WHERE THE BRANDS OF TOMORROW DEFINE THE FUTURE OF COMMERCE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5TH - MAIN EVENT DAY

9:15AM

9:15am
PLENARY STAGE: THE FUTURE CONSUMER

FUTR GROUP OPENING

WELCOME ADDRESS & PLENARY MC

CHAIR: Simon Hearn, Managing Director, SJH PARTNERSHIPS

9:20AM

9:20AM - ALL STAGES
PLENARY STAGE: THE FUTURE CONSUMER

Lessons from A 1000 Launches: Winning Brands in a Hyper Fragmented World

OPENING KEYNOTE

In a world where a hundreds of well funded start ups fight with incumbents, attention spans shatter with hundreds of media channels and the trifecta of chat, gaming, social commerce taking over share of mind, how can brands win share sustainably. Unilever International is the fast growing global white space division of Unilever that has thrived in this environment and will share lessons from a 1000 brand launches done over the past few years.

Aseem Puri, Chief Executive Officer, UNILEVER INTERNATIONAL

9:40AM

9:40 - ALL STAGES
Consumer Insights - Connecting with the Future Consumer

 • How are brands and retailers tracking, segmenting and forecasting consumer behavior?

• Who is the future customer; their persona and profile?

• What are the trends in consumer expectations, habits and interactions across the region?

30 MINUTE PANEL

Satyaki Banerjee, Group Chief Operating Officer, LUXASIA

Fetty Kwartati, CEO, PT SARINAH

Sherawaye Hagger, Head of Comms & PR, Region East Asia, H&M

MODERATOR: Madhurjya Banerjee, Senior Global Brand Director Oral Care, UNILEVER

10:10AM

10:10AM
Modern Love: Dating and Fostering New Connections

Join Papri Dev, Vice President of APAC Communications, Tinder, and Evangeline Leong, Founder and CEO of Kobe Global Technologies, for a deep dive into the art of making winning matches for Generation Z. With their unique perspective towards making new connections and falling in love – with people and with brands, learn more about how brands like Tinder are tailoring communications and marketing strategies to appeal to this future generation, from IRL experiences to influencer marketing.

30 MINUTE FIRESIDE CHAT

Papri Dev, VP APAC Communications, TINDER 

Evangeline Leong, Founder & CEO, KOBE GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES

MODERATOR: Simon Hearn Managing Director, SJH PARTNERSHIPS

10:40AM

10:40AM
NETWORKING BREAK & 121 MEETINGS

STAGE 1: UNIFIED RETAIL STRATEGIES

TRACK CHAIR:  Vishwesh Iyer, Publisher, ASIABIZTODAY

STAGE 2: BUILDING BRANDS

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

STAGE 3: CUSTOMER JOURNEY AND PERFORMANCE MARKETING

TRACK CHAIR: Andy Edmonds, General Manager, MSQ ASIA

11:20AM

11:20 AM
Maximising consumers' minds and wallet space

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Anil Konidena, CEO & President Director, LANDMARK GROUP SEA

 

11:20 AM
From Campaigns to Culture: The Role of Inclusive Marketing in Business and Society

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

 

11:20 AM
Customer experience: transformation by design

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

 

11:40AM

11:40AM
When All Commerce Becomes E-Commerce: The Omnichannel Imperative

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

 Vaibhav Dabhade, CEO & Founder, ANCHANTO

11:40 AM
Brand + Performance: The Growth Equation for Retail Marketers Ready to supercharge your retail marketing?

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

11:40 AM
Building Content Studios - Infusing AI and Talent in a Digital-Native Enterprise

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

12:00PM

12:00PM
Convenience Reimagined: Anytime, Anywhere

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

 

 

 

 

12:00PM
The TikTok Trend Cycle

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

12:00PM
Flame-Grilled Transformation: How Burger King elevates guest experience with digitalization

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

12:20PM

12:20PM
Shopping everywhere and all at once: “There is only one channel and that is your customer” 

• 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, NTUC ENTERPRISE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED

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

12:20PM
Building purpose driven brands

• 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

12:20PM
Hyper personalization and discovery: using tech & AI to build seamless customer journeys

• 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

13:00PM

13:00PM
LUNCH, NETWORKING & 121 MEETINGS

2:00PM

2:00PM
Reality check: how to harness the power of generative AI in marketing?

 • 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

2:00PM
Bringing your ad agency in house

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

2:00PM
Delivering next-generation customer experience with seamless payments

The role of payments in shaping the customer experience is pivotal, with research consistently highlighting that complex checkout processes and payment failures lead to cart abandonment and erode brand loyalty.

But efficient and innovative payments don’t just streamline customer transactions—they unlock new market opportunities, cut operational costs, and accelerate growth.

Despite these advantages, findings from the Untold Story of Payment Pioneers report reveal that payments often remain an overlooked strategic priority by senior leadership.

Join the conversation to explore why payments should become a strategic priority in every business.

40 MINUTE PRESENTATION & DISCUSSION

Sameer Talwar, Head of ANZ & Greater China, PRIMER

2:20PM

2:20PM
Direct to Consumer: How to Boost Direct E-commerce Sales Without Alienating the Channel
Brand direct-to-consumer sites (worldwide e-commerce sites, dedicated shops on Shoppee or Amazon or local sites) are under increasing pressure to provide brand revenue growth. They must do this without jeopardising sales through more traditional channels, in order to grow total revenues and not simply ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’. During this 20 minute talk we will take you on a journey to show you how brands can build their DTC offering without compromising other parts of the channel. We will share five key learnings from our own real life experiences, as well as the work we have been doing recently supporting some of the largest DTC sites in the world.

20 MINUTE KEYNOTE

Peter Laughton, Founder, EEBZ

2:20PM
Bringing your ad agency in house - panel cont'd

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

2:20PM
Delivering next-generation customer experience with seamless payments - session cont'd

Sameer Talwar, Head of ANZ & Greater China, PRIMER

2:40PM

2:40PM
Designing the future store

• 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

 

2:40PM
Leveraging brand partnerships

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

 

2:40PM
Quick commerce, horizontal and vertical marketplaces - regional trends in ecommerce
  • 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

3:20PM

3:20PM
NETWORKING BREAK & 121 MEETINGS

3:50PM

3:50PM

3:50PM
Commercialising circular retail models

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

3:50PM
Shoppertainment & social commerce

• 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

Xiaofeng Wang Principal Analyst, FORRESTER

MODERATOR: Jenny Hall, Managing Partner, PLAYBOOK XP

 

3:50PM
Connecting the dots in your media strategy

• 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

4:50PM

END OF DAY