Tak Niinami is President and CEO of Suntory Holdings, one of the world’s leading consumer products companies with operations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Mr. Niinami spent the first 20 years of his career at Mitsubishi Corp., where he held a number of management positions and founded Sodex Corp. (now LEOC Co.), a hospital food service joint venture between Mitsubishi and Sodexo of France, ultimately taking the company public in 1999. Prior to joining Suntory in 2014, Mr. Niinami was CEO of Lawson, Inc., which he grew into one of Asia’s major convenience store operators.
Outside of Suntory, Mr. Niinami has served on the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy as senior economic advisor to the Prime Minister since 2014, the longest-serving business leader in Japan. He has served for former Prime Ministers Abe and Suga, and the incumbent Prime Minister Kishida. He also represents Japanese corporate executives as Chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives.
Mr. Niinami is also Asia Pacific Chairman of the Trilateral Commission, Chair of the Asia Business Council, Vice Chair of the United States-Japan Foundation, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations, and The Business Council in the United States.
Mr. Niinami received his M.B.A. with distinction from Harvard Business School.
Arif P. Rachmat oversees Triputra Group, a private holding company with significant investments in various publicly-listed companies including ADRO, ADMR energy groups, TAPG, DSNG, KMTR agriculture groups, ASSA mobility, logistic groups including Anteraja and Autopedia, DRMA autoparts manufacturing, JV STT Data Centre, ESSA Ammonia, LNG, as well as privately owned companies such as Daya automotive group and Family Office.
Mr. Rachmat serves as the Vice Chairman of Asia Business Council, SMU IAC in Indonesia, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Indonesia Business Association for Agriculture. He served as Food Security Leader at ASEAN-BAC 2023, Chair for Trade and Investment at B20 2022, Co-Chair for Global Value Chain at B20 2023, as well as Chair for Endeavor Indonesia in from 2020-to 2024. He is an active member of the Board of Trustees of Singapore Management University, Indonesia Business Council, Prasetiya Mulya University, The Nature Conservancy Indonesia, and the Partnership for Indonesia’s Sustainable Agriculture. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Advisors at Asia Partners and Growtheum Private Equities.
In philanthropy and stewardship, he serves as Chairman of the GK Indonesia Foundation and Executive Board member of Temasek Foundation Health and Education. He is a member of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum as well as YPO. Mr. Rachmat graduated cum laude with Master’s and B.S. degrees in operations research and industrial engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Upon graduation, he worked for General Electric Co. in the U.S. and globally in various leadership roles including Six Sigma and Corporate Audit Staff.
Jason Chen has been Chairman and CEO of Acer Inc. since 2017. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Chen served as Corporate President and CEO, during which time he played a pivotal role in driving Acer’s corporate transformation and diversification into new business areas.
Before joining Acer, Mr. Chen served at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., first as Vice President of corporate development beginning in 2005, and later as Senior Vice President of worldwide sales and marketing beginning in 2008.
From 1991 to 2005 Mr. Chen enjoyed a 14-year career at Intel, holding a variety of progressively senior sales and marketing positions. He began at Intel as a sales executive in Taiwan and later served as regional sales manager for greater China, before becoming Vice President and General Manager of the Asia-Pacific region. His last assignment at Intel was as Corporate Vice President of the sales and marketing group, based in the U.S. headquarters.
Mr. Chen holds an M.B.A degree from the University of Missouri.
Cheng Wai Keung is Chairman and Managing Director of Wing Tai Holdings Ltd. He also holds directorships at a number of companies both locally and overseas. He is the Chairman of Singapore Health Services Pte. Ltd., Deputy Chairman of Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., Vice Chairman of Singapore-Suzhou Township Development Pte. Ltd., and Director of MOH Holdings Pte. Ltd. He also serves as an Advisor to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Singapore and sits on the Board of Supervisors of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Development Group Co. (People’s Republic of China). He has chaired the boards of power, utilities, media, and broadcasting companies, as well as multinational corporations engaged in global shipping and logistics and international hospitality businesses. He has also been involved with grassroots organizations for nearly 30 years. Mr. Cheng was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DUBC) by the government of Singapore in August 2007 and received the Public Service Star (Bar) in 1997 and the Public Service Star in 1987. He was appointed Justice of the Peace by the President of the Republic of Singapore and served from 2000 to 2020. He was awarded the Alumni Service Medal in 2006 by the University of Chicago, from which he graduated with an M.B.A. in 1973. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University in 1971.
