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Secretary General
YBhg. Mr. Fabian Bigar was appointed as Secretary General of the Ministry of Digital on 24 June 2024. In this pivotal role, YBhg. Tuan Fabian Bigar is responsible for steering the formulation and the execution of Malaysia’s digital strategies and initiatives, overseeing the national digital transformation endeavours and liaising with a diverse array of stakeholders to propel the enhancement of the government’s digital offerings and infrastructure.
Prior to this appointment, YBhg. Mr. Fabian Bigar served as Chief Executive Officer of MyDIGITAL Corporation [previously known as Strategic Change Management Office (SCMO)], Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department effective 19 April 2021. In this role, his mandate is to drive change management, ensure the successful delivery of the National Fourth Industrial Revolution Policy (N4IRP) and the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MDEB). Under the leadership of YBhg. Mr Fabian Bigar, MyDigital Corporation has served as the main secretariat of the National Digital Economy and 4IR Council (MED4IRN). Additionally, he headed the Malaysia Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (MYCentre4IR), a collaborative initiative between the Malaysian government and the World Economic Forum.
YBhg. Mr. Fabian Bigar’s career includes notable positions such as Undersecretary for Policy and International Relations at the Ministry of Health, Director of the Civil Service Delivery Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department, and Director of the National Key Economic Area (Healthcare), as well as the Director for National Key Results Area (Low Income Households) in the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) under the Prime Minister’s Department. During his tenure at PEMANDU, he was also temporarily assigned to the Presidential Delivery Bureau in the Republic of Tanzania from August to December 2014.
YBhg. Mr. Fabian Bigar holds a Bachelor of Science from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA and a Master’s in Public Policy from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo.
Hailing from Kuching, Sarawak, he completed his early education at St Joseph’s School, Kuching, and Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Hj. Bujang, Miri.
Secretary General
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Group Chief Technology Officer
Dinesh Barathy is a highly accomplished and versatile IT professional who possesses extensive experience working with multinational corporations (MNCs) of various sizes worldwide. With a solid background in technology management, Dinesh has played a crucial role in the design, implementation, customization, upgrading, and migration of IT solutions throughout his career.
Throughout his professional journey, Dinesh has had the privilege of collaborating with industry leaders in diverse sectors, acquiring invaluable expertise and developing a wide range of technical skills. His extensive experience spans multiple countries, providing him with a global perspective on IT practices and strategies.
Dinesh's success extends beyond his technical expertise; he has also showcased exceptional leadership capabilities in building high-performing teams. By emphasizing the delivery of exceptional services, Dinesh has nurtured teams that consistently exceed expectations, fostering a culture of continuous improvement through innovation and technology.
Dinesh pursued his academic ambitions and earned a Master's Degree in Technology Management from the prestigious University of Malaysia Sarawak. This academic achievement has laid a strong foundation for his professional growth and enabled him to excel in his career.
Currently, Dinesh holds the esteemed position of Group Chief Technology Officer of Collectius Group, a prominent restructuring and servicing partner for financial institutions and commercial companies in Asia. In this influential role, he oversees technology operations across seven countries, demonstrating his ability to manage complex IT infrastructures on a regional scale.
As Pele once said, "Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." This quote resonates with Dinesh's journey, highlighting the qualities that have propelled him to achieve remarkable success in the field of IT.
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Vice President, APAC Technology & Customer Success
Dr. Maria Singson is an “AI for Good” enthusiast who advises companies on how to establish a Customer Success function to stay advantageous in today’s AI-centric technology landscape. In her current role as VP of Customer Success at IBM APAC, she and her team help clients deploy IBM’s AI, hybrid cloud and quantum computing technologies so that they can reap longer term ROI from practical use cases. Her past roles, from founder of analytics consulting startups to being Chief Science Officer for Genpact’s Digital Transformation business, and Leader of Innovation Analytics at Dun & Bradstreet, have always centered around creating value for clients on data science and AI. She holds a PhD in Cognitive Science and has taught courses on AI Readiness and Customer Success Best Practices in the U.S. and APAC.
