TRACK CHAIR:  Vishwesh Iyer, Publisher, ASIABIZTODAY

TRACK CHAIR: Michelle Koh, Founding Partner, Growth & Innovation, SAYA

TRACK CHAIR: Andy Edmonds, General Manager, MSQ ASIA

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Anil Konidena, CEO & President Director, LANDMARK GROUP SEA

People today are increasingly looking to global brands to make the world a better place. For marketers, this expands our sphere of influence beyond driving the business to driving social impact as well. One powerful way of doing this is through inclusive marketing. But what does inclusive marketing truly entail? And how do you transition from a well-meaning marketing campaign to meaningful cultural impact while achieving measurable ROI?

In this CMO Masterclass, Mastercard’s head of marketing & communications for Asia Pacific, Julie Nestor, reveals the brand’s leading approach to inclusive marketing that celebrates diversity as it strengthens the business. From the Cannes Lion Grand Prix-winning ‘True Name’ campaign empowering transgender and nonbinary cardholders to use their True Name, to creating another Lion winner, Australia’s first pictureless motion picture for the blind and low vision community, designing open-source technology for wheelchair users to become tennis ball kids and so much more, Mastercard has set the standard. Join this session to learn how to innovate thoughtfully, leverage technologies creatively, and drive meaningful consumer engagement for your company.

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Julie Nestor, Executive Vice President Head of Marketing and Communications Asia Pacific, MASTERCARD

To meet the evolving needs of its customers, DBS embarked on an ambitious transformation programme. A cultivated culture of customer obsession, achieved through a deliberate transformation programme and innovative strategies, has helped the bank consistently drive growth and exceptional customer experiences. Bidyut Dumra, its Head of Innovation, will share insights on what it takes for organisations to transform and enable sustainable culture change.

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Bidyut Dumra, Head of Innovation, DBS BANK

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

 Vaibhav Dabhade, CEO & Founder, ANCHANTO

This session provides a practical framework for integrating brand and performance strategies to achieve explosive growth. Learn how strong brands influence consumer behavior, enhance performance campaigns, and drive measurable results. We’ll explore real-world case studies and unveil Google’s latest tools to help you build a winning brand and maximize your ROI.

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Deepak Chandran, Head of Ads Research & Marketing Effectiveness, GOOGLE APAC

The session will explore how organizations can establish content ecosystems that merge cutting-edge AI technologies with human creativity. By blending automation with expert talent, enterprises can streamline content production, personalize customer experiences, and address the evolving demands of a digital-first world. This session highlights practical strategies for scaling content operations, empowering teams, and delivering impactful, data-driven narratives, ensuring a seamless alignment with business objectives and audience expectations.

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Anirudh Singla, Founder & CEO, PEPPER CONTENT

Join us as we delve into the world of convenience retailing and the transformative journey of 7-Eleven, the world’s largest convenience retail chain. We welcome Danni Peirce, CEO for 7-Eleven at the DFI Retail Group, who will offer her insights into the company’s vision and how it is redefining the traditional store model by harnessing innovation and technology to revolutionise the customer experience. She will be joined in conversation on stage by Dina.

20 MINUTE FIRESIDE CHAT

Danni Peirce, Chief Executive Officer – 7-Eleven, DFI RETAIL GROUP

MODERATOR: Dina Abdullah Alsagoff, Founder & Chief Digital Marketing Strategist, THE DIGITAL MARKETING THERAPIST

In a time when seemingly everything online is characterised by a trend, the biggest question is whether anything is actually trending at all. Fuelled by the fear of logging off and the rise of social media, consumers are adopting and discarding trends at a rapid rate. But should we brace for an era of trend fatigue?

Join Joe McDonnell, Director of Insight at WGSN, for a deep dive into the cultural and environmental impacts of the TikTok-influenced accelerated trend cycle and discover the lasting effects that are forcing brands to rethink their strategies.

