Jesher Loi is the 3rd generation business owner and brand guardian of Ya Kun International, a regional brand that serves Singapore’s heritage breakfast of kaya toast and local coffee. The brand has presence in 9 countries with over 120 outlets worldwide. Jesher oversees the branding elements of each outlet and ensures brand consistency throughout its operations. He is also actively involved in the regional expansion strategy as Ya Kun goes beyond Singapore’s shores. Jesher is highly involved in the youth and heritage scene, having been on the Board of Directors for *SCAPE from 2014-2022, and currently being on the Advisory Board of the National Museum of Singapore. He also sits on the SMEC Business Environment and Cost Competitiveness Sub-Committee, and the SBF YBLN Mentorship Sub-Committee. You may also find his TEDxSingapore Talk on reframing passion and purpose at work here.

Mr Leong Der Yao is the Assistant Chief Executive of the Sectoral Transformation Group in the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, where he leads the drive for digital transformation of industry sectors and enterprises to accelerate Singapore’s economic growth.

Prior to this, Mr Leong was the Senior Director, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Division at the Government Technology Agency of Singapore, focusing on driving public sector digital transformation using data science and AI. Mr Leong has also previously held various public policy and administration roles in the Singapore Government, overseeing human capital development in education and healthcare, bilateral economic relations and internationalisation policies, as well as financial security policies.

Mr Leong has a Masters in Public Management from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He also holds a Masters of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University and majored in both Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Cornell University.

As the Chief Economist of OCBC, Selena leads a research team that is responsible for Treasury market research, forecasts and trading recommendations for the bank, covering fixed income, interest rates, corporate credit, foreign exchange and macroeconomic commentary.

She is a member of the OCBC Wealth Panel for Singapore and Malaysia, as well as a council member for the Economic Society of Singapore. She was conferred the Institute of Banking & Finance Fellow Award in Financial Markets in 2017. Her research writings has been extensively quoted and published by prominent media across print, television and radio. She also sits on the Institute of Valuers and Appraisers (IVAS), Singapore, which was set up by the Singapore Accountancy Commission, as well as the Advisory Board of College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Board of Governors.

Nigel has more than 28 years of experience in the technology industry. Nigel held various local and regional business leadership and partner development roles in multinational IT companies, including Hewlett Packard, Fujitsu and Dell. Prior to joining Lenovo, Nigel was the General Manager at Brother International Singapore Pte Ltd. He has a proven track record of solid and sustainable business results. Nigel holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Indiana University in USA. He is a father of grown-up triplets, enjoys running and participates in marathons around the region.

Gary is an Associate Partner with EY-Parthenon with over 15 years of experience in strategy consulting, project management and financial analysis across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Prior to EY-Parthenon, Gary worked in PwC’s Deals Strategy team (Booz / Strategy&). He specialises in growth strategy and internationalisation, and leads EY-Parthenon’s Scale-Up practice, which supports Enterprise Singapore in their flagship programme to groom the next generation of successful Singapore companies and unicorns. This involves supporting Singapore companies on their internationalization journey by evaluating their business plans (including geographic expansion plans), conducting market sizing and analysis of entry modes, and assessing their commercial strategy. Gary has served clients in a wide range of functions and industries, including consumer products & retail, logistics, hospitality and leisure, transportation, cybersecurity, technology, media and telecoms, as well as real estate.

Zhikang has over a decade of experience in the innovation and intellectual property ecosystem. He has provided advisory on holistic IP management for optimal commercialisation outcomes to businesses and public agencies across diverse industries such as biomedical, advanced manufacturing and green technologies at various stages of innovation. Prior to joining IPOS International, Zhikang managed two national-level funding schemes at the National Research Foundation to boost Singapore’s innovation ecosystem through impactful research translation and enterprise capability building. At IPOS, Zhikang was central in developing patent services for ASEAN, including the first regional patent work-sharing programme, and the first initiative to re-register foreign patents in Cambodia. Zhikang is a Registered Management Consultant. He holds a Master of IP and Innovation Management from the Singapore University of Social Sciences, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Bioengineering from Nanyang Technological University. Zhikang has also been recognised as one of the world's leading IP Strategists by IAM Strategy 300.