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Former Group Chief Human Capital Officer
(Dr) Nora Manaf successfully led Maybank’s People, Workplace, and Employer of Choice Transformation since she joined Maybank in September 2008 to where it is today. The SMU (Singapore Management University) wrote and published this as a Case Study in 2019. In 2010, Maybank was ranked 17th in the Country and 5th in 2010 and top-ranked in 2012, a position maintained to date (2023). Maybank was also the first Malaysian entity to be included in the Willis Towers Watson Global High Performing Companies list from 2011 until today. Since then, Maybank is also on other Global rankings including Bloomberg DEI and Times Best Companies. These are in addition to Country lists and rankings. Maybank’s performance reached new heights in the same period, breaking through the USD1B PBT threshold in 2010 for the first time in its history since 1960, to where it is today, multi-fold. This demonstrates the link between People transformation and business performance.
(Dr) Nora is a globally recognized leader evidenced by Certifications received ranging from Chartered Fellow of CIPD (UK), the first and currently still the only non-Singaporean national/Resident to be conferred the Master Professional (MP) from IHRP (Singapore), conferred Chartered Banker (CB Institute, Scotland), as well as being conferred Doctorate by Practice from The Herriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
(Dr) Nora chaired several national-level committees and holds several Board memberships such as the President of the Malaysian Commercial Banks Association (MCBA) since 2009, Chairman of the BNM-sponsored HR Networking Group (HRNG), Council Member of the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) and co-chaired the ASEAN Research Centre (ARC) of Asia School of Business. (Dr) Nora was also appointed as the Project Champion in 2024 for the Industry’s Future Skills Framework (FSF) that was launched by the BNM Governor and HR Minister in July 2024.
(Dr) Nora is a Member of the Yayasan Khazanah Board of Trustees, Member of Board of Investment, UiTM, Member of Board of Examiners for the Asia Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB), Member of the Asia Pacific Industry Advisory Panel for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and a Qualified Person for Training (QPRT) for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
(Dr) Nora is a member of the National Labour Advisory Committee (NLAC), a council member of Industry Advisory Council (IAC) of Department of Polytechnic & Community College Education (DPCCE), an Advisory Council Member of Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera as well as for the University-Industry Advisory Council Universiti Utara Malaysia and Academic Advisory Board Member of Putra Business School (PBS).
(Dr) Nora was appointed as an Adjunct Professor by Pusat Citra (UKM). She is also
an Adjunct Professor appointed by the College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia
(UUM) since 2015 to date. In July 2019, (Dr) Nora was also appointed to the Board of Advisors for UUM’s undergraduate program for Bachelor of Applied Linguistics
and Business Administration with Honours.
(Dr)Nora’s Board memberships include the Board of Etiqa General Insurance Berhad and MBB Labs Private Limited, Bangalore.
(Dr) Nora is active in her quest to make a difference to empower women. She was the Founder Council of the Malaysia Chapter of the 30 Percent Club, is the Executive Sponsor for Maybank’s Women Mentor Women Council established in 2013, as well as a Mentor for the ICAEW-TalentCorp Women in Leadership Programme. In 2016, (Dr) Nora was awarded the “Beacon of Light” award at the National Women in Leadership Summit organized by the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) in partnership with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. (Dr) Nora also spoke at the Women in Leadership seminar at Oxford University in 2016 and was again invited as Oxford University Provost’s Guest Speaker in 2023. On 31 March 2021, (Dr) Nora was conferred the Top 50 Impact Lifetime Achievement Awards for Women Excellence by the KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific. In September 2024, (Dr) Nora was conferred the 2024 World Outstanding Woman Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award at the recent World Women Economic and Business Summit.
(Dr) Nora’s past experiences beyond Banking cover Semiconductor (Intel) and Telecommunications (Maxis). She was also a key member of post-M&A Integration and Transformation successful Projects, which included Standard Chartered Bank’s acquisition of Chase Retail Bank in Hong Kong and several years after, Standard Chartered’s acquisition of PT Bank Permata in Indonesia. Whilst based in London, (Dr) Nora led key Leadership Pipeline/strengthening building programs. (Dr) Nora is a Chartered Accountant and also holds a post-grad certification in Human Resource Development from Cornell University and is a certified Gallup Strengths Finder Coach Level II. She is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School. In 2023, (Dr) Nora achieved Level 4 Black Belt for MSPC Sustainability Practitioner certification. She is also an EXCO Sponsor for Maybank’s Group Sustainability Culture & Governance, which has made commendable strides with wide acknowledgements in the space.
