Veronica Needa has been actively involved in playback theatre since 1991, graduating from the School of Playback Theatre in 1995. Now teaching playback internationally, and faculty member of the School of Playback Theatre, she is based in London, core member of London Playback Theatre, and director of True Heart Theatre which specializes in playback theatre for the Chinese community in the UK. She coordinates the School of Playback Theatre (UK) programme of courses. Also a storyteller performer, she has created a solo show – FACE – performed in English and Cantonese, which explores issues of identity and belonging.

 

Celia Cheng-Ying Young is a well-known global organisational development consultant for Fortune 500 and other large companies worldwide. She is also a dynamic and motivational professional speaker on topics including: organisation behaviour, organisation culture change, globalisation, diversity and creativity, and cross-cultural relationships.  Celia is a faculty member of The Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, Organization and System Development Programs in Cleveland. She is currently writing a book with the working title “Developing a Truly Global Organization: Moving Beyond American-Centric Business Orientation”. Prior to establishing her own consulting business, she spent 12 years in senior marketing positions for companies including Wells Fargo Bank, McDonnell Douglas and Calcomp. Celia was born in Hong Kong, raised in Taiwan and has family ties in China. Learning and working on both sides of the Pacific Rim has given her the unique ability to straddle the two worlds. It also provided her the ability to understand the sometimes subtle, yet often complex dynamics at play in working with multi-national organizations, leaders, and teams.   It’s between those two worlds where her life’s work continues.

 

Ms Ulrike Agostin joined Cisco Singapore in 2007. She is a Program Manager for Cisco Brand Protection, working on detecting and mitigating unauthorized market activities. As such, she is responsible for Singapore and Malaysia. Furthermore, her work scope includes the detection and mitigation of channel related risks. She also conducts workshops on a regular basis for Cisco employees on the risks associated with unauthorized market activities and conducts education and awareness sessions with Partners and Customers. Having a passion for diversity in general and women’s issues in particular, Ulrike has been involved in the Inclusion & Diversity / Cisco Connected Women group in Cisco since she joined the company. In August 2010 she was elected as the group lead for this fiscal year. Ulrike is German by origin and relocated to Singapore in 2001.  She holds a Bachelor in Law and is currently studying for her Masters in Science / Human Resource Management with the University of Dublin.

 

Aparna is currently Diversity & Inclusion Manager at Community
Business and focuses on developing Community Business’ diversity work in India. She is a frequent speaker on diversity related topics and co-authored Community Business’ recent report, Standard Chartered Bank: Women on Corporate Boards in India 2010. Aparna started her career as a consultant with Arthur Andersen and also worked with Ernst & Young and Kingfisher Airlines. She has 9 years of experience in human resources which includes leadership development, talent management and developing HR strategies and solutions. Aparna holds a Diploma in Business Management & Marketing and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics & Commerce from the University of Bombay. She relocated to Hong Kong in 2008.

Fiona is based in London and heads up the British Council’s Strategic Diversity Unit. Since joining the organisation in 2000, she has been responsible for driving through a global diversity strategy which is strongly aligned to the British Council’s leadership aspirations in the field of international cultural relations. Born in Ghana and moving to the UK at the age of 14, Fiona has a background in social work, social work education and equality and diversity consultancy. She has an M.Phil in Social Policy from Cranfield University and completed her Doctorate at Middlesex University earlier this year. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Professional Mediators Association the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

In 2008 she became the second recipient of the ORC Peter Robertson Award for Equality and Diversity Champions to add to her 2002 Mainstreaming Diversity Award from the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners. In June 2005 Fiona was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her equality and diversity work.

Ute Braasch is Asia Pacific HR Director of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) based in Singapore. In this role Ute is responsible for the development and implementation of BCG’s people strategy in Asia Pacific which includes the leadership of BCG’s regional diversity initiatives. Previously Ute managed BCG’s Asia Pacific Training and Development team and held positions as project manager with several leading consulting firms, advising major Asian and multinational clients on strategic issues. Ute received her MBA from Melbourne Business School in Australia. She also holds degrees in Business Administration and Human Resources Management from the Wirtschaftsakademie Hamburg in Germany.

