Speaker Categories: Circular Economy

Chris Southgate 

⁠ESG Commercial Lead, Microsoft

Chris Southgate is a sustainability and technology leader with over 25 years of experience helping organizations achieve ambitious ESG goals through innovation. As Sustainability Lead at Microsoft, he partners with board directors and C-suite executives, advising on multi-year ESG technology strategies. Chris has represented Microsoft on panels and industry forums, shaping thought leadership on technology’s role in enabling net-zero commitments. He was a key contributor to Greenprint, a digital platform simplifying ESG data management for the financial sector. Based in Singapore for over a decade, Chris also co-founded Olives & Bear, a social enterprise supporting underserved communities.

Michael Smith

Co-founder & General Partner, Regeneration.VC

Michael Smith is a systems changemaker operating at the intersection of business, philanthropy, research, and community. With a background spanning media, climate, and finance, Michael works across sectors to accelerate transition to circular and regenerative systems.  Michael is Co-Founder and General Partner at Regeneration.VC, a climate-focused venture firm investing in early-stage companies transforming consumer value chains. Regeneration partners with world leading corporations to embed circular and regenerative technologies while delivering outsized returns. He serves on the boards of Smarter Sorting, Greyparrot and Neutreeno and helps oversee an actively growing portfolio of 40+ companies across three funds.

Mohamad Maliki Osman

Former Cabinet Minister and Consultant, Social Transformation Project, OCTAVE Institute

Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman was elected a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in 2001 and 2006. He was elected as one of the MPs for the East Coast GRC in May 2011, September 2015 and July 2020. Dr Maliki retired from politics on 22 May 2025 after 24 years of serving in public office.  

Since June 2025, Dr Maliki has taken on the role of Consultant at Consultancy firm OCTAVE Institute (a subsidiary under Tsao Pao Chee) advising on its Social Transformation Project which will focus on helping low income households improve their lives through shifting consciousness and self-belief systems. As of July 2025, Dr Maliki has joined Nanyang Technological University (NTU) as Senior Advisor (ASEAN and Flagship Programmes) President’s Office to advance NTU’s ASEAN and flagship programmes, including the Indonesia – NTU Singapore Institute of Research for Sustainability and Innovation (INSPIRASI) and the Indonesia – NTU Singapore Talent Programme (INSTEP) Talent program.

James Ong

Chief Strategy Officer, TPC (Tsao Pao Chee)

As Chief Strategy Officer of TPC (Tsao Pao Chee), James oversees strategy, M&A, and investments for the Group. His responsibilities include managing TPC’s real estate portfolio, which spans industrial, commercial, and hospitality assets in Asia; leading IMC Ventures, the corporate venture arm of IMC Industrial Group; and spearheading the OCTAVE Well-being Economy Fund, OCTAVE Group’s impact-focused investment arm.

Prior to joining TPC, James was with YCH Group, where he helmed YCH’s joint ventures and M&As across the group. He also managed its 15 logistic assets across 7 countries. James was furthermore the Founding Partner of Supply Chain Angels, YCH’s Corporate Venture Capital vehicle which partners with SG Innovate and National Research Foundation.

James has over 23 years of experience across various fields, including private banking, private equity, and investment banking in institutions like DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, Oppenheimer Investments, and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services.

While at Oppenheimer Investments, James was the Head of Asia for 5 years and was instrumental in starting and growing the business for the group in Asia. He has successfully closed Project Finance deals in excess of USD500 million across various industries like infrastructure, consumer goods, and real estate. In addition, James also ran a family office which invested in healthcare, consumer goods, aged care, engineering, renewable energy, and childcare.

James graduated with a master’s in Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and holds a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting and Corporate Finance, from the University of Western Australia.

James is a Certified Public Accountant (Australia). He also sits on the Board of Management of SPD (formally known as Society for the Physically Disabled) and has served as an independent director of a listed entity.

Wayne Mulligan 

Chief Executive Officer, NZ Bio Forestry

Wayne holds a Master of Management (The University of Auckland) and is a visionary Māori leader, entrepreneur, and co-founder of NZ Bio Forestry, where he works at the cutting edge of science, technology, and Indigenous knowledge. He bridges worlds corporate and cultural, local, and global.  Showing that the future of innovation lies in collaboration, sustainability