ASEAN Conference on the Recommendations of the TCFD

A pioneer CSR practitioner for over 20 years, Esther is instrumental in building up City Developments Limited’s sustainability leadership since she joined the company in 1995. She spearheaded the company’s leading efforts in strategic sustainability integration, reporting and green financing.

She sits on board several international and local sustainability organisations including UNEP Finance Initiative Property Working Group; UNEP Sustainable Stock Exchanges’ Green Finance Advisory Group, World Green Building Council Corporate Advisory Board, GRI Corporate Leadership Group for Integrated Reporting; Asia Pacific Real Estate Association Singapore Chapter Board and Global Compact Network Singapore Management Committee.

Founder of the Women4Green Network, Esther is committed to engaging and empowering women in the male-dominated building and technology industries to drive the sustainability agenda.

Over 18 years of experience in corporate and advisory roles within multiple industries. Currently he is the Principal Sustainability Officer at Sime Darby Plantation Berhad, the largest producer of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) globally. He currently focuses around efforts in mitigating sustainability risks by implementing on-the-ground improvement programs, and also engages with a wide range of stakeholders within the sustainable palm oil sphere. He represents Sime Darby in various global multi-stakeholder platforms around sustainability and sustainable palm oil.

Prior to joining Sime Darby, spent 15 years in corporate advisory roles around sustainability, corporate responsibility, strategy, programme management and change management across multiple industries, which include plantation, forestry, property, telecommunications, automotive, oil & gas and public sectors. Was part of the regional leadership team for the Sustainability and Climate Change service line of the PwC South East Asia Consulting practice. He has advised clients in South East Asia around sustainability strategy, sustainable supply chains, valuation, reporting and assurance.

He has spoken previously at various public forums internationally on areas covering such as Human Rights, Social Performance, Deforestation, Sustainable Supply Chains, Smallholders and Transparency & Disclosures, and has also contributed multiple articles around these areas for various publications within the region.

Andrew is Vice President for the SingTel Group’s Corporate Sustainability and a Talent Coach to over 100 of the Optus Future and Emerging Leaders in the past 3 years. Prior to this, Andrew held various senior positions across the SingTel Group in Singapore, Australia and the Philippines. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Optus Chief Information Officer, Managing Director for Optus Technology and Products Division, Managing Director for Optus Products and Delivery Division, and Managing Director of Optus Wholesale and Satellite Division. Andrew was the Chief Operating Advisor at Globe Telecom from 2003-2007, SingTel Group’s mobile associate in the Philippines. He has also held various other senior management positions in the SingTel Group including VP Consumer Marketing, CEO SINGNET, CEO Multimedia Group, Director Corporate Development, Director Business Marketing and Director Corporate Account Management. Andrew also started up and ran SingTel Ventures from 1997- 2000, a S$150m technology investment fund investing in emerging technologies in the ICT sector to drive innovation and develop new businesses spin-offs for the company.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Arts (First Class) Honours from the National University of Singapore and Masters in Management from Stanford University, USA (Sloan Program). He is a certified Level 2 coach with the Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership.

Richard leads BNEF’s research on global commodity markets and climate policy risk. His research focuses on assessing the impacts on energy intensive sectors of evolving energy market trends and policy initiatives. Prior to joining BNEF, Richard worked in investment banking and clean energy project development. Richard is a CFA Charterholder, has an MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures from Imperial College London, and a BSc in Physics from the University of Durham.

Brad Denig is a Principal Consultant with ERM, based in Bangkok, Thailand. Brad works with clients in the region on the development of climate change and sustainability strategy. In addition to strategy development, he works with clients on effective disclosure to stakeholder organizations such as CDP, Science Based Targets, DJSI and increasingly assists clients with TCFD alignment.

Previously at Ecova, he developed sustainability software accredited by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and used primarily by Fortune 500 firms for the management of energy, water, GHG and air emissions. Brad was also a professor of corporate climate change strategy at Portland State University’s graduate school of business Brad has an International MBA with specializations in Sustainable Business and Finance from Portland State University and various certifications through Greenhouse Gas Management Institute.

Goh Swee Chen has been Chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore since October 2014.

