MEET THE SPEAKERS

... Franky Oesman Widjaja is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Sinar Mas Agribusiness & Food, Indonesia. He has been the Chief Executive Officer at Golden Agri-resources Ltd. since 1996. He serves as Vice President of GAR's Indonesian subsidiary, PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources & Technology Tbk. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of Bund Center Investment Ltd. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Sinarmas Land Ltd. from 2000 to December 2006.

... Dr. Kao Kim Hourn’s career has focused on strengthening Cambodia’s international relations, particularly in ASEAN, driving policy advocacy and promoting research, education, and development. Dr. Kao had served as a two-term Minister Delegate attached to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, from 2013 to 2022. He has authored dozens of books and articles on Cambodia and ASEAN. Dr. Kao is a Member of the Supreme National Economic Council, a Senior Fellow at the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia, and a Member of the Global Council of The Asia Society. He serves as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace and the Worldwide Support for Development. With the mission of providing education to the disadvantaged Cambodian youths, Dr. Kao established The University of Cambodia in 2003 and continued to serve as the university president until he stepped down in October 2022.

... Sunny Verghese is the Co-founder and Group CEO of Olam, and post the re-organisation of the Group, he holds charge as CEO of Olam Global Agri and Olam Group Limited (OGL). Olam is listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and ranks amongst the top 30 companies in Singapore in terms of market capitalization. Sunny is a thought leader in sustainability, particularly in the food and agriculture sector. Under his leadership, Olam has been a pioneer at the forefront of Climate and Sustainability initiatives. In April 2022, Sunny was appointed as Chairman of GenZero, Temasek’s Carbon Solutions Platform in Singapore. Sunny was formerly Chairman of JOil (S) Pte Ltd, and also served on the Board of Trustees of Singapore Management University from February 2018 to January 2025. He was Chairman of the Board of the Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI) from 2017 till June 2023. From 2018 to 2021, Sunny was Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the global, CEO-led organisation dedicated to accelerating the transition to a sustainable world. He was also a Commissioner of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC) in 2016. He served on the Board of International Enterprise Singapore from 2002 to 2013 and was its Chair from 2008 to 2013. He has won several awards including ‘Outstanding Chief Executive’ at the Singapore Business Awards in 2007, ‘Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ for Singapore in 2008 and ‘Best CEO of the Year 2011’ at the Singapore Corporate Awards. Sunny was conferred The Public Service Medal by the Government of Singapore in August 2010. Sunny holds a post graduate management degree from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) and has also completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) from the Harvard Business School. Sunny was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni by IIMA in its Golden Jubilee Celebrations in 2011.

... Managing Director, leading the Centre for Nature and Climate and the Forum’s Foundations (Global Shapers, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Young Global Leaders); previously Member of the Executive Committee and Co-Head of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, overseeing the Centre’s Global Network of Affiliated Centres, Innovator Communities, and Deep Tech units; earlier roles include Head of Programming and Deputy Head of the Global Programming Group, responsible for the Forum’s Annual Meetings in Davos and China, as well as programme officer positions at the International Labour Organization and UNDP; certified facilitator, public speaker, and regular commentator on the intersection of technology, society, and the economy; Professor of Practice at the University of Geneva.

... Beverley Postma is the Executive Director of Grow Asia, a multi-stakeholder platform established by the World Economic Forum and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to broker market-driven solutions for sustainable food systems in Southeast Asia. With 25 years in the global food system, Bev has held C-Suite roles in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas in both corporate and non-profit settings. Her previous roles include CEO of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO); CEO of HarvestPlus; and Executive Director of Food Industry Asia (FIA). Prior to this, Bev held senior corporate affairs roles for Syngenta and Kellogg’s and is a strategic advisor to the Milken Institute on food and agri-investments. She holds a BSc in marine ecology and serves on the advisory boards of venture capital firms and impact funds in the biotech and agritech space. Bev has led high-performing teams across the full breadth of the global food system, is an angel investor, and is an active champion for diversity and inclusion.

... Dawn is the CEO of CIIP and Managing Director of Investments at Temasek Trust Capital. Dawn leads and sets the strategic direction and growth of CIIP, and manages the investment portfolio for Temasek Trust Capital. As an experienced investor, she draws on over 20 years of investment experience in private equity, venture and fund-of-fund investments across Asia, the US and Europe. Prior to joining Temasek Trust, she helmed the Consumer unit at Temasek International, where she spent 19 years. Dawn started her investment career at Vertex Holdings, a venture capital fund in Singapore. She was previously at Asia Pacific Molecular Biology Network and Singapore’s National Science & Technology Board.