Chey Tae-won serves as the Chairman of SK Group. He oversees the 198 companies primarily focused on the semiconductors, telecommunications, energy, materials, and bio-pharmaceutical industries, and that comprised SK Group, as of 2023. He began his career in 1991 as Managing Director at Yukong Ltd., now known as SK Innovation, and was appointed Chairman and CEO of SK Group in 1998.
Mr. Chey continues to expand the group, which had combined sales of $150 billion in 2022, beyond the Asia-Pacific region. SK was ranked 92nd in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest enterprises in 2023.
Mr. Chey also chairs the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, and the Korea Handball Federation.
Mr. Chey holds a Bachelor’s degree in physics from Korea University and undertook postgraduate work in economics at the University of Chicago.
Dinh Ba Thanh is the founder, Group Chairman, and CEO of DatVietVAC Group Holdings. Established in 1993, it is now Vietnam’s largest media entertainment technology group, covering two main businesses: media and entertainment, and digital ventures.
DatVietVAC’s media and entertainment business has three pillars. The first pillar is content provision, which creates, acquires, and distributes international and Vietnamese content and manages Vietnam’s largest portfolio of celebrities, influencers, and creators. It is estimated that each Vietnamese watches its content at least once a day. The second pillar is media platform ownership, which includes a network of nationwide TV channels and out-of-home properties. The third pillar is communication services, which connects brands with audiences through creative initiatives, brand strategy, strategic media, and planning and digital marketing services.
DatVietVAC’s digital ventures business is also making its mark in Vietnam with the recent launch of its own video streaming platform, VieON. A collaboration with BCG Digital Ventures, VieON became the most downloaded app in Vietnam within a week of its launch. The digital ventures business also offers an online entertainment platform, AI and big data services, and various marketplaces.
DatVietVAC has been consistently recognized as a market and community leader. It was named one of the top 25 global growth companies by the World Economic Forum and was listed in the Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2020.
Mr. Dinh serves as Chairman of the Board of Eastspring Investments Vietnam Navigator Fund and is an International Board Member cum Chairman of the Chief Executive Organization in Vietnam.
Charles Li is Founder and Chairman of Micro Connect. He was most recently Chief Executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (“HKEX”) from January 2010 to December 2020. During this time, he orchestrated some of the most significant strategic initiatives in HKEX’s history, including the acquisition of the London Metal Exchange in 2012, the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect cross-border trading scheme in 2014, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2016, the Bond Connect in 2017, and the Listing Reforms in 2018. Prior to joining HKEX in 2009, Mr. Li served as Chairman of J.P. Morgan China from 2003 to 2009 and worked at Merrill Lynch from 1994 to 2003, where he served as President of Merrill Lynch China from 1999 to 2003. Earlier in his career, Mr. Li practiced law at Brown & Wood and Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York.
Mr. Li also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Asia Business Council.
He holds a B.A. in English literature from Xiamen University, an M.A. in journalism from the University of Alabama, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.
Federico R. Lopez is Chairman and CEO of First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH), First Gen Corp., and Energy Development Corp. (EDC). First Gen and EDC are publicly listed power generation companies that supply clean and indigenous energy and are part of the FPH portfolio. Mr. Lopez is currently the Vice Chairman of Rockwell Land Corp. and sits on the Board of ABS-CBN Corp. He is the Chairman of the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation and the Sikat Solar Challenge Foundation. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation and the Forest Foundation Philippines. He is a member of the World Presidents’ Organization, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra International Advisory Board, the ASEAN Business Club, the Management Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, and the Makati Business Club. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in economics and international relations, cum laude (1983).
A native of Yangon, Myanmar, Serge Pun spent his formative years in China during the Great Cultural Revolution and arrived in Hong Kong at the age of 21. He started out his career as a salesman at a Hong Kong-based real estate firm where he worked for ten years. In 1983, Mr. Pun founded Serge Pun & Associates, Ltd. in Hong Kong and returned to the country of his birth to establish SPA Myanmar in 1991.
In 1992, he founded one of the first public companies in Myanmar, First Myanmar Investment, which later became the first listed company on the new Yangon Stock Exchange in March 2016. He led two other companies to successful listings on the Singapore Exchange – Yoma Strategic Holdings on the Main Board in 2006 and Memories Group on the Catalist Board in January 2018.