Shuba is the Director of an NGO called Aneka - which means ‘diversity’ or ‘plurality’. She is closely involved in grassroots level, policy and research work in India, particularly focusing on issues relating to women, gender and sexuality. Shuba has Master’s degree in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai. She has also worked at the National Law School of India University. She is a trained documentation professional and has presented papers at various international and national conferences. In addition she has authored and assisted in the authoring of books on issue related to women. She is a mother of a hungry and delightful teenager and likes an eclectic mix of music, old monuments and birdwatching.

Jenny is currently Manager, Operating Guides & Documentation, mainly responsible for compiling operational manuals and language enhancement for frontline employees.  Since 2007, she has taken up the role of promoting Diversity and Inclusion for Hong Kong Disneyland, focusing on Workforce Diversity and Workplace Inclusion.  Jenny supports the nurturing of building an inclusive workplace where every team member of the diverse pool can fully contribute their talents while being engaged, respected and valued to achieving success of the organization.

Sunita R. Cherian, General Manager - Talent Engagement and Development at Wipro Technologies, based in Bangalore.
An Electrical and Electronics engineer and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration, she joined Wipro Infotech in 1996 in the Solution and System Integration Division. She has held responsibilities in sales and marketing, evangelizing world-class process implementation in Wipro and in Human Resources.
Sunita joined the HR Function in October 2000. She currently heads the TED function for the Telecom, Media and Technology Business unit in Wipro Technologies, with total employee strength of over 20,000 employees globally. Her responsibilities include employee assimilation, employee engagement and leadership development. She is a member of Wipro’s Prevention of Sexual Harassment Committee, is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Master Coach and a PAPI specialist.

She is a member of the Diversity Council at Wipro and heads the Gender Diversity committee. “Women of Wipro” or WOW was launched as a part of this initiative and it has been a roaring success in the organization.

 

As Vice President, Park Operations, Noble Coker is responsible for Attractions & Guest Services, Merchandise, Facility Services and Security, Safety Fire & Health Services, Park Operations and Operations Development. Noble began his career at Disney over thirteen years ago as a Programmer and then a Project Manager with Walt Disney Imagineering where he worked on new technology systems. Prior to joining the Hong Kong Disneyland team, Noble was Director, Systems Planning for The Walt Disney Company. Noble was appointed Director, Information Technology for Hong Kong Disneyland in 2002 and was then promoted to Vice President & CIO in 2005. Noble transitioned to Operations as the Vice President, Park Operations and Operations Development in 2007 and assumed his current position in
October 2009. Before Disney, Noble taught Lao and Thai, and oversaw language instruction for 10 different Asian languages. Noble obtained his undergraduate degree in Finance from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

 

Nigel Collett is a history graduate from St Peter’s College, Oxford, with a master’s degree in biography from the University of Buckingham. He is the author of The Butcher of Amritsar, a life of Brigadier Reginald Dyer, the perpetrator of the Amritsar massacre in India, published by Hambledon and London in 2005. He served for twenty years in the British Army, and commanded 6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles in Hong Kong and Brunei from 1991-93. He is Managing Director of the Gurkha International Group which finds employment for Gurkhas and
Nepalese men and women worldwide, principally as crew onboard
cruise liners, and has its Headquarters in Hong Kong, where it manages a security guarding and bodyguarding service. He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, and has published books on Baluchi and a Nepali-English dictionary. He is the coordinator of the Tongzhi Literary Group, Hong Kong correspondent for Fridae.com and reviews books for the Asian Review of Books. Since 2008, he has been Joint English Secretary of the Tongzhi Community Joint Meeting, an alliance of Hong Kong’s LGBT groups, and in this capacity has become a wellknown commentator on gay issues affecting Hong Kong in both the
press and on radio.

 

Dev Kumar Das joined American Express in 2005 and has held various leadership roles across the US, UK and Asia Pacific. His current role is head of customer service for Greater China and Southeast Asia, where he is responsible for servicing American Express' card members in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. Prior to this, he was the head of American Express' Strategic Planning Group in London. Prior to joining American Express, Dev held a variety of management consulting positions, including Booz, Allen & Hamilton. He began his career in the capital markets consulting practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP in New York. Dev received a BA from New York University; MBA,
Columbia Business School.