...... Ryan Rakestraw is a Director at Temasek, where he focuses on making investments in food and agriculture technology companies. Given the importance of innovation needed to feed a growing global population, to support better nutrition, and to increase the sustainability of global agricultural production - Ryan seeks to back promising entrepreneurs and teams that can profitably address these needs with new technologies and business models. Previously, Ryan was in corporate strategy and corporate venture capital at Monsanto, he also worked as a venture capital investor at Cultivation Capital and the Yield Lab, which he helped to found. Earlier in his career, Ryan was a systems engineer with Northrop Grumman, where he helped design and implement military platforms ranging from undersea to space applications. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in electrical and computer engineering from Johns Hopkins, and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

... At the World Economic Forum, Tania is the Head of Sustainable Growth and People Agenda which includes a portfolio of initiatives and communities on food, water, clean air and nature, advancing sustainable transitions to healthy, resilient systems through finance, technology, and inclusion. With over 20 years’ experience across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, she has managed global initiatives in food security, sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, and integrated value chains. In her role she is driving strategy of flagship initiatives including the First Movers Coalition for Food to generate $15-20 billion of green procurement through aggregated market demand signals and farmer economics, the $15 million Aquapeneurs initiative in partnership with HCL to mobilize pipelines of innovators problem-solving for water stewardship globally, and the Food Innovation Hubs global initiative harnessing the power of fit for purpose technology in 7 country and regional innovation hub marketplaces, among others.

... Saahil Parekh is a sustainable food systems expert with 10+ years’ experience across research, policy, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship. He currently serves The Rockefeller Foundation’s Food Initiative as their Asia representative, advancing the Regenerative School Meals agenda and co-designing nutrition-sensitive and climate-resilient programs with governments in Indonesia, the Philippines, and India, alongside partners such as WFP, ADB and Grow Asia. Saahil holds an MS in Economics from IIT Kharagpur, India, and is a German Chancellor Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

... Hataikan serves as Group Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy, Sustainability and Innovation at Thai Wah Public Company Limited, where she has been instrumental in the company's remarkable growth since 2019—doubling in size to become one of APAC's leading B2B Agri Food Companies with 17 operations across 7 countries. As a founding team member of Thai Wah Ventures Corporate VC and the SEA Agri Food Roundtable organized with Temasek, she drives the group's 5-year transformation strategy, sustainability initiatives toward net neutrality by 2030, and new business development. A graduate of Australian National University with extensive experience across Thailand, India, Australia, and the USA, Hataikan is passionate about driving sustainability in the region through private-public partnerships across ASEAN working with organizations such as Grow Asia and World Economic Forum. She actively advocates for female founders through the Epic Angles Network. Under her leadership, Thai Wah earned the Gold Certificate from SAI Platform for sustainable agriculture practices and was recognized as HR ASIA's Best Company to Work For 3 consecutive years.

... Executive & entrepreneur with more than 17 years of experience in strategy, financial services, business development and innovation. With a background in management consulting from a top Fortune 500 organization, Esther has led and implemented several strategic initiatives in banking, digital transformation and innovation for financial institutions globally. As an entrepreneur, she scaled up a Danish organization to Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. As Innovation Portfolio & Partnerships Director at Yara, Esther leads the company's first open innovation hub -Thryve-, as well as strategic partnerships and innovation programs for food systems transformation. Thryve located in Singapore, develops commercially viable solutions focusing on innovation and impact at scale. Esther’s joy and passion are to combine great purpose with value creation and growth both for businesses and the community."

... Bhavya Sehgal is based in Singapore as Chief Executive Officer at OCP Singapore, a subsidiary of OCP Nutricrops. With extensive leadership across Asia-Pacific, he has held senior roles in industrials, consumer durables, plant nutrition and sustainable agriculture. Recognised for his strategic acumen, he has built and scaled businesses, guided high-performing teams, and consistently delivered strong commercial and operational outcomes. He has lived and worked in China, Germany, and Singapore, bringing both regional depth and global perspective to his work. A respected voice in global business and policy discussions, he has been featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, and Channel News Asia. He leads OCP Nutricrops’ mission across Southeast Asia and Japan, expanding commercial, agronomy, digital, and partnership capabilities for farmer impact.