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Corporate Innovation Specialist
Ganesh Mahendranathan is an impact driven corporate innovator, design thinking leader and entrepreneur with a strong professional foundation as an auditor and strategy consultant. He has proven success in delivering innovation and driving incremental value across corporates (e.g RHB) start-ups (e.g. SportsFix, plantOS), scale-ups (e.g. Gentari, Fave, MoEngage), innovation consulting firms (e.g. NOBA Ventures, Found8) and the Malaysian government (MaGIC). He has been invited to speak on innovation and start-ups at conferences (e.g. Wild Digital SEA, Future Finance ASEAN, Grooves Work Technology Summit, KL Startup Summit etc.) and tertiary institutions (University of Nottingham, Asia School of Business and UCSI University).
In his free time, he’s a sports [Football, Tennis, Scuba Diving (Padi-Advanced), Skydiving (USPA-A license)] and board games enthusiast (Top 1% globally in Chess, Scrabble, Risk and Catan) as well as an aspiring polymath in the field of Health & Wellness, Social Sciences (Economics, Geography, Communication and Anthropology) and Natural Sciences (Physics, Astronomy and Mental Models/Logic).
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Corporate Innovation Coach, Ekipa Consultancy
Jakkris specializes in the Innovation Processes across the combined landscape of Business and Technology. He is experienced in working with multinational and local corporations including ExxonMobil, Roche, and Pruksa Holdings as well as StartUps through collaborations across multiple roles through innovation, including hackathons as the organizer, mentor, judge, and advisor. He was also successful in creating and leading an internal “corporate startup team”, combining multiple innovation and agile frameworks, creating a new culture and mindset needed for the team to succeed.
With more than 15 years of corporate career, including Lead Innovation Practitioner at ExxonMobil, Roche, Pruksa Holdings and Bangkok Glass, he also held leadership positions at Wind Training, a health-tech startup based in Bangkok.
He is currently a Corporate Innovation Coach with Ekipa Consultancy. Given his very diverse experience across multiple industries, as well as significant time living in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Thailand, Singapore, and the United States, he is a strong advocate for inclusive innovation where every role, culture, thoughts, and ideas matter.
He has also been actively engaged as a mentor within Rise Corporate Innovation Powerhouse, offering his expertise to support their Rise University program, which principally encompasses internal corporate hackathons and extensive capability-building initiatives over the course of several weeks or months.
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Vice President, Investors Digital Experience
Kelferd Hor is the Vice President of Investors Digital Experience at RHB Banking Group, where he is responsible for the development and delivery of Conversational Banking (Live Chat, Chatbot & AI) and Digital Wealth Management.
He has a strong background in technology startups, having worked with leading platforms such as Lazada, Ensogo, and Migme. He holds the prestigious Chartered IT Professional (CITP) designation from the United Kingdom (UK) and a Certified Professional (CP) credential recognized by the Australian government.
He has a Professional Master’s in Business Administration (PMBA) in Entrepreneurship from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) with an Academic Excellence Award and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA). He has been honored by MarTech Outlook as a Top Leader in the Marketing Sector 2023.
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Head of FINOLAB
Since July 2019, Makoto Shibata has been in charge of community management and ecosystem development of FINOLAB, FinTech Hub in central Tokyo with 55 startup members, 8 industry groups and 24 corporate members. In his former position at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, he was leading R&D initiatives in emerging technology and planning of online/ mobile financial services since 1998 and was involved in a wide range of projects for both retail and wholesale customers. His previous career, starting in The Bank of Tokyo, includes Corporate Planning, Accounting, Corporate Finance, and Retail Customer Services. After leaving the bank in Sep. 2018, he became an Executive Fellow of Japan Digital Design, the innovation arm of the bank, and spent 6 months at Oxford University as an Academic Visitor to conduct research on FinTech. He has also been serving as an external board member at new digital bank, UI Bank, since it acquired a banking license in 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Tokyo and Master’s of Science in Development Economics from the University of Oxford.
