SPEAKERS

Ambassador Morikawa Toru (Japan) joined the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) as its 8th Executive Director in August 2020. ASEF’s leadership alternates between Asia and Europe every four years.

Ambassador Morikawa is a seasoned career diplomat bringing decades of experience and expertise to ASEF. His previous postings include serving as Minister, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Iran; and Minister-Counsellor, Embassy of Japan in France where he was in charge of various cultural exchange initiatives. He has also worked in the

areas of Media and Regional Economic Cooperation and has experience in cultivating and enhancing partnerships for projects with different organisations including the private sector.

Ambassador Morikawa received his Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the University of Tokyo. He is fluent in Japanese, French, and English. He is married with two children.

Mayuree AROONWARANON has a cross-sectorial experience with consulting engagements focusing on performance management programmes and systems, Change Management, Software Development, Extended Producer Responsibility, Circular Economy, and Waste Management. She has hands-on experience in implementing waste management projects for the private and public sector.

Michaela is an Associate Professor of Business and Sustainability at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. She has been assisting organisations on their journeys to establish sustainable practices for over 17 years.  

Her research examines the interface between business and the natural environment. It spans across a range of topics such as a firm’s barriers to implementation of voluntary management schemes, studies into corporate social responsibility and business ethics. 

In the past, she researched various aspects of standardization, namely the development of voluntary regulations such as social responsibility guidance standard ISO 26000, and aspects of adoption of standards at firm level. 

She is especially interested in the assessment of the effectiveness and success of policy instruments, evaluation of sustainability indicators which have been published in leading international peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Business Ethics, MIT Sloan Management Review, International Journal of Production Economics, and in engineering journals such as Journal of Cleaner Production.

Dato’ Sri Suriani graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 1993 with Bachelor Degree in Communications (Honours). She later completed her Master of Arts in Strategy and Diplomacy from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 2006.

She started her professional career journey in BERNAMA where she worked as Editorial Executive after she completed her degree in 1993.

In 1994, Dato’ Sri Suriani joined the Administrative and Diplomatic Service where she was first posted at Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) in Prime Minister’s Department. Upon completing her Diploma in Public Management in 1996, she was in the top 10 of her class and obtained an excellence award.

Dato’ Sri Suriani has a vast experience in trade and industry as she had served in Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) for 12 years. Before being appointed as the Special Officer to the Minister of International Trade and Industry in 2006, she was the Assistant Secretary for Bilateral and Regional Division as well as ASEAN Economic Cooperation Division. She has also served as Principal Assistant Director at the Multilateral Trade and Policy Division and in 2008, she was promoted as the Director. Later that year, she was trusted to lead the FTA Policy and Negotiations Coordination Division as the Director.

In 2009, under the Prime Minister’s cross fertilization program, she was selected to be the Manager for the Corporate Planning Division of Proton Holdings for one year. Upon her return, she was posted to the Ministry of Defence (MinDef) where she undertook the post of Undersecretary and was later promoted to Deputy Secretary General (Policy) in 2014.

In 2015, she was transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) as the Deputy Secretary General for Policy and Control and she was then promoted as the Secretary General for the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) on 2017. In 2018, Dato’ Sri Suriani became the Director of the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) and on July 1st 2019, she was appointed as the Secretary General of Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia (KKMM). As of November 4th 2020, Dato’ Sri Suriani is now the Secretary General of Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development (MECD). In 2020, Dato’ Sri Suriani was also appointed as an Adjunct Professor at School of Multimedia Technology and Communication (SMMTC) Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).

Her excellent contributions had won her several awards in the organization she served including Best Officer Award (1999) and Excellent Employee Award (2000). Dato’ Sri Suriani has been conferred by the Raja of Perlis three state awards, namely the ‘Darjah Ahli Mahkota Perlis’ (AMP) in 2006, the ‘Darjah Seri Sirajuddin Perlis’ (DSSP) in May 2012 and ‘Darjah Dato’ Paduka Mahkota Perlis’ (DPMP) in May 2022. She was also conferred the ‘Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang’ (DIMP) in 2015 and recently ‘Darjah Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang’ (SSAP) in December 2022 from the Sultan of Pahang.

Dimitri DUONG was originally from South-East Asia and came to Europe at an early age where he acquired his dual-culture asset. He studied computer sciences and began his career with international companies such as Toshiba and Fujitsu-Siemens in the field of account management where he also gained extensive experience in sales and marketing. He was also able to use his skills in the aviation industry as VP Sales which led him to develop different projects in ASEAN.

