Keynote Speakers

Christine Ho is an Associate Professor of Economics at Singapore Management University, Academic Program Director of the Women in Social and Public Policy Research Hub (WISPPRH) at the London School of Economics, and a GLO Fellow. She was previously awarded a SMU Shirin Fozdar Fellowship and an ADB-IEA Innovative Policy Research Award. She is a co-editor of the Review of Economics of the Household and the editor of a special issue on Intergenerational Transfers and Time Use. 

Ho's research interests lie at the intersection of public policy and family economics, with a particular focus on household production using empirical and applied theoretical tools. Her works have been published in leading economics and interdisciplinary journals such as the American Economic Review and Demography. Recent research tackles the evaluation and design of child care subsidy programs, the linkages between old age support and parental investments in children, and improving human capital through education interventions.

Dr. Thu Phuong Pham is an Associate Professor of Finance at Curtin University (Australia) and an affiliated researcher at IPAG Business School (France). She has held a Visiting Research Professorship at New York University (US) and previously served as a Visiting Scholar at Indiana University Bloomington (US). Before joining Curtin University in 2022, she held academic appointments at the University of Sydney, the University of Adelaide, and the University of Tasmania.

Dr. Pham serves on the United Nations Reference Groups for SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), established by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

Her research spans sustainable finance, financial market transparency, corporate governance, digital finance, and development economics. Her work has influenced global financial and economic policies and is the only academic research featured in the newly released 2025 SDG 8 and SDG 17 Goal Profiles published by UNESCAP. These studies have shaped Priority Actions driving sustainable growth across the Asia–Pacific region toward the UN 2030 SDG Agenda. She has published her research in the world’s top international academic journals and has received international research awards and frequent coverage in global media.

Dr. Pham has advised government agencies and international organizations on numerous projects and has served as Chief or Sole Investigator on research grants funded by the World Bank, the German Government (GIZ), the UK Government, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Accounting & Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ), among others.

She serves as a Subject Editor and Editorial Board Member for leading peer-reviewed finance journals and sits on the Research Grant Selection Committee of AFAANZ. She also co-founded the Vietnam Symposium in Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Innovation (VSEFI) in 2022 and has since served as its Lead Co-Chair.

Dr. Pham received a Doctor of Philosophy in Finance from the University of Sydney, Australia, and a Master of Science (DEA) in Financial Markets and Intermediaries from the Toulouse School of Economics (France).