... Anita is the Chief Sustainability & Communications Officer (CSCO) at GAR, responsible for designing and delivering the company's overall sustainability and communications strategy. Ms Neville joined GAR nine years ago, initially heading corporate communications where she has overseen the company’s communications strategy. She was appointed Chief Sustainability & Communications Officer in November 2021. Anita is also a member of the board of governors at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RPSO), a non-profit organisation transforming sustainability standards in the palm oil industry. Anita has worked in sustainability and communications for almost 30 years, with senior roles primarily in non-governmental organisations. Anita joined GAR after ten years with the Rainforest Alliance, an international non-profit organisation dedicated to conserving tropical forests. During that period, she worked as a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) auditor, specialising in the social aspects of the respected forestry standard. Prior to the Rainforest Alliance, Neville was the Director of Communications for E3G, an environmental politics think tank specialising in European climate diplomacy and energy policy. She began her career with civil service roles in her native Australia before moving to WWF UK, where she rose to Head of Advocacy. Here she worked to secure the HSBC Investing in Nature partnership, work that became the HSBC Water Programme. Anita is based in Singapore, where she lives with her husband and two sons.

... Teymoor Nabili is a journalist, broadcaster and speaker based in Singapore. He anchors two current affairs programmes for Channel News Asia, and is founder and CEO of “The Signal”, an online news operation covering Asian business and economic affairs. In a 25 year career he has anchored, written, produced and edited news and current affairs programmes for Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN and CNBC.

... Imelda (Dada) Bacudo is a climate expert with over 25 years experience engaging governments and non state actors to develop policies and source finance for wider implementation of climate smart agriculture. At FAO, she helps the FAST Partnership secure memberships and funding. She also leads network and partnerships building in the FAO Asia Pacific. She has worked as senior advisor to the UAE COP28 Presidency and to ASEAN on agrifood systems. She played a pivotal role in the creation of the ASEAN Negotiating Group for Agriculture(ANGA) and the ASEAN Climate Resilience Network. She co-chairs the Global Alliance on Climate Smart Agriculture, and holds a Masters on Environment Science from Yale University under a Fulbright scholarship.

... Patsian is AVPN's Chief of Markets and Deputy CEO. She will lead AVPN’s market-focused activities, including driving growth in membership, enhancing the value proposition for capital providers, cultivating new partnership opportunities, and supporting AVPN’s overall strategic direction. As a part of the management team, Patsian will help to guide AVPN's growth in the future, drawing from her diverse experience in impact and sustainable finance, purpose-driven businesses, philanthropy, CSR, sustainability, non-profit leadership, and commercial finance across the US and Asia. Patsian has spent 30 years across the continuum of capital, holding leadership positions in philanthropy, social impact, CSR and sustainability in organisations from public and private sectors. These include roles in Visa, DBS and DBS Foundation, Singapore's National Volunteer & Philanthropy Center, State Street Bank, Deutsche Bank and her own impact enterprise. She also advises organisations like Tri-Sector Associates, Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth, and other early-stage impact startups. She is also on several non-profit boards and committees. Patsian holds an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business, and is presently pursuing her 2nd Masters from University of Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership. As a mother of two, Patsian feels strongly about the empowerment of working women and their growth as holistic, well-rounded individuals. She spends her spare time working hard at Flamenco dance, fitness, travelling and foreign languages.

... Surita Sandosham was born and raised in Singapore and brings over 20 years of senior leadership experience in global nonprofit organizations. She became the President and CEO of Heifer International in 2022, where she is driving a bold transformation focused on equity, farmer-led innovation, and sustainable food systems. Previously, she served as Executive Director of Heartland Alliance International, a Chicago-based humanitarian and human rights organization, where she championed human rights by delivering lifesaving services and advocating for survivors of conflict and those at risk of abuse.

... Yvonne Pinto has a long career in technology generation, innovation ecosystems, and international development. She started in agricultural research and academia before spending 15 years in private philanthropy, focusing on investments in agriculture, enterprise, finance, and education, particularly in Africa. She has collaborated with various stakeholders, including governments, UN agencies, NGOs, and private foundations, promoting evidence-based approaches and diverse perspectives. Her work has addressed significant agricultural disease challenges in Africa and explored digital economies and technology ecosystems. She is particularly interested in the intersection of big data, science, and sustainability in the ongoing bio-revolution.