 

As the leader of global inclusion and diversity for Cisco Services,
Marsha and her team design, develop and execute inclusion and
diversity programs and communication for over 10,000 employees. Marsha joined Cisco eight years ago as the leader of Enterprise Field Marketing. Prior to that, she held a number of senior marketing and sales positions, including Vice President of Marketing Strategy for AT&T, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Global Crossing and Senior Vice President -- Corporate Division for Tiffany & Co. She was a dynamic force in the growth and eventual sale of Teleport Communications Group (TCG). While at TCG, Marsha built the telecommunication industry's first “People Services Organization,” leading all Human Resources functions, as well as Corporate Philanthropy, Real Estate, Inclusion & Diversity and Corporate Culture. Marsha holds a BA degree in sociology from the College of William & Mary and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She and her husband split their time between New Jersey and South Carolina.

 

Stephen Golden is the Head of Asia Global Leadership and Diversity at Goldman Sachs. Stephen began his career at Goldman Sachs in 1993 as a technology analyst in New York. He moved to London in 1995 and later changed his career to be a project manager focusing on both technology and compliance. In 2004, Stephen became co-head of the Goldman Sachs European Gay and Lesbian Network. Stephen moved into a full time diversity role in London in 2005. In 2007-2008 he had a 5 month short term assignment as the head of diversity in Japan. In July 2008, Stephen relocated to Hong Kong into his current role. Stephen earned a Bachelor of Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his civil partner, Richard, live in Hong Kong.

 

During Tamara Gurajena's five year career with the HSBC Asia Pacific Human Resources team, and as a member of the Hong Kong Diversity Committee, she has been instrumental in the development and deployment of HSBC's Diversity and Inclusion Strategy across the Asia Pacific Region. Most recently, this has involved leading the design and implementation of flexible working practices across all sites in the region. Tamara holds a Masters of Science in Human Resource Management from the London School of Economics and is a Chartered Member of the UK's Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Prior to joining HSBC Asia Pacific, Tamara held roles with Kingfisher plc.

 

Teuila Hanson assumed a leadership role for Diversity & Inclusion at AECOM in 2009. She has developed a global diversity strategy that includes a multi-tiered approach: incorporating the tenets of diversity and inclusion in the company’s recruiting activities to establish a robust pipeline of potential employees, developing a diverse workforce and fostering an inclusive environment. Teuila joined AECOM in 2008, as assistant general counsel, to manage global employment and labor matters. She brought more than 10 years of employment law experience focusing on Human Resources and diversity issues. Teuila received a B.A. degree from Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California, U.S.A., and a Juris Doctor degree from Golden Gate University, School of Law, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

 

Tracey Ho is strong advocate of workforce diversity and a seasoned HR practitioner with more than 20 years experience working in Singapore and in China. She started her career in systems engineering with IBM. Her passion for talent and human resources subsequently propelled her through multi-dimensions of HR including training and development, search/recruiting and talent management, HR services delivery and workforce diversity. Currently as the Workforce Diversity Leader for IBM in the Asia Pacific countries, her focus is to create a culture of inclusion and equal opportunity to leverage and achieve the full potential of the diverse workforce.

 

Kimiko Horii conducts various consulting services, training programs, and research projects to promote Diversity and Inclusion in Japanese society. Prior to founding NPO GEWEL (Global Enhancement of Women’s Executive Leadership) with ten committed friends in 2003, Kimiko was National Sales Director at Avon where she managed over 700 sales managers and improved the sales revenue under a difficult economic environment. Active in professional and community organisations, she is a member of Tokyo Kiwanis Club and serves as head of Young Children Priority One program in Japan. She received her Bachelor of Arts at Tokyo University.

 

 

Aditi is a part of the HR Initiatives Team in Accenture - a team
deployed to support HR professionals in the Asia Pacific Region
through working on identified critical short to medium term projects. Working within this role, she has been deployed to program manage Accenture’s Human Capital Strategy and Diversity agenda for the region of SEAAK- South East Asia, Australia and Korea - an agenda spanning topics of framing the long term human capital strategy, long range workforce planning, culture institutionalisation, diversity training and the LGBT agenda. In previous assignments she has been involved in multiple projects on topics ranging from recruitment, transition and redundancy management, HR process compliance and metrics, to leadership development. Aditi’s educational background is an MBA in HRM from India.

 

Damnish holds a B.S and M.S degree in Mathematics and Scientific Computing from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur. He worked in Sweden, Japan and the US on international assignments before founding the consulting and development company – HyTech Professionals in 2004. Damnish has worked on developing industrial strength operational, business, mobile, SCM and retail applications for several international and domestic clients. His strength lies in leveraging technology for industrial applications. Damnish is the main driving force for the HR structure in his company and under his leadership the company has been recognised with many awards
and accreditations including the “Corporate Awards for Excellence in Gender Inclusivity” in 2009 by NASSCOM.

