3 Complimentary Access per Organization
Samuel H. Kim, a Korean national, is the Founding President of the Center for Asia Leadership. Passionate about nurturing and empowering talent in Asia, he runs over 50 projects and programs annually to help decision-makers and emerging leaders think deeply and broadly about their responsibilities and their ability to help their respective communities and organizations thrive. Organizational Adaptability, Legacy Management, Strategic Foresight, ESG, Trust-building, Ethics, and Power & Influence are among the key areas of his research, teaching, coaching, and consulting.
To date, some 52,000 leaders, representing 400 organizations from the international, governmental, political, corporate and non-profit spheres, in 83 cities and 31 countries in Asia, have benefitted from his work. He has also organized numerous international conferences in which over 350 global leaders, along with 4,000 in-person attendants and over 100,000 online participants annually have joined forces to discuss possible solutions for the pressing issues currently confronting Asia and the world. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Joko Widodo, Narendra Modi, Barack Obama, and David Cameron, are among the speakers invited in the past.
Prior to establishing the Center, Samuel worked for 15 years in a wide range of sectors, from strategy consulting, non-profits, and social entrepreneurship to international development, politics, the military, and government work. The UN, UNESCO, Samsung, and Lehman Brothers are among the organizations he had worked with or for. However, he takes deepest pride in having run one of Korea’s first social enterprises, which provided economic opportunities to 350 underserved families.
Samuel has served as a visiting fellow at the Asia Center at Harvard University and the Kellogg School of Management in Northwestern University. He holds an MPA from Harvard, an MA from Seoul National, and an LLB from Handong Universities. He is the editor of 14 books and regularly writes opinion pieces and editorials. His publications cover a wide range of genres, from policy proposals and evaluations to travelogues and academic pieces on political reform, innovation, education, entrepreneurship, economic development, education, the future of work, and women’s leadership.
Moshik Temkin, Associate Professor of History and Public Policy, joined the Harvard Kennedy School faculty in 2009. A specialist in the history of the modern United States in global and comparative perspective, with a focus on the connections between history and public policy, he is particularly interested in the interaction between Americans and non-Americans–the effects that American politics have had on the wider world, the roles that international politics have played in American society and policymaking in the United States, and the dynamics created when American and international politics come into contact, or conflict.
At Harvard, he is affiliated with the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, the Center for European Studies, and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. At the Harvard Kennedy School, he convenes the Harvard Seminar on History and Policy and is the co-founder and co-director of the Harvard Initiative on History and Public Policy. In 2010-2011, he co-convened the Harvard International and Global History Seminar. He received his B.A. at the Hebrew University and his M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in History at Columbia University.
Richard Javad Heydarian is a multi-awarded public educator, academic, columnist, and policy adviser. He has taught political science at De La Salle University and Ateneo De Manila University, and is an incoming research fellow at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. He is currently resident analyst at GMA network, a columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and a regular opinion writer for leading global publications. His latest book is “The Rise of Duterte: A Populist Revolt against Elite Democracy” (Palgrave), which was among The Financial Times’ “Best of weekend long reads”, and described as “a superb monograph on the Duterte Phenomenon, grounded in political theory and Philippine history…” The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) describes it as an important work which, “vividly describes the simmering public dissatisfaction with post-Marcos “elite democracy” that paved the way for Duterte’s rapid rise to power…” He is also the author of forthcoming “The IndoPacfic Age: Trump, China, and the New Global Struggle for Mastery” (Palgrave) and “Duterte’s Foreign Policy”.
He is a regular contributor to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC, and has written for or/and interviewed by Aljazeera, BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Economist, among other leading global publications.
Carrie Tan is a transformation coach and healer, Member of Parliament and self-work practitioner. A believer and proponent of the maxim “be the change you want to see in the world”, Carrie created learning experiences and communities that attracted hundreds of individuals from diverse backgrounds who found meaning, purpose and growth in their personal and professional journeys. A self-work journey provided her with insights and liberation from unconscious and limiting beliefs, to now live a fuller yet balanced life while still juggling multiple causes and capacities. She now provides transformational coaching and facilitates emotional healing in leaders to fulfil their purpose and maximize positive impact. Her company “Lightbearers” exists to bring light and grow compassion in the world by raising self-awareness in individuals and elevating the collective consciousness.
Chan Chi Ling is the Deputy Director and Senior Product Manager of Open Government Products (OGP), an agency of the Singapore government tasked to build technology for the public good. With a focus on healthcare technology and systems, Chan Chi Ling oversaw the development and rollout of the following OGP healthcare products: vaccine.gov.sg, Suite of systems for Singapore’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout, Covid-19 Management Backbone; Sync, for consent-based sharing of health data; E-referrals; and the Case Management System for Medical Social Workers. Chi Ling is also the Founder of better.sg, a platform that helps organizations in Singapore do more social good using technology. She previously served at the Ministry of Health as the Deputy Director of Infocomm, Technology and Data Group; as well as the Assistant Director of Manpower Planning & Strategy. She has held various strategic roles in the Agency for Integrated Care, as well as the Strategy Group in the Prime Minister’s Office. Chi Ling holds an MS in Symbolic Systems, with a focus on Human Interaction; as well as a B.A. in Political Science, both degrees from Stanford University.
Aziza Umarova is Institutional, Policy and Governance reform expert with deep execution experience in Central Asia. Chatham House expert on the region (Royal Institute for International Affairs). Member of the Steering Committee of the Astana Civil Service Hub (Kazakhstan).A former development practitioner with the largest UN agency, her experience includes serving as Advisor on Public Sector Innovation at UNDP’s Global Center for Public Sector Excellence in Singapore. Earlier she led UNDP’s governance portfolio in Uzbekistan (2008-2016).
