Trailblazers - Mentors

Mr Jeremy Goon, the Chief Sustainability Officer has been responsible for the Group’s Sustainability/ESG function since June 2007. His past positions include, Group Head of Plantations, Head of European Operations for Kuok Oils and Grains in Germany and the Netherlands. He has also served as Head of Brand Management and Marketing for the Group’s Vietnam operations. He holds a degree in law and management science from Keele University in the UK.

Jeremy Goon
Chief Sustainability Officer
Wilmar International

Peter is Executive Chairman of HOPE Technik Pte Ltd, a company he co-founded in 2006. HOPE Technik has businesses in the engineering of Professional Service Robotics and Special-Purpose Vehicles.

Peter received his bachelors’ degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Singapore in 2003 where he started the NUS Formula SAE racecar engineering team as well as the programme for the Robotic Exploration at the Great Pyramid in Egypt with National Geographic.

Peter subsequently joined Team Petronas Touring Cars, a racecar engineering team that competed in the British, German and Asian Touring Car Championships, which he concluded this stint as the Chief Engineer. 

Having satisfied his decade-long thirst for racecar engineering, he returned to Singapore and co-founded HOPE Technik (together with Michael Leong, Jeff Tang and Ng Kiang Loong). HOPE has grown into a leading engineering company in Singapore with a global clientele of multi-national companies and Government agencies in sectors including healthcare, defence, homeland security, semi-conductor, food and various commercial/ industrial arenas.

Peter was awarded the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from NUS in 2009, was a finalist for ‘Singaporean of the Year 2015’ by the Straits Times and a member of the ‘Emerging Stronger Taskforce’ that was awarded the Singapore President’s Certificate of Commendation in 2022. 

Peter holds various appointments across engineering, agriculture, education and Government.
 

Peter Ho
Executive Chairman
HOPE Technik

Professor Yaacob Ibrahim, Adjunct Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (NUS), is an Advisor to SIT’s President and founding Director of CLASIC. He was Singapore’s Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity (2015–2018), Minister for Communications and Information (2011–2018), Environment and Water Resources (2004–2011), and Community Development and Sports (2002–2004). He served as Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs for 16 years and as MP (1997–2020). A civil engineering graduate from NUS (1980), he earned a PhD from Stanford University (1989) and was a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell. Currently, he chairs the St John’s Island Marine Laboratory, sits on various boards, and advises AI Singapore, promoting the nation's AI development.

Professor Yaacob Ibrahim
Advisor to President of SIT
Singapore Institute of Technology

Mr. Gary Kunis was formerly Cisco's Chief Science Officer, to lead the company's product and technology strategy.

He was involved in the design, implementation and operation of large scale data and telecommunications networks for several U.S. government agency programs, including the Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as for civilian agencies while working for the Boeing Company. Kunis also held a number of senior engineering positions with Boeing's commercial and defense-related businesses.

He has been a private investor in biotech companies and has been providing advice to technology companies. Gary also provides support to aspiring entrepreneurs at SMU through the Gary Kunis Scholarship in Entrepreneurship and Technopreneurship which is made possible by the Kunis Foundation.

Gary Kunis
Former Chief Science Officer
CISCO Systems

Kheng Nam Lee has extensive experience as a venture investor and technology executive.

He joined GGV Capital in 2005 as a Venture Partner and also served as Chairman of Heptagon through its successful acquisition by AMS. Kheng Nam is also Chairman of Advantec Pte Ltd, an investment holding company, and Chairman of Vertex Management (II) Pte Ltd and Deputy Chairman of Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd (VVH), both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited.

Kheng Nam Lee
Deputy Chairman
Vertex Holdings

Hugh graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1987 with a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class) degree on a Singapore Armed Forces (Overseas) Scholarship. He holds a Master of Science (Management of Technology) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of America, 1998.

Prior to joining CLC, Hugh was the CEO of the Building & Construction Authority (BCA), where he was actively involved in developing the latest iteration of the Singapore Green Building Masterplan, a key component of the Singapore Green Plan 2030.

Hugh has held the appointment of Deputy Secretary (Community, Youth and Sports) at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and concurrently as a Board member of SportSG, played a leadership role in the development of Singapore’s sports facility masterplan, as well as in overseeing the Singapore Sports Hub project. He also supervised plans for the development of an expanded Outward Bound Singapore campus.

In his earlier appointment as Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Law, Hugh was a board member of the Singapore Land Authority, and had management responsibility over land policy.

He is married with three children, and has a keen interest in technology, sports and photography.

Hugh Lim
Executive Director
Centre for Liveable Cities

• Asia Director & Senior Advisor to Secretary General, World Energy Council
• Programme Director, Asia Strategic Communications Leaders Council, the Conference Board
• Published Author and certified Gallup StrengthFinder Coach

As Asia Director & Senior Advisor to the Secretary General of the World Energy Council, Xiaowei is responsible in strengthening the Council’s visibility and commercial opportunities across Asia. For the Conference Board, she’s leading its Asia Strategic Communications Leaders Council.