...... Fay Fay Choo is the Asia Cocoa Director for Mars Wrigley and responsible for Mars’ sustainable sourcing strategies in Asia. In this role, she serves tens of thousands of cocoa smallholder farming families and communities in Indonesia, Philippines and PNG. Fay’s passionate about transferring science and technology solutions from Mars research centers, through community and farmer empowerment based approaches, to enable adoption at scale for improved yields and income. The next movement is now focused on scaling diversified cocoa agroforestry, which brings resilient farmer livelihoods and environmental protection across landscapes together, to make chocolate that brings smiles to farming families and consumers around the world.

...... Hans Loth is based in Jakarta as Chief Operating Officer at Lestari Capital. As former EVP at Rabobank, he led the creation of SAF B.V., a USD 100M+ blended finance entity scaling the innovative Acorn smallholder finance project. He previously established the USD 1B AGRI3 Fund with UN Environment, Dutch government, and other partners. With over two decades of experience across Asia and Europe, he has held leadership roles in law, banking, ESG, strategy, and inclusive finance. A published thought leader, he brings deep expertise in mobilizing public, private, and philanthropic capital for sustainable food and land use systems.

... Grace Folts is MEDA’s Business Development Manager, with over 15 years of professional and international experience in the private and non-profit sectors. She has extensive knowledge of inclusive development practices, program management and finance, rights-based approach and Results-based Management. Throughout her career, Grace has experience with diverse organizations such as Global Affairs Canada (GAC), International Development Research Centre, African Development Bank, UK Aid, Irish Aid, and Foundations such as MasterCard Foundation, Robert Bosch Stiftung, and Johnson & Johnson Foundation, in various countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and India. Grace previously worked as a consultant to MEDA managing proposal development for GAC and the MasterCard Foundation. As a consultant, she also supported program management and partnership building. Prior to joining MEDA, Grace has worked as an Executive Officer and Program Manager as well as an Investment Reporting Analyst, Business Development Associate and Treasury Associate in the private sector.

...... David is the CEO and co-founder of AgriG8, an agri-fintech platform unlocking financing for smallholder farmers in Southeast Asia. His unique perspective is built on an 18-year career in the rice sector, from plant breeding and policy to co-founding Golden Sunland, one of the world's first B Corp certified rice companies. This deep operational experience provides him with a ground-level view on the critical role of technology and investment in transforming agriculture for the region's most vital producers.

... Mei-Ing leads engagement with businesses to grow Save the Children’s corporate partnership footprint in Asia. She focuses on building long-term strategic partnership with companies that seek to improve the lives of children in the region through better education, healthcare and economic opportunities. In particular, she focuses on child protection in supply chains, especially in food and agriculture.

... Dr Shailendra Mishra is Global Head of Climate, Environment & Natural Capital at Olam Agri, based out of Singapore. He drives Olam Agri’s and Olam Group’s global corporate environmental sustainability strategy, which includes climate action, regenerative agriculture, and ecosystems workstreams that contribute to Olam’s vision to be nature-, climate-, and livelihood-positive. Shailendra is a conservation and ecology scientist passionate about developing nature-based solutions. Dr Mishra holds a PhD from the National University of Singapore in climate and environmental science and deciphering the ecological drivers of tropical peatland oxidation leading to greenhouse gas emissions. He has extensive experience of ~12 years in the field of conservation, restoration, sustainable agriculture, above- and below-ground (soil) carbon, green finance, waste-to-valorisation, and climate change across APAC and EU regions.

... Marie is a venture builder with experience in early stage startups and corporate innovation and has worked with over 20 entrepreneurs to help them build their businesses. In the last three years, Marie has focused exclusively on launching climate tech startups in Southeast Asia and is passionate about increasing the pipeline of women founders in the sector.Prior to founding Wavemaker Impact, Marie led the Venture Build program at ENGIE Factory, was the General Manager at a SAAS Startup and a senior member of KPMG's Digital + Innovation team. Her career also includes stints in management consulting and in a construction company where she specialized in operations strategy, business development, and process improvement.Marie has a MBA from the National University of Singapore, where she graduated as valedictorian and holder of the Panasonic Marketing Award.

...... Experienced senior manager with a demonstrated history of working in the United Nations for over 25 years. Skilled in leading projects on Food Security and nutrition, Social Protection, Humanitarian Assistance, Livelihoods, Integrated Resilience and climate change

...... Kamal Seth is the Climate & Sustainability Director and Global Palm Oil Lead at WWF-Singapore, leading efforts to engage the finance sector in transforming energy and commodities markets towards net-zero and nature-positive outcomes. He works with companies, financial institutions, governments, and civil society to advance UN SDGs 12, 13 and 15. Kamal sits on the RSPO Board, co-chairs its key committees, and contributes to global initiatives including the World Economic Forum, UNDP, and OECD-FAO, with a focus on halting deforestation and improving smallholder livelihoods.