Concurrent to her Country Chair role, Swee Chen is Vice President, City Solutions – New Energies, a role she assumed from January 2017. Prior to this, Swee Chen was VP for Commercial Fuels and Lubricants for Asia Pacific and Middle East/Pakistan.

Swee Chen joined Shell in 2003 and was previously with Procter & Gamble and IBM. A global leader, she has lived and worked in Singapore, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Australia, USA, Japan and China. She spent a large part of her career leading significant businesses with multinational teams across the world. Swee Chen also has a diverse professional background having spent her career in IT, Real Estate and running P&Ls in Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas industries.

Other than chairing the Shell Companies in Singapore, Swee Chen had previously chaired/sat on the Boards of several Shell joint ventures in China, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Outside of Shell, she has chosen to focus her contributions in Education, Human Capital and Sustainability. She is a Trustee on the Board of Singapore University of Technology & Design and Vice-President of Singapore National Employers Federation. Swee Chen is also the President of Global Compact Network Singapore and Chairman of Institute of HR Professionals.

Swee Chen graduated with a B.Sc. from Victoria University and an MBA from Chicago Booth. She is married with three children.

Garry initially joined Mercer in New Zealand in September 1992 after having worked for seven years with another consulting firm.  Prior to his transfer to Singapore in February 2000, Garry had been responsible for the management of Mercer’s investment consulting business in New Zealand.  In October 2007, Garry relocated to Shanghai to oversee the establishment and development of Mercer’s investment consulting business in China.  Garry relocated back to Singapore in August 2009.

Since his move to Asia, Garry’s major clients have included the national social security funds, central banks and national reserve investment agencies of many Asian countries.  In April 2008, in recognition of his client focus, Garry became the Regional Director for Sovereign Funds, a newly created role to help Mercer fill an increasing need to provide innovative investment solutions to large funds, particularly those in emerging capital markets.  In January 2013, Garry was appointed to the role of Growth Markets Director of Strategic Research. Garry also chairs the group that contributes to Mercer’s capital markets research and assumptions globally and is a member of the Global Policy and Global Strategic Research Committees, which are global committees within Mercer’s investments business charged with bringing Mercer’s best ideas to our clients.

Garry is an associate member of the CFA Institute. He is also an actuary. He received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Pei Shan joined the Centre for Strategic Futures (CSF) in January 2018. She previously served at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where she worked on launching Singapore’s third government-to-government project with China. Pei Shan is an alumna of the former Strategic Policy Office (the forerunner to the CSF), where she worked on foresight and whole-of-government strategy. She started her career in the Ministry of Defence covering regional politics, and subsequently human resource strategy. Pei Shan read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. She also has a Masters in Political Science from Columbia University and a Masters in Public Policy from Peking University.

As Global Head of Sustainable Business & Finance, Curtis Ravenel leads Bloomberg’s sustainability initiatives. The program integrates sustainability considerations into all firm operations and leverages the Bloomberg Terminal to evaluate sustainability-related investment risks and opportunities for its user base of influential decision-makers.

Curtis has worked for Bloomberg in multiple roles. He was the Financial Controller for Asia managing accounting, tax, treasury and audit services for 23 legal entities with combined annual revenues exceeding $1 billion USD. This was preceded by various roles in the Capital Planning and Financial Analysis Groups.

Prior to his work with Bloomberg, L.P., Curtis co-managed a small real estate development group, founded a micro-brewery and worked with the Recycling Advisory Council in Washington, DC conducting Full Cost Accounting and Life Cycle Analysis work.

He currently serves as a board member at the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and as a member of the Secretariat for the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure. Curtis was awarded a David Rockefeller Fellowship with the Partnership for New York City in 2011 and Columbia Business School Exemplary Leadership Award in 2016. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in History from Davidson College.

Sadashiv is Managing Director (ASEAN) of Ernst & Young’s Climate Change and Sustainability Service (CCaSS) practice based in Singapore.  Sada and his team advise clients on climate change, environmental and social impact, and their disclosure. He has a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering (IIT, Madras) and MBA qualifications (IIM, Bangalore) with more than 37 years of work experience. Sada has also qualified as an International Arbitrator from NUS Law School Singapore, and in addition an Accredited Associate Mediator of Singapore Mediation Centre. He is a member of the National Working group for GHG and Product Life Cycle Assessment at SPRING Singapore, an accredited examiner for TÜV-SÜD PSB Singapore’s new Scheme for Certification of Management Consultants and a member of IMDA Singapore’s Indian Programmes Advisory Committee. Sada is an OHSAS 18001 Certified Auditor on Occupational Health and Safety and an ISO14064 Certified Greenhouse Gas Lead Auditor.