Since 2017, she has devised and delivered numerous public policy projects through her own boutique strategy consulting company SmartGov, working closely with the Central Asian governments on institutional reforms. A thoughtful practitioner who brings regional insight and analysis, Umarova engaged in a variety of roles: OECD’s monitoring expert on Anti-Corruption Istanbul Action Plan in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan;Associate Editor for Eurasia at GovInsider, platform on public sector innovation, catering to the audience of over 1.1 million government officials worldwide. Umarova is a certified Independent Director, currently serves as an Independent Member of the Boards at State-Owned Enterprises: JSC Uzbekistan Airports, JC Public Transport company. Umarova is a regular speaker and author of numerous articles on public governance reforms, including chapter on Uzbekistan in the new book “Public Service Evolution in 15 Post-Soviet Countries: Diversity in Transformation” (Palgrave, 2021).Taught at the Academy for Public Administration under the President of Uzbekistan. She holds a master’s degree (MA) from St Andrews University, Chevening scholarship (2006). And Bachelor’s (BA) in International Economics, University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Uzbekistan (2004). She worked and lived in the United Kingdom, China and Austria. Alumni of several distinguished leadership programs.
Justin is a leadership specialist in 1. Self-Leadership and 2. Leadership Communication & Influence.
Awarded a prestigious international scholarship to Harvard and made a Harvard Kennedy Fellow, Justin specialized in authentic leadership, persuasion and communication, excelling as a graduate, teaching fellow, research scholar and research fellow. His coaching combines the best content from three years at Harvard with 20 years international ‘blue chip’ multi-sector experience and relevant lived experiences, where he overcame many failures and much adversity.
Justin’s previous experience includes being Vice-President of an International investment bank; co-founding Australia’s first not-for-profit helping children suffering from persistent pain; five years in central London supporting people actively suicidal; working in the media as a memory expert; and three years as a full-time primary care giver for an immediate family member who suffered Alzheimer’s disease.
Justin has travelled to more than 70 countries, has achieved physical feats requiring great mental strength, is a former Guinness World Record Holder in memory and competed at both Mental Calculation and Memory World Championships. At Harvard, he was awarded the highest outright score for a public speech in course history and voted one of the most persuasive scholars. A published author, coach, trainer, scholar and keynote speaker, his friendly and approachable style is sought after internationally including by Prime Ministers and Presidential candidates. He is excited to deliver his unique, practical and effective leadership coaching to you.
Umar Shavurov is a growth and transformation management consultant and Adaptive Leadership trainer with over 15 years of experience of working with public and private organizations in more than 20 countries around the world. Umar brings intimate knowledge of implementing changes in world’s most difficult places as Liberia and Sierra Leone as well as advanced context as Singapore. He is currently finalizing his book on leadership challenges in Kyrgyzstan and broader Central Asia.
As Director of Central Asia Region and Head of Teaching Faculty of Center for Asia Leadership Initiative, Umar taught to senior executives using Adaptive Leadership Framework in more than 25 occasions tailored for private companies. Umar designed and led extended Leadership Programs for diverse industries and age groups in Central Asia that account with a community of more than 200 alums. Among some of the works he did include- training mid and senior professionals in Central Asia working on climate chance, supported by German Technical Assistance Agency (GIZ). He led Adaptive Leadership training for 15 staff of UN Women in Kyrgyzstan to empower them to address gender inequality and violence. Umar coached and advised Communications Department (FASS) of National University of Singapore. Umar is also a former Lecturer on Adaptive Leadership at the American University in Central Asia.
Umar brings practical experience of leading large cross-functional and multi-ethnic teams in large international organizations that span multiple geographies. Until recently Umar was Covid-19 Economic Recovery Advisor of UNDP in Kyrgyzstan providing strategic and programmatic guidance through turbulent context of pandemic to the UNDP team. Umar led projects within the World Bank and International Finance Corporation in Washington and Colombia covering a range of topics, including reducing red tape and business tax reforms in Latin America, Africa and South East and Central Asia. Notably, as part of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded project, Umar led the design and implementation of an innovative mobile payment system for tax payments in Liberia that helped transform the face of the country’s tax administration authority by helping people and businesses pay for their taxes anywhere and anytime via their mobile phones.
Umar holds a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School where he trained under Harvard Professors Ronald Heifetz and Dean Williams in Adaptive Leadership. He also received a MA in International Relations and Conflict Resolution from the Universidad del Salvador in Argentina and Diploma in International Relations from the Kyrgyz State University. Umar is an avid ultra-trail runner and passionate about cooking.
Batnairamdal (Nagi) Otgonshar is Vice Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry of Mongolia. Prior to his appointment as Vice Minister in July 2020, he was a Senior Advisor to the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Minister of Mongolia at the Government of Mongolia. Before becoming a government official, he worked as a Deputy CEO of Erdenes Tavantolgoi, one of the largest state-owned coking coal companies in Mongolia, and prior to that, he was investment banker in New York and Sydney with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
He is as a host/co-founder of one of the most popular podcasts in Mongolia – The Unlock Podcast, with over 12 million plays with fan Mongolian listeners tuning in from more than 60 countries.
Batnairamdal Otgonshar holds an MBA from Harvard Business School in Boston, MA and a B.A. in economics with magna cum laude from Macalester College, St. Paul, MN USA.
