Alex has worked for the BBC for over 20 years as a journalist and digital expert. He started out on the multiplatform celebrity share trading game, Celebdaq, before moving to Panorama as digital producer, including during the 2005 London terror attacks. In 2007, he joined BBC Radio 5 live’s digital team, which pioneered the use of live video streaming, podcasts, social media and digital audience engagement strategies. Since 2010 he has worked for BBC News, as an expert in the use of Social Media, User Generated Content and Digital Forensics for journalism. Currently he works for BBC Verify, where he has developed verification processes and workflows to integrate the team into the wider newsroom.
Andy is the Chief Executive Officer of KG Media, a media group consisting of print, broadcast, and digital platforms. As CEO, Andy is responsible to lead KG Media through a dual-transformation process:
Catherine So is the Chief Executive Officer of the South China Morning Post (SCMP), a global news media company that has reported on Hong Kong, China and Asia for more than a century. She is a business leader with over 20 years of experience in the tech, digital and media sectors across Greater China, the Asia-Pacific region and the United States.
Chris Janz has worked in the industry for 30 years, with roles spanning mature and growth businesses and advertising and subscription-funded products. He currently leads Capital Brief, a disruptive news startup founded on quality journalism.
Darryl Choo is the International Business Director of the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Based out of Singapore, he heads the sales and commercial strategy for Singapore, Asia and international markets. He is also part of SCMP’s leadership unit.
Emmy is a news and content professional with more than 15 years of experience as a reporter, journalist, writer and editor. She currently works independently training journalists across Southeast and South Asia, and she also writes and edits for major daily newspapers, corporates, government agencies and non-profit organisations operating both at home (Singapore) and across Asia, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom.
Ezra Eeman is the Director of Strategy & Innovation at NPO, the Dutch Public Broadcaster. Ezra has almost 20 years of experience in media, innovation and journalism. Previously he was Change Director at international media company Mediahuis, responsible for coordinating newsroom transformation and digital acceleration. He worked as the Head of Digital, Transformation and Platforms at the EBU, The European Broadcasting Union and before that was head of an innovation lab and journalist at VRT, the Flemish public broadcaster.
Fergus Bell is a journalist and media innovator with a focus on driving sustainable change and innovation in the news industry. His work spans addressing the challenges of misinformation, supporting newsroom transformations, and preparing the industry for the opportunities presented by AI. He is the co-founder of Fathm, a news lab, consultancy, and agency established in 2019 to enable impactful change and foster innovation across global media organisations.
Geoff is Director, Events & Partnerships at the Association of Advertising & Marketing Singapore.
Before taking up his role at the AAMS, he was Chief Marketing Officer at OIO Singapore, Singapore’s first listed company (KUX:SGX) specialising in blockchain where he was responsible for branding, public relations, event management, CRM, social media & content marketing.
Ingrid Verschuren is executive vice president of data and AI and general manager for EMEA at Dow Jones.
Based in Barcelona, Ingrid oversees the overall data organization, leading a team of global researchers and analysts who are responsible for identifying, aligning and executing against critical data needs across Dow Jones. She owns the vision and cohesive strategy for data and AI across Dow Jones, driving deeper insights to inform business strategy, guide decision making and create more value for customers.
Jeremy Au Yong oversees newsroom strategy in The Straits Times, which includes working on planning, innovation as well as workflow improvement across the different parts of the publication. He has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked across the various sections of the newsroom. His previous roles include foreign editor, lifestyle editor, mobile editor and US bureau chief.
Jeremy has more than 30 years in the media publishing industry, leading digital change in newsrooms across the UK and managing the complex transition from print to digital reader-revenue access models, and now in how to integrate Generative AI into newsrooms.
He is a certified executive-level coach and is a founding director of his leadership development and training advisory business, Chrysalis Transformations – for established and emerging leaders.
As Director of Data & AI at Schibsted Media, Juan Carlos leads the charge in transforming the future of journalism through innovative data-driven strategies. His work focuses on harnessing the power of AI and responsible data usage to create products that resonate with millions of users. With over two decades of experience in the tech industry, Juan Carlos has a deep understanding of how data can shape business decisions, drive growth, and create opportunities for media organizations to thrive in the digital age. His leadership at Schibsted has been pivotal in leveraging AI to push the boundaries of modern media and deliver smarter, more personalized experiences for readers.
Kavita Chandran is a journalism trainer and news content advisor based in Singapore. A journalist for more than 25 years, she has worked in newsrooms across the United States and Asia, reporting, writing and editing stories. She started her career in New Delhi as a business reporter and moved on to anchor shows for CNBC Asia. She worked as a Breaking News editor with Bloomberg in New York, and then spent 10 years in Reuters’ newsrooms as a Training Editor and Front Page editor.
Le Quoc Minh is editor-in-chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, the biggest daily in Vietnam. He has been the driver of the Nhan Dan’s fast-changing digital transformation from a very traditional newspaper for the last 3 years. Nhan Dan is now an innovation leader in Vietnam’s media industry Vietnam with a number of interesting projects in both print and digital journalism to engage readers of all generations, especially Gen Z.
