The World Economic Forum’s Supply Chain & Transport Industry Community. He was previously a Board Member of IE Singapore and F&N Pte Ltd.

In April 2020, he was appointed Co-Chair of the Emerging Stronger Task Force, a committee set up by the Singapore government to guide the nation’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Chong Meng, who was also appointed the Lead for Community Care Facilities Taskforce, drove the set-up of emergency health infrastructure during the first COVID-19 surge and facilitated the safe arrival of migrant workers for critical sectors. In recognition of his exemplary leadership in coordinating Singapore’s pandemic response, safeguarding lives and livelihoods, and steering the nation towards recovery, he was one of a select few conferred the national “Meritorious Service Medal (COVID-19)” in December 2022.
Before joining PSA, Chong Meng was the Executive Vice President, Global Commercial, Shell Downstream, of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. He led six global businesses – many of which are world leaders engaged in the marketing and sale of fuels, lubricants and specialty products to commercial customers vis-à-vis Aviation, Marine, Industrial, Land Transport, Construction and Liquefied Petroleum Gas. A global leader with more than 20 years of experience in Shell, Chong Meng worked in USA, Europe, China and Singapore, holding various senior leadership positions that spanned management, sales, marketing, trading, refinery operations, customer service and merger & acquisitions.

Member of Boards of Directors, Barry Callebaut, ams OSRAM, OCBC Bank, Jardine Cycle & Carriage; Senior Advisor, TA Associates; Senior Advisor, Singapore Institute of Management, Singapore

Yen Yen TAN (1965) joined the Board of Barry Callebaut in 2020.

Her executive career spans more than 30 years of senior level executive positions at multinational technology and telecom companies. Yen Yen’s last executive role was President Asia Pacific of Vodafone Group. She was previously Regional Vice President and Managing Director of Asia Pacific (South) for SAS Institute. Prior to joining SAS, Yen Yen was Senior Vice President of Applications for Oracle Asia Pacific and Vice President and Managing Director for Hewlett-Packard Singapore (HP).

Yen Yen has over ten years of independent board experience in several public companies in Singapore and Europe. She is currently a director of Singapore Press Holdings, ams OSRAM AG, OCBC Bank, Jardine Cycle &Carriage Ltd and InCorp Global (non public). Yen Yen also volunteers as a form of giving back to Singapore and currently holds several independent advisory positions where she can contribute to causes close to her heart, for example STEM education, sports excellence, a vibrant startup ecosystem and gender diversity. For her contributions and distinguished services to Singapore, she was appointed Justice of the Peace in 2018 by the President of the Republic of Singapore. Yen Yen helps to promote STEM education as the non-executive Chairman of the Singapore Science Centre and a member of the Board of Advisors of the National University of Singapore’s School of Computing. Yen Yen plays an active role in Singapore’s infocomm industry. She mentors early stage startups through her startup fund TNF Ventures.

Yen Yen has a degree in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore and an Executive MBA degree from the Helsinki School of Economics.

Chairperson, Singapore Institute of Directors; Adjunct Professor, National University of Singapore Business School; Independent Director – CSE Global, First Resources, Kemin Industries, Yoma Strategic Holdings, Singapore

Ms Wong Su-Yen is a Fellow and Chairperson of the Singapore Institute of Directors. She is an experienced independent director who has served on the Boards of several several public, private, and not-for-profit organisations in Australia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, and the United States.

An accomplished multicultural business leader who has lived and worked globally, her perspectives are shaped by a unique blend of experience at the board and C-level in technology, business, and organisation development.

Ms Wong is a professional speaker who engages audiences globally on leadership and the future of work. She is an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore where she teaches Global Leadership, and member of the Executive Education Faculty at Duke University.

Previously Ms Wong was CEO of the Human Capital Leadership Institute, Chairman for Marsh & McLennan Companies (Singapore), and Senior Partner and Managing Director, Southeast Asia at Mercer. Earlier, she was Asia Managing Partner for the Communications, Information & Entertainment practice at Oliver Wyman. Ms Wong holds a B.A. (summa cum laude) in music and computer science from Linfield
University, and an M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina. She is an avid adventure traveller and has ventured to some of the most remote parts of the world, including Antarctica and Timbuktu.