Claire Szabó was from Auckland. She established Projects in English Ltd, an education consultancy undertaking work for Berlitz Language Services, MASPED (a Hungarian shipping conglomerate) and the European Union among others. She simultaneously completed a postgraduate diploma in education management at Trinity College, Dublin.
Returning to New Zealand in 2004, Claire worked as a project coordinator (15 months) then CEO (5 years) at English Language Partners New Zealand, New Zealand’s largest non-government agency supporting migrants and refugees. During this time she completed her masters degree with distinction in commerce and administration, writing a thesis on the role of the CEO in leadership and accountability of non-profit organisations. In 2010 she was recognised by the New Zealand Federation of Ethnic Councils for her contribution to ethnic communities and named Deloitte Young Executive of the Year.
Back home Claire became the CEO of Habitat for Humanity New Zealand (2013-2020) leading operations in her own country and in the Pacific nations of Samoa and Tonga. Claire led change in the organization increasing funds and impact, including the acceleration of disaster response capacity in the context of the region’s changing climate. She also diversified participation at governance and management levels to better represent those served by the organization. During this time she served as Deputy Chair of the Auckland City Mission, got married and had two children.
In December 2019, Claire was elected President of the New Zealand Labour Party, the governing party of New Zealand at the time (and to this day). In this role she has dealt with a range of challenging internal issues, supported the party’s historic victory in 2020, hired new staff leadership, and facilitated a new strategic direction and plan. Her term ends November 2022. She is also a member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra board.
Danil (Dan) Kerimi is a technology and public relations leader with a track record of delivering impactful projects in corporate strategy, national and corporate digital transformation, ESG, DEI, tech and economic diplomacy in developed, emerging and frontier markets.
After working for the United Nations, Danil joined the World Economic Forum (WEF) during the Global Financial Crisis and over the period of 12 years served on the Leadership Team in the Centers for Global Industries, Global Technology, Regional Strategies. He was posted in Geneva, New York, San Francisco and Beijing. During the COVID’19 pandemic, together with the former head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Danil co-founded the Edgelands Institute (Switzerland), helped establish a DEI Fellowship (US) and advised a number of start-ups (D3A Investments, UK, Kindwell, US and Rourke&Gunner, South Africa), corporates (AWS, Deloitte, PWC), governments and international organizations (Asian Leadership Initiative, World Smart and Sustainable Cities Organization).
Dr. Ong Kian-Ming is the Member of Parliament for Bangi (since May 2018). He was formerly the Member of Parliament for Serdang (from May 2013 to April 2018). He was the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) from July 2018 to February 2020.
He was a former Fulbright Scholar and holds a PhD in Political Science from Duke University, an MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. Prior to his political life, he was formerly a lecturer at UCSI University, a researcher at the Socio-Economic Development and Research (SEDAR) Institute and the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Studies (INSAP) and a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in the Kuala Lumpur office.
He was also an ASEAN Scholar in Singapore and completed his “O” and “A” levels in Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College respectively. He attended primary and secondary school in La Salle Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
He enjoys jogging, watching movies and listening to podcasts in his spare time.
Junko is a co-founder of CLinked, a global women’s organization that educates and empowers women and men to become leaders in their local communities. A former Advance Leadership Initiatives Fellow at Harvard University, she has more than 20 years of experience in investment banking and investment management with Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs in Asia as Vice President and Treasurer. She studied art history, and curates contemporary art exhibitions and political art pieces. She currently resides in Singapore.
Rahul is an intrapreneur, designing and implementing initiatives to build capabilities and culture. His experience over the last 14 years includes founding or being in the early stages of 5 government startups: Open Government Products (OGP) (GovTech Singapore’s experimental unit), Strategy Group in Singapore’s Prime Minister’s Office, SkillsFuture Singapore, Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency, and Papua New Guinea’s Climate Change Development Authority. As Head of Partnerships at OGP, Rahul works with other government agencies to apply policies and practices incubated at OGP that make their organizations high-performing.
He is concurrently the Singapore country advisor for the Center for Asia Leadership, and teaches Adaptive Leadership and Futures Thinking across South-East Asia, including workshops in Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh and the Philippines. Rahul regularly speaks on panels on the future of work, future workforce, enhancing organizational performance, the importance of people & culture and building capabilities. He is also a trained coach, and focuses on career transitions, professional development and improving performance.
Christopher Lim is the CEO of Triterra Metropolis Sdn Bhd (Triterra), a boutique property developer in Malaysia. With over 18 years of experience in the real estate industry. He began his career as a professional Real Estate Negotiator in 2004 and became one of the Top Rookies of the industry. In 2009, Christopher co-founded Property Hub, which became one of the fastest growing agencies. Being the largest real estate agency in Mont Kiara, Christopher successfully oversaw RM2 billion worth of property transactions guiding the company’s expansion to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Property Hub garnered numerous awards during his tenure, most notably the crowning of MIEA National Residential Real Estate Firm of the Year 2015 and the many national award winning rookies and RENs. The success story of Property Hub led to a landmark acquisition by world renowned real estate firm, Knight Frank in April 2022.
After successfully leading Property Hub, Christopher initiated and co-founded Triterra in 2015 with corporate and real estate icon, Datuk Seri Dr. Michael Yam with the backing of his family’s investment arm led by his father, Dato Wira Lim Teong Kiat and his two elder bothers, Daniel and Andrew Lim. Christopher spearheaded the visionary partnership to a milestone joint venture with NAZA TTDI to develop the first Grade-A stratified office building. The project, The MET Corporate Towers is part of the nation’s RM20 billion integrated master development in the international enclave of Mont Kiara, called KL Metropolis. The MET has a Gross Development Value of RM750 million and Christopher led the to team to secure an impressive RM475 million worth of sales in the first 36 months.