He worked from 2013 to 2021 in the public sector for a regional trade agency of Belgium, and was in charge of the ASEAN region where he developed economic projects, institutional cooperation and led several trade missions.

Dimitri also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the ASEANcham-EU, overseeing the day to day running of the organisation’s activities.

Together with his strong and experienced team, he is now committed to develop ASEANcham-EU and its network to boost trade between ASEAN and the EU and the rest of the World, and also for bridging mutual interests across businesses.

Amb. Leo Faber is holding a Master Degree in Classical and Modern Chinese Philology, and European History from the University of Trier, Germany. He has spent most of his career as a Luxembourg diplomat in Asia, in China, Vietnam and Laos. He was Head of the European Union Delegation in Laos from 2016 to 2020.

He also served as a Deputy Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as at the Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the United Nations in New York.

Amb. Faber has extensive experience in development cooperation, human rights and intercultural dialogue.

He speaks and writes French, German, English and Chinese.

Born in Augsburg, Bavaria, in 1965, the trained engineer initially worked as a design and sales engineer in microelectronics and environmental technology.  In 1994, Ferber was first elected to the European Parliament as the CSU-Member for the District of Swabia, the constituency he still represents. He is also the CSU’s District Chair for Swabia. Until 1999, he was the spokesperson for the “young group” within the EPP group, between 1996 and 1999 he was also the CDU/CSU-group’s parliamentary manager in the European Parliament (EP). 

From 1999 to 2014, he served as chairman of the CSU-group, since 2013 he has been the spokesperson for the parliamentary group on small and medium sized businesses. Between 2014 and 2018, Ferber served as first vice-chairman on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, since 2018 he has been the EPP’s coordinator for the committee in the EP. Ferber is currently also a deputy member in the Committee on Transport and Tourism. Since 2000, he has chaired the Bavarian branch of the ‘Europa-Union’, Germany’s biggest pro-European citizens' initiative.

Before taking over as Chair, Ferber served six years as Deputy Chairman for the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

Holding a Master's Degree in Sustainable Development from the University of Milan -obtained with honors -, Giacomo is passionate about international sustainable development issues, agriculture, ecology and mountaineering. These passions led him to create the first podcasts on sustainability in Italy.

Over the past years, he has been working as a Project Officer for international organisations and universities on matters linked to sustainability: from rural development to circularity in SMEs and migration. From 2022 to 2023, he worked on an organic farm to study sustainable agriculture. 

He is currently living in the French Alps where he cooperates with international organisations and local associations to seek sustainable development on the local and global scale. 

Ludwig Graf Westarp has many years of management experience in Europe and Southeast Asia. At the German Federal Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW) he runs the Vietnam office as well as the Republic of Moldova office.

With management responsibility for up to 2,000 employees, Ludwig has already managed well-known international companies regionally. He worked for the world’s leading Real Estate and Integrated Facility Management companies from Germany, Denmark, USA and France/China on the topics Smart City development, Smart & Green Building, Circular Economy and data-driven Integrated Facility Management.

As Project Manager working with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Ludwig supported the development and publication of Vietnam’s National Strategy for Environmental Protection until 2020 and Vision towards 2030.

He graduated from the Berlin School of Economics and Law with the international degree Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the special focus on European-Asian Management, and lectures at universities Strategic Management, Sustainable Corporate Governance as well as International Management.

Dr Arab Hoballah is a Senior Sustainability Expert, advocating for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), through system thinking and multistakeholders partnerships. 

He held various senior positions for more than 35 years: Since May 2023, he has been Senior Expert for the EU SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component. Since August 2021 he has been Executive Director, SEED, Entrepreneurship Sustainable Development. From 2017 to 2021, he was Team Leader of EU-SWITCH-Asia SCP Facility. Between 2005 and 2016, he was United Nations/UNEP Chief Sustainable Consumption and Production. From 1991 to 2005, he was Deputy Coordinator at the UNEP/Mediterranean Action Plan-Blue Plan. He held other senior positions in project management.

Dr Hoballah has launched various global Initiatives and Partnerships in the context of his responsibilities in the United Nations/UNEP, related to buildings, cities, tourism, food, procurement. Among his achievements together with his teams are: putting SCP at highest level in the UN and Government strategies, establishment of the UN International Resource Panel, adoption of the 10 Year Framework of Programmes for SCP and SDG12, establishment of the Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development.

