Hear from thought leaders

Grant 'Axe' Rawlinson is a world class human-powered explorer and team decision-making coach. From the street level to the boardroom, international 7-aside rugby player to over 50 expeditions across the globe including walking across countries, cycling across continents, climbing Mt Everest and crossing sea's completely by human-power, Grant dedicates his life to the pursuit of Bold, Unique Goals.

A native of New Zealand, Grant lives in Phuket, holds Bachelor and Post Graduate degrees, is an Associate Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), a professional member of the Asian Professional Speakers Association(APSS) and co-chair of the Royal Geographic Society (Singapore branch).

Yvonne Chan is an accomplished news presenter and highly skilled moderator with over 20 years of hosting live events and moderating panel discussions. She has chaired many keynote dialogues with discussion topics focusing on geopolitics, sustainability, leadership and transition finance.

During her decade at Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Yvonne covered many live ‘breaking news’ events including the Trump-Kim and ASEAN summits. Most notably, she co-anchored CNA’s flagship weekday breakfast programme, First Look Asia for more than two years.

Prior to switching careers to the media industry, Yvonne was a Management Associate with HSBC Singapore before moving on to work at HSBC London’s group management office. She graduated with first class honours in Economics from the National University of Singapore.

Mr Deny is responsible for the Group's information technology strategy and collaborates with divisional leaders to develop and implement the Group's digital strategy. With over 30 years of experience in the information and technology industry, Mr Deny has held senior global leadership roles across major automotive, manufacturing, semiconductor, telecommunications, and IT software and services companies. Before joining Sime Darby Berhad, Mr Deny was the Chief Information Officer and a board member at APP Indonesia - Sinarmas Group, one of the world’s largest pulp and paper companies. He also had a notable career with Microsoft Asia Pacific as Area IT Head – APAC and GCR, and as Vice President of IT – Managed Services with Telstra International, where he was responsible for business information systems, technology strategy, IT infrastructure, and the delivery of major enterprise solutions. Mr Deny holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Bina Nusantara, an MBA in Finance from Indonusa Esa Unggul University, and a PhD from Universitas Pelita Harapan, Indonesia.

Helen is a global People & Culture expert, who has led and grown Fortune 200 companies across multiple geographies and industries. With a diverse background in sales, commercial and HR, Helen thrives on collaborating with her peers to transform and future proof organisations for long term sustainable success.

Helen has over two decades of rich experience in human resources, sales and commercial, having held various leadership roles in global organisations. At PropertyGuru, Helen provides strategic direction and expertise to the teams and talent, with a particular focus on taking forward the Culture of Trust that is core to the Group. She is focused on fostering an equitable workplace as a driving force behind the Group’s success.

Prior to joining PropertyGuru Group, Helen served as the Global Head of People Solutions & Experience at JLL in Singapore, where she led the formation of a new global employee experience function to re-imagine the future of work, implemented a new digital HR experience that enhanced productivity and business performance and drove initiatives that enhanced employee experience. At JLL, Helen also held the role of Head of HR for Asia Pacific and was responsible for people strategy and support across 18 diverse markets. Prior to this, she worked at Coca-Cola Euro-Pacific Partners, Australia, as the Head, HR Sales & Marketing and at Kraft Heinz Company, UK.

Helen believes that organisations that are aligned to a common purpose, aspire to compete with their own ambitions as individuals and teams, create a culture that brings the vision and values to life, and leave their mark on the world and its people.

Helen is an active member of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID). She is a provisional clinical member for the Singapore Association of Counsellors, and an executive member of QED Change Makers, Singapore.

Helen holds a Master’s in Counselling, from Monash University, Australia, and a BA (Hons.) degree in Psychology Management from Leeds University, UK.

Mr Lim Shih Hsien oversees the security, efficiency, and innovation of Seatrium’s digital ecosystem, covering cybersecurity, IT (Information Technology), and OT (Operational Technology).

Mr Lim brings with him more than 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, IT and OT. Prior to his current appointment, he assumed various leadership positions in public and private sectors, driving digital innovation and transformation. His career achievements in Certis Group, SP Group, The Hong Kong Jockey Club and MOH Holdings Pte Ltd include developing robust cybersecurity strategies, overseeing IT systems, optimising OT initiatives, and managing technology risks.

Mr Lim has contributed his thought leadership at international platforms such as the World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity & Electricity Industry Community, Hong Kong Health Authority, Gartner Research Board and Temasek Team8.

Mr Lim holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Information Systems (First Class Honours) from Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia and a Master of Science in Communications and Network Systems from the Nanyang Technological University. He has also completed the Leadership-in-Action Programme at Harvard University.