 

 

As the Founder and previous CEO, Shalini has been recently appointed as Advisor to the Board of Community Business. Shalini has advised many companies on CSR in Asia, conducted extensive research and written numerous publications on these subjects. She is a sought after speaker in Hong Kong and globally. Shalini was honoured by the World Economic Forum as a Global Young Leader in 2009. In 2008, Shalini was awarded an MBE from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II for services to corporate social responsibility in Hong Kong. In 2007, Shalini was named Asia 21 Young Leader by the United States’ Asia Society and named as one of 35 global women leaders under the age of 35 in the “35 under 35” list by UK based World Business. In 2005, Shalini was awarded the “Chief Executives Commendation for Community Service” by the Hong Kong SAR Government for her contribution to the ethnic minorities of Hong Kong.

Shalini has held positions on various charitable boards in Asia and has also previously served as External Diversity Advisor for Asia Pacific for a US investment bank. Before Community Business, Shalini had a career in accounting and banking. She is a graduate of the London School of Economics and is a Certified Public Accountant. Shalini was born in Hong Kong and her family has lived in Hong Kong for four generations. She is ethnically Indian.

 

As the Head of Diversity for the Asia Pacific region at UBS, Hayden partners with employees, business heads, clients and external vendors in creating inclusive business and working environments - positioning UBS as the employer, advisor and investment of choice for all, regardless of background. Prior to joining UBS Hayden was Nomura's first Head of Diversity and Inclusion in Asia-Pacific following the purchase of Lehman Brothers franchise in 2008. At Nomura he built up a regional team and established & executed the firm's first diversity strategy for the region. Hayden's banking career began at Lehman Brothers in 2004 where he supported the regional Fixed Income business as a member of the legal team, going on to become Business Strategist - liaising between the firm's businesses and providing strategic advice and support in 5 culture-building imperatives:
Diversity, Philanthropy, Retention, Recruiting and Talent Management. Hayden was instrumental in establishing employee networks at Lehman Brothers and Nomura; as well as LGBT interbank initiatives in both HK, Tokyo and Singapore.

 

Hamidah Marican has been the Executive Director of the Malaysian organisation Sisters in Islam (SIS) since July 2009, a non-governmental organisation working on the rights of Muslim women within the framework of Islam. Sisters In Islam is at the forefront of the women's movement which seeks to end discrimination against muslim women in the name of religion. The group's activities in research, advocacy and public education help to promote the development of Islam that upholds the principles of equality, justice and freedom within a democratic state. Hamidah was formerly BP's Regional Diversity & Inclusion Manager for Asia. She brings with her many organisational development skills comprising Strategic Thinking/Planning, Change & Transition Management, Leadership & Management Development, Cross Cultural Training, and Managing Diversity & Inclusion at the workplace with a focus on under-represented minorities and women. She was also the regional D&I Consultant for Shell and Intel’s Asia OD Consultant. She is actively involved in the Living Values Education Program (LVEP) programs under UNICEF sponsorship. She conducts values workshops for educators, students and parents-all on a voluntary basis.

 

Dirk Mundorf is the Managing Partner of Egon Zehnder International’s Hong Kong office, as well as a core member of the global Financial Services Practice Group. He joined the Firm in Munich in 2000 and was the Practice Group leader for Insurance for seven years. In November 2007, Dirk relocated to Asia and took over the office leadership for Hong Kong. He has worked on various national and international executive searches as well as major talent management projects mainly for Financial Services clients. Prior to joining the Firm, he was with The Boston Consulting Group as Director, initially based in Frankfurt/M. and subsequently in Mumbai. He received his MBA in Economics and PhD in Geography from University of Frankfurt.

 

Goki Muthusamy heads the Diversity & Inclusion Program for Asia Pacific and is based in Singapore. She is responsible for proactively evaluating the bank’s diversity and inclusion needs and driving the strategy and execution of critical D&I projects across the Asia Pacific platform. Goki joined Merrill Lynch in 2007. Prior to joining the bank,Goki worked with a non-profit organisation that focused on Youth and Development. As such, she successfully completed projects in Indonesia and Botswana. Goki is involved in many civil society projects in Asia and Europe advocating the importance of cultural diversity and pluralism. Goki was trained on the concept of cultural diversity, youth and volunteerism in an organisation based in UNESCO Paris. She graduated in 2005 and has a BA in Psychology from the National
University of Singapore.