Prior to this, Xiaowei worked for Shell. Over her 26+ years with the energy company, she led External Relations teams of various sizes at country, regional and global business level and held various elective roles across China, UK, NL and Singapore. Her last role was the Regional Vice President for External Relations, Asia Pacific.

Xiaowei serves as a Board Member of the Marketing Society Singapore, and the Advisory Board of GGEF, a social enterprise promoting sustainability.

She has a bachelor’s degree in art and social science from Beijing Foreign Studies University, China, and a master’s degree in political economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. She is fluent in Chinese and English.

She published her first book in 2023 by China Renmin University Press of on her professional journey and was a featured speaker for the inaugural City Reading Festival Singapore 2023 by Lianhe Zaobao. And her English book “The Art of Influence” was published by Marshall Cavendish in July 2024.

Liu Xiaowei
Asia Director & Senior Advisor to Secretary General
World Energy Council

Sugandhi is the Chief Impact Officer of Singapore's impact investing private equity firm ABC Impact, a member of Temasek Trust Asset Management, with AuM of ~US$850m. The firm strives to deliver compelling market rate risk-adjusted financial returns alongside evidence-based, positive and measurable impact to society and the environment. As Chief Impact Officer, Sugandhi leads the firm’s approach towards assessing, measuring, consolidating and driving impact outcomes across its portfolio companies. She also invests for the firm in South and South East Asia.

Sugandhi has over 19 years of experience in private equity and emerging markets. Sugandhi was previously a Director, Investments at LeapFrog Investments, a multi-billion impact investor focused on climate and social impact, where she led investments in the financial services sector in South and South East Asia. Prior to impact investing, she specialised in mid-market private equity markets at emerging markets investor Actis. She began her career with Singapore-headquartered global investment company Temasek.

An experienced board member, Sugandhi has held board directorships in companies operating across different countries, including India, UK, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Education and empowerment are key passion areas. She is a member of the Board of Governors of UWC South-East Asia and a member of the Enterprise Board of the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Singapore Management University. Sugandhi actively commits time to mentor women entrepreneurs as well as women-led ventures.

Sugandhi holds a Master of Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (India), and a Bachelor of Engineering from Maharaja Sayaji Rao University, Baroda (India).

Sugandhi Matta
Chief Impact Officer
abc IMPACT

With 30 years of experience leading global businesses and digital teams, Ivan brings deep expertise in international market growth, digital strategy, and risk governance. He has extensive experience in growth markets, gained through 16 years of operating businesses in China, Japan, the US, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Currently Chief Technology Officer at CDL, Ivan was President of Strategic Business at Pactera, leading international expansion, and Managing Director of ServiceNow, where he established its Asia businesses.

A Senior Accredited Director, Ivan serves on the boards of digital companies, the Singapore Institute of Directors, Singapore IT Management Association, and as an advisor to national institutions like EDB Investments, NUS, Temasek Polytechnic, and Gardens by the Bay. In 2018, he was conferred the NUS Outstanding Alumni Award.

Ivan Ng
Chief Technology Officer
City Developments Limited

Mr. Andrew Tan was formerly Managing Director / Operating Partner with Strategy Office, Enterprise Development Group and Institutional Relations of Temasek International. Prior to this, he has worked in the Singapore Government for 28 years in a variety of key roles. Andrew joined the Singapore Administrative Service in 1991. He helmed senior positions in the Ministry of Information and the Arts, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office as the Principal Private Secretary to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and the Ministry of Transport. He was also the Chief Executive Officer of the National Environment Agency (NEA) from 2009-2013 and Founding Director of the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC). His last appointment was Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2018.

He has sat on various boards such as the Competition & Consumer Commission of Singapore, Sentosa Development Corporation Board, Science Centre Board, Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR) and the Singapore Maritime Foundation. He currently sits on the boards of Keppel Data Centre REIT Management Pte Ltd, Kim Heng Ltd and GoTyme Bank Corporation as an independent director.

Andrew Tan
Former Managing Director / Operating Partner
Temasek International

Pauline leads the National Health Innovation Centre as Director, facilitating the development and commercialisation of clinical innovations at public hospital groups. Prior to this, she helmed the Innovation and Enterprise Directorate at the National Research Foundation of the Prime Minister’s Office, developing key signatures in Singapore’s tech ecosystem, such as the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH), Early-Stage Venture Funds, and other international and public private partnerships. Pauline has also served in industry as the Chairperson of Technology, Innovation and Productivity at the Singapore Business Federation, Executive Director and Head of Innovation Partnerships at UBS, and COO/CSO at Celligenics.

Pauline Tay
Director
National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC)