Steward Leadership Summit 2024

Ms Asha Gupta

Regional President, Asia & Chief Strategy & Corporate Development Officer, Amway

Prof Arnoud De Meyer

Chairman, Stewardship Asia Centre

Professor De Meyer is a global academic leader with more than 35 years of experience in top academic institutions in Europe and Asia. Until December 2018, he served as President of Singapore Management University (SMU). Before joining SMU, Professor De Meyer was from 2006 until 2010 Director (Dean) of the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge.

Earlier on he was a faculty member at INSEAD and assumed several management positions, among others as founding dean of INSEAD’s Asia campus in Singapore. He has additionally been an Independent Director of various international companies and non-profit organisations. He is currently Independent Director of Viva Energy Pty Ltd, Banyan Tree Holdings Limited and upGrad Tech Pte Ltd.

Professor De Meyer is an internationally recognised researcher in the areas of Research & Development and Innovation Management, Manufacturing Strategy and International Management. He has published more than 100 academic articles and 12 books. His most recent books are “Ecosystem Edge: Sustaining Competitiveness in the Face of Disruption” (Stanford Business Press) and “Building Excellence in Higher Education: Singapore’s Experience” (Routledge).

Mr Bey Soo Khiang

Vice-Chairman, RGE; Chairman, APRIL Group

Since 2011, Mr Bey Soo Khiang has served as the Vice-Chairman of RGE and Chairman of APRIL Group. At RGE, he oversees all its business groups in areas such as sustainability, continuous improvement, and digital transformation.

As the Chairman of APRIL Group, Mr Bey Soo Khiang actively guides APRIL Group’s operations in Indonesia on matters relating to fiber plantations and manufacturing operations.

He is also the Executive Adviser of Tanoto Foundation, where he provides counsel and management on critical matters affecting longer-term strategic direction of the Foundation.

Before joining RGE, Soo Khiang spent 11 years in Singapore Airlines (SIA) holding positions in Technical/Operations areas as well as in Human Resources. He held key appointments such as Chairman of SIA Cargo Pte Ltd, Chairman of Silkair Pte Ltd, Chairman of Singapore Flying College, and Board Member of Virgin Atlantic Limited.

A former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) overseas scholar, Soo Khiang made significant contributions in transforming the RSAF into a modern and advanced air force as Chief of Air Force. He assumed the top post as Singapore’s Chief of Defence Force (CDF) from 1995-2000 and played an instrumental role in defence diplomacy by strengthening and expanding ties between the SAF and other armed forces around the world.

While serving as the CDF, he was also appointed as a member of the Board of Directors for Singapore Technologies Engineering and Singapore Airlines Limited.

Mr Lim holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Naval Architecture from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.

Ms Jessica Cheam

Founder & Managing Director, Eco-Business

Dr Kiran Bedi

Founder, India Vision Foundation Former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry

• An Asian tennis champion.
• Winner of gallantry award
• Winner of Magsaysay Award also known as Asia’s Nobel Peace Award.
• Has a biopic on her life called Yes Madam Sir. Made by an Australian.
• Founded two Foundations, Navjyoti and India Vision Foundation which serve the
• underprivileged in rural-urban areas and in prisons for the last 30 years.

Ms Lin Suling

Senior Columnist, The Straits Times

Ms Pamela Chng

Co-Founder & CEO, Bettr

Mr Patrick Daniel

Director, SPH Media Trust

Mr Patrick Daniel had a three-decade career with Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). He joined SPH in October 1986 as a writer and retired in August 2018 after stints as Deputy CEO and Editor-in-Chief. He also chaired several SPH subsidiaries, including SPH magazines and SPH Radio.

Mr Daniel is currently Non-executive Chairman of the ShareInvestor Group after participating in a management buyout from SPH in November 2018. He also serves on the boards of Sembcorp Marine Ltd and EHL (Ecole Hotelier Lausanne) Singapore. He chairs Verdant.sg, his investment holding company.

