Speaker Categories: Partnerships

Dorji Yangki

Director of the Office of the Governor, Gelephu Mindfulness City Authority

Dorji Yangki is the Managing Director of the Office of the Governor of Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), Bhutan’s Special Administrative Region established under Royal Charter in 2023. One of Bhutan’s first female architects, she brings over three decades of experience in public service, academia, and private practice in Bhutan and abroad.
A former Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Dorji is a strong advocate for climate-resilient and biophilic design rooted in Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness values. She helped establish Bhutan’s first national heritage conservation office and led major restoration projects, including Taktsang Monastery and Semtokha Dzong. She also authored Bhutan’s first Green Building Guidelines and drafted the national Architecture Guidelines, now adopted nationwide.
Dorji has been a leader in advancing architecture in Bhutan and the region, serving as the first elected President of the Bhutan Institute of Architects and the first female Chair of the South Asian Association of Architects (SAARCH). She studied architecture in Australia and has trained internationally in Japan, France, Norway, the Netherlands, India, the USA, and the UK.

Britt Yamamoto

Founder, Perennial

Dr. Britt Yamamoto is an entrepreneur, author, and educator whose work weaves together
agricultural wisdom, human well-being, and the evolving nature of leadership in a complex
world. His approach was shaped in the fields of California and the farmlands of Japan, where he
came to understand that many of life’s essential truths—patience, care, adaptability—are found
in living soil.

For over three decades, Britt has worked across the globe, designing and leading programs that
cultivate reflection, connection, and transformation. As the entrepreneur behind Perennial and
RootSpring, he has supported hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in building the inner
capacity and relational depth needed to live with greater purpose—responding to the demands
of today while nurturing the conditions for a more regenerative future.

His international best-selling book, The Soil of Leadership: Cultivating the Conditions for
Transformation, and his forthcoming work, The Hyakusho Way: Japanese Wisdom for a
Flourishing Life, offer a grounded philosophy and practical path for those seeking a more
expansive, rooted, and abundant way of being.

A Fulbright scholar with a PhD in Geography, Britt also serves as Clinical Associate Professor at
the University of Washington, where he continues to teach and mentor global changemakers
committed to a more connected and humane future.

Qiyun Woo

Founder, The Weird and Wild, 2024 Global Citizen Youth Leader

Qiyun Woo is an environmental communicator and the creator of The Weird and Wild, a visual medium that makes climate science accessible through comics and visual elements. She uses comics, videos, and social media to make scientific concepts, policies, and information accessible to a digital audience. The work of Woo has gained traction, and she has been featured in major news outlets such as Grazia, WWD, Vogue, and L’Officiel, as well as local media outlets such as The Straits Times and Channel News Asia. She has also been named a National Geographic Young Explorer by National Geographic. As a Singaporean climate activist who uses creative storytelling with a passion for making climate science understandable, Woo is passionate about science communication and loves telling stories about complex issues.

Brian Wong

HKU-100 Assistant Professor in Philosophy, University of Hong Kong

Dr. Brian Wong is a HKU-100 Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. His research examines the ethics and dynamics of authoritarian regimes and their foreign policies, historical and colonial injustices, and the intersection of geopolitics, political and moral philosophy, and technology. His writings on Chinese political economy, Asian geopolitics, and public philosophy have been featured in publications such as TIME, Foreign Policy, Aeon, Financial Times, Diplomat, Fortune, The Hindu, South China Morning Post, Nikkei, Japan Times, and the US-Asia Law Institute. He has also been interviewed by BBC, CNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, and CGTN for his views on Chinese foreign policy.

Claire Wong

Executive Director, DBS Foundation

With a career spanning public sector economic development, banking and philanthropy, Claire is the Team Lead at the DBS Foundation. DBS Foundation uplifts lives and livelihoods of vulnerable communities by catalysing the growth of businesses to spark solutions to complex problems. Prior to this role, she spent more than 7 years with the Singapore Economic Development Board, involved in industry development in Singapore and as the Centre Director in Washington DC. Subsequently, she moved into consulting and then corporate banking for the energy sector.

Claire has a BSc (Economics) from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an MPhil (Economics) from the Christ College, University of Cambridge.

Gita Wirjawan

Former Minister of Trade of Indonesia (2011-2014)

Gita Wirjawan is founding partner of Ikhlas Capital and the chairman of Ancora Group, an Indonesian business group with interests in real estate, natural resources, arts and technology, which he founded in 2007.

His public service has included positions as Indonesia’s minister of trade (2011–2014), chairman of its Investment Coordinating Board (2009–2011), and chair of a 159-nation WTO ministerial conference in 2012 that focused on easing global trade barriers. He led his country’s national badminton association from 2012 to 2016, when Indonesia won 3 gold medals at the World Championships, four titles at the All England Championships, and one gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

As an investment banker, he has held key appointments at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, where he led many mergers, corporate restructuring, corporate financing and strategic sales involving leading companies in Southeast Asia. His various board roles included service as a commissioner of the state-owned oil giant, Pertamina, and an independent board director of Axiata Group Berhad.

Gita hosts the educational podcast “Endgame”, focused on the region to promote Southeast Asia’s growth and prosperity. He is a visiting scholar with Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy, researching Southeast Asia’s nation-building directionality. Additionally, he is a member of the Angsana Council, a non-profit group dedicated to boosting the region’s businesses and economies, and global advisory firm Macro Advisory Partners.

His degrees are from the Harvard Kennedy School (MPA), Baylor University (MBA), and the University of Texas at Austin (BSc).

