Keynote: D&I in Transformation

In this session, we present a series of perspectives on how approaches to D&I in Asia have developed and transformed over the last decade. Established thought leaders share their valuable insights from the region and look ahead to highlight what is going to be important in the D&I field in the future.

Presented by: Fontaine Lui, Mercer (Hong Kong) Limited

Fontaine Lui joined Mercer in 2015 and has over 25 years of experience in financial services Human Resources.  She has held HR Leadership roles such as Senior Vice President/Human Resources for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Head of HR for Global Institutional Equities for J.P. Morgan, Director of HR for Morgan Stanley. Fontaine has also spent six years of her career as Senior Consultant with McLagan Partners.Since joining Mercer as Principal Consultant, Fontaine’s focus is to assist clients on how strategic changes can be implemented in the “real-world”, especially post-mergers where she thoroughly understood business challenges in attracting, motivating and retaining talents during times of change gained from her actual experience from two of the largest mergers (J.P. Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch). Fontaine has a Bachelor of Arts from Macquarie University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Surrey.

Presented by: Brian Reaves, Dell

Brian Reaves is the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of Dell, responsible for Dell’s global diversity and inclusion initiatives. In this role, he partners with leaders and team members across the organisation to deepen and advance Dell’s culture of inclusion as a fundamental business imperative.

Brian is an experienced technology executive with a track record of success in advancing diversity and inclusion within the tech industry. Prior to joining Dell, Brian was a Senior Vice President (SVP) within SAP’s Office of the CEO organisation, where he led Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiatives for the company. In that role, Brian focused on the development and implementation of D&I strategies and tactics that drove sustainable business value. While at SAP, Brian was the key innovator for two of SAP’s major diversity initiatives: Project Propel which provided trainings on the latest technologies to a variety of groups, including Minority Service Institutions (MSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); and Project Dream which aimed to increase exposure of SAP products to a more diverse range of consumers.

Over the past 30 years, Brian has held senior executive software development and management roles in a number of industries/technology sectors including cloud computing, supply chain, healthcare, finance, telecommunications and utilities.

Brian began his career as a software developer at Xerox Corporation and had the opportunity to participate in ground-breaking technology innovation at locations across the globe including the Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC) which is well known for key innovations including laser printing, Ethernet, the modern personal computer and object-oriented programming. Brian’s passions include design thinking, international travel and professional/amateur sports. Brian holds a B.S. in Mathematics/Computer Science from UCLA and grew up in the South-Central Los Angeles area. 

Presented by: Kate Okrasinski, MAKE Studios

Kate Okrasinski is an innovation and strategic design specialist. She is deeply interested in human-centred design and has a passion for working with complex systems in challenging environments. She integrates leadership development, co-design techniques and agile practices to bring end users and service providers along the personal journey of organisational transformation.