The transition to Sustainable Development, through circular economy and green climate actions, requires responsible management of resources and sustainable consumption and production patterns, with active involvement of all concerned stakeholders, in particular the civil society and the small and medium enterprises. As a World Citizen, Dr Hoballah  is specialized in systemic and prospective analysis. He holds a PhD in Economic Development and graduated in International Relations.

Hanh Le is the Founder and CEO of Empacte, a Singapore-based sustainability advisory firm. Hanh has worked with governments, financial institutions and businesses in Europe and Asia-Pacific on sustainability for over 15 years. 

While born and raised in Vietnam, Hanh’s sustainability journey began in New Zealand where she was appointed as an advisor to the Minister of Energy. She has also served as a climate advisor at the United Nations and provided leadership at global think-tanks to accelerate green investments and just energy transition. 

Strongly believing in the role of finance in driving the transition, Hanh has been actively involved in promoting innovative sustainable financial solutions at regional and national levels. She co-authored “Emissions Trading Schemes and Their Linking: Challenges and Opportunities in Asia and the Pacific” and “Green Bonds Make More Cents?”

Ho Viet Hai is a high-impact Entrepreneur, former Board Member of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Co-founder of Triip – an unrivalled sustainable web3 company and Founder of Sustainations DAO - the alliance for sustainability built on the Internet Computer Protocol. 

He has 14 years of experience in high-growth firms, building a range of tech products such as payment gateway products, social networks, wearable hardware, community app, ebook apps, etc.

Jan Vincent Jordan is Research Assistant, Coordination of EU activities and RD&I in Thailand, at the ITA Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University. He is also Chairman of the Executive Committee of INSTec e.V.,  a not-for-profit association which supports the RWTH Aachen University in the initiation of RD&I and Capacity Building projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Mr Jordan graduated in Mechanical Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) as well as in Plastics and Textile Engineering (M.Sc.), and contributed to the development of European standards, guidelines, digital tools and strategic research & innovation agendas to increase circularity in the production of textiles, composite materials, personal protective equipment, and floor coverings.

He supports decision makers in preparing the alignment of their sustainable research & innovation agenda with the current state of the (shared) knowledge and in synchronizing their implementation of actions with those of stakeholders active in sustainable innovation - in Europe and beyond. Mr Jordan also provides mentoring, training, and guidance to entrepreneurs and innovators in the fields of circularity, digital & sustainability transitions.

Younji KANG is the Head of Eco-Business Department at the ASEM SMEs Eco-Innovation Center (ASEIC). 

With more than 15 years of experience in international project management, she has been in charge of various eco-innovation projects that enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups to prepare for the green transition towards a circular economy. Her main functions include strategic planning for programs in areas of climate change, carbon management, carbon neutrality, ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) as well as SDG achievement. Her main target is to help SMEs and start-ups in the global supply chain to adopt eco-innovation in the areas of production, process, management, and technology. She has designed and planned related well-timed support programmes such as capacity-building, training, and awareness-raising seminars that reflect multi-stakeholders demand from private and public sectors. 

Prior to joining ASEIC, Ms. KANG gained various project management experiences at the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the trade promotion agency of Korea, and the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC), which is the intergovernmental organization promoting international cooperation between the ASEAN Member States and the Republic of Korea. Her professional interest has been in linking green initiatives to economic development and has focused on international development issues as well as trade and investment opportunities in the global market.

Sandrine Kergroach supervises the OECD monitoring and anticipatory infrastructure on SMEs and entrepreneurship, including the “OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook” and a Data lake on SMEs and Entrepreneurship.

She joined the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) in 2017 and led work on innovation and internationalisation, and the scale up of SMEs and start-ups. Her recent publications include the “Digital Transformation of SMEs”, “Financing Growth and Turning Data into Business”, and a new series on “Strengthening FDI-SME Linkages”. She recently led research on the role of SMEs in more sustainable, resilient and circular value chains. 

Prior to joining CFE, Mrs Kergroach worked at the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation on policy monitoring and foresight. She coordinated the OECD STI Outlook and databases.

She holds a Doctorate in Economics (TU Berlin), a Master in corporate policy and strategy, and a Master in applied economics and statistics (Paris Dauphine-PSL), and a Master in modern history (Paris Sorbonne).

From 2009 - 2019, Paul Kim has been working in the leather expert sector for Korean companies. Since 2020, he has been Sales Manager at ATKO Planning Inc.

