Speaker Categories: Sustainable Finance

Siti Maryam Yaakub

Senior Director, Conservation International

Dr. Siti Maryam Yaakub, Senior Director of the International Blue Carbon Institute at Conservation International, leads the institute’s global efforts in translating blue carbon science into tools and methodologies for climate mitigation and adaptation. Based in Singapore, she spearheads initiatives aimed at fostering multidisciplinary expertise and cultivating a resource hub for knowledge exchange.

Siti is a marine ecologist and works across tropical marine and coastal habitats. Her work and research interests broadly lie in the areas of ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions for adaptation and mitigation in marine environments. Within this, she is specifically interested in using seagrass habitats as a model system for understanding ecological thresholds to stress, ecosystem resilience, and the effects of human activities and climate change on the marine environment.

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.

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).

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.

Mary Ann Tsao

Chairwoman, Tsao Foundation

Dr Mary Ann Tsao is the Chair of the Tsao Family Office, which aims to deploy all its assets for impact through their investments and philanthropy. She is also the Vice Chair for the newly established Tsao family foundation as well as the Chairwoman and Founding Director of the Tsao (Ng Yu Shun) Foundation, a Singapore-based, but regionally oriented operational foundation. Established in 1993, the Tsao Foundation is dedicated to issues of population ageing, successful longevity and the well being of older people. Dr Tsao also serves on numerous boards and committees, and is currently a Board Director of Lausanne-based Family Business Network (FBN) International as well as a trustee for Wellesley College, her Alma mater. She’s a frequent speaker on philanthropy, family office as well as population ageing and longevity. For her work on ageing, Mary Ann has received numerous national and international awards, including being named by WHO in 2022 as one of the first fifty global pioneers working to make the world a better place for older people. She is an US-trained paediatrician with a public health background.

曹慰德 Chavalit Frederick Tsao

Chairman, TPC (Tsao Pao Chee)

Chavalit Frederick Tsao is the fourth-generation steward of TPC (Tsao Pao Chee), a family business with more than 120 years of history, established in the late 1800s during the Qing Dynasty. He was born in Hong Kong, China, and after completing his education at the University of Michigan, Chavalit joined the family business at the age of 20 and became the chairman at the age of 37. He also served as the chairman of Intercargo, where he established innovative platforms to promote collaboration within the maritime sector.

Chavalit’s background and experience gave him unique insights into global sustainability challenges and founded East West Cultural Development Centre in 1995 to research this topic. He discovered that integrating ancient wisdom and modern science creates a holistic approach to cultivating leadership for this era.

曹慰德是曹宝记（TPC）第四代掌门人，曹宝记（TPC）是曹氏家族于19世纪末期的清朝创立的品牌，已拥有超过120年跨越四代的传承历史。曹慰德出生成长于中国香港，自美国密歇根大学毕业后，于20岁时加入了家族企业，并于37岁时接管了家族企业。他亦曾任国际干散货船东协会（Intercargo）的主席，通过搭建创新平台促进海事领域内的合作。

历经深刻的文化浸润，曹慰德的人生阅历让他得以洞察全球可持续性挑战的解决方案，他于1995年成立了东西方文化发展中心并深入此课题的研究。他发现，培养服务幸福时代的领导力需要将古老东方智慧与现代科学相结合，构建一套整体体系。

Khanh Tran

Managing Partner, Touchstone Partners

Khanh Tran is driven by a mission to empower visionary founders who are building real solutions to Vietnam’s most pressing challenges. As the son of a brilliant engineer-turned-entrepreneur, Khanh grew up witnessing the obstacles of doing business in an emerging market—especially the barriers that prevent talented individuals from accessing capital and support. He came to believe that talent and technology alone are not enough; a more inclusive and purpose-driven financial ecosystem is essential for innovation and long-term prosperity.  

With a deep commitment to impact, Khanh focuses on enabling startups that are transforming Vietnam’s critical sectors such as education, healthcare, supply chains, and sustainable climate solutions through digital innovation. He also aspires to play a pioneering role in building a full continuum of capital in Vietnam—from grants and philanthropic funding, to early-stage risk capital, growth-stage financing, and eventually listing pathways—ensuring that entrepreneurs have access to the right resources at every stage of their journey.  

Khanh was previously Head of Technology Investment at VinaCapital, after years of experience at Goldman Sachs, Grab, and GoBear. He holds a BEng and MSc in from the University of Nottingham and an MBA from INSEAD.  

Axel Tan

Director, Investments, OCTAVE Capital

Axel has over 12 years of experience deploying venture investments in transport, logistics, agrifood tech, wellbeing, and sustainability. He has built venture capital teams from the bottom up, designing strategies to enable family offices, corporates, and ecosystem partners to seek transformative innovation.

Prior to joining OCTAVE Capital as Investment Director, Axel was Venture Partner at IMC Ventures and set up the Octave Wellbeing Economy Fund, where he oversaw investments across the maritime, logistics, and wellbeing sectors. Earlier in his career, Axel founded Momentum Venture Capital, a transport-focused corporate VC arm where he built a global portfolio of investments. This maiden fund found success in IPO and early exits, as well as joint ventures, new business formation, and an industry-wide innovation platform.

Axel actively supports the startup ecosystem as a mentor, angel investor, and panellist in venture and innovation forums.

He holds an Executive MBA from INSEAD and Tsinghua University.

Kimberly Tan

Managing Director & Head of Investments, GenZero

Kimberly serves as Managing Director and Head of Investments at GenZero, where she oversees the firm’s investment activities and leads portfolio construction and investment strategy to achieve dual goals of positive climate impact and long-term sustainable financial returns. She is also a member of GenZero’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining GenZero, Kimberly spent twelve years at Temasek International, focusing on investments in the transportation and logistics sector. During her tenure there, she helped build a multi-billion global logistics portfolio. With a particular focus on China and Southeast Asia, she led deal origination and execution, resulting in notable investments including LF Logistics and ZTO Express, market leaders in various parts of the e-commerce logistics value chain. She also played a key role in landmark transactions involving core Singapore transportation assets which required complex technical execution and broad-based stakeholder management.

Ann Tan

Managing Director (Asia), Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth Singapore (CSP SG)

As the Managing Director of CSP Singapore, Ann’s focus is driving the CSP strategic vision, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence, and cultivating vital partnerships to elevate CSP Singapore’s position within the sustainable finance industry.

With over two decades of expertise in financial and life planning in addition to sales management, Ann specializes in crafting tailored strategies for high-net-worth individuals and families, while also nurturing the growth of top-tier industry talent.

As an ICF ACC and Gallup Strengths Coach, Ann empowers clients to embrace their individuality, seamlessly integrating personal values with professional goals. With her steadfast guidance, Ann empowers individuals to seize their future with unparalleled clarity, authenticity, and unwavering resolve.