Christopher contributes his success to the many great people he has met over the years, in addition surrounding himself with diverse mentors that have shaped his life and business journey. He prides himself on being motivated by passion for his work whilst emphasizing strategic collaboration for a meaningful journey. Christopher is a true believer in making the most of every opportunity that comes his way, creating opportunities for others, and giving back to the industry and the community at large while rewarding his stakeholders. It is through his strong, supporting and loving family, Faith in God, Christopher derives his unshakeable passion, work ethic and resolve to do his bit in making our world a better place, living by the credo from Henry Ford“Coming together is a beginning Working together is progress, Staying together is success” and “ask not what others can do for us, but what we can do for others” (a quote taken from John F Kennedy).
Ramon R. Isberto is the host of “Tech Ka Muna” (Tech First), a weekly show on Cygnal TV in the Philippines. In his multi-decade career, Isberto has worked both sides of the communications business, both asking the questions and answering them. He was formerly the Public Affairs Head of PLDT and Smart Communications, one of the Philippines’ largest telecommunications companies; a reporter of Business Day, a leading Philippine business newspaper; special sections editor of The Financial Post and Manila Bureau Chief of Inter Press Service in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he hosted several morning TV shows on GMA Network and also served as its vice president for public affairs.
He has also taken the lead in developing initiatives in the fields of education, health, entrepreneurship, environment and disaster preparedness. In one of the world’s most calamity-prone countries, Isberto has embraced disaster preparedness as his personal advocacy. He is the president of the Corporate Network for Disaster Preparedness and in that capacity sits on the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Mohammad Mirdal Akib is the Group CEO of Media Group, one of Indonesia’s largest media companies, and a holding company that oversees some the most well-known media outlets in the country such as Metro TV, Media Indonesia, Medcom.id, Lampung Post, and others. Mirdal was selected as one of Indonesia’s best CEOs for his leadership of the company during the pandemic, helping it develop into an integrated business.
Prakash Nagarajan is the Vice President of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority, a Malaysian Federal Government statutory body tasked with the objective of developing the region of Iskandar Malaysia into a strong and sustainable metropolis of international standing, with the aim to develop a substantial and valuable growth corridor. Prakash holds two decades in Asian markets (Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei) as well as markets in North America (Canada & United States), having diverse experiences across multiple organization structures including MNC, GLC, Locally Owned and Off-Shore companies.
Daniar Amanaliev is the Group CEO and Co-Founder of ololo group, the largest chain of creative hubs in Central Asia, that currently includes 7 coworking spaces, 2 hotels and 2 coliving spaces for the community of 500+ innovators. Daniar has wide experience in community building, creative economy, tourism, banking, and education. He is a member of the International Council at Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Center led by Nesta, a co-founder and Chairman of Kyrgyzstan’s Creative Industries Association, a co-founder and Supervisory Board member of KG Analytics think tank, a member of the Governing Board of Bishkek International School.
Faustino John Lim is the Co-founder and Vice-President of International Affairs at the Center for Asia Leadership. A former fellow of the Harvard University Asia Center, he has worked in diverse organizations including the Embassy of Canada in Korea, the International Crisis Group, and in sectors such as English education and social entrepreneurship. At the Center for Asia Leadership, his team developed a Harvard student project into a full-fledged leadership training and research organization that has benefited over 16,000 individuals in 22 countries through over 80 conferences and leadership programs.
He also pioneered the Center’s research and publication arm, advising the interviewing agenda of over 100 minister or director-level individuals from the public and private sector, resulting in five published books. He also established the Asia Leadership Institute, mentoring and coaching over 35 Teaching Fellows from Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, while developing a network of value-driven companies and NPOs, resulting in annual programs in six countries. His current work engages him in researching and applying diverse leadership, education, and entrepreneurial models and frameworks within Asian contexts.
Philipp focuses on social impact measurement and management across Big Society Capital’s investment process and portfolio. He is passionate about using impact strategy and evidence to drive social investment decisions and tackle pressing social challenges. Prior to Big Society Capital, Philipp worked at the multinational energy company, BG Group, where he led the Group’s social performance & human rights work for new country entry and early exploration projects, with a focus on South East Asia and Latin America. Philipp also lived several years in South East Asia, working with large development organizations (UN, Oxfam) and innovative start-ups on identifying and implementing opportunities for private sector-led economic growth and poverty reduction. Philipp holds a MBA from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and a MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Dana H. Born (Co-Director, Center for Public Leadership (CPL); Faculty Chair, Senior Executive Fellows (SEF) Program; Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government) is a retired Brigadier General with 30 years of service in the United States Air Force. Prior to coming to Harvard, from 2004-2013, she served two terms as the Presidentially-appointed Dean of the Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy where she was also the Professor and Head of the Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Department. Previously, Dana served as an Exchange Officer with the Royal Australian Air Force, Assistant Director for Recruiting Research and Analysis for the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management Policy), Deputy Chief of the Personnel Issues Team for the Department of the Air Force (DC/Staff Personnel), Aide and Speech Writer to the Secretary of the Air Force, Squadron Commander for 11th Mission Support Squadron at Bolling AFB, DC and in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. A graduate with distinction of the United States Air Force Academy, Professor Born received her B.S. in Behavioral Sciences (1983), M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Trinity University, TX (1985), M.A. in Research Psychology from University of Melbourne (1991) and Doctorate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Penn State University (1994). She received Penn State’s Alumni Fellow Award in 2012 and an Honorary Doctorate from Simmons College in Humane Administration in 2007.