He is a member of ISCA’s (Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants) Corporate Reporting Committee which is tasked with promoting adoption of Sustainability Reporting by listed companies in Singapore. Another area of interest is in Integrated Reporting. He has been a Workgroup Member of Integrated Reporting Research and Thought Leadership work group at ISCA.

Sada is also a member of the Sustainability Subcommittee at SID (Singapore Institute of Directors).

Previously, Sada specialised in commercial advisory services focusing on strategic analysis/strategy formulation, policy and regulation, and commercial due diligence in an M&A context.

His clients span MNCs, government, statutory boards, private companies and not-for-profits. He has served clients in Asia, Middle-East, Europe and North America having worked in Singapore, London and India.

A frequently invited speaker and trainer, he shares his experience and insights at numerous seminars, interviews on broadcast media, panel discussions and presentations on sustainability issues and emerging aspects in corporate reporting. His articles and interviews have appeared in various business publications.

Most recently he was engaged as trainer under the “Sustainability Education Series for Top Management and Senior & Middle Management” by a leading Asean stock exchange.

He also lectures at NTU’s Nanyang Business School on a course titled – Sustainability: Issues, Reporting & Finance.

Ranjit Ajit Singh is the Executive Chairman of the SC. He was previously Managing Director of the SC and has extensive experience in the field of finance and securities market regulation and has spearheaded many key initiatives in the development and reform of Malaysia’s capital market.

Ranjit was appointed the Vice-Chairman of the governing Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the global body of capital market regulators and was elected as the Chairman of IOSCO’s Growth and Emerging Markets Committee (GEM), the largest Committee within IOSCO, representing 107 countries. Ranjit is also the Chairman of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), a body tasked to spearhead market integration efforts within the region and comprises capital market authorities from ASEAN.

Ranjit chairs the Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC), the Malaysian Venture Capital and Private Equity Development Council (MVCDC) and the Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF). He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Asian Institute of Finance and a member of the Board of the Labuan Financial Services Authority and the Financial Reporting Foundation as well as a board member of the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM).

Ranjit is trained as a financial economist and accountant. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) degree and a Master of Economics degree in Finance from Monash University, Melbourne. He was also conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa by Monash University Melbourne. He is a fellow of CPA Australia and has worked in academia, consulting and accounting in Australia and Malaysia.

David Smith is Head of Corporate Governance, a role in which he supports Aberdeen’s Asian Equities and Fixed Income Teams through research and engagement. David joined Aberdeen in 2011 from ISS, where he was Head of Asia (ex-Japan) Research.

David has a PhD in corporate governance and an MA in Corporate Strategy and Governance from the University of Nottingham and a BSc in Business Economics from the University of Wales. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Jeanne Stampe, Head of Asia Sustainable Finances, joined WWF in 2011. She works with banks, investors, stock exchanges and regulators to drive ESG integration in the finance sector so as to achieve positive economic, environmental and social outcomes.

Prior to WWF, she spent 14 years in private equity and investment banking in Europe, US and SE Asia. She has published 8 reports including Sustainable Banking in ASEAN (2017), WWF Asian FMCG Sustainability Guide (2016), Sustainable Finance in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia (2015).She has an MA in Economics from Cambridge University.

Bernard Tan is Country President (Singapore) of Sinar Mas Group a large multi conglomerate originating from Indonesia and Managing Director for Corporate Affairs, Sustainability and Global Communications at Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) one of the largest pulp and paper group in the world.

Bernard, a Singaporean, was a President Scholar and worked in the Singapore Armed Forces for many years, where he rose to the rank of Brigadier General.  After he retired from active service, he joined DBS Bank as a Managing Director.  He led the team that took over Bowa Bank in Taiwan and subsequently became Acting Country Head of DBS Taiwan.  He was then appointed as the Country Head of DBS Indonesia, a position he held for four years and led the Bank Danamon acquisition team.   On leaving DBS Bank, he spent a spell as the Chief Marketing Officer of ST Engineering, a multinational headquartered in Singapore.