Join this exclusive session to:

Discover key brand strategies to win Gen Z consumers

Understand how to cut through the noise and tap into the right trends for your brand

Uncover the drivers disrupting the trend cycle, from visual pollution to tech-celleration

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Joe McDonnell, Director of Insight, WGSN

What are the key barriers in adopting a digital first approach and how to overcome them? Join Murilo as he will share how RBI scaled learnings across the network and unlock growth for partners. If youre looking to know what it takes to win and thrive in the QSR industry, this session is not one to miss!

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Murilo Becegato, Director, Digital Sales, APAC, BURGER KING

• Creating hybridized, unified customer experiences by merging online and offline retail

• How to measure retail success?

• How to use technology to create seamless online/offline experiences

• Activate your employees as brand advocates

40 MINUTE PANEL

Alvin Neo, Chief Customer & Marketing Officer, FAIRPRICE GROUP

Toru Koyama, Executive Officer, CIO & CDO, H2O RETAILING 

Poonam Genzler, Head of Paid Media, MONEYHERO GROUP

MODERATOR: Mila Sedivy, Managing Director, APAC, WE ARE DISTILLERY

• Understanding the power of incorporating purpose driven brand strategy • Implementing brand accessibility and DEI across brand, product and retail strategy

• Driving brand love/ affinity in light of rising inflation and decreasing purchasing power of consumers’ wallets

• Balancing brand building and long-term sales or performance marketing for short term

40 MINUTE PANEL

Julie Nestor, Executive Vice President Head of Marketing and Communications Asia Pacific, MASTERCARD 

Sophie Guerin, Global Head of D&I, Wealth & Personal Banking, HSBC

Prerna Suri, Vice President, Communications, Asia and the Middle East, SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

MODERATOR: Michelle Koh, Founding Partner, Growth & Innovation, SAYA

• How is technology used to create a connection with the customer and improve customer experience?

• Looking at use cases of AI to achieve production efficiencies, drive revenue opportunities, and create hyperpersonalized experiences

• Predicting consumer behaviour through the use of AI and machine learning

40 MINUTE PANEL

Mason Tay, Global Markets Growth Lead, TRIPADVISOR

Swetha Vigraham, SEA ECommerce Leader, SHARK NINJA

May Chin, Head of Product Growth & Analytics, ZALORA

Kishore Kumar Shetty, Sr Vice President, TELEPERFORMANCE

Simrat Sawhney, VP Sales & Client Growth Asia, EPSILON

MODERATOR: Alon Weinstock, Managing Director, LEAD TO PEAK

 • Top use cases, early adoption, and expected outcomes

• Recommendation: take a responsible approach, prioritize governance and privacy, experiment but don’t settle for mature use cases only

Xiaofeng Wang, Principal Analyst, FORRESTER

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

This session explores the realities of in-housing—examining the good, the bad, and unexpected challenges brands face when bringing capabilities in-house. Leaders will share insights from their in-housing journeys, addressing common barriers, surprising outcomes, and essential factors for success. Attendees will get a candid look at how in-housing can reshape marketing, operations, and business growth, ending with actionable advice that provides brands a roadmap to start—or elevate—their in-house agency effectively.

40 MINUTE PANEL

Ann Gacutan, Unilever In-house Agency Lead, SEA, UNILEVER

Sivaram Parameswaran, the Consumer Marketing Director, PROPERTYGURU

Georgina Koh, Director, Marketing Activation, SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD

MODERATOR: Nathalie D Ramirez, Founder and Managing Partner, SAYA

For too long, payments have been viewed as a necessary evil—a cost center to minimize rather than a strategic lever to drive growth. But as commerce evolves, businesses are waking up to a harsh reality: outdated payment setups don’t just cost you money—they hold you back. In this session, Sameer Talwar shares why it’s time to rethink payments as a strategic asset. He reveals how businesses can transform their payment stack to unlock growth, enhance customer experiences, and stay ahead of the competition.

20 MINUTE FIRESIDE CHAT

Sameer Talwar, Head of ANZ & Greater China, PRIMER

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Peter Laughton, Founder, EEBZ

Ann Gacutan, Unilever In-house Agency Lead, SEA, UNILEVER

Sivaram Parameswaran, the Consumer Marketing Director, PROPERTYGURU

Georgina Koh, Director, Marketing Activation, SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD

MODERATOR: Nathalie D Ramirez, Founder and Managing Partner, SAYA

Please head to stage 1 or 2, or stay in the room for some downtime and wait for the next panel!