 

Marilyn Nagel is the Senior Director of Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) at Cisco, where she leads the global I&D team on projects that require large-scale change management, talent planning, and learning.

As Cisco’s Chief Diversity Officer, her responsibilities include facilitating the global I&D board, which sets the I&D agenda and strategy for the company, and measures progress toward I&D goals. Ms. Nagel also develops the strategic plan for I&D cross-functional teams. She is continually looking for ways to help Cisco stay innovative, by driving policy changes to create a more inclusive environment.

Prior to joining Cisco, Ms. Nagel worked in academia, leadership development, and organizational development for nearly 30 years, in both the private non-profit sector and for Fortune 500 companies.

Ms. Nagel holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration, and has an additional master’s degree in social and systemic studies, with a focus on organizational systems.

She serves on the board of directors of Professional Business Women of California, Children and Family Services as well as the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering. Listed multiple times in “Who’s Who - Women in Business,” Ms. Nagel is a frequent speaker on the topics of developing women leaders and building a culture of inclusion.

 

Shigekatsu Nakao is currently Member of the Board of FUJITSU UNIVERSITY LIMITED, a Fujitsu company specializing in human resource development, diversity promotion, as well as work and life design in Fujitsu. He is also a Member of Diversity Promotion Office of FUJITSU LIMITED.

He has spent much of his career working in international business, and has more than three decades of experience in Fujitsu. His previous position was Managing Director and Member of the Board of Fujitsu EMEA PLC in London, overseeing the group companies located in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Before that, he held various management positions in R&D, marketing, global business development, and strategic alliances with major global partners. In these roles, he covered multiple geographic markets across EMEA, Americas and APAC. He was also assigned to Fujitsu America Inc. in Silicon Valley, California, where he was engaged in market research and business development activities.

Mr. Nakao was an active member of open system’s international standard activities in the IT industry and served as President of Japan UNIX Society.

He graduated from Kyoto University with a bachelor degree in electrical engineering. He now lives with his family in Tokyo.

 

Winnie is currently Diversity & Inclusion Manager at Community
Business, responsible for managing and delivering Community
Business projects and events with a primary focus on diversity. She is responsible for project managing the development and delivery of the Diversity & Inclusion in Asia Network, a unique network of diversity professionals looking to drive their companies forward on their diversity journey in Asia. Winnie is also the co-author of some of Community Business’ publications including The State of Work-Life Balance in Hong Kong Reports. In addition she runs training workshops on employee volunteering. Winnie started her career in corporate social
responsibility (CSR) with a non-profit organisation called United Way of Mumbai in India. She worked across various streams of United Way in CSR including Corporate Giving and Employee Volunteering. She was also the key architect of the United Way Mumbai Renewal Plan during the Mumbai Floods in 2005. Winnie has a bachelor in Psychology from the University of Hong Kong.

 

Fern Ngai is the Head of Corporate Affairs for Standard Chartered
Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd. Fern is responsible for building and protecting the Bank's profile and reputation as an institution that exemplifies the brand promise Here for good. During her 20+ year career at Standard Chartered, Fern has held leadership roles in the Asia Governance and Strategic Initiatives, Human Resources, Technology and Operations functions. She is currently the Bank's Diversity and Inclusion Champion in Hong Kong, and a member of the Community Business Leadership Team. She was previously the Director of Programme Care, an
employee-led community care and volunteering organisation.

 

Katherine Perkins joined Bloomberg in 2006 and currently looks after the Leadership, Learning and Diversity team in the Asia Pacific region as well as the Hong Kong regional Human Resources team, which supports Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Korea. She is also a member of the Bloomberg Hong Kong Management Committee. Prior to joining Bloomberg, Mrs. Perkins was the Operations Services Manager for the Verizon Business Conferencing Division in Hong Kong. Mrs. Perkins holds a B.A. from Stanford University and lived in Korea for 3 years before moving to Hong Kong in 1995.