Hee Ai started as a print journalist at Lianhe Wanbao and Lianhe Zaobao, but pivoted to produce online content and videos with the changing media landscape. She and her team started HeyKaki in 2022, a social media brand that produces fun yet informative Mandarin content for youths, specifically Gen Zs. As Editor of HeyKaki, she leads the team to find creative ways to incorporate news and adulting topics into content that matches youths’ media consumption habits on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Leonie von Elverfeldt is a seasoned media expert with a proven track record spanning 15 years. She was instrumental in building and managing Germany’s first paywall at BILD (Axel Springer) and successfully founded and led a media brand to profitability in East Africa as the Managing Director for Pulse brands under Ringier. Leonie has coached over 50 media brands worldwide on audience and revenue growth and has consulted several European legacy media brands on digitization, business development, newsroom transformation, and reader revenue strategies. In May 2024, she joined the board of The Standard Group PLC as an independent non-executive director.
Michael Mainville is the Asia-Pacific regional director at Agence France-Presse, overseeing AFP’s operations and coverage across 27 countries stretching from New Zealand to Afghanistan. Michael also leads efforts to expand AFP’s commercial reach in the region.
A 20-year veteran of international journalism, Michael has covered some of the most significant events across the globe, as a correspondent based in Moscow and Paris, as AFP’s deputy editor-in-chief for the Middle East and, before taking up his current role as Moscow bureau chief, where he oversaw the agency’s coverage of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. He has been based in Hong Kong as APAC regional director since April 2023.
Mr. Navaneeth, worked in Mindshare, Jakarta, Indonesia as leader of trading between March 2016 and May 2019 before coming back home to The Hindu Group as CEO from June 2019. For him, this represents homecoming: he served this organisation between 1998 and 2006 in a senior position in Advertising and Marketing.
Nitin Chandalia leads the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Practice for BCG in India. He partners with clients in the technology and media industries, guiding them through complex transformations. His expertise covers corporate portfolio strategy, restructuring, growth blueprint development, go-to-market execution, revenue acceleration, margin improvement, and organizational design.
In the media sector, Nitin has advised both traditional print and digital-first media companies on a wide range of business challenges. He has supported SaaS media companies in developing growth plans and strategies, while working with digital content platforms to enhance user acquisition, retention, and engagement.
Rianne is a passionate entrepreneur that started her career in tech-startups (Rocket Internet) and private equity (Anthem Asia) in an unusual location: Myanmar. Spending most of her career as the link between fast, efficient international organizations and the ever-changing local challenges of emerging markets, she is always looking for laser sharp focus and quick, efficient execution.
Tammy Tam is the South China Morning Post’s Editor-in-Chief and is responsible for the overall editorial direction, strategic development and leading the Post’s newsroom operations for both its print and digital platforms. Tammy is the Chairperson of the Hong Kong News Executives’ Association, and Vice-Chairwoman of the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong. She was a board member of the Media Communications Training Board, the Hong Kong Vocational Training Council, which is dedicated to training talents in the media industry, from 2017 to 2023. Prior to joining SCMP in late 2011, Tammy served as senior news and corporate executive in major local broadcasters including TVB in leadership roles managing editorial teams and bureaus and corporate development strategies.
Lee Chin is Group COO (Group Strategy and Content) of Media Chinese International Malaysia which publishes four leading Chinese newspapers in Malaysia and owns digital assets which cover 70% of Chinese web portal traffic in Malaysia. She currently leads M-Lab, the audience innovation and creative content hub of the group, which is tasked to drive digital audience and revenue growth.
She joined Sin Chew Daily as a culture and education reporter in 2008 and has since assumed different roles within the media organization and has vast experience developing digital growth strategy and innovative products.
Thomas Jacob is the Chief Operating Officer at WAN-IFRA, responsible for global operational management and business development. With nearly four decades of experience in the media industry, Thomas has held key leadership roles across various regions. Early in his career, he relocated to Singapore to establish IFRA’s presence in Asia, successfully founding IFRA Asia and IFRA India.
Tom Trewinnard has ten years’ experience working at the intersection of technology and journalism, leading high-impact international media projects and driving product strategy for collaborative technologies. Formerly Director of Programs at Meedan, Tom led Check Global, a programme dedicated to developing innovative open source tools and training programs for journalists, fact checkers and human rights researchers around the world.
In 2024 Tory Maguire was appointed Managing Director – Publishing, assuming management responsibility for Nine’s publishing assets including metro mastheads and The Australian Financial Review.
Prior to this, Tory was the Executive Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAToday – a role she held from July 2021. A highly-experienced editor and journalist, she led the transformation of the newsrooms of the mastheads and saw significant growth in all areas of her remit.
Maguire previously held senior editorial roles at News Corp and The Huffington Post as well as National Editor at Nine’s metro mastheads.
Winston Utomo is the Founder & CEO of IDN Media, the leading media platform company for Millennials and Gen Z in Indonesia, with over 80 million monthly active users across its platforms. IDN Media’s vision is to democratize information for every Indonesian.
Uni Lubis has spent more than three decades as journalist, leading print, broadcast and digital newsrooms as Editor in chief, covering various issues and international events. These include Climate Conferences, APEC, G20, UNGA, member of interfaith and intermedia dialogue delegates from Indonesia in many bilateral and multilateral forum.