Born has been the recipient of a number of senior level military awards including the Secretary of the Air Force’s Eugene M. Zuckert Award for Outstanding Management Achievement, Air Force Association’s Hoyt S. Vandenberg Award for outstanding contributions to Aerospace education, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal and Active Duty Service Women Veterans Award. She has been honored with the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Teaching Awards 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 as well as the HKS Innovation in Teaching Award in 2017.
Dr. Born is a Trustee on the United States Air Force Academy’s Falcon Foundation – serving on the Strategy, Governance and Scholarship Committees; President of the Massachusetts Women’s Forum; member of Council on Foreign Relations; Senior Consultant for the Authentic Leadership Institute (ALI); Peer Evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission; member of Women Corporate Directors and the International Women’s Forum; Council Member on Boston Mayor’s Pay Equity Workforce; Advisory Board Member on “A Child’s Guide to War” documentary, Senior Officer for Mission: Readiness; Past-President of the American Psychological Association (Society for Military Psychology) and previous Director on Board of the Apollo Education Group having served on Compensation, Audit and Litigation Committees.
Ami Valdemoro is a leadership coach, health advocate, and entrepreneur with 15 years of experience leading and managing impact investments around the world. She ran the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Africa Tobacco Control Consortium, the philanthropy’s first non-communicable disease investment. As Executive Director, she set up the social impact portfolio of the first U.S.-registered Benefit corporation in the Philippines, Generation HOPE. She sits on the Board Liter of Light, a community-based solar lighting initiative that empowers over one million beneficiaries a year around the world. Through her company Three Points Ventures, Ami has trained thousands of professionals across Asia on leadership, communication, and growth. In her coaching practice, Ami helps purpose-driven leaders design creative strategies to reach their goals with balance and ease. By listening, asking questions, and sharing key insights, she helps her clients come up with ways that they might act, think, or be different so that they can lead and start enterprises with a lasting impact. Ami is a core member of the teaching faculty at the Center for Asia Leadership, with whom she has published works on teaching and practicing leadership in the region. She received her master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, and graduated with honors from Georgetown University.
Daria Istrate has an extensive background in strategy, advising companies on cross-border acquisitions, mergers and restructuring in healthcare, energy, and logistics. Over the past ten years she has honed her expertise in the development and commercialization of life-changing cancer treatments and is currently working with Genentech, based in San Francisco. She founded a private education institution in her home country of Romania and is actively working on growing education investments in Eastern Europe. Daria is a champion of public-private partnerships and has worked with the World Health Organization and the World Food Program to support technology with investment, with the aim of improving health and education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Daria has lived and worked on three continents and holds an MBA from Harvard University. She is a contributing member of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program at Stanford University. An angel investor in several ventures in healthcare and logistics, she is interested in partnering with visionary entrepreneurial minds to bring innovative technologies to market.
Mieke Klanker is a consultant in finance passionate about creating change in the corporate world. Having worked over ten years in mergers and acquisitions across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas, her current focus is on embedding sustainability and ESG in finance and decision making. Her innate curiosity and desire to learn from and experience other cultures has brought her to study, work and live in over 10 countries and to speak over 5 languages. Mieke is a diversity and inclusion advocate, having served as board member of Lean In Netherlands, a foundation supporting women to achieve their ambitions and work towards creating an equal world.
Mieke holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and obtained a Master’s degree in International Political Economy from Sciences Po Paris. Hailing from the Netherlands, Mieke enjoys spending her time off in the mountains.
Jiro Yoshino is the Country Managing Director for Web Summit as well as the Country Advisor for the Center for Asia Leadership.
He has previously worked in the Sales Section of Dentsu Inc., Cabinet Councilors’ Office on Internal Affairs National Commission on Education Reform, and Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., until becoming independent in 2013. Served as account executive for a leading manufacturer of consumer goods while working in the Sales Section of Dentsu, and engaged in the marketing, promotion, and branding of their main brands. He was selected to be a Fellow for the AILA International Fellows Program in 2015 by the U.S., Washington D.C.-based think tank CSIS. Has also been selected as a Fellow for the Young Leadership Program, hosted by the United States-Japan foundation. Graduated from the Kyoto University Graduate School of Economics and Faculty of Economics. Received an MPA from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Shahzad Khan is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, international business leader as well as an investor and advisor to early stage technology companies. With two decades of experience in driving strategy, innovation and organizational change through a focus on data and people, Shahzad has spent his career leading transformational growth for organizations spanning continents and industries. In his early career Shahzad worked as a technologist at Accenture, developed and patented algorithms in data processing for an early stage mobile technology startup.
He then went on to establish and manage his own international consulting practice where he guided strategy for organizations including AT&T, Verizon, Nortel, and Cisco Systems in the telecom sector. Additional solutions were delivered to BBVA, Bank of the West, American Medical Security and Kaspick Foundation in the financial sector, and USAF and Lockheed Martin in the defense sector. Subsequently, Shahzad co-founded a digital marketing company headquartered in Ukraine, pioneering analytics to drive marketing effectiveness across platforms for a myriad of global clients. For the past five years Shahzad has brought his leadership to the healthcare space, providing strategic insights for Gilead Sciences and Roche. Consistent throughout his career across industries is Shahzad’s passion for leveraging data to guide strategy and inspiring individuals to execute transformational change.