 

Janet Reid, Ph.D. is a Managing Partner and Director of Global Novations, an international management consulting firm specializing in global diversity and inclusion.  Dr. Reid earned a Ph.D. and B.S. in BioInorganic Chemistry from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Prior to Global Novations, Dr. Reid was at the Procter & Gamble Company where she worked in Product Development and Advertising.  She co-authored the diversity and inclusion book: The Phoenix Principles: Leveraging Inclusion to Transform Your Company.  She is a proven leader in developing successful diversity and inclusion initiatives world- wide.  Dr. Reid has worked across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

 

Kari Reston is the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Standard Chartered Bank. The London-headquartered organisation has operated for over 150 years in some of the world's most dynamic markets, leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The Bank employs 75,000 people representing 125 nationalities across 70 countries.

Kari is responsible for setting Standard Chartered’s diversity and inclusion strategy, including within the workplace and with regards to customers and communities. Prior to her appointment in January 2009, Kari worked in the Group Chief Executive’s office. She has also held a number of roles in Group Human Resources at Standard Chartered, including managing HR Communications and the HR Executive Committee.

Currently based in Singapore, Kari has previously lived and worked in London, England and Vancouver, Canada. Kari graduated from the University of British Columbia and holds a Masters of Science in International Employment Relations from the London School of Economics, where she is a regular guest lecturer on cross cultural management.

 

Eren joined the Asia Pacific Human Resources team in January 2010. In this role, Eren is responsible for all Leadership Development across Asia Pacific including Talent Planning, Performance Management, Leadership and Management Development, Executive Onboarding and Coaching, and Succession Planning. Eren joined Bank of America as part of the Merrill Lynch acquisition in 2009. She joined Merrill Lynch in December of 2005 as the head of learning for investment banking globally. Prior to working at Merrill Lynch, she spent 13 years at Accenture delivering learning and change management work for global communications and high-tech clients. Eren is a recognised industry expert and has been published in and/or featured as a speaker for CLO Magazine, Masie Center, WSJ, London FT, Learning Innovation Network, and various books on Learning and Leadership Development. Eren holds 13 US patents in learning and simulation solutions and has a BA in Business Economics from Brown University. Eren recently moved from Brooklyn, NY and she now lives in Hong Kong with her husband Jack.

Peter Sargant has worked in the Banking industry for over 20 years. During his career, Peter has worked extensively in both the Retail and Securities Services Industries. Peter is currently a Director of Standard Chartered Bank’s Cash Management and Securities business for the Investors and Intermediaries segment. Peter is responsible for a select group of the Bank’s leading international clients within this segment, working across multiple and diverse markets. Peter keenly supports local corporate and social responsibility initiatives and was one of the original trainers for the Banks’ Living with HIV pier education programmes. Peter has held various board positions with local non-profit organisations and has significant experience managing fundraising.

 

Karen So is the General Manager - Hong Kong & Macau of Coca-
Cola China Limited. Her responsibilities include business direction formulation, sales and marketing development, product innovations and strategic brand management. Karen has extensive marketing and brand management experience. She possesses more than 15 years of experiences in brand management and sales and marketing. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, she worked at Nestle (China) Ltd., where she was responsible for marketing planning and promotion.

 

A highly motivated and strategic senior manager with extensive
experience consulting with multinational companies and managing various functions in multi-national, multi-cultural situations. Successfully works with senior executives as an integral member of the leadership team to forge business partnerships to improve bottom-line corporate performance through organizational development and change management efforts. A global manager with excellent interpersonal skills, unparalleled adaptability and flexibility across cultures. Relationship oriented and works easily with all levels of people – from senior global directors to manufacturing plant technical laborers. An open, effective and persuasive communicator. Unquestioned integrity and personal values. Experience advising and assisting senior management teams and boards about strategic and operational challenges. Focus on growth and innovation initiatives, organisational design, union and work council strategies, executive compensation, change management, leadership development and succession
planning.

 

Su-Mei Thompson is Executive Director of The Women’s Foundation, one of Hong Kong’s leading NGOs dedicated to the advancement of women through research, community programmes, and education and advocacy. Su-Mei started her career as a corporate finance associate at Linklaters before serving in senior regional management positions at Disney, the Financial Times and Christie’s. She is a member of the Women’s Commission’s taskforce for Hong Kong women’s development goals, a director of HKSE-listed Natural Beauty and a board member of The Cheltenham Ladies College. She writes for the
SCMP on women’s and gender issues. Su-Mei is a graduate of Oxford and Cambridge Universities and earned her MBA at IMD.