Today, Yoma Group has grown to become one of Myanmar’s leading corporations with 40 companies actively operating in seven business sectors: banking and financial services, real estate development, automotive, agriculture and logistics, luxury travel and tourism, consumer services, and healthcare.
Salil Singhal is the Chairman Emeritus of PI Industries Ltd., a leading agrochemical company in India. His other businesses in the group are Secure Meters Ltd. and Wolkem India Ltd. He was Chair- man of the Pesticides Association of India, now called the Crop Care Federation of India; he was elected Chairman Emeritus for life. He was the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Northern Region and headed the CII National Council for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. He is the Chairman of the CII National Council on Agriculture and a member of the CII National Council. He has been named Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 (Life Sciences and Agrochemicals) by Ernst & Young, and Best CEO for 2014 (Mid-sized Chemical Industry segment), as well as India’s Best CEO for 2015 (Agriculture & Allied) by Business Today. He received the Global Corporate Leader of the Year award from Power Brands, the Agricultural Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement at the seventh International Agriculture Summit, the Leadership for Business Transformation award given by KPMG at the Horasis Conference in Malaga Spain, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the CNBC- AWAAZ Rajasthan Ratna Awards ceremony, and the Special Achievement Award at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards. He is an Independent Director of steel, building, construction, and hospitality companies.
Jane Sun is the CEO and a Member of the Board of Directors of Trip.com Group Ltd., the largest travel company in China and Asia and the second largest in the world. She first joined the company as the Chief Financial Officer in 2005 and later served as the Chief Operating Officer and the Co-President, before moving into the CEO role in 2016.
She is an International Chamber of Commerce Executive Board member, a J.P. Morgan Asia Pacific Council member, a Standard Chartered Bank International Advisory Board member, Vice Chair of the World Travel & Tourism Council, a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Circle at the University of Oxford, a member of the President’s Advisory Council for Public Health at Brown University, Co-Chair of the Development Advisory Board of the University of Michigan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute, and a Board Member and Business Leaders Group committee member of Business China, which was established by Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
In 2019, Ms. Sun was presented with the Asia Society Asia Game Changer Award and joined the Asia Society Board of Trustees. Forbes named her one of the “Emergent 25 Asia’s Latest Star Businesswomen” in 2018 and one of the “Most Influential and Outstanding Businesswomen in China” in 2017. She was also one of Fortune’s “Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Business” and one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” in 2017. During her tenure at Trip.com Group, she won the Institutional Investor Awards for Best CEO and Best CFO. She also serves on the Boards of Directors of TripAdvisor, Inc., MakeMyTrip Ltd., iQIYI, Inc., and TAL Education Group.
Peter Voser has been Chairman of ABB’s Board of Directors since 2015. He also served as ABB’s Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Executive Committee from April 2019 to February 2020 and as Chief Financial Officer and EC member from 2002 to 2004.
Before returning to ABB as Chairman in 2015, Mr. Voser was CEO of Royal Dutch Shell from 2009 to 2013, and CFO and Executive Director of Royal Dutch Shell from 2004 to 2009. He began his career at Royal Dutch Shell in 1982 and held several senior management and executive roles in Europe and Latin America, including CFO of Shell Europe Oil Products, CFO of the Global Oil Products Business, and member of the Oil Products Executive Committee.
Mr. Voser is a member of the Board of Directors of IBM Corp., and of Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., as well as Group Chairman of the Board of Directors of Temasek’s subsidiary PSA International Pte. Ltd. He is also a Board Member of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies and of Europe Delivers, a business-led partnership working to build future-fit growth in Europe. In June 2019, he was made an Honorary Director of Catalyst, a non-profit organization that champions women leaders, in recognition of his nine years of service on the Catalyst Board of Directors, including six as Chairman.
Mr. Voser has served as a Board Member of Roche Holding Ltd., Switzerland (2011-2019), of the Swiss Federal Auditor Oversight Authority (2006-2010), and of UBS (2005-2010), as well as a member of the Supervisory Board of Aegon N.V. in the Netherlands (2004-2006).
He obtained his degree in business administration from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland. In 2011, Mr. Voser was awarded the title Dato Seri Laila Jasa by His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei in recognition of his services to the state of Brunei.
In 2021, Mr. Voser was awarded the title Honorary Citizen of Singapore by the Singapore Government, which is the highest form of national recognition for a non-Singaporean.