• How to use technologies such as AI to convert footfall into sales?
• Expanding your physical footprint: where to invest and how much? • How to ensure global brand strategies are efficiently and consistently executed in store designs?
• How to delight the customer through instore experiences?
• How to maximize customer spend through instore design?
• Building instore experiences for the mobile first generation • How can the landlord help brands and retailers achieve retail success?

40 MINUTE PANEL

Shahrazz Hayat, Chief Executive Officer, NIPPECRAFT / COLLINS DEBDEN

Abigail Concepcion Beja, Head of Retail, SHILLA TRAVEL RETAIL SINGAPORE

Richa Tulasyan, Founder, AHIKA CONSULTING

Anton Reyniers, Head of Strategy, WE ARE SOCIAL

MODERATOR: Clarisse Desgeorge, Omnichannel Director South Asia Pacific, TIFFANY & CO

2X10 MINUTE PRESENTATIONS + 20 MINUTE PANEL

Grace Astari, Creative Director, APAC Innovation, DIAGEO

Perrine Cavat, Scotch Innovation Director APAC, DIAGEO

David Chung, General Manager-Marketing and Customer Relationship, MAZDA

MODERATOR: Simon Hearn Managing Director, SJH PARTNERSHIPS

• How are brands and ecommerce retailers navigating the profitability crisis?
• Strategies for reducing customer acquisition cost and driving organic traffic
• How to manage and maximize vertical and horizontal marketplaces?
• What platforms are seeing most returns in the Asian market? 
• What role do delivery aggregators play?

40 MINUTE PANEL

Andy Lo, Commercial Director, DELIVEROO

Akshay Halve, APAC Senior Regional Brand Manager – Digital Commerce, COLGATE PALMOLIVE

Mark Gray, Managing Director, CRESCO DATA PTE. LTD.

Shawn Roy, APAC Scaled Innovation & Insights Lead, HALEON

MODERATOR: Hein Hun Leong, Vice President, DSG CONSUMER PARTNERS

What circular business model (repair, rental, resale) offers the biggest commercial opportunity for brands?

• How can brands and retailers incrementally facilitate a shift to a more circular pattern in consumption without alienating consumers and losing revenue?

• What part can technology play in this? • How to make it work commercially and operationally?

40 MINUTE PANEL

Sarah Garner, Founder & CEO, RETYKLE

Hari Vijayarajan, CEO-APAC, REEBELO

Vishal Salunkhe, Vice President & Regional Head of Commercial, CAROUSELL

Tingzhi Liu, Founder, WASTD

MODERATOR: Vishwesh Iyer, Publisher, ASIABIZTODAY

• How to find, engage and partner with the right creators and influencers

• How are brands other than fashion and cosmetics leveraging social selling and doing so profitably?

• Leveraging social selling to drive business growth

• What are the pitfalls of social selling? And what can brands do to avoid them?

40 MINUTE PANEL

Charlene Lee, Global Public Relations Director, SHEIN

Nabill Shukry, Founder, CHEEKIES

Roopa Sharma, Director – Brand and Content Marketing, AUDIBLE

Byung Jun Lee (Jun), Head of Business Development, BELIVE TECHNOLOGY

MODERATOR: Jenny Hall, Managing Partner, PLAYBOOK XP

• What is working in terms of media mix and channels such as Retail Media, Google Ads and Social Media on local market level?

• Are there any new channels or technology innovations that are working well for ecommerce and DTC?

40 MINUTE PANEL

Alin Dobrea, Marketing Director, ZALORA

Edwin Garcia, Head of Digital Marketing, Ecommerce and Media, BAYER

Priyanka Nath, Founder, CRUX ADVISORY

Edouard Delvaux, APAC Digital Commerce, COLGATE PALMOLIVE

MODERATOR: Ali Malik, Senior Director – Brand + Analytics & Insights – Hair Care Asia Pacific & Australia, P&G