Le Trung Thong is an Electrical Engineer with more than 10 years of experience working as Manager in the construction sector before he founded Lagom Vietnam in 2019 – a company that collects and recycles paper, plastic, aluminium food containers and provides educational education services in Vietnam.

Ramon M Lopez, a former DTI Secretary, is the Governor for the Philippines at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Lopez served his full term as DTI Secretary from 2016 to 2022, and during this time chaired DTI institutions such as the Board of Investments, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, the National Development Company (NDC), the Export Development Council, the Anti-Red Tape Authority Advisory Council, the Philippine International Trading Corp, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), and the Halal Board. He also supervised attached agencies such as the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and the Cooperative Development Authority, among others.

He led the Philippines’ negotiating team in the finalization and signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mega trade deal among the 10 ASEAN countries and five ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Partners (Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand). He led the Philippines’ negotiating team for the conclusion of the Philippines-South Korea FTA.

He has also enjoyed a long career in the business sector with over 22 years of experience as a top executive of RFM Corporation. He was Executive Director of the entrepreneurship development advocacy group Go Negosyo (Business) for 11 years, and from 2013 to 2016 he co-hosted the weekly Go Negosyo radio program on DZRH. He has also given lectures to and mentored tens of thousands of entrepreneurs through Go Negosyo seminars, workshops, summits, books and social media.

Lopez is currently an Independent Director of SM Investments Corporation (SMIC). He is also an Independent Director of AIC Group of Companies Holding Corporation (in the logistics sector), and a Trustee and Vice-Chairman of Valenzuela City Polytechnic College.

He has received many awards, including the 2016 Nation Builders Award for Government Service and the Philippine Innovation Man of the Year Award in 2017. In 2018, then President Rodrigo Duterte bestowed on him the Presidential Award, Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu, one of the highest honours one can receive in the Philippines. He was also named by People Asia as one of 2020's People of the Year, for the re-opening of the economy during the pandemic. In June 2022, he was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit for his vital role in the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. He also received The Asia CEO Awards 2022 Lifetime Contributor of the Year Award.

He completed the graduate program in Development Economics in 1988 at Williams College, Massachusetts, US, and graduated in 1981 with an AB Degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines School of Economics.

Floriana Mulazzi graduated from Bocconi University and Polytechnic of Milan and has served in private companies and consultancy firms before going back to higher education. For several years she has been working at the Research Center at Bocconi University, specialised in strategy, innovation and organization, and then moved to research herself, getting a PhD in strategy, with a specialisation in sustainable business strategies.

She has been running several research projects since then, having innovation, sustainability and sustainable development as a common ground. She now manages an EMBA program in Business Innovation (dedicated to high-tech start-ups, innovation hubs and venture investments funds) at MIB Trieste School of Management (https://tinyurl.com/EMBAIN-MIB). 

She is currently Project Manager at the University of Milan and responsible for the European-funded PNRR project: Multilayered Urban Sustainability Action Spoke 4, dedicated to the analysis and dissemination of studies on Economic Impact and Sustainable Finance. 

Nguyen Hong Long has 25 years of experience in mechanical design, cleaner production, product design and development, business consultancy, with more than 12 years of experience in renewable energy, sustainable product innovation, business development projects and programs.

He has participated in numerous policy advisory projects to provide consultancy for developing countries on renewable energy, sustainable products, business consultancy design and its implementation. He has led many teams that provided technical advice on renewable energy and sustainable product innovation for over 700 MSMEs.

Nguyen Hong Long is the Founder and Director of CCS – a research and consulting NGO which provides cleantech start-ups in Vietnam with R&D capacity building, development of bankable proposals, business model development, and other tailor-made supports.

Nguyen Minh Tan is an Associate Professor in Process Engineering at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, where she has been since 1996. Her research interests span from advanced separation and purification of technical complex systems to advanced oxidation processes. Much of her work has been on improving the understanding, design, scaling-up and performance of separation/purification and oxidation processes, mainly through dynamic modelling and performance evaluation.

She is a founder of a start-up and consultant to companies involved in the processing of fruit and vegetables and advanced water treatment technologies. Her Juice EVAporation (JEVA) technology won the Best Innovation Award of Asia Innovation Award 2020, awarded by The Hitachi Global Foundation (Japan). Her startup  SMoJEVA - The Smart and Mobile Fruit Processing has reached the rank Top 16 Winner of Global Grand Final of ClimateLaunchPad in 2021.

Ibrahim Palaz is a Coalition Builder for the Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP). He has a passion for combining innovation, entrepreneurship and circularity. Ibrahim has built up multi-sectoral experience in food security and has been responsible for partnership management, proposition development, fundraising and strategic advisory. He gets his energy from connecting people and ideas, to help develop solutions that contribute to a smarter use of natural resources and improved diets. As Coalition Builder at NFP he supports partnerships to explore and capitalize on joint opportunities to help make our food systems better prepared for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

László Pintér is Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy at the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna, Austria. He is also Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in Winnipeg, Canada.

László has been working for nearly three decades on the transformation of the way we measure and assess progress with an extended view and balance sheet of well-being, sustainability reporting, outlooks, and scenarios. He contributed to the negotiation of the sustainable development goals and the study of downscaling their implementation to the regional and local levels. He also works on vulnerability, adaptation, and resilience of socio-ecological systems in view of a matrix of global and local forces of risk and change, including but not limited to climate change. His more recent work extends to nature-based infrastructure as a potential catalyst in advancing urban transformations. He works worldwide and regularly consults for a wide range of multilateral organizations, companies, NGOs, and governments.

Dr. Pintér has a PhD from the University of Minnesota in the United States (2002), a Masters in Natural Resources Management from the University of Manitoba in Canada (1994), and a Master of Science in Agronomy from the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (1988).

Grazyna Pulawska is an expert in project implementation with a 20-year tenure in the private sector, government administration, and international organisations. She specializes in issues related to climate policies and national strategies for the circular economy. She is the author of several publications and has participated in national and international conferences.

Grazyna Pulawska completed her studies in the field of regional development at the University of Warsaw and also a Polish-French master's program in European studies carried out by SGH and Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. For many years she has been collaborating with international organizations and research institutions and is the creator of a regional cooperation network between Asia and Europe – the Asia-Europe Environment Forum.

She gained professional experience in Asian and European countries, among others in the Department of Public Policies and Sustainable Development at the Asia and Europe Foundation, where she led international teams implementing knowledge-based projects and conferences, ensuring mutual exchange and learning. At present, she is the Associate Director, Sustainable Development, at the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). Grażyna also worked for the Ministry of Economy in Poland in the field of regional development in a European Union program focused on supporting business innovation. She was active in the NGO sector, mainly in the Service Civil International network in Belgium and Poland, and Development Wheel, a non-governmental organization from Bangladesh specializing in supporting local entrepreneurship and fair trade.

Grazyna Pulawska worked as an educational advisor and facilitator with organizations in Poland, Asia and Europe (including the Polish-German Youth Cooperation, the Council of Europe, the European Youth Forum, and Service Civil International). She holds a trainer's certification from the Gallup Institute allowing her to conduct coaching workshops based on the principles of positive psychology for individuals and entire teams in the field of strengths.

Madhura Rao is a food systems scholar and a postdoctoral fellow at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Her research explores how the transition to a sustainable food system can be achieved while empowering citizens and ensuring the inclusion of marginalised stakeholders. With a keen interest in the circular bioeconomy, Madhura applies her academic background in food law and supply chain operations to better understand how agri-food resources can be used to their full potential in a safe and enduring manner. 

Alongside her academic career, Madhura is a science communicator and an advisor to UN Climate Change for their Resilience Frontiers project.

With a Physics and Material Engineering background, Miguel has focused on R&D management and technology transfer from academia to industry.

Having worked previously in R&D institutions and injection molding companies for medical and pharmaceutical applications, he now leads the R&D department at Smartex, developing new technologies for the modern textile factory. 

Michael Siegner is the Resident Representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation’s Vietnam Office. In this capacity, he has recently started to link his extensive experience in multi-level governance with the implementation of sustainable development approaches. He holds Degrees in Peace and Conflict Studies (M.A.) as well as Political and Administrative Science (B.A.) and has lived and worked in Southeast Asia for 10 years. He has been managing HSF’s ASEAN regional project in Sustainable Consumption and Production and leading programming for various hackathons for Start-Ups with sustainable and innovative business models in the ASEAN countries.

Patrick Schroeder is a Senior Research Fellow at the Environment and Society Programme of Chatham House focusing on circular economy transitions. He is coordinating lead author for the chapter on circular economy for the UNEP Global Environment Outlook 7. Through his work at the Chatham House  he engages at the interface of science and policy including multilateral environmental agreements such as the Global Plastics Treaty. 

Dr Schroeder also works on European development cooperation programmes to support circularity transition in textiles, electronics and plastics value chains. In the content of the UN SDG process, the Chatham House launched the Global Circular Economy Roadmap initiative in 2023 to develop a global vision and pathways for an inclusive circular economy. 

Dan Shin is Overseas Sales Manager of STAR's TECH, a South Korean eco-friendly de-icer manufacturer using upcycled extract from invasive species starfish to ultimately reduce carbon emissions.

He participated in numerous conferences and seminars worldwide to spread the word for new alternatives for nature-friendly options on snowy roads, and a new way to potentially reduce carbon emission from burning collected invasive species starfish, and protecting metal corrosion & concrete breakage on roads to suppress additional road repairs. 

He has worked extensively on the promotion of starfish de-icers in Canada, United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. 

Assoc Prof Agnieszka Stachowiak's research interests have evolved over the past 20 years from agility and sustiainability to maturity and resilience of organisations. 

She is author and co-author of over 100 scientific publications, including books, monographs, journals, and conference proceedings. She has been coordinating projects and organizing conferences linking academics and entrepreneurs from all over the world. She is a Board Member of the International Foundation for Production Research, Member of Women in Production Research Forum, Polish Logistics Society, and Polish Economic Society. 

Currently, she is involved in the IQ Alliance Project promoting the concept and methodology of network intelligence.

Dr Stepinska-Ustasiaks is a Sociologist focused on the social impact of technology, digital skills, and implications of ICT for human and institutional capacity building. She is the co-author of reports, author of publications, lecturer, and a public speaker. 

She works as a Public Affairs expert at T-Mobile Poland, as an Analyst and Sociologist at the Institute of Organisation and Management in Industry “Orgmasz”, and as an Expert at the National Chamber of Electronic and Telecommunication Industry in international collaboration. 

Dr Stepinska-Ustasiaks was previously the Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), the regulator of the telecommunication and postal markets in Poland, and responsible for the collaboration with the United Nations agencies, OECD,  and other international organisations. 

Since 2018, she has been a member of the Group on Capacity Building Initiatives, advising the Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, and was appointed to the position of Chairwoman in 2019.

Mr. Takahashi Yasuo graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, and in 1983, he joined the Environment Agency of Japan (the current Ministry of the Environment). He held key positions at the Ministry including Director of the Climate Policy Division, Director General of the Headquarters for Environmental Restoration of Fukushima, Director General of the Environmental Management Bureau, and Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs. After retiring from the Ministry in 2019, he was appointed Senior Advisor for the Ministry, and joined IGES in January 2020 as Special Policy Advisor. He has served as Executive Director of IGES since November 2020.

Dr Jovan Tan is a Lecturer at the Engineering Design and Innovation Centre. He teaches the EG2301 Value Creation in Innovation course and supervises undergraduate students in EG3301R Ideas to Proof-of-Concept and EG4301 DCP dissertation. His research interests are in applied innovation and sustainability, where Restorative Innovation and the LASER framework to design innovations for the circular economy are his most notable works. He has also been regularly featured on respectable media outlets, including Channel NewsAsia’s Money Mind and CNA938, for his thought leadership and expertise in sustainability and the circular economy.

Dr Jovan Tan is also a Fellow of the World Economic Forum, where he co-leads initiatives and fosters collaborations and communities relating to innovation in manufacturing, sustainability, and the circular economy. With his vast entrepreneurship and industry experiences, he advises TRIA, chairs the SAFRA Entrepreneurs’ Club, and is appointed to several other committees, including the NUS Zero Waste Taskforce.

He earned his first degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the University of Adelaide. He holds a Master of Science in Management from the National University of Singapore and two Diplomas from Singapore Polytechnic.

Wanaporn Yangyuentham is an expert in Development and Environmental Sustainability over a decade. Wanaporn has built a managerial and operational track record for programme management, strategic policy dialogues and project financing in Asia in the last 10 years, with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) as an area of expertise. She currently works as a Programme Manager at Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI Asia). She leads the Strategic Collaborative Fund Phase 2 programme which aims at building regional cooperation, institutional capacity enhancement and enabling learning towards the achievement of SDGs. Prior to SEI, she worked for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, where she specialised in rural development and sustainability. She was part of IFAD’s Independent Office of Evaluation Department, carrying out different corporate, thematic and project evaluations such as rural youth and project implementation support. She eventually joined IFAD’s Programme Management Department, where she provided oversight of the technical support and management to country programmes, policy dialogue and the pursuit of strategic and global partnership initiatives for China, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Thailand. She also worked for the private sector.