 

Walter Tsui, Yu Hang is currently a final year under-graduate student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong with major in Economics and minor in German Language. He was born with both eyes visually impaired and now has about 10% eye sight. In the summer of 2009 Walter was an intern at the Dialogue in the Dark Museum (Frankfurt). From November 2000 to February 2010, he worked as a part-time trainee in UBS with Community Affairs Department (APAC). Also, Walter was offered a position as a summer analyst in Goldman Sachs’ Human Capital Management Division in the summer of 2010.

 

Peter Upton is the new Director of the British Council in Hong Kong.  Previously he led the BC’s work in Nigeria, the largest of the British Council operations in Africa.  Prior to Nigeria he was Director of the British Council in Thailand and was also responsible for the BC’s education programmes across East Asia.Peter joined the British Council in 1999 as Director of the Education and Training Group of the British Council with responsibility for the British Council global education portfolio.  His work included programmes as diverse as the UK brand for education, to major EU contracts and the development of international programmes on behalf of the UK. He was also Director of the UK National Commission for UNESCO.  Peter has worked in education for the last 22 years and was a member of a range of strategic groups including the Teacher Training Agency, the Thinking Skills national strategy group, the International Baccalaureate Organisation standing committee and the York Learning City Initiative.  He has provided advice and support to the UK and to overseas governments on education reform policies. He has had extensive experience of international education including work in Europe, Asia, Hong Kong and America and when the weather is fine and the wind isn’t strong he flies micro light aeroplanes for fun.

 

Josefine van Zanten is the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for Royal Dutch Shell. She is responsible for Global D&I thought leadership and strategy development, and oversees an expert team of D&I consultants who work with the Businesses and Functions to drive D&I further into the organization’s processes and systems, enhance mega business projects, as well as embed key D&I in Talent, Learning and Development. She has moved Shell on its D&I journey from early ‘awareness’ to a more advanced ‘business enabler’ stage, and consolidated its different D&I plans and models into one corporate D&I strategy across Shell’s businesses. Josefine is a Swiss and Dutch national. She has two grown up children. Her interests include hiking, skiing, and reading.

Kate Vernon is currently Managing Director and leads Community Business’ diversity and inclusion practice.  She has more than 17 years experience in business development, marketing and CSR. She has held senior international marketing positions for global companies such as Reed Elsevier, Cable & Wireless and PeopleSoft. Kate joined Community Business in 2005 when she was responsible for the launch of the first Diversity & Inclusion in Asia conference.  She also launched ENGAGE in Hong Kong - an international programme that brings companies together to take action in the community. Kate has conducted extensive research and written numerous publications on topics related to CSR and diversity in Asia and is a frequent speaker at CSR related events and workshops. After spending 8 years in Hong Kong, Kate now lives with her family in England.

 

Nadine O Vogel is Founder and President of Springboard Consulting LLC. Springboard works with national and global firms on how to appropriately support employees who either have a disability or who have a child or other dependent with special needs through diversity, work life and human resource initiatives. Springboard also enables these firms to successfully market their products and services to this community, now the largest minority market in the world! Springboard also produces the Disability Matters Awards Banquet and Conference which honors those firms that are making great strides in the areas of marketing, work-life and diversity as it pertains to the special needs population.

Prior to founding Springboard, Nadine held a variety of senior level positions in both Corporate America and the non-profit sectors.

Vogel is the author of DIVE IN, Springboard into the Profitability, Productivity and Potential of the Special Needs Workforce, a must-read business book. She has also authored numerous articles and is recognized as a powerful motivational, inspirational speaker. Recognized for her civic and professional activities, Vogel has received many awards and accolades including:

NJ BIZ Magazine’s 2008 Best 50 Women in Business Award, The Count Me In, 2008 Make Mine a Million $ Business Program Award, The 2007 Howard L. Green Humanitarian Award from the NJ Broadcasters Association, The College of Charleston's 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award, The Voices Award 2003 -individuals who have made a difference in the community, The Golden Gate University's 2002 Alumni Community Service Award, The Fast Company Magazine's 2002 debut list of "Fast 50" innovators -- individuals whose achievements helped change their companies or society, The Working Mother Magazine's Mothers We Love Top 25 List in 2000 and the magazine's 2000 Mothering That Works Award and numerous elections to a variety of editions to Who’s Who.

