Asian Media Leaders Summit

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:

Anjali Kapoor is a global executive leader focused on building digital business strategies and marketing product solutions around growth, audience, revenue, and brand engagement at scale. She has more than 18+ years of experience developing digital transformation and go-to-market strategies for large global technology organisations like Meta, Yahoo and Microsoft and media companies like Bloomberg Media and The Globe and Mail. She has worked with C-Suite executives on organisational change management and cross-collaboration across the evolving technology landscape of video, mobile, social, VR/AR and AI.  She is currently the Principal at Hot Laundry Digital, consulting, coaching and training around digital business strategy in the region and globally. Her areas of expertise include brand and content strategy development, and commercial partnerships and business development for new products or categories. Anjali is also a dynamic speaker on digital transformation and leadership and is a DEI advocate for women media leaders in the industry. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or through Hot Laundry Digital.

Catherine So is a business leader with more than 20 years of experience in media, tech and digital sectors across Asia Pacific, Greater China and the United States, at both large corporations and growth companies. She became CEO of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong in 2022.

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 the founder & CEO at Fathm, a multi-award winning independent news lab, agency and consultancy. Fathm has a mission of working with people who are trying to spark creative change and drive sustainability in media by improving newsroom processes and efficiency, making use of emerging technologies, and tackling the ever increasing problems of mis and disinformation.

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.

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.

Kavita is currently a certified journalism trainer with the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) and the Solutions Journalism Network (SJN), where she trains journalists across Asia on topics such as climate change, human trafficking, racial injustice and social inclusion. She is also a mentor for young journalists, moderator at news events, and speaker on ‘Solutions Journalism’ as a catalyst for change in the media.

Kaythaya oversees SPH Media’s technology, product, and data capabilities as Chief Technology Officer, where he drives product innovation and the digital transformation agenda.  He is responsible for defining the technology roadmap and building the foundations of how SPH delivers news and engages audiences across it’s portfolio of media assets.

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.

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.

Ms. Alexandra “Sandy” P. Romualdez is the Chairperson of the Inquirer Group of Companies (IGC).  She currently oversees strategic planning and provides management direction to IG companies, namely the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inquirer.net, Megamobile and Inquirer Academy.

Prior to her appointment as Chairperson, she was the Group Chief Executive Officer of IGC for 25 years.   She was also the President and CEO of the Philippine Daily Inquirer .  As President and CEO, Sandy was instrumental to the Inquirer’s growth as the Philippines’ number one broadsheet.  She was responsible for corporate strategic planning, management development, succession planning, performance management, organizational design, corporate policy-making and organizational development.  She also played a key role in network building particularly with regard to the business community and non-government sector.

Sandy is also the Chairperson of  WAN-IFRA Asia-Pacific Committee.

 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 Chief Operating Officer at WAN-IFRA, a position he has held since 2012.

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 has spent almost 32 years as a journalist, leading  print and broadcast newsrooms, covering various issues and international events. These include Climate Conferences, APEC, G20, UN-GA, member of Interfaith and Intermedia Dialogue delegates from Indonesia. She also regularly teaches in Indonesia Journalism  School which was founded by Indonesia Journalist  Association (PWI), since 2011. She also lectures in journalism workshops in the ASEAN region. She was previously in charge of Rappler  Indonesia as Managing Director from 2013. She left in December 2017 to join IDN Times which targets millennials and Gen Zs, as Editor-in-Chief. She is the Chair of Indonesia Forum of Women Journalist since November 2018.