Bernard has held many board positions including on statutory boards such as AVA, URA and Sports Singapore.  Bernard is also an active sportsman and has a passion for soccer.  He is the current Deputy President of the Football Association of Singapore.  He reads and writes in his free time and is fluent in Bahasa Indonesia.

Jenn-Hui Tan is Head of Capital Markets and Corporate Governance for the Asia Pacific region, in which role he supports Fidelity’s portfolio managers and research analysts on capital markets, mergers & acquisitions, special situations, corporate governance, responsible investment and stewardship matters. He also engages with regulators, companies, investors and professional advisors on governance matters and with the investment banking community on public market equity activity.

Jenn joined Fidelity International in 2007 from Norton Rose LLP, where he was a corporate finance lawyer advising on capital market and M&A transactions.

Mervyn Tang is Head of MSCI’s ESG research team in Asia Pacific, excluding Japan. He leads ratings research in the region, with additional focus on Fixed Income and Sovereigns globally. He joined MSCI in July 2017 after 10 years of experience in economic and financial research, most recently as Director, Asia Pacific Sovereigns at Fitch Ratings. Mervyn has also worked as an economist at the Bank of England, an Economic and Financial Attaché at the British Embassy in Washington DC, and an equities analyst at Citigroup.

Mervyn holds an MSc in Economics from Birkbeck College (University of London) and a BA in Economics and Management from Oxford University. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Lian Sim is Special Adviser at the Singapore Exchange (SGX) after 10 years as head of regulation and risk management. As regulator, she had charge of listed companies, member brokers and trading surveillance for a fair, orderly and transparent market. Risk management responsibilities covered financial risk of clearing and settlement and oversight of enterprise risk.

Before joining the SGX, Lian Sim was for many years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore in various roles including managing foreign reserves, responsibility for exchange rate and monetary policy and regulating the capital market. She was also seconded to Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited.

Lian Sim is a director of Shared Services for Charities Limited and has also served on the boards of various charitable organizations. She graduated with Honours from the University of Singapore and holds a Master degree from the London Business School. Lian Sim was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) at the Singapore National Day Honours in 1994.

Richard Welford is Chairman of CSR Asia, a mission-driven business he founded that improves sustainability practices through consultancy thought leadership, events and professional networks throughout Asia. Now an ELEVATE company, CSR Asia is known for its pioneering work around sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Asia Pacific region.

Richard has over 30 years of experience working with the business sector, United Nations, NGOs and other international agencies in the field of CSR with an emphasis on social justice, human rights, governance issues, community development and environmental management.

He has worked with some of the leading multinational enterprises and local companies in Asia including Disney, CLP Power, Nike, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Swire Pacific, Cathay Pacific, HP, IBM, HSBC, Citigroup, Accor, Credit Suisse, UBS, P&G and adidas.

In addition to consultancy, Richard also curates major thought leadership conferences and seminars including CSR Asia Summit and ELEVATE supply chain responsible sourcing events.

Richard is currently an adjunct Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney. He has many years of experience in academia, pioneering courses and programs covering a range of issues including shared value, inclusive business, private sector engagement, supply chain risks, human rights and community investment. From 2002 to 2010, Richard was also a professor at the University of Hong Kong and headed up the Corporate Environmental Governance Program.

He is the author of 15 books and numerous refereed articles in the fields of environmental management and sustainable development. He is also the editor of 3 internationally recognized academic journals that develop and promote research around business and sustainable development.

Richard is also a Board Director of a number of other organizations including ERP Environment and is the Chairman AIDS Concern in Hong Kong.

​Shinbo is a member of the Investment Stewardship Team responsible for BlackRock’s proxy voting and engagement activities in the Asia Pac region.  He is based in Singapore.

Prior to joining BlackRock, he was Head of Asia ex-Japan Research at ISS, having led a geographically diverse team that provides proxy research and recommendations for more than 5,000 companies in 14 Asia-Pacific markets outside Japan, while stewarding the development of ISS’ benchmark voting policies for those markets.

Shinbo holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, and BA Economics from Yonsei University.