12th LKYGBPC Category Judges

Dr Kwa is an Independent Non Executive Board member of Sembcorp Industries and Chair of the Technology Advisory Panel of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.  

She is currently a Panel member of the Ministry of Education’s Quality Assessment Framework for the Universities in Singapore and National Environment Agency’s  Steering Committee of the Singapore Certified Energy Managers’ Programme.  

Dr Kwa was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of NSL Ltd and during her 23 year tenure, served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Technology, responsible for the R&D, IT, Energy & Environmental investments and strategies of the NSL Group. She was a member of the Board of the Groups companies in Australia, Thailand, China and Malaysia. 

Dr Kwa served as Chairman of Raffles Marine Holdings Ltd for 12 years and also served as Chairman of the National Energy Efficiency Committee for Industries in Singapore from 2000 to 2009. She was a member of the Management Board for Agency for Science and Technology (A*Star) and the Science and Engineering Research Council from 2017 to 2024.  

Dr Kwa holds a BSc (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. 

Dr Josephine KWA
Independent Non Executive Director
Sembcorp Industries Ltd

Dr. Lee Shiang Long is the Group Chief Technology & Digital Officer at ST Engineering, a global technology, defence and engineering group with a diverse portfolio of businesses. Earlier, he had roles as President, Land Systems at ST Engineering with US$1B turnover; Executive Director for A*STAR-Institute for Infocomms Research; and SAF Chief Information Officer. 

He is currently an Adjunct Research Professor in NUS and a member of NUS College of Design and Engineering Advisory Board. He had held memberships at the NTU Board of Trustees, National Library Board, Singapore Polytechnic Board and Civil Service College Board. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from NTU, MBA from Cambridge University, and a Master of IT from NUS. 

Dr LEE Shiang Long
Group Chief Technology & Digital Officer Chief Technology Officer, Defence & Public Security
ST Engineering

As Chief Impact Officer, Sugandhi leads the firm’s approach towards assessing, measuring, consolidating and driving impact outcomes across its portfolio companies, in order to deliver measurable, positive impact alongside compelling financial returns. She also invests for the firm in South and South East Asia. 

With over 20 years of investing experience in South and Southeast Asia, Sugandhi was previously Director of Investment at LeapFrog Investments, a billion-dollar impact fund focused on financial inclusion. In her previous role, Sugandhi led and oversaw investments in financial services businesses in Indonesia and India. Prior to impact investing, she focused on Southeast Asia mid-market private equity at emerging markets investor Actis. Sugandhi began her investing journey as a member of the Financial Services team in Temasek Holdings. 

An experienced board member, Sugandhi has held board directorships in companies operating across different countries, including India, Thailand, and Indonesia. She currently sits on the board of Cropin, a global artificial intelligence and data-led agri-tech organization based in India; HCAH India, a leading rehab & recovery care provider in India and the Enterprise Board of the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Singapore Management University. Beyond her board roles, Sugandhi is also actively involved in several investment communities where she holds leadership roles. As Co-Chair of the Impact Principles’ Regional Committee, Sugandhi promotes impact investing in Asia through roundtables, webinars, thought leadership, and engagement with key ecosystem stakeholders. Her role helps foster alignment in impact methodologies and facilitates the adoption of best practices across the region, where she actively shapes impact measurement and management standards. 

Sugandhi is an advocate of gender equality and actively commits time to mentor women entrepreneurs as well as women-led ventures. She believes that access to education, employment, and entrepreneurship is the key to elevating lives and livelihoods. 

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

Professor Ng Huck Hui is the Assistant Chief Executive for Research and Talent Development, Agency for Science, Technology and Research.  

Prof Ng is renowned in the field of gene regulation and genomics. His laboratory is developing diagnostic and therapeutics modalities for brain and liver diseases. Prof Ng had held several administrative positions. He was the Executive Director of the Genome Institute of Singapore and the Executive Director of the A*STAR Graduate Academy.  

 Prior to joining A*STAR, Professor Ng was a postdoctoral fellow with Harvard Medical School under the prestigious Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Postdoctoral Fellowship. Professor Ng is renowned in the field of stem cells, having spent more than a decade in research to understand and uncover the intricacies of gene regulation and how they relate to cell biology. He was also the President for the Stem Cell Society Singapore, which is a major platform for educating the public on stem cell research. In 2016, Professor Ng was elected to be an Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, making him the only associate member to be based in Singapore.  

 In recognition of his scientific contributions, Professor Ng has received numerous local and international honours and awards, including the Young Scientist Award in 2004, Singapore Youth Award in 2005, National Science Award in 2007, Junior Chamber International (JCI) The Outstanding Young Persons Singapore Awards in 2009, Singapore Youth Award (Commendation Medal) in 2010, President's Science Award (Team Award) in 2011, President’s Science Award (Team Award) in 2018 and The Public Administration Medal (Silver), National Day Awards 2019.  

 Outside of A*STAR, Professor Ng is very active in the local universities and organizations, and holds adjunct positions at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS Faculty of Science, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) School of Biological Sciences, and the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI). He also sits on the Board of Science Centre Singapore and NUS High School. 

NG Huck Hui
Assistant Chief Executive, Research and Talent Development
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

As Chief Sustainability Officer of A*STAR, Prof Yeoh is responsible for the strategic positioning of A*STAR’s capabilities and curation of A*STAR’s contributions to address national demands and opportunities in sustainability. He represents and promotes A*STAR as a leading organisation for sustainable solutions and technology development globally. He led the design and development of a modular decarbonisation translational testbed that will transform the manufacturing processes of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. 

Prior to that, Prof Yeoh worked in National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, as Senior Director, Urban Solutions and Sustainability where he was responsible for developing R&D strategy and managing Singapore’s national R&D programmes in urban systems to meet national needs in areas such as energy, water, and land & liveability. Prof Yeoh also initiated our national decarbonisation R&D strategy to support the energy transition towards a low-carbon future and achieve Singapore’s decarbonisation goals. 

Prof Yeoh spent 30 years in DSTA where he worked on large scale systems engineering projects in command and control systems, and as a systems architect in integrated defence systems. He developed the systems architecting methodology framework that guided programme managers frame systems solutions. As an active systems architect, he continues to develop case studies in architecting communications system, education system, water system, energy system, as well as urban system. 

 As an adjunct professor in NUS, he conducted systems thinking and architecting for the Young Engineers Leadership Programme since 2015 and had trained more than 800 young engineers. 

 Prof Yeoh has been active in the Singapore engineering professional and academic circles. He served as the President of the Institution of Engineers (IES) from 2018 to 2020 and is currently a Chartered Engineer, Chairman of Awards Committee and Emeritus President of the Institution. Prof Yeoh served also as the President of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), Singapore Chapter from 2009 to 2011, and in 2009, he was conferred a Fellow of INCOSE, the first such Fellow in Singapore, for his contributions and achievements through technology, leadership, and teaching systems engineering. 

Prof Yeoh received his Bachelor of Science (with Honours) and Master of Science degrees from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1983 and 1987 respectively. He further obtained two Masters (with distinction) in 1990 and a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering in 1997 from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). He attended the Program for Management Development at Harvard University in 2003. 

Prof Yeoh is a recipient of the Singapore Public Administration Medal in 2001 (Bronze) and 2008 (Silver). He was conferred the Defence Technology Prize in 1992, 2004 and 2007, the last of which was an individual award for C4I development, large scale systems engineering and technology leadership. 

Prof Yeoh recently received the prestigious IES/IEEE Joint Medal of Excellence Award on 15 Oct 2024 from Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). 

Prof. YEOH Lean Weng
Chief Sustainability Officer
Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR)

Frank T. Rothaermel is a Regents’ Professor, holds the McDonough Chair, and is a Sloan Industry Studies Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Based on 40 academic articles, Thomson Reuters identified Frank as one of the “world’s most influential scientific minds” based on papers published in the top 1% of citations; Scholar GPS places him in the 0.5% in terms of scholarly impact. Frank’s work has been cited 25,000 times (Google Scholar). He authored the widely used textbook “Strategic Management” (7th edition, 2026), with translations into Greek, Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish. He has written 70 case studies distributed by Harvard Business Publishing, with 34 achieving “bestseller” status.

Frank T. Rothaermel is a Regents’ Professor, holds the McDonough Chair, and is a Sloan Industry Studies Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Based on 40 academic articles, Thomson Reuters identified Frank as one of the “world’s most influential scientific minds” based on papers published in the top 1% of citations; Scholar GPS places him in the 0.5% in terms of scholarly impact. Frank’s work has been cited 25,000 times (Google Scholar). He authored the widely used textbook “Strategic Management” (7th edition, 2026), with translations into Greek, Korean, Mandarin, and Spanish. He has written 70 case studies distributed by Harvard Business Publishing, with 34 achieving “bestseller” status.

Frank T. ROTHAERMEL
Regents’ Professor, McDonough Chair, & Sloan Industry Studies Fellow
Georgia Institute of Technology

Prof Loh Xian Jun completed his basic and postgraduate studies at the National University of Singapore.  As a polymer chemist by training, he is currently the Executive Director of A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering ( A*STAR IMRE ).  He is concurrently an Adjunct Professor in the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.  As a pioneer and recognized global expert in the area of biodegradable thermogels, he is highly knowledgeable in developing these materials for various applications spanning biomedical, engineering, cosmetics, personal care and food.  He is also the current President of Singapore National Institute of Chemistry and Fellow of Singapore National Academy of Science.  With his extensive experience in authoring >595 journal papers ( H-index : 106 ), 48 patents and know-hows, >30 book chapters and 7 books, he currently sits on several editorial boards of international journals as an expert in his area.  He has also successfully helped in the commercialization of 18 different products and is always interested in the translation of science to products.

Prof LOH Xian Jun
Executive Director
A*STAR Institute of Materials Research & Engineering ( A*STAR IMRE )

Dr Kwa is an Independent Non Executive Board member of Sembcorp Industries and Chair of the Technology Advisory Panel of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.  

She is currently a Panel member of the Ministry of Education’s Quality Assessment Framework for the Universities in Singapore and National Environment Agency’s  Steering Committee of the Singapore Certified Energy Managers’ Programme.  

Dr Kwa was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of NSL Ltd and during her 23 year tenure, served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Technology, responsible for the R&D, IT, Energy & Environmental investments and strategies of the NSL Group. She was a member of the Board of the Groups companies in Australia, Thailand, China and Malaysia. 

Dr Kwa served as Chairman of Raffles Marine Holdings Ltd for 12 years and also served as Chairman of the National Energy Efficiency Committee for Industries in Singapore from 2000 to 2009. She was a member of the Management Board for Agency for Science and Technology (A*Star) and the Science and Engineering Research Council from 2017 to 2024.  

Dr Kwa holds a BSc (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. 

Dr Yufeng WAN
Partner and Head of Energy Transition
Templewater

Mr Jonathan Cheng is the Chief Technology Officer at the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). Jonathan has accumulated over 15 years of experience across roles in policy development and research & innovation, including a stint at the National Research Foundation (NRF). He organises various programmes and forges meaningful partnerships on the Innovation & Technology (I&T) front that can raise safety, productivity and sustainability outcomes in Singapore's Built Environment sector.

Jonathan CHENG
Chief Technology Officer
Building and Construction Authority (BCA)

A visionary leader and entrepreneur with a unique ability to connect the dots across diverse industries—construction, finance, and agriculture. As the Founder and CEO of BECO Ventures, Ben is pioneering the integration of cutting-edge technology and data analytics to optimise resource use and production efficiency. His journey includes co-founding and leading Sustenir, Asia's first high-tech vertical farm, which marked a significant leap in sustainable agriculture. Ben's expertise also extends to finance, where he led groundbreaking digital banking transformations at Citibank. With a solid foundation in construction, exemplified by his role in the iconic Marina Bay Sands project, Ben brings a comprehensive perspective to sustainable growth and innovation, consistently delivering transformative solutions across ecosystems.

Benjamin SWAN
Founder / CEO
BECO Ventures

Professor Reginald B.H. TAN is Executive Director at the Science and Engineering Research Council at A*STAR, and concurrently Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the National University of Singapore. 

His research areas of interest include multi-phase flow, crystallisation processes and modelling, solid-state formulations, and life cycle assessment. Prof Tan has been a keen educator and advocate of science-based and evidence-based solutions to pressing environmental issues. 

With his expertise in environmental sustainability, Prof Tan has been an active standards volunteer over the past 25 years. He has served in many leadership roles both internationally (ISO TC207 Strategic Leadership Group, ISO Coordinating Committee on Climate Change) and nationally (Chair of Environmental and Resources Standards Committee). He was awarded the Singapore Standards Council Distinguished Partner Award in 2019. 

Prof Reginald TAN
Executive Director, Science and Engineering Research Council
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

Dickson Thian is VP of Investments at Xora, where he has played a key role in developing the firm’s early portfolio. Dickson currently serves as Interim Chief of Staff and Board Observer at Amperesand, where he was instrumental in efforts to incubate and launch the company. During his time at Xora, he has been on the deal team for Aether Fuels, Celestial AI, Cosmos Innovation, Hyperlight, SpeQtral, Summit Nanotech and Talus. Before joining Xora, Dickson focused on research in advanced materials with applications in the semiconductor and energy verticals. Dickson holds a PhD and an M.Sc. in Applied Physics from Stanford University, as well as a B.S. in Physics (with a minor in Mathematics, Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

Dickson THIAN
Vice President, Investments
Xora

Cyril is a General Partner at SOSV and the founder/MD of HAX.

He is an experienced investor in deep tech (250+) and has invested globally. 

Board member/advisor to a few startups including Formlabs, AngelList, Adoreme (ACQ: VSCO), Collaborate (ACQ: CISCO), Hackster (ACQ: AVNET), Dispatch Robotics (ACQ: AMZN), Makeblock, Yeelight, Particle, Opentrons, Bartesian, Avidbots and Simbe Robotics.

Popular speaker at international events (TC Disrupt, Collision, Pioneers, MIT Forum, etc...) and Universities (Stanford, UC Berkeley, etc...) and author of dozens of articles on topics such as technology, robotics, health and crowdfunding. Featured in The Economist, Popular Mechanics, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Huffington Post, Wired, BBC and more.

Cyril EBERSWEILER
General Partner at SOSV and the Founder/MD of HAX

Dr. Claus Rettig is the regional president of Evonik Asia Pacific since July 1 st , 2022. As a member of the extended executive board of Evonik Industries AG with general power of attorney, Dr. Rettig is responsible for driving the company's growth plan in Asia and making sure that Evonik is present on the ground with modern production and a strong research and development footprint. 

With extensive experience in the international chemical markets and deep knowledge about the chemical industry in Asia, Dr. Rettig has played a pivotal role in realizing several strategic investments in the region. 

Dr. Rettig, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, began his career in Huls AG, one of Evonik's predecessor companies in 1987. He worked in South Africa and Japan respectively to oversee business strategies and operations for the company. In 2003, he returned to Germany as the President of the former Degussa Care Specialties Business Unit, and continued with various executive roles. In 2015, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Management Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH, before moving to his role in 2020 as the President of Smart Materials division of Evonik. Dr. Rettig is also appointed as a Board Member to the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) since February 2024.

Dr. Claus RETTIG
President Asia Pacific, Associate Member of the Executive Board
Evonik Industries AG

A/Prof Cher Heng Tan graduated with MBBS (Singapore) and FRCR (UK). He completed his Abdominal Imaging Fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center and holds an Executive MBA from Insead. He is presently Senior Consultant with the Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Assistant Chairman Medical Board at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He is concurrently Group Chief, Research and Innovation for NHG Health and Assistant Dean (Clinical Research) for the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

TAN Cher Heng
Group Chief, Research and Innovation
NHG Health

Immanu'el leads Sustainable Solutions at Temasek, where he catalyses initiatives to decarbonise hard-to-abate businesses across multiple portfolio companies. His strategic focus includes investments in next-generation baseload power solutions such as nuclear fission, fusion, and advanced geothermal technologies. In addition, he is responsible for portfolio development of sustainability-aligned joint ventures and platforms at Temasek. 

Since joining Temasek in 2010, Immanu'el has contributed his expertise across diverse groups, including Emerging Technologies, Corporate Finance, and Risk Management. Prior to Temasek, he was at Barclays Capital as a Fixed Income Analyst and at Citigroup as a Foreign Exchange Analyst. 

Immanu'el holds a Master of Science in Financial Mathematics from The University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering from Nanyang Technological University. 

Immanu'el WOO, CFA CAIA
Director of Sustainable Solutions
Temasek International

Daniel Tay is VP of the Emerging Technology group at Temasek, where he focuses on deep tech investments in Materials and Energy Transition Technologies. His investment portfolio covers critical areas such as next-generation batteries, green steel production, next-gen solar photovoltaics, plastic recycling, AI for Materials Discovery and carbon capture technologies. Daniel earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the National University of Singapore and furthered his academic journey with a post-doctoral degree in Biomedical Sciences at A*STAR. He later completed an MBA at Nanyang Business School (NTU), equipping him with a blend of scientific expertise and business acumen. Prior to joining Temasek, Daniel was Director at A*STAR where he led efforts to translate A*STAR-developed technologies into new ventures.

Daniel TAY
Vice President, Emerging Technology
Temasek

Catia Cesari is the Managing Partner of Volta Circle, the early-stage investment platform of the single-family office of the Lohia Family, who are the largest shareholders of Indorama Venture Ltd. Volta Circle is focused on technologies enabling the circular economy and regenerative systems. 

 Additionally, she is a non-executive board member of companies operating in the consumer industry.   

 Previously, Catia was SVP Corporate Development of Coty, a NYSE listed company, belonging to JAB Holding, where Catia held multiple executive roles.  

Instrumental in the creation of Gucci Group (renamed Kering), Catia co-lead the acquisitions of multiple iconic brands such as Boucheron, Bottega Veneta, and  Balenciaga.   

Catia started off at General Electric, where she was involved in structuring complex transactions and in integrating newly acquired businesses as part of the GE Corporate M&A team in the US.  

 An art lover originally from Florence, she currently resides in Geneva.  

Catia CESARI
Managing Partner
Volta Circle

Mark Holst has over 20 years of experience with Shell working in oil & gas field development covering conventional, Enhanced Oil Recovery, on/offshore assets and operations in the Netherlands, Malaysia and Oman. Following an MBA with London Business School he joined the Upstream Strategy Group supporting the Senior Executive Leadership with the design and implementation of multiple portfolio, business and corporate level strategies. In this capacity Mark led several Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) related strategies before relocating to Singapore in 2022 to lead the development of the Group’s CCS business in Asia-Pacific. Mark is co-founder of S2015, an investment fund focusing on supporting innovative startups that tackle urgent social and environmental challenges. He holds a Physics Masters from Delft University.

Mark HOLST
Business Opportunity Manager for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Asia-Pacific
Shell

Professor Rachid Yazami is the recipient of the 2014 Draper Prize of the National academy of Engineering, considered as the Nobel Prize of Engineering for the invention of the graphite anode for lithium-ion batteries back to 1980. In December 2023 he was the recipient of the Grand Prize of the VinFuture Prize in Hanoi. Yazami served the Cheng Tsang Man Chair Professor in Energy at the School of Materials Science and Engineering of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. He retired as Research Director from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). He is the inventor cited in over 190 patents and the author of about 200 scientific and technological papers related to battery chemistry and management systems.

Prof Rachid YAZAMI
President
KVI Holdings (Singapore)

Karen Ng is an experienced energy and sustainability leader with over 15 years of experience across startups, government-linked organisation and multi-national companies. She brings a strong blend of business and technical expertise, having led innovation consulting projects focused on emerging technologies and new business models. Karen has mentored numerous startups and is passionate about supporting founders driving the region’s energy transition and low-carbon future.

Karen NG
Chief of Staff
ENGIE Southeast Asia

Dr Rajan Kalidindi is the Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer for GE HealthCare in ASEAN, Korea and ANZ region.  With over two decades of experience across healthcare, innovation and commercial leadership, Rajan brings deep expertise in scaling technologies and building high-impact strategies.  He previously led GE HealthCare Services and the Ultrasound business in ASEAN and held leadership roles across GE businesses and academic institutions.  Before GE, Rajan was with NTU, supporting IP commercialisation and mentoring startups.  ​

Rajan holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and has authored over 20 publications, cited more than 650 times.  He is also an accredited board member.  Passionate about innovation ecosystems, he is a returning judge at LKYGBPC, supporting deep tech ventures with global potential.​

Rajan K KALIDINDI
Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer for ASEAN, Korea and ANZ
GE HealthCare

Dr Gurdev Singh is the Chief Engineering and Technology Officer at PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency. In this role, he provides oversight to PUB’s Technology and Engineering Department (TED) and Specialist Groups, which are instrumental in driving applied research and development efforts. Since joining PUB in 2016, Dr Gurdev has played a pivotal role in steering the agency's R&D initiatives, overseeing key projects and driving innovation. 

With prior operational experience as the General Manager of Singapore’s largest desalination plant and 15 years of technology enterprise development experience, Dr Gurdev brings a wealth of knowledge to his current position. He leverages his expertise to strategize innovation and address business needs, facilitating the transition of technologies from the R&D phase to deployment. 

Dr Gurdev SINGH
Chief Engineering and Technology Officer
PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency

As Global Chief Technology Officer, Senior Vice President, Technology Services, Rowena Yeo is responsible for delivering technology solutions and operational excellence for Johnson & Johnson globally. Rowena, Johnson & Johnson’s first woman and Asian CTO, leads Technology Services, an organization that directly enables J&J’s growth, innovation, and agility, enabling the technology foundation and capabilities required to improve healthcare outcomes. Rowena has been instrumental in the transformation of the Technology Services organization. She has extensive experience leading the strategic direction for technologies, driving innovation and business priorities, as well as creating value for the employees, patients, and customers we serve. 

Rowena serves on J&J’s Global Technology Leadership Team, helping translate business priorities and challenges into technology solutions. She is also a founding member of J&J’s Global Data Science Council and continues to serve on the council representing the Technology function. 

Rowena joined J&J in 2016 as Vice President, CIO Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Asia Pacific. In that role, she led the strategic direction of technology to support business objectives in the region. By fostering collaboration among J&J business partners and the broader technology organization, Rowena and her team established digital and technology platforms that enabled next-generation digital capabilities in the region. 

Rowena offers a wealth of experience, having spent more than 21 years at Cargill, Inc., which she joined in 1994. During that time, she held various regional and global leadership roles with increasing responsibilities before serving concurrently as the Global Group CIO for Cargill Agricultural Trading and Processing Sector and Asia Pacific Regional CIO. At Cargill, Rowena built and developed both the Global and Regional IT teams, established technology strategies and capabilities, and led Cargill through various transformations that enabled Cargill’s growth. Before Cargill, Inc., Rowena had a successful career with IBM Singapore. 

Rowena’s experience in technology and business spans more than three decades in various global, regional, and business roles. She has lived abroad in North America and has travelled extensively across the globe. This has empowered her to successfully lead and collaborate with diverse global teams and business partners. Rowena has received various industry recognition and awards for her leadership and contributions throughout her career. 

A native Singaporean, Rowena earned her Bachelor of Engineering Honors Degree from the National University of Singapore. Rowena actively champions diversity, equity and inclusion and women’s leadership. Rowena is a member of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), and serves on J&J’s Winning in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing and Design (WiSTEM2D) Global Steering Committee and actively sponsors the Asia Pacific WiSTEM2D Committee. She is also a board member of the Singapore Central Provident Fund Board. 

Rowena is married with three daughters and enjoys music, reading, building LEGO, and searching for otters in her free time. 

Rowena YEO
Global Chief Technology Officer and SVP, Technology Services
Johnson & Johnson

Dr. Rosemary Tan is CEO of Leyden Labs Asia, a subsidiary of Leyden Laboratories B.V., which develops intranasal antibody therapies for broad protection against respiratory viruses. Prior to this, she led CoV Biotechnology, focused on coronavirus vaccines and antibodies, which was acquired by Leyden Labs in 2024. Earlier in her career, she founded Veredus Laboratories, a pioneer in diagnostic and bio-surveillance technologies which was acquired by Sekisui Chemical.  

Dr Tan. Received her PhD from the National University of Singapore, with research conducted in the University of Tokyo. As a leader in Singapore’s life sciences sector, Dr. Tan serves on national committees including SGInnovate and NUH’s Practice Change Innovation Committee. Her career is a testament to her unwavering commitment to scientific innovation, leadership and global health, shaping the future of biotechnology and pandemic preparedness. 

Dr Rosemary TAN
CEO
Leyden Labs Asia

Chen-Ee is a partner based in Singapore. She is focused on investments in healthcare technology, medical technology and care delivery.  

Chen-Ee has held various positions in SingHealth and the National University Health System, as well as the Singapore Ministry of Health—spanning innovation, transformation, operations and policy.  

Chen-Ee has also held appointments at the Singapore Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and has served as an advisor to the World Health Organisation, as a member of the Technical Advisory group on Public Health Innovation Ecosystems.  

Chen-Ee graduated with Bachelor of Arts (summa cum laude) and Master of Arts degrees, both from Princeton University, USA, and an Executive MBA from INSEAD.   

Chen Ee LEE
Partner
Polaris Partners

Professional Career

• 1982-1990 Project leader of a B-meson factory at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI)
• 1989-2014 Professor of physics at ETH Zürich
• 1995-1997 Spokesman of the international collaboration H1 at DESY, Hamburg
• 1998-2002 Deputy Director and Head of Department Particles and Matter at PSI
• 2002-2007 Director of PSI (national lab)
• 2007-2014 President of ETH Zürich
• 2008-2018 Vice President of the Venture Foundation
• 2015-2025 President of the Foundation Swiss Youth in Science (science competition) Memberships (shortlist)
• 2007-2019 Member of the Governing Board of Belenos Clean Power Holding AG
• 2014- Member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences
• 2015- Member of the Board of Councillors of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan

Prof. Ralph EICHLER
Professor Emeritus
ETH Zurich, Switzerland

David’s role involves leading Innovate UK’s global activities working with international partners to build strong collaborations and accelerate the global scaling of innovative UK businesses.​

​David has been with Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, since it was established 2007 and was responsible for developing the first two strategies as well as many of the ways it supports business.  This includes Contracts for Innovation, Catapult centres, Innovate UK Business Growth, as well as its global programmes.

Prior to joining Innovate UK, David worked for the UK Government covering areas including innovation policy and working directly for government ministers.​ During 2022, David was Chair of Taftie, the Network of Leading European Innovation Agencies and remains a Board member.

David GOLDING
Head of Global Innovation Partnerships
Innovate UK

Dr. Chueh Loo POH is an Associate Professor with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Desing and Engineering, at National University of Singapore (NUS). He is Director of NUS Biofoundry and a Team PI at National Centre for Engineering Biology (NCEB), Singapore. He is also deputy director of SINERGY, Singapore consortium for Synthetic Biology. His research interests in Synthetic Biology focuses on reprogramming microbes for health and sustainability. He is the founding president of the Society of Synthetic Biology, Singapore (SynBioSG), vice-chair of the Global Biofoundry Alliance (GBA) steering committee and co-Editor-in-Chief of Wiley/IET Engineering Biology journal. He also serves as member in OECD Expert working group in Engineering Biology. 

Chueh Loo POH
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering NUS Synthetic, Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI)
National University of Singapore

Dr. Yiran Lu, Vice President of Investment at Granite Asia, has over 10 years of experience in investment and R&D in the fields of technology and sustainability. He entered the venture capital industry in 2019 and has worked as an investor at Granite Asia and SummitView Capital. To date, he has invested in nearly 20 companies.  

Prior to his investment career, he had 6 years of experience in materials research and development, working at companies including Philips North America.  

Dr. Lu holds a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Brown University and a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from Tsinghua University. 

Yiran LU
Vice President of Investment
Granite Asia

Fong Saik Hay is currently a corporate advisor with a Temasek Deep Tech Fund, Xora Innovation. 

He is also helping 3G&S nurture Grimes Decarbonizing Technology Platform anchoring her in Singapore. 

He retired from ST Engineering on Oct 2018 with a career spanning 37 years with the last 17 years as Group CTO and President of ST Dynamics. ST Dynamics is the group's new concept and advanced engineering unit. 

Amongst his contributions, he had led the development of the Bionix Indigenous Armour Fighting Vehicle from concept to deployment and, subsequently, built up the Terrexes and Bronco families of fighting vehicles. He had also led investments in fuel cells, Stirling engines, electric vehicles, desalination and advanced materials technologies. 

Under ST Dynamics, it spun out a fast innovation arm, Innosparks, which developed the Airplus Smart Masks providing Singapore with mask-making capabilities and which subsequently allowed for quick in-country boarding of mask-making capabilities during the early stages of Covid. 

Upon retirement, He was appointed Corporate Advisor to Temasek International from 2020 to 2022 supporting the formulation of various sustainability initiatives such as water and climate change mitigation. He managed to introduce the Grimes Technology Platform to Temasek winning 3 grants to advance this potentially impactful technology for Singapore and beyond. 

On public service and non-profit contributions, he serves on the Board of the School of Science and Technology and Love Your Family International (LYF). LYF focuses on building strong family relationships. He had served 10 years as a board member in Care Corner until the Year 2022. 

He has been awarded Public Service Medal(bronze) and Defence Technology Prize (Bionix Development). He has a Master of Science in Computer, information and Control Engineering from the University of Michigan, First Class Honours in Bsc in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Singapore and Program Management Development from Harvard. 

FONG Saik Hay
Corporate Advisor
Temasek Deep Tech Fund, Xora Innovation

Mike Lim is a partner at TRIREC and a seasoned manager with more than 20 years of experience in business operations and entrepreneurship.   

Skilled in strategic business planning and execution, with a particular focus on strategic advisory, fundraising, M&A and corporate finance, Mike held various senior management roles in investment banking and corporations in Asia including Director at Thirdrock and Soteiria Capital.   

He is also a former debt capital markets manager at Norinchukin Bank, the founder of several IoT and foodtech start-ups and the former CEO of an early education business which he successfully exited to an Asian PE .    

In parallel to his role at TRIREC, Mike is currently a mentor of Innovate 360, a Singapore-based Agrifood Tech incubator. He is also recently appointed as the Climate Tech advisor at Singapore Deep Tech Alliance, a Singapore-based Deep-tech Incubator.   

Mike holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration (BBA) with Second Upper Honors from the National University of Singapore.  

MIke LIM
Partner
TRIREC   

Dr. Charlie Foo is a corporate business executive with 38 years of experience in the technology sector, spanning artificial intelligence, software, storage, and networking. In his current role as vice president & general manager, Asia Pacific in NVIDIA, Charlie is responsible for driving enterprise business across the region. 

Charlie joined NVIDIA through the Mellanox Technologies acquisition where he served as vice president & general manager of Asia Pacific/Japan. He has also held senior leadership positions at IBM, Brocade and Compaq, contributing to regional business expansion and transformation initiatives.  

Charlie holds a doctorate degree in Computer Science from the European Institute of Management & Technology, an MBA from University of Dubuque, and has completed an executive program by Harvard Business School. 

Dr Charlie FOO
Vice President & General Manager – Enterprise/Ecosystem Business, Asia Pacific
NVIDIA Corporation