Vogel has been featured on NBC News, CNNfn, Lifetime Live on the Lifetime Channel, Good Day NY and Oxygen Television's Pure Oxygen program. She is the founder and past president of the board of SNAP, Special Needs Advocate for Parents, a member of the NJN TV Corporate Advisory Committee, a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of United Cerebral Palsy and on the editorial advisory board for WorkLife Matters Magazine. She is a member of the College of Charleston Foundation Board and a member of the College of Charleston Department of Communications Professional Advisory Council.

Vogel received an MBA from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, CA and a BS in Industrial Psychology from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. She resides in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters, both of whom have special needs.

 

Annie Wharmby joined Hong Kong Disneyland in 2004 as Manager, Shows and Talent and was promoted to her current position in January 2007. Specifically, she is responsible for talent and costuming for the Lion King and Golden Mickey’s shows as well as Parade, Character and Atmosphere Operations. Annie began her professional career as a production/stage manager for many notable theatre productions and she was also the Technical Manager of the Rocket Theatre and the Production Manager of the Albany Theatre, both in London. Prior to joining Hong Kong Disneyland, Annie worked with the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts as a Senior Lecturer in Stage
Technology. Before moving to Hong Kong, she was a lecturer in
Technical Stage at the Central School of Speech and Drama in
London and the Course devisor and lighting tutor for the Millennium Dome Technical Theatre Summer Schools, a training project designed for the young and unemployed residents of London. Annie studied Stage Management and Technical Theatre at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the UK and holds a PGDip in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (SEDA) from The Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

 

Julia is the Vice President of Human Resources – Japan/Asia Pacific/Australia for American Express International Inc.
Julia has worked for American Express International Inc for 18 years and during her career has worked across multiple functions and geographies.  She has 10 years experience in Compensation and Benefits at a senior level and over 12 years experience with Human Resources disciplines.

Julia has designed and implemented major organization initiatives in American Express including performance management and large scale organization design initiatives.  Julia consults with clients on a broad range of issues including Talent Deployment, People Strategies, Diversity and Inclusion, Joint Ventures and Acquisition Consulting, Due Diligence Guidance, Flexible HR and Compensation solutions.  With a background in both Compensation and Benefits as well as generalist HR, Julia looks to create integrated strategic HR solutions.  Julia leads a team of HR professionals to deliver to the requirements of the Business, balancing Line of Business with geographic accountabilities.

Qualified as a psychometric assessor and fully qualified as a member of Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, Julia maintains a strong connection to mainstream Human Resource Strategy.

 

Thoman Xavier is the Operations Support Manager, Shell Retail India.
 
He has 17 years of experience in operations and training and has worked in Shell Retail India since the start-up of retail operations in India 6 years ago. In his role, Thoman has worked with the local retailers to hire differently-abled people and his achievement includes the employment of 59 people with disabilities across more than 50 Shell sites in India. He also works closely with NGOs to partner retailers on innovative practices and initiatives regards to the employment and integration of people with disabilities into the workforce.

He is particularly proud of a successful pilot where a retailer employed 4 persons with cerebral palsy. In 2007, his work led to Shell’s recognition by the Ministry of Social Justice (India) for employing people with disabilities.

Frila Yaman is General Manager for Business Development Indonesia, Upstream International, Shell.
 

She holds an Engineering Degree from the Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia, and a Master of Science in Management from Stanford University in the USA. She has 28 years of experience in global Exploration & Production. In 2002 she made a brief career diversion by taking up a regional D&I role to pursue her interests in the promotion and development of local talent and leadership, and to contribute to the energy industry’s burgeoning inclusion agenda. Her experience in living and working in the United States, Indonesia, China and Vietnam has affirmed her belief in the prime value of cultural skills in the business world.

 

Chinese, born and grew up in Guangzhou, China

R&D Director working in Procter & Gamble Beijing Innovation Center in China

Have 20 years R&D experience in P&G leading innovations in multiple categories such as Hair Care, Oral Care, Personal Beauty Care and Fabric Care

Have working experience across different cultures and geographic (China, Japan, US, ASEAN, India)

Have over 15 years experience in people and organization development in R&D

Personally, I am married with one daughter.  I love travel, cooking, Yoga and flower arrangement

What is really important to me is 1). Maintaining work/family balance, 2). Doing what I like to do and getting personal growth throughout the work and 3) making a difference to those who I can impact to.