Mr Daniel graduated from University College, Oxford, in 1976 with an honours degree in Engineering Sciences and Economics. He has a Master of Public Adminstration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Mr Rajeev Peshawaria

CEO, Stewardship Asia Centre

Rejecting platitudes and theoretical models, Rajeev combines 22 years of global Fortune 100 experience with research-based insights to provide unique and practical approaches to personal leadership, ethics, governance, sustainable business growth, and stewardship. A sought-after speaker and consultant, he is the CEO of Stewardship Asia Centre, Singapore, and President of Leadership Energy Consulting, Seattle, WA, USA.

Author of the Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestseller Open Source Leadership (McGraw Hill), Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders (Simon & Schuster), Sustainable Sustainability (Penguin Random House), co-author of Be the Change (McGraw Hill) and a regular contributor for Forbes, he constantly challenges conventional wisdom on leadership, management, stewardship, sustainability, and corporate governance.  He has pioneered unique practical concepts such as Leadership Energy and Emotional Integrity for personal growth, the Brains-Bones-Nerves model for enterprise leadership, and the Steward Leadership model for driving sustainable business growth in the 21st century.

Rajeev is a high-energy, inspirational speaker who provides coaching, consulting and advisory services to corporate and public sector clients globally. He also serves as guest faculty at leading US, Europe and Asia business schools.  He has been widely featured in international media such as CNN, Bloomberg TV & Radio, National Public Radio, Harvard Business Review, CNBC, Fast Company, Leader to Leader, American Management Association magazine, Leadership Excellence magazine, The Times of India, The Straits Times, Business Times, and many more.

Before joining SAC and starting LEC, he was the CEO of the Iclif Leadership & Governance Centre.  He was formerly the Chief Learning Officer of Coca-Cola and Morgan Stanley and has also held senior positions at American Express, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs. At Goldman, Rajeev helped found Pine Street − the firm’s acclaimed leadership academy − and headed Pine Street for Europe and Asia. In his early career, he was a banker and currency trader.

In 2014 and 2017, he was named one of the Top 100 Global Thought Leaders for Trustworthy Business by ‘Trust Across America.’  

A few of Rajeev’s videos and articles can be found on the links below:

1. CNBC Interview
2. Overview
3. Interview on CNN’s Quest Means Business
4. Forbes Article: Will G Save Us from E and S Challenges
5. TED Talk
6. TED Talk

Mr Shai Ganu

Managing Director; Global Leader – Executive Compensation & Board Advisory, WTW

Shai Ganu is passionate about embedding ESG priorities, building better boards, combating climate change, and driving behavioural change through innovative incentives and human capital governance.

Shai is the Global Leader for WTW’s Executive Compensation & Board Advisory business. He leads a team of over 500 exceptional consultants, across 40 countries, who are trusted advisors to clients on issues related to board and executive compensation, performance management and incentives, board effectiveness, organisation design, culture transformation, and human-capital governance.

Based in Singapore, Shai has extensive experience working closely with the Boards and management teams of some of the largest companies in Asia Pacific and globally. He is a trusted advisor to more than a hundred Boards, Remuneration Committees, Nomination Committees, and Sustainability Committees.

Shai is a member of the Governing Board of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and chairs its ESG Committee. He is faculty member at NED associations in the region – and teaches courses related on Remuneration, Nomination, Talent Management, and ESG matters.

He also serves on the boards of leading companies and not-for-profits in the region and chairs the HR and Compensation committees. He is a member of the Global Governing Board of Climate Governance Initiative (CGI); and is a co-founding member of the Singapore chapter and ASEAN network. He was recently inducted into the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Climate Governance Global Community of Experts.

Dr Stephen Cave

Director of the Institute for Technology and Humanity, University of Cambridge

Mr Sunil Puri

Senior Vice President, Research & Engagement

Sunil leads the Research and Engagement team. He is responsible for research and thought leadership, and he designs educational programmes, events, toolkits and frameworks.