Bradford Willis

Senior Associate, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

Bradford M. Willis is a Senior Associate at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. He focuses on integrated policy and financing strategies to accelerate the transition of energy, industry, and natural resource systems around the world. Most recently, he was a Special Advisor to the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, where he focused on developing sustainable investment mechanisms, shaping regional transition pathways, and bridging public-private action to unlock and scale just, climate-aligned economic transformation.

He began his career working on energy transition and net zero related topics for major utilities and energy service providers across North America, Europe, the Middle East, & Africa. In 2021, He began working with the World Economic Forum’s Transitioning Industrial Clusters Initiative supporting the regional decarbonization of hard-to-abate industry. In the lead up to COP28, he was Seconded to the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions to lead their Clean Power & Green Hydrogen before transitioning to high-level advisory on cross-sectoral breakthrough targets for key industries and enabling policy/finance mechanisms.

He now advises private sector leaders, national and subnational governments, and multilateral organizations on the structural shifts needed to align investment, infrastructure, and policy with 21st-century climate and development goals. He works across industries, geographies, and intersecting spheres of political and economic influence to bridge sustainable development, finance, and global polycrisis responses.

魏巍 Wei Wei

Chairman, Vision Education Group

2021年创建愿景教育集团，通过推动商业向善，在托育、早教、融合教育、职业培训等领域为城市儿童、流动儿童、特殊需求儿童提供托育与养育服务。

曾担任瑞银慈善基金会亚洲区主管，开创该集团在中国的慈善管理业务，为多家家族基金会提供慈善管理服务；儿童乐益会中国主管与国际计划中国区项目总监。分别为这两个机构制定机构战略发展规划，并负责规划的实施，包括筹款、政府关系、人力资源发展等工作，资助并参与管理了教育、生计、卫生、健康等领域的百余个项目，项目覆盖十六个省市。

魏巍拥有二十年年的中国公益领域机构发展与项目管理经验，在组织机构能力建设方面亦颇有建树，为国内多家非公募基金会以及非营利机构提供战略规划、项目管理、筹款等方面的咨询与支持，通过中国基金会秘书长培训网络，培训了超过两百家基金会的秘书长与高级管理人员。

魏巍持有斯坦福大学经济学学士学位及西方古典学学士学位。

Wei founded the Vision Education Group to provide early childhood care and development services to inclusive education to children, including migrant children and children with special needs. Prior to Vision, Wei joined the UBS Optimus Foundation as its Director in Asia in 2013 and launched its philanthropy management services for family foundations in the region. Wei has more than twenty years of experience in social development and philanthropy in China. As the China Director of Right To Play, Wei built the organization as a leading child development agency in China with programs in sixteen provinces for children in poverty and initiated one of the largest early childhood care and development program in the country. Wei built strong partnerships with more than twenty multinational and Chinese businesses, and provided capacity building services to many local NGOs. Wei co-founded five microfinance institutions in rural China and sits on the board of several local NGOs. Wei also worked as the Program Director of Plan International in China and Senior Program Officer in Pact. 

David Watt

Programme Director, ClimateLaunchpad, Climate KIC

David Watt is the Programme Director of ClimateLaunchpad, the world’s largest green business ideas competition. With over a decade of experience leading sustainability, entrepreneurship, and innovation programmes across Europe and Australia, he focuses on enabling climate-positive start-ups to grow and thrive. Passionate about people and the planet, David is a connector of ideas and partnerships, driving measurable impact against climate change.

Duncan Ward

Co-founder & Managing Director, TransEnergy Global

Proud Dad, Group Managing Director, Co-Founder Revolve Group, TransEnergy Global, Block Solutions Indonesia, Founder of Classroom of Hope Charity.

Duncan is an accomplished social entrepreneur with a 27-year career spanning global sectors like corporate mining, technology, international development, disaster relief, circular economy, carbon credits, renewable energy, and not-for-profit ventures. His unwavering commitment to effecting positive change in communities defines his work. Duncan has raised over $10m in Philanthropy and $14m in Impact Investment for his ventures.

In 2012, Duncan founded Classroom of Hope, a charity building over 122 schools in Southeast Asia, East Africa, benefiting 32,500 students. His dedication to enhancing educational opportunities is a personal passion.

Duncan is recognized for his expertise as a social entrepreneur, building impact businesses combating climate change while serving developing nations. He’s been named among Australia’s top 25 influential individuals and won the prestigious IMPACT 25 award in 2020.

Accolades include the 2013 APAC Talent Unleashed Impact award from Sir Richard Branson and a 2016 Business News award for contributions to Classroom of Hope.

Presently, Duncan co-founded three businesses and serves as a Group Managing Director and Board member for TransEnergy Global. Through Block Solutions Indonesia, his leadership introduced block technology, building the first new block factory globally and schools and toilets from recycled plastic waste, reconstructing 100+ classrooms and 40 toilets with plans for 370 classrooms and 400 toilets by 2026. Duncan has since hired an Indonesian CEO to manage the business.

Through Revolve Group, Duncan and business partner Brad Moreland provide advisory and executive services to impact businesses.

TransEnergy Global pioneers an energy transition through coal to clean energy carbon credit projects in South Africa. They acquire a coal reserve, keeping it in the ground for 100 years, and then invest in providing clean renewable energy to South African communities. A large portion of the carbon credits will fund social impact programs in energy security, biodiversity and green economy education to help reduce poverty and create jobs.

Having collaborated with Governments, International organisations and made media appearances on global outlets like CNN and ABC, Duncan’s journey showcases his dedication to impactful initiatives worldwide. He remains committed to driving positive change for people and the planet. “Do good and have fun along the way”