International Board

President, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Former US Ambassador to NATO; Former Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, Chicago, United States

To date

Ivo H. Daalder is president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009-2013.

Prior to his appointment as ambassador to NATO by President Obama, Daalder was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, specializing in American foreign policy, European security and transatlantic relations, and national security affairs. Before joining Brookings in 1998, he was an associate professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy and director of research at its Center for International and Security Studies. He also served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council staff from 1995-97.

Ambassador Daalder is the author and editor of 10 books, including The Empty Throne: America’s Abdication of Global Leadership (with James M. Lindsay). Other books include In the Shadow of the Oval Office: Profiles of the National Security Advisers and the Presidents they Served — From JFK to George W. Bush (with I. M. Destler) and the award-winning America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy (with James M. Lindsay). Daalder is a frequent contributor to the opinion pages of the world’s leading newspapers, and a regular commentator on international affairs on television and radio.

Ambassador Daalder was educated at the universities of Kent, Oxford, and Georgetown, and received his PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is married to Elisa D. Harris, and they have two sons.

Former Group President, GIC; Former Head of Civil Service of Singapore, Singapore

To date

Siong Guan Lim was Group President of GIC from 2007 until the end of 2016, after which he was Advisor to GIC’s Group Executive Committee until March 2019. The GIC manages the financial reserves of the Singapore Government. He was Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board from October 2006 to June 2009. The Board is the Singapore government’s lead agency for planning and executing strategies to enhance Singapore’s position as a global business centre. Much of its work is attracting international corporations to set up manufacturing and services activities in Singapore as critical links in the global supply chain.

Siong Guan was Professor in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore from 2005–2023, instructing on leadership and change management, as well as a Senior Fellow of the Civil Service College from 2006–2023.

He was the Head of the Singapore Civil Service from September 1999 to March 2005. Siong Guan was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense (1981-1994), the Prime Minister’s Office (1994-1998), the Ministry of Education (1997-1999) and the Ministry of Finance (1999-2006). In every appointment he introduced innovative policies and practices which enhanced the drive, capacity, capability and performance of the organization. Siong Guan has chaired the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (2004-2006), the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (2004-2006) and the Central Provident Fund Board (1986-1994), and was a board member of many companies including Temasek, the other sovereign wealth fund manager of Singapore.

Group Chief Risk Officer; Member, Group Executive Committee, AIA, Hong Kong, China

To date

Jayne PLUNKETT is the Group Chief Risk Officer and Member of the Group Executive Committee of AIA, the largest life insurance and securities group in Asia-Pacific. She joined AIA in 2019 from Swiss Re, where she was most recently Chief Executive Officer Reinsurance Asia, Regional President Asia and Member of the Group Executive Committee. During her time with Swiss Re, Jayne had held several senior positions including Head of Casualty Underwriting for Asia and Division Head Casualty Reinsurance. Prior to that, she was with GE Insurance Solutions. Jayne holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Drake University. She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Jayne is also a Member of the stars International Board.

Filmmaker, Curator, International Advisor for Culture and Arts, Lugano/Singapore

Born in Eisenach (former East Germany), based in Lugano (Switzerland), Swiss and German citizenship.
Studied Quantum Chemistry in Voronezh (former Soviet Union).

Current and recent work:
Film producer and director; novelist, writer and publisher
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, DGDA, cultural advisor
Dresden, Germany, advisor to Mayor, Curator campaign Dresden 2025 European Capital of Culture
Berlin, Strategic Advisor Flughafen Tempelhof Projekt (largest cultural monument in Europe)
Visiting teacher on various universities in Europe and Asia (Zurich, Berlin, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing)

History:

• University study in Soviet Union 1979 – 84 (Master in Quantum Chemistry)
• Researcher at Academy of Sciences, Berlin (1984 – 87)
• Translator of Russian literature to German (Tchekhov, Gogol, Gorki, Mandelshtam)
• CEO of Theatre Basel (1996 – 2006)
• Founding Director General Opera Foundation Berlin (2005 – 07)
• Founding Director Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, UAE (2007 – 09)
• Cultural advisor, researcher and curator in Dubai, Muscat, Riyadh, Hong Kong, Beijing, Moscow, Zurich, Venice, Singapore, Berlin
• Founding Director at Strelka Institute, Moscow on public spaces (2010 – 12); Advisor to Skolkovo Foundation, concept for culture and public spaces at Skolkovo (2012)
• Advisor on international affairs, Zurich university of the arts

Recent films:
Bird’s Nest – Herzog & de Meuron in China, T&C Film, Zurich, 2008
The Chinese Lives of Uli Sigg, T&C Film, Zurich, 2016
Outland, Ventura, Lugano, 2020
In the Mood for Art – The M+ Museum and Contemporary Art in Hong Kong

Recent books:
Dubai High, Arabian Publishing, London, 2011;
Lavapolis, Sternberg Press, Berlin/New York, 2014
Happy Tropics 1, Zurich/Singapore, 2017
Letzter Vorhang, Theater der Zeit, Berlin, 2017
Walter Spies – Ein exotisches Leben, Hirmer, Muenchen, 2018

Recent art project:
DUBAI NEXT, Art Basel 2008, Venice Biennale 2013
Friday in Venice, Venice Biennale 2014
ZURICH ORACLE, (January – May 2018), 10 public spaces in Zurich

Partner, The Vistria Group; Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy in the Obama Administration, New York, United States

To date

Mona Sutphen has over 20 years’ experience advising multinational corporate, philanthropic, and institutional investors on the intersection of geopolitics, policy, and markets.

She is partner at The Vistria Group, a Chicago-based private equity firm. Previously, she was a Partner at Macro Advisory Partners (MAP), where she led the firm’s US practice advising clients on emerging risks and opportunities across a range of sectors including energy/environment, technology, trade, sanctions, national security and fiscal policy matters, and related regulation. Prior to joining MAP, Ms. Sutphen was managing director at UBS AG, where she developed new tools for political risk evaluation impacting capital markets.

From 2009–2011, she served as White House deputy chief of staff for policy for President Obama, where she advanced the policy and regulatory agenda on a range of issues, including technology, telecom, trade, small business, and housing/GSE reform.

Previously, Ms. Sutphen was managing director at Stonebridge International, and earlier led regulatory strategy for Currenex, the first Internet-based institutional foreign exchange trading platform.

From 1991–2000 Ms. Sutphen was a career diplomat, serving on the staff of the National Security Council during the Clinton administration and the U.S. Mission to the UN, among other posts. She also served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ms. Sutphen is an Independent Director for Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD) and Pattern Energy (NASDAQ: PEGI), and serves on the Boards of the International Rescue Committee and Human Rights First, as well as on the advisory board of the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

Ms. Sutphen is a Trustee of Mount Holyoke College, and co-author of The Next American Century. She holds BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MSc from the London School of Economics.

Editor-in-Chief, Caixin Media, Beijing, China

To date

As Editor-in-Chief of Caixin Media, China’s leading business and finance media group, Wang Shuo focuses on providing high-quality news reports through leading an independent and professional standard in China.

Under his leadership, the Caixin editorial team won the Shorenstein Journalism Award from Stanford University for its commitment to integrity in journalism, and for its path-breaking role as a leader in establishing an independent media in China. Shuo won the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Institutional Journalism of the State Street Institutional Press Awards (Asia Pacific) in 2014.

Prior to Caixin, Shuo served as managing editor of Caijing, a business and finance magazine in China from 1998 to 2009. He has played a key role in the magazine’s editorial and management decision-making, and was behind many of the milestone articles that carried Caijing to fame.

Shuo was honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2012. He was also twice named a Young Leader at the 2007 and 2008 Boao Forum for Asia, and a Leader of the Next Generation by the Tallberg Forum in Sweden. He was named Yale World Fellow in 2016 by Yale University. He also serves as a member of the stars International Board.

Shuo holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Renmin University of China, a master’s degree in philosophy from Peking University, an executive MBA from the joint program of Fordham University and the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University, and a master’s degree in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University.

Founding Managing Partner and CEO, Insignia Ventures Partners; Member, stars International Board, Singapore

To date

Yinglan TAN founded Insignia Ventures Partners in 2017. Insignia Ventures Partners is an early stage technology venture fund focusing on Southeast Asia. It manages more than US$350 million from sovereign wealth funds, foundations, university endowments and renowned family offices. Insignia Ventures Partners is the recipient of two back-to-back “VC Deal of Year” awards for Payfazz (2019) and Carro (2018) from the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and its portfolio includes many other technology leaders in Southeast Asia. Yinglan also serves on the Singapore Government’s Pro Enterprise Panel and he is a Member of the Board of Hwa Chong Institution and the stars International Board.

President Emeritus, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC); Member of the Board, Robert Bosch Internationale Beteiligungen; Member, stars International Board, Beijing, China

To date

Joerg Wuttke is Vice President and Chief Representative of BASF China, based in Beijing. Since joining BASF in 1997, he has been responsible for helping guide the company’s investment strategies for China, negotiation of large projects and government relations. Previous to joining BASF, Joerg worked with ABB for 11 years.

Besides BASF, Wuttke is three-term President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC). Wuttke previously served as President from 2007-2010 and from 2014-2017, and he took up his third term in 2019.

In January 2011 the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC), a Paris based body of major business associations that lobbies the OECD, named him to become Chairman of the BIAC China Task Force.

Since its establishment in 2013, Joerg is member of the Advisory Board of Germany’s foremost Think Tank on China, Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), in Berlin.

From 2013 to 2016, he was Vice Chairman of the CPCIF International Cooperation Committee, a group representing Multinational Companies in China’s Chemical Association.

Wuttke holds a BA in Business Administration and Economics from Mannheim and he studied Chinese in Shanghai 1982 and Taipei 1984-85. A frequent speaker on business and industry issues in China, he co-authored:

• “The Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry in China” Springer Publishing Trust (2005)
• “Energy Resources Security” Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (2006)
• “My 30 years in China” ACA Publishing (2008)
• “Gelebte Geschichte – 40 Erfahungen” CBT China Book Trading (2012)
• “The Handbook of Chinese Organizational Behavior: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice” Edgar Elgar Publishing (2012)
• “Peter Tichauer; Perspektivenwechsel” OWC (2015)
• “The Dark Side of China’s Economic Rise” in “Europe and the World: Global Insecurity and Power Shifts; Helmut K. Anheier and Robert Falkner (eds.); University of Durham and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd (2017)