Tryfon is a Chartered Accountant (ACCA) with deep expertise in transforming Finance and HR functions through Workday. He has led end-to-end implementations across Financials, HCM, Procurement, PSA, Prism, Payroll, Expenses, and Adaptive Planning. Currently, he drives strategy, support, and continuous improvement for Workday across Finance, FP&A, Procurement, and HR. Known for bridging the gap between technology and business, Tryfon focuses on streamlining operations, enhancing user adoption, and delivering tangible value through enterprise applications.

Yvonne Tan is the Chief People Officer of Dentsu Southeast Asia. With over 20 years of HR experience across banking, mining, professional services and advertising, Yvonne’s expertise includes Corporate Executive Recruiting, Leadership and Culture Transformation.

A certified Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) by HR Certification Institute (HRCI), Yvonne is a strategic thinker who enjoys leading teams to operate outside standard HR regimes, leveraging the power of modern HR to enable high performing and inclusive organizations. A competitive sports person, Yvonne is a working mother and lifelong student of high performance and public speaking.

Vikas Verma is the Head of Strategic HR and Digital HR at United Overseas Bank (UOB), headquartered in Singapore. In his role, he leads a diverse team to design and implement HR transformation programs aimed at future-proofing UOB and its people. He is also a member of the Group Data and AI Committee. Prior to joining UOB, Vikas accumulated over two decades of experience across various industries, specializing in HR strategy, HR technology, employee experience, strategic workforce planning, and talent management.

Shailesh is a senior practitioner in the areas of HR, talent and workforce transformation with experience spanning two decades across South-east Asia, APAC, UK and Europe markets.

Shailesh genuinely believes that no business reinvention is complete without people reinvention and that the “talent of today" will not be adequate for the "work of tomorrow“. As a consultant, Shailesh partners with the organisations on creating future-ready workforces as well as modern, intelligent HR functions. His particular focus is to partner with clients to create value through technology, data and AI.

Shailesh is an Engineer and MBA by training, and also has an Advanced Diploma in Analytics from Kellogg’s School of Management, Northwestern University.

At Accenture, Shailesh leads Accenture’s HR Transformation and Digital HR practice for APAC markets. Shailesh is also part of Accenture’s Global HR Transformation leadership team, currently contributing to shape Accenture’s thought leadership on GenAI-for-HR and Agentic Workforce.

Anirban Dass is a highly accomplished and forward-thinking business leader with over 20 years of tactical leadership experience in technology, outsourcing, consulting, business processes, and payroll services space. As Vice President of Alight Solutions Asia Pacific for Payroll and Professional Services, Anirban is responsible for driving growth and leading business strategy for Alight in Asia Pacific region, helping clients revamp their approach and resolve new challenges. Anirban's culture-rich experience and background across the United States, India, and Asia have allowed him to build strong and diverse teams enabling growth and value creation.

Clement has over 25 years of experience in the IT services industry in the areas of consulting, project management, sales and large scale project delivery with specific focus in Analytics, IoT and ERP systems. He leads the Workday Finance Practice in Deloitte South East Asia for the past 7 and was involved one of the 1st and largest Workday Finance Implementations globally back in 2018.

Bobby Wu is the Head of Enterprise Architect at Workday for Asia. With over 20 years of experience in the technology industry, he brings a wealth of knowledge from leading cloud-based business application and data analytics companies. At Workday, Bobby collaborates with business leaders and IT professionals to develop technology strategies that drive alignment with organizational goals.

As General Manager for Workday ASEAN, Jess O’Reilly leads regional sales strategy and growth. Based in Singapore, she brings over 15 years of technology experience and a deep understanding of customer needs. With a passion for enabling their success, O’Reilly drives digital innovation and business growth, committed to helping them leverage the power of AI within the Workday platform to navigate digital transformation and build a future-ready workforce. She strongly believes in leveraging businesses as a platform for positive change, fostering greater diversity, and inclusivity within the technology sector.

Melanie Lougee currently serves as Vice President of Vision and Experience at Workday, with over 25 years of experience in HCM and Employee Experience technology. In her current role, she shapes the future of Workday's products and enhances customer experiences. Previously, she led Strategy and Future HR Products for ServiceNow's Employee Workflows, contributing to growth from $200M to over $1B ARR in under 5 years. She also served as Vice President of HR Technology Research at Gartner, leading the HCM Suites Magic Quadrant, and has been named one of HR Executive's Top 100 Influencers consecutively from 2019 to 2024.

Mel is a Senior Value Manager at Workday, she works closely with C-Suite executives to build business cases for their HR and Finance transformation projects. Mel has 12+ years of management consulting and program management experience, specializing in human capital and M&A. She received her BS in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a certified PMP.