Richard Koh has over 35 years of industry experience in Infocomm, Treasury (Foreign Exchange) and eCommerce. He is the Founder/Group CEO of M-DAQ, a Singapore homegrown capital markets financial technology startup founded in Jan 2010. Richard has been a Fellow Chartered Accountant since 2010 and holds an Executive MBA in International Business (First in Class/Valedictorian). He also holds four technical patents. In 2018, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by SCS. In 2020, he was named Entrepreneur of The Year - Financial Technology by EY.

Alif is the Founder and CEO of Waistlab, a shapewear e-commerce company based in Singapore. At the age of 22, Alif started the company while he was still a student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. With over 5 years of experience in branding and marketing, he has successfully grown the company’s presence at home and abroad. A strong believer in self-improvement, Alif has also created Waistlab as a platform to help people from all backgrounds gain more confidence through waist training.

With 3 decades of experience in Commercial Banking and Corporate Banking in Singapore, as well as a 5-year stint in China as Head of Business Banking, Roy has been supporting businesses from large corporations to mid-sized enterprises and emerging businesses across various industries.
He also had a stint in corporate workout during the financial crisis, working with customers in their recovery plans. As Head of Business Banking in China for 5 years, he led the team to drive flows in and out of China. These experiences helped prepare him for his present role as Head, Enterprise Banking International. In his present capacity, he heads a team that specialises in supporting corporates in their expansion overseas. Tapping on OCBC’s core strength in China and ASEAN, the team also enables corporates in the same industry value chain across the markets such that their growth can be accelerated.

Mr Azhar is an accomplished professional with a remarkable career spanning over two decades in the power generation and control fields. He holds an Honours degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Salford, UK and Master of Business Administration from SP Jain School of Global Management, Singapore.

As the Executive Chairman of Enercon Asia Group, Mr Azhar has overseen operations across Asia since 2002, contributing to the company's successful network of offices in 7 countries and exporting their customised engineered products to more than 20 countries. His exceptional leadership skills, steadfast commitment to delivering excellence and adept management of offices have positioned him as a key player in the global energy business arena.

Jiak See leads Deloitte Asia Pacific's Financial Advisory (FA) practice. She is a member of both the Deloitte Global FA Executive Committee and the Deloitte Asia Pacific Executive Committee, and has 30 years of extensive experience advising clients on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), fundraising, IPO and growth strategy, across a spectrum of industries. She also plays a leadership role in developing and driving the FA business that covers M&A, economic and commercial advisory, infrastructure, forensic, investments, restructuring among others. Jiak See’s passion is developing talent and giving back to the community. She serves on the boards of the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE) and the Yellow Ribbon Fund. Jiak See also spearheaded Deloitte's Women in Leadership programme for FA, mentoring female professionals across Asia Pacific and nurturing the next generation of leaders.

Jiak See holds a Masters degree in Commerce (1st Class Honours) from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She is a fellow of ISCA (Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants) and also a fellow Chartered Accountant of CA ANZ (Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand).

Kelvin assists Singapore companies in being connected to global opportunities through advisory, business matching, Free Trade Agreement education and outreach, as well as trade missions. He drives internationalisation initiatives for Singapore companies in the Southeast Asia, Oceania and Americas regions, and represents the Singapore business community at multilateral platforms. Kelvin has more than 20 years of experience working in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining SBF in April 2023, he was the Deputy CEO of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Development Group based in Suzhou, China. He also served in senior management roles at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, and Economic Development Board, covering trade and investment facilitation, international energy collaboration and intellectual property rights protection.

Thu has over 10 years of experience in branding and marketing, for both B2B and B2C organisations. She is currently the Senior Marketing Manager at Amazon Global Selling, supporting Singapore brands to explore opportunities in North America and Europe. Previously, she was the Head of Youth Segment Marketing, FRANK by OCBC at OCBC Bank, and the Head of Brand and Channel Marketing, at the Singapore Economic Development Board. Thu has worked on branding challenges in Singapore, Germany and the US, and enjoys localising brand positioning for different communication challenges.