...... Dr Darian McBain is a world renown expert, speaker and author on sustainability, ESG, supply chains, business human rights and sustainable finance. Dr Darian is the CEO and Founder of OCSO Asia and Co-Founder of GreenFi. She was the inaugural Chief Sustainability Officer for the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Prior to that role, she was Global Director of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability with Thai Union Group.  Dr Darian is Visiting Professor in Practice, London School of Economics and Political Science;  Senior Associate, University of Oxford, Public and Third Sector Academy for Sustainable Finance; and Adjunct, University of Sydney Integrated Sustainability Analysis. She is also Chairperson, Be Slavery Free and President, Impact Committee, Innovafeed.

... Jenny Davis-Peccoud is an impact-oriented advisor who brings players together to reinvent new ways of doing business sustainably. In her nearly 30 years at Bain, Jenny Davis-Peccoud founded Bain’s global Sustainability & Responsibility practice, Bain’s global Social Impact Practice and Bain’s UK Public Sector Practice Her experiences have included business transformation, sustainable growth and value creation, sustainable supply chains and multi-stakeholder collaborations Beyond her broad expertise, Jenny has a particular focus on food systems transformation, working across agriculture, packaged food companies, food retail and agri financing on the systemic solutions needed to drive impactful, lasting and sustainable change Jenny also manages Bain’s relationship with the World Economic Forum and has experience with the Forum on leading community development around initiatives such as the First Movers Coalition for Food, which is convening over 30 organisations to develop harmonized demand signals for high sustainable food commodities, Jenny writes and speaks extensively in her areas of expertise, featuring in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Le Monde, NRC Handelsblad and The Business Times of Singapore Originally from San Francisco, Jenny is now based in Amsterdam, after spending over 20 years in London.

...... Nitin Verma is an Agriculture Counsellor at Canada’s Indo-Pacific Agriculture Office (IPAAO) in the Philippines, a regional presence of Canada’s Agricultural Ministries – Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The IPAAO supports Canada’s regional relationships in the Agriculture and Agri-Food sectors including activities related to trade, market access, regulatory collaboration, and technical exchange. With 20 years of experience in Canada’s public sector and international work, Nitin is focused on representing Canada’s trade and technical interests abroad and fostering mutually beneficial international partnerships. He has a Master’s degree in Plant Pathology and a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology, both from Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.

... Carrie Heng is Associate Director of Investments at New Forests since 2017. Carrie is based in Singapore where she is responsible for fund investments covering Southeast Asia. Her main responsibilities include deal origination, transaction structuring, due diligence and operational support for New Forests’ investments. Carrie has been instrumental in structuring and developing carbon projects in the region including the Kuan Kreng Landscape project in Thailand (the first investment under New Forests Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2). Prior to joining New Forests, Carrie spent more than 7 years in the infrastructure advisory practice at KPMG. She holds a Master’s degree in Finance from Monash University, Australia.

...... Senior new business, project management and private sector development specialist with over 20 years direct experience in the design, oversight and implementation of complex international technical assistance programs, including extensive work in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. He is well versed in private sector development, agriculture, land use planning and international best business practices, with a strong track record for facilitating stakeholder relationships for tangible and practical results. Proven track record for impact with USAID, MCC, FCDO/DFID and other donors, working as both a Team Leader, Chief of Party, or key member of a multi-disciplinary team on both innovative projects and winning proposals. Prior experience as Executive or Practice Area lead who helped grow technical, financial and human capital for firms/clients. Strong change management expertise including experience leading teams through COVID, Brexit, budget cuts and realignments.

....... Haewon Kim is a Compliance Inspection Committee Member of Korea’s Carbon Neutrality Green Growth Commission and *Vice President of the Korea Data Science Society. She also serves as a Special Appointed Professor at Ewha Womans University in the Humanities Convergence major. With prior experience as a Program Director at CJ ENM (Home Shopping), she brings expertise spanning sustainability policy, data science, academia, and media to her role at Thanks Carbon.

...... Agriculture and agri-business expert with 15+ years experience across private, public sector, NGO, start-ups and consulting. Ex Olam Ventures VP, ex head of APAC rice Corteva, Nufarm marketing head, Syngenta head of sales and marketing APAC, rice solutions, Principal BMGF Ethiopia. Board member of several start ups in agtech and agriculture, Board of Directors Mangrove Consulting