Executive Chairman, YTL Corporation Berhad, Malaysia

Malaysian, male, aged 67, was appointed to the Board on 6 April 1984 as an Executive Director and was the Managing Director of the Company from April 1988 till June 2018 when he was redesignated as Executive Chairman. Tan Sri Francis studied at Kingston University in the United Kingdom, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Degree in Civil Engineering and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering in 2004. In July 2014, Tan Sri Francis was conferred an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from University of Nottingham. He became the Managing Director of YTL Corporation Berhad Group in 1988 which, under his stewardship, has grown from a single listed company into a global integrated infrastructure developer, encompassing multiple listed entities ie. YTL Corporation Berhad, YTL Power International Berhad, YTL Hospitality REIT, Malayan Cement Berhad and Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust.

He was the Managing Director of YTL Power International Berhad, and YTL Land & Development Berhad until 29 June 2018 when he was redesignated as Executive Chairman of these companies. He is also the Executive Chairman of Malayan Cement Berhad, which is listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. He is the Executive Chairman and Managing Director of YTL e-Solutions Berhad. He is also the Chairman of YTL Starhill Global REIT Management Limited, the manager of Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust, a vehicle listed on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST). Tan Sri Francis is the Executive Chairman of YTL Cement Berhad and Pintar Projek Sdn Bhd, the manager of YTL Hospitality REIT. He is the Chairman of private utilities corporations, Wessex Water Services Limited in England and Wales, and YTL PowerSeraya Pte Limited in Singapore. Tan Sri Francis is also an Independent Non- Executive Director of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, and is a director of YTL Industries Berhad. He also sits on the board of trustees of YTL Foundation. He also serves on the board of directors of Suu Foundation, a humanitarian organisation committed to improving healthcare and education in Myanmar.

He is a Founder Member of the Malaysian Business Council and The Capital Markets Advisory Council, member of The Nature Conservancy Asia Pacific Council, and the Asia Business Council, Trustee of the Asia Society and Chairman for South East Asia of the International Friends of the Louvre. He is also a member of the Advisory Council of London Business School, Wharton School and INSEAD. He is the first non-Italian board member of the historic Rome Opera House and helped fund its restoration to keep it from closing. He served as a member of the Barclays Asia-Pacific Advisory Committee from 2005 to 2012. Tan Sri Francis was made a board member of Global Child Forum by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf in May 2016.

He was ranked by both Fortune and Businessweek magazines as Asia’s 25 Most Powerful and Influential Business Personalities and one of Asia’s Top Executives by Asiamoney. He won the inaugural Ernst & Young’s Master Entrepreneur in Malaysia in 2002 and was named as Malaysia’s CEO of the Year by CNBC Asia Pacific in 2005.

In 2006, he was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and in 2019, received the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). Tan Sri Francis received a prestigious professional accolade when made a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineers in London in 2008. He was the Primus Inter Pares Honouree of the 2010 Oslo Business for Peace Award, for his advocacy of socially responsible business ethics and practices. The Award was conferred by a panel of Nobel Laureates in Oslo, home of the Nobel Peace Prize. He also received the Corporate Social Responsibility Award at CNBC’s 9th Asia Business Leaders Awards 2010. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Regulated Industries at the 7th World Chinese Economic Summit held in London in 2015. He was also awarded the prestigious Muhammad Ali Celebrity Fight Night Award at the 2016 Celebrity Fight Night in Arizona. In 2017, he was honoured with the Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution at the Kuala Lumpur Mayor Tourism Awards. This was in recognition of his efforts in the transformation of Kuala Lumpur into one of the top shopping and tourist destinations in the world. He was named CEO of the Year at the Asian Power Awards in 2017. The Japanese Government bestowed upon him the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, in 2018 and in the same year the Italian government conferred upon him the honour of Grande Officiale of the Order of the Star of Italy.