Head of FINOLAB, Chief Community Officer
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Deputy Director General (Authentication and Verification Division),
Mr. Manish Bhardwaj belongs to the 1997 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of the Gujarat Cadre. He holds M. Tech in Optical Fiber Communication from IIT, Delhi and BE in Electronics & Communication from University of Roorkee (now IIT, Roorkee). Mr. Manish Bhardwaj has over 26 years of rich experience of public service in various positions in the State & Central Government with exposure to Urban Governance, Finance, Technical & Vocational Education, Revenue Administration, and Developmental Administration & Census.
He has been instrumental in policy formulation and decision making at various levels during his tenure.
He is presently serving as Deputy Director General, UIDAI- Head Quarter, New Delhi, India from 25 September 2023. He has been pivotal in strengthening the Aadhaar Authentication Ecosystem, especially in shaping the ground breaking AI-ML innovation of Aadhaar Face Authentication, which has simplified the authentication process, especially for the disabled, elderly, and physically demanding professions.
Under his direction, UIDAI's Aadhaar Face Authentication has been recognized for its potential and has been awarded the prestigious "Prime Ministers Awards for Excellence in Public Administration" in the Innovation category for 2023–2024.
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Head of Machine Learning & AI
Tariq is the Head of Machine Learning & AI at Maxis, leading innovative AI solutions and driving operational efficiency. With extensive experience in data science, ML operations and AI strategy, he has spearheaded transformative projects across business functions. A Fulbright Scholar and MIT graduate, Tariq is a recognized leader in AI ethics and governance, frequently speaking at industry panels and workshops.
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Chairman
Sarjit Singh is a Senior Advisor at Deloitte Southeast Asia and the Leader of Deloitte Learning Solutions. He leads a team of experts in conceptualizing and delivering programs in financial reporting, corporate governance, risk management, internal controls, sustainability, artificial intelligence, board readiness, and leadership. With over 30 years of experience in accounting and finance, Singh has held various leadership roles, including CEO Singapore of InCorp Global, Chairman and Senior Partner of Kreston ACA, CFO of Aviva Asia, and CFO of AIA Singapore. He has extensive experience in assurance and advisory, having spent 16 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He also serves as a member of the Advocacy Committee of The Institute of Internal Auditors Singapore, and a member of the Investigations and Disciplinary Panel at the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.
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CEO
Bobby is acknowledged as one of Top 20 Global Leaders for “Future of Work” and “Business Strategy” by Thinkers 360; one of the Top 25 “Globalization Powerhouse Leaders” by Globalization Today; and one of Top 50 Global Leaders for “Digital Disruption” by Thinkers 360.
He is the Founder of Regenerative Futures (formerly Matryzel Consulting), an independent advisory firm focused on global sourcing, M&A, carbon management & circular economy practices. It is acknowledged as one of the World’s “Best of the Best Outsourcing Advisory Firms”, and one of top 20 best outsourcing advisory firms for four years (2013, 2014, 2015, 2019). He brings with him over two decades of experience in consulting and management across Technology, Business Services and building global businesses. He advises federal governments across North & South America, Middle East/ North Africa, Asia-Pacific and Australia on ICT sector development with emphasis on policy transformation, and industry-government partnerships aimed at creating domestic resilience through increasing productive (and inclusive) faculties of technology entrepreneurs. Bobby also advises Fortune 500 customer organizations and emerging market entrepreneurs on strategy, growth, sourcing, expansions, mergers & acquisitions, and inter-party trust ecosystems.
He holds fiduciary responsibilities as a Board Member for IAOP (a New York hq’d Standards setting organization for the sourcing industry), and the Global Sourcing Council (a New York hq’d entity focused on the UN SDGs and sustainable sourcing). He is an Exco Member of Malaysia-Australia Business Council (a KL-hq’d entity focused on cross-border collaboration and enabling trade). Further, he is Co-Founder of a new-age blockchain based technology company called ThynkBlynk (a US hq’d IT firm focused on building heterogeneous inter-party trust).
Bobby is closely involved in developing and enhancing two global business standards for adoption and deployment by corporations worldwide: (a) Outsourcing Professional Standards (OPS) owned and evangelized by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (www.IAOP.org); and (b) Impact Sourcing Standards owned and evangelized by the Global Impact Sourcing Coalition (www.GISC.bsr.org).
He is an avid author of various knowledge papers in both print and electronic media across global publications. Further, he has authored a book titled “Humanomics – Making Sense of Socio-economic Impacts of Global Sourcing”, published by Penguin Random House. Bobby is also frequently quoted in global media – Economist, fDI, Outsourcing Gazette, CIO Asia, CIO Africa, ZD Net, ICT Media BV, Silicon India, The Outsource, Professional Outsourcing, Pulse, MABC Byline, APAC CIO et al. Bobby is a recipient of many awards: Top 20 Thought Leaders in Future of Work, Digital Disruption and Business Strategy (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2924 by Thinkers 360); Excellence in Leadership & Outsourcing (2016, 2015 and 2014, by Asia Outsourcing Congress, India); Golden Globe Tiger Awards for Leadership & Outsourcing (2015, by World CSR Day, APAC); Top 25 Globalization Powerhouse Leaders (2011, by Globalization Today, USA); Member of the Year (2012, by IAOP, USA).
Bobby holds a Diploma in Sustainable Development from Columbia University, USA; and two Masters Degrees (one each in Solid State Physics and Management) from Berhampur University, India. He is one of the world’s first Certified Outsourcing Professionals (COP), a certified Core Banking Professional (HSBC) and an ISO 9000 and CMMi Quality Systems Auditor. Bobby has lived and worked in India, UK, USA, Brazil, UAE and Malaysia. In his spare time, he actively pursues his passion – scuba diving. He has attained several diving related qualifications across the recreational and technical diving spectrum and is currently an open circuit trimix deep exploration diver. He splits his time between Newark, DE, USA and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with his wife and two sons.
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Business Development Director
Jay Te is the Business Development Director of Webby Group, a leading bespoke software development company that specializes in Custom Software Development, EV charging management solutions, AI-powered innovations, and smart farm technology.
Jay has consistently driven digital transformation initiatives across various sectors, helping businesses streamline operations, enhance user engagement, and improve overall efficiency. His expertise in full-stack development, combined with a strategic approach to problem-solving, has enabled Webby Group to deliver scalable, high-performance systems.
Webby Group leverages partnerships with Tencent Cloud, Huawei Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, GCP, AWS and Microsoft Azure to provide AI solutions, cloud integration, and infrastructure optimization. Jay is deeply committed to fostering innovation and helping organizations unlock new opportunities through technology-driven solutions that are both reliable and forward-thinking.
For those who are involved directly or indirectly in innovation activities in their organisations:
CEO, CFO, COO, President, Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Information Officer, VP, MD, GM, Directors, Chiefs, Heads, Managers, Engineers, Analysts, Executives from departments of:
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The session will discuss and address the strategic shift from merely augmenting human tasks to creating a new operational paradigm where AI agents and human teams work in a symbiotic relationship to drive unprecedented efficiency and innovation.
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This session will highlight how AI is bridging the gap for the millions of unbanked and underbanked individuals across the Asia-Pacific region. It will showcase how innovative fintech companies and traditional banks are leveraging AI-powered credit scoring, personalized micro-lending, and mobile-first banking solutions to expand financial access in developing markets.
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The session will showcase real-world examples from cities like Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen, highlighting how intelligent systems are optimizing public services, from smart transportation and energy grids to public safety and waste management.
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As intelligent systems permeate every aspect of business and society, governance, security, and data integrity have become central to achieving sustainable outcomes. This session will explore how organizations can align technology strategies with board-level priorities, balance innovation with cyber resilience, and ensure that intelligent transformation creates long-term value.
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This session will discuss how AI is a crucial tool for achieving sustainable development goals in Asia. It will explore real-world applications of intelligent systems, from optimizing energy grids and resource management to mitigating the effects of climate change.
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