Prior to joining SAC, Sunil was a Senior Director, Research, Innovation and Product Development with Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in Singapore and India, where he led the development of new products (events, programs, tools) based on research, partner with clients as a leadership subject-matter expert and develop annual research agenda with global stakeholders to execute research initiatives. Between 2014 and 2016, he was the Head of Research & Insights with Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI), where he led Pan-Asia research initiatives on “Asian leader development”, facilitate programs for senior business and HR leaders. He also worked as an Independent Consultant in India for a few years and was with CEB India (now Gartner) in India and USA for 8 years. 

Sunil graduated with a Master of Technology in Energy Studies from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. He also has an Executive MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He has authored several research studies and wrote articles for Economic Times, The Business Times and Harvard Business Review.

Ms Tai Sook Yee

Advisory Board Director, OCTAVE Institute

Sook Yee is a senior business executive with close to 40 years of experience spanning the profession, governance, corporate, investments, strategies and, for most parts of her career, leading businesses with vast geographical operations. Having worked for family businesses and multinationals with bases in Malaysia, USA, United Kingdom, Mexico, Singapore, and China, she has learnt to be culturally attuned.

She is an experienced non-executive independent board member who has chaired the audit and risk committee and nomination and remuneration committee of listed entities in Australia and Malaysia. In these positions, she has proactively contributed to the growth and flourishing of the companies while fulfilling her governance role.

For most of her career, Sook Yee held business leadership positions. She was the chief operating officer of a new lifestyle business in China and, before that, the group managing director of a large industrial group with operations spanning 16 countries and more than 10,000 employees. Its businesses include integrated transport logistics, shipping, marine & offshore engineering, and resources that provide solutions for industrialisation needs. Before that, she headed the Malaysian operation of a global heavy building materials group, where she broke new ground when she was appointed as its first female and Asian country head. By training, Sook Yee started her career as an accountant, specialising in audits of financial institutions, and subsequently as a corporate finance advisor with a merchant bank.

Sook Yee has seen through the economic bear and bull runs, the regional financial crisis in 1997, and the global shipping and resources boom and bust in the 2000s. These experiences have taught her that technology enables business innovation and drives its cycles shorter. There is no space for gradual change. Instead, there is a demand for leadership transformation. She believes this era requires the cultivation of human beings to guide human doing. This resilience and adaptability are the cornerstones of her leadership and flourishing. She is a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has certificates in Family Business Advising (CFBA) and Family Business Wealth Advising (CFWA).

Mr Tan Chong Meng

Board Director, Temasek Holdings

Dr Vinika D. Rao

Executive Director, INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute, Gender Initiative & Africa Initiative; Asia Director, INSEAD Hoffmann Global Institute for Business & Society

Dr Vinika D. Rao is Executive Director, INSEAD Africa Initiative & Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society, Asia. She is also Adjunct Professor, Singapore Management University. She sits on several Boards and Advisory Boards, including TiE Singapore, European Women on Boards, LiveWithAI, Nine by 9, and Hearth Ventures. She advises & trains global organizations on Diversity & Inclusion and Sustainability initiatives. She is also Ambassador, Power Women of India; International Advisory Committee, Mody University for Women & SP Jain Return to Work Programme; Ambassador, She2030 (Europe) and Advisory Council, Board MatchUp (Asia).

Vinika’s research is in diversity & inclusion in leadership, allyship and inter-generational influences on the future of work. She is frequently invited to speak on related topics and is quoted/ published in leading business publications. She started her career with an MNC bank and went on to become Managing Director of an Asian conglomerate, before making a serendipitous transition to education. Prior to joining INSEAD she was Associate Professor of Strategy at S.P. Jain School of Global Management. She has taught MBA, EMBA and UG students and conducted specialised programmes for corporate clients. She is an alumna of INSEAD (International Directors Programme), Singapore Management University (DBA, award-winning doctorate in leadership diversity), IIM Bangalore (MBA), and has completed various business management programs at INSEAD and CEIBS.

Vinika believes that business has the potential to be a force for good, led by managers who value social impact and are committed to the UN Sustainability Development Goals. She is passionate about supporting women managers to make fulfilling work-life decisions, aiming to do this through active sponsorship rather than mentorship alone. She strives to engage all genders in the effort to foster DEI in their organizations and communities.