Shahzad holds a B.S. in Economics and Computer Science and M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley and is currently furthering his executive education at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
Nikita, CEO and Founder of Eubrics.com and an engineer holding a masters in Human Resources, has a decade of consulting experience with global organizations like PwC, Korn Ferry and EY. Nikita is a certified coach and assessor who has worked with 100+ enterprises and 1000+ individuals on their leadership journeys. She is an active author for national level research papers. Before starting Eubrics.com, an AI platform for behavioral change, Nikita has built several million-dollar-value profitable businesses and technology platforms to improve skills and employability of the global workforce.
Shutong Liu is the Founder of MotionECO, a renewable energy social enterprise breaking the cycle of cooking oil wastage and reuse, by creating the market for biofuel that can be used as conventional diesel fuel. Shutong’s work focuses on building a sustainable biofuel and feedstock supply chain in China, with the potential for biofuel produced from waste sources, saving up to 90% of GHG emissions and pollutions, while eliminating waste cooking oil from illegal trade helping improve food safety conditions in China.
As a pioneer in the sustainability movement in China, Shutong has been recognized as a Fellow of the Harvard SEED for Social Innovation, 2017 Forbes China 30 under 30 Young Leader, 2016 Winner of the Venture Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition, 2016 SEE Foundation Green Entrepreneur, Aiyou Foundation Social Entrepreneur Partner. Shutong began his career in the Netherlands working in the energy industry at Argos Energies, SkyNRG, and Atama Solar Energy, as well as the logistics sector at TNT. Originally from Nanchang, China, Shutong holds an MSc in Environment & Resource Management from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam(VU Amsterdam) and a Bachelor in Business Logistics Management from the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen (HAN)in the Netherlands.
Rhea See is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of She Loves Tech, a global platform committed to closing the funding gap for women, including a VC fund and the world’s largest startup competition for women & technology, currently in 50+ countries. Through technology and entrepreneurship, she strives to mobilize more people into creating a sustainable world where everyone’s needs are met. As an EQUALS Partner, she co-leads the Gender Equitable Investment in Tech (GEIT) efforts for the United Nations coalition of several hundred global government, private and non-profit organisations.
Rhea was recognized as a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum. She joins other Shapers who play an active role in shaping local, regional and global agendas. She has also been named among “Leaders of Tomorrow” in Tatler’s Gen.T List and is part of the Innovation Council at Walmart. As a community builder and startup advisor, Rhea is a frequent mentor and speaker at top organizations like Intel, LinkedIn, Ant Financial, Bytedance, Huawei, Swire, Beijing Women’s Federation, Slush, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and more. Rhea has worked at Parinama Cultural Development Foundation, Edelman, Estée Lauder Companies, Lean In China, etc.
Lieutenant Colonel Aaron J. Kleiman is the father of two amazing daughters, Aurora and Aria, and husband to an equally amazing wife, Major Annie Kleiman. He is also a defense and policy professional with a unique combination of military, legislative, academic, leadership, and entrepreneurial experience. He has served for 19 years in the US Air Force, as a special operations aviator, air liaison officer, and staff officer. Lt Col Kleiman has flown over 200 combat missions and has over 1000 combat flight hours during deployments to Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Lt Col Kleiman is also an AFWERX Fellow working on the Agility Prime program to bring emerging commercial eVTOL aircraft to market to meet military missions. Prime leverages unique Department of Defense resources bringing the Air and Space Force’s full value proposition to bear and becoming an early adopter to help de-risk emerging markets. In addition to Aaron’s military deployments, he has cultivated an in-depth and first-hand understanding of foreign affairs, having traveled extensively to over 32 countries.
After attending the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he earned a Master in Public Administration, he served as a HillVets and DAV Congressional Fellow. Here he worked in the US Capitol as a Legislative Assistant on various policy and legislative issues within the Veterans Affairs and Armed Services realm. A driven entrepreneur, he is also the Founder and CEO of LunarEagle Real Estate, a multi-state real estate portfolio and property management company.
Aaron continues to give back to his community as a HillVets Alumni and New Politics Leadership Academy Ambassador, working to empower, educate, and train America’s veterans to work in government and run for public office. In addition to his MPA from Harvard, Aaron holds a Master of Science in Military Studies from American Military University and a Bachelor’s degree in Aviation Business Administration from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
Shomy Hasan Chowdhury is an award-winning Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activist from Bangladesh. Shomy co-founded the global non-profit Awareness 360, through which she empowers young people across 25+ countries in advancing the UN Global Goals. For her outstanding social impact, last year she made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List & was spotlighted as a Featured Honoree. She is also a Schwarzman Scholar, Global Citizen Youth Advocate, Asia Pacific’s first Samsung Global-UNDP Generation17 Ambassador, a Specialist for the Community Engagement Exchange initiative of the US State Department, Asia Representative of Commonwealth Students’ Association, Royal Commonwealth Society Fellow, International Election Observer and sits on leadership & advisory positions of multiple international organizations. Shomy regularly addresses keynotes and inspired millions across 5 continents. Last year, she was invited as a Guest Speaker to a high-level event organized by The White House and UNDP. Her notable recognitions include the President’s Volunteer Service Award (Gold) by President Barack Obama, the Putra Icon Award, and The Diana Legacy Award. Most recently, she became the first Bangladeshi to sit on The Diana Legacy Award 2021 Judging Panel alongside Princess Diana’s brother Lord Spencer and many esteemed figures.
Stefano Zordan, Italian, holds a Master’s Degree in Ethics and Politics from Harvard University, where he worked as a teaching assistant in the Adaptive Leadership course. He edited the Italian version of “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership Adattiva” (2018). Consultant and trainer for companies and non-profit organizations, he is the co-founder of the Adriano Olivetti Leadership Institute in Ivrea, Italy. Before this, he worked at the United Nations in New York City, after which he moved back to Italy and created his own Adaptive Leadership NGO, Sistema Italia, which has been working with universities, companies, and the public sector to spread a more systemic vision of leadership. He is on the CALI teaching faculty and has taught in Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.
A purpose-driven professional with 10 years of work experience on social entrepreneurship, community building, and education in Central Asia. At present, Jenny works at the Accelerator Lab of UNDP Kyrgyzstan in the role of the Head of Experimentation. Meanwhile, she teaches “Design Thinking & Innovation” at American University of Central Asia (part-time). Jenny is committed to investing in human capitals with social innovations and creative learning.
For the past ten years, Jenny has been leading various community works: She is the nominated “Community Champion” for Central Asian region by Global Shapers Community (the initiative of the World Economic Forum); She mentors youth in the network of professionals “ProKG”; She led the Association of Social Entrepreneurs in Kyrgyzstan as the Chairperson; and she co-founded a charity group. Most important, as a gender advocate, Jenny empowers girls and women in the fields of STEM and social entrepreneurship for inclusive development.
Jenny holds one Master of Science degree (MSW) from Columbia University in the City of New York; one Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of National University of Singapore. Her multi-disciplinary experience in both private and public sectors equips her with a creative mindset to address development challenges. Jenny is comfortable with cross-culture communication by speaking Kyrgyz, Chinese, Russian and English.
Adelle is deeply committed to leadership development and passionate about working with people of varying backgrounds and cultures. After 18 years as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and PwC, in 2008 she helped launch Leadership Circle (LC) in Asia Pacific and subsequently became an owner and Director of LC globally. In 2018, she spearheaded a worldwide expansion of Leadership Circle and since November 2019, as Vice President of Leadership Circle Asia Pacific, has been focused on developing a stronger presence in the region and supporting leaders in meeting the increasing volatility uncertainty and complexity of the world.
Adelle’s strength is in being able to move from strategy into action. Another strength is to know and understand the macro and micro-operational systems in order to achieve operational excellence. What she finds deeply motivating is connecting to and being in service of the ever-growing global LC Community of Certified Practitioners, and the clients that are ready for this work of developing leadership.
In Adelle’s private world she finds joy and connection through gardening, spending time in nature, travelling and being with family, friends and her two pets. She is passionate about the continued exploration to know and understand herself better, and has played for most of her life in the creative space of community theatre, directing productions that aim to delight and entertain audiences.
George Royeca is a staunch advocate of inclusive mobility and sustainable transport, a champion of local brands, and an award-winning visual storyteller. He is the Chief Transport Advocate of Angkas, the leading app-based ride-hailing service in the Philippines with over four (4) million downloads and 30,000 biker-partners.
George also co-led the highly regarded private sector consumer campaign in collaboration with the Inter Agency Task Force against Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) called Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat. This campaign brought together the largest brands and corporations in the country in an overwhelming display of unity to boost consumer confidence for economic recovery. He is currently assisting in the communications of the national vaccine program. George is also the founder of Group of Five Creative Concepts, an award-winning content company that has garnered local and international awards such as the SOPA, Boomerang, Anvils, and the Asian Digital Media Awards, to name a few. A TOYM Awardee of the 2020 “Pandemic batch”, a passionate advocate and an innovative entrepreneur, George has always been at the forefront of movements that fight for the rights of millions of motorcycle riders and commuters in the Philippines.
Adam is a coach and facilitator who supports his clients’ development of social and self-awareness to improve leadership effectiveness. His work focuses on improving individual and organizational adaptability to meet current and evolving changes. Adam’s leadership and leadership development experience extends from the U.S. Military, local and federal U.S. government, to private industry both in the United States and across Asia. His research interests focus on adult psychological development and its impacts on leadership effectiveness.
Adam has taught accredited courses in leadership at DePaul and Loyola Universities, as an Assistant Professor of Military Science. He served as a Teaching Fellow for the Harvard Asia Center where he taught courses on Transformational Leadership, Public Narrative, and Immunity to Change, in six countries across Asia. His military service includes one combat deployment to Afghanistan where he served as a mentor and coach to local and regional police leaders in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; and as an Infantry Officer in the Illinois Army National Guard where he has led organizations of 30 Soldiers to being second in command for an organization of 400 Soldiers.
He has supported the creation of the Naval Post Graduate School’s HSx program, an executive level post master’s program designed to support the transformation of governmental senior executives in the Homeland Defense and Security industry. His work has also covered entrepreneurial development supporting early-stage entrepreneurs as they made the move from U.S. military veteran to starting their own business. He has significant experience in vertical psychological development, Immunity to Change, transformational and adaptive leadership, online learning, and experiential leader development.
Adam is working on his Doctorate of Education at Columbia University in Adult Learning and Leadership. He earned a Masters of Education degree in adult psychological development and emotional intelligence applied to leader development from Harvard University; a Masters of Education degree in Educational Psychology for adult leader development from University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign; and a Bachelor of Science in Social Science Education from Illinois State University. He is a trained Immunity to Change facilitator, and is completing his certification as a Growth Edge Coach. His awards include Class Marshall at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Bronze Star, Combat Infantrymen’s Badge, NATO Service Medal, and earned the U.S. Army Ranger Tab.
Jeffrey Lamb is the Director of Climate Finance for the Republic of Kiribati where he leads the country’s efforts to access and program finance for paradigm-shifting climate change projects. Jeffrey is also visiting faculty with the Center for Asia Leadership and serves as the Board Chairman of an impact investment fund. Previously, Jeffrey served as an Advisor to the Green Climate Fund and UNDP’s Nature, Climate & Energy Team. Beyond climate and sustainability, Jeffrey has held several roles in international economic development including serving as the Head of UK Trade and Investment in Cambodia, as a Senior Advisor to the Cambodian Minister of Commerce, a Consultant with the World Bank, and on an Investment Oversight Committee for a green infrastructure fund of the Australian government. Jeffrey holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government; a Master’s in International Management from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Experienced Business Development Professional, commercially driven with international exposure in building a business and partnership, and skilled in Digital Product & Solution, Cross Border Transfer, Market expansion, and Regulatory management.
Mock Yi Jun is Co-Founder & President of Advisory Singapore, a fully youth-led nonprofit dedicated to empowering young Singaporeans from all walks of life to make informed career and further education choices. Since 2016, Advisory has worked with over 163,000 students and youth through its online repository of interviews with working professionals, industry panels and learning journeys with firms, as well as its nationwide mentorship efforts.
For his work, Yi Jun received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award from Queen Elizabeth II, the Diana Award in memory of Princess Diana’s lifetime of service, and was a Deloitte-One Young World Scholar. Outside of Advisory, he is an Advisor to the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society, a Climate Reality Leader with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, a Pacific Forum Young Leader, a One Young World Ambassador, and the Outgoing Curator of the Singapore Hub of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.
Yi Jun holds a Master’s of Global Affairs from Tsinghua University where he studied as a Schwarzman Scholar and BP Fellow, and a Bachelor’s of Politics and International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Richard Lum is an academically trained futurist and chief executive of Vision Foresight Strategy LLC (VFS), a foresight and strategic analysis firm based in Honolulu. He has conducted foresight and strategy work on projects for organizations such as U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, the European Commission, the UK government, the Canadian government, the Singaporean government, NASA, and PepsiCo. Richard is the author of 4 Steps to the Future: A Quick and Clean Guide to Creating Foresight and his contributions were featured in the book Thinking about the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight (2006), A Careful Revolution (2019, co-authored with Anne Gibbon), and Strategic Latency (2020, forthcoming). He has been published in the Journal of Futures Studies, the journal Futures, International Journal of System of Systems Engineering, World Future Review, and Small Wars Journal. Richard is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the futures studies program at the University of Hawai‘I and EMBA from Harvard University. His dissertation research focused on developing a conceptual framework for designing future governance systems.
Yves Daccord is a renowned humanitarian leader, international strategist, influencer and changemaker. His current focus is on the theme of security, social contract and the role of cities at the age of digital surveillance and pandemics, which is the subject of a special initiative – the Edgelands PoP Up Institute – that he is leading at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. From 2010 – March 2020 Yves was Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a global humanitarian organization employing 20,000 staff.
A former journalist, TV producer and international relations expert, his ICRC career spanned more than two decades in a variety of posts and challenging contexts – including Israel and the Occupied Territories, Sudan, Yemen, Chechnya and Georgia. Yves co-chairs the #Principles4Peace initiative. He is as well member of the Board of Trustees of ODI a leading-global affairs think tank working to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality, of the Board of the International Human Rights Film Festival of Geneva, of the Board of the leading Swiss newspaper LeTemps and of the Board of the Humanitarian Quality Insurance Initiative. Yves holds a degree in political science and an honorary doctorate in social sciences from the University of St. Gallen, awarded in 2017.
Prof. Gil Alterovitz is a faculty at Harvard Medical School specializing in biomedical informatics and with the Computational Health Informatics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is Director of the Biomedical Cybernetics Laboratory. He is also affiliated with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is co-chair of the HL7 Clinical Genomics workgroup and on the Clinical Workgroup core executive group of the Global Alliance.
His research focuses on integrating genomics within healthcare settings as well as international collaborations involving genomics/clinical data integration. His work on integrative methods for “big data” in the biomedical informatics space has been published or presented in more than 30 peer-reviewed publications ranging from academic journals and international conferences to three books (including “Systems Bioinformatics: An Engineering Case-based Approach,” ranked #1 in new Amazon bioinformatics category). His lab site is at: bcl.med.harvard.edu
Jason Sambouw is a Reporter and Presenter at Metro TV, the largest news station in Indonesia, where he co-hosts two of the country’s most-watched daily news and variety shows, the two hour morning show ‘Selamat Pagi Indonesia’ (Good Morning Indonesia) and two hour afternoon show ‘Newsline’. Jason regularly conducts interviews with government ministers, business leaders, politicians, artists, and ambassadors to common people from all walks of life. Some of his interviews include Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim, Minister of Tourism Sandiaga Uno, Member of the House Ahmad Sahroni; business leaders from such companies as Gojek, Tokopedia, Biznet, and Shopee; and international artists Maudy Ayunda and Agnez Mo.
Previously, Jason served as a Reporter and Presenter at Liputan 6 SCTV, where he hosted the programs, ‘Buser’, a program that reports on criminal cases and investigations, as well as ‘Liputan 6 Malam’, a live late evening news program. Jason has received the Idolanesia Award from the Minister of Women and Child Protection in 2018, due to his campaign and advocacy to increase awareness of autoimmune diseases. Jason holds a degree in Communications, majoring in Broadcasting, from the Mercu Buana University, where he graduated cum laude.
We would like to thank everyone for joining us at the Asian Leadership Conference 2022. As you work to initiate change and progress in your organizations and communities, we hope to continue being your learning partner through training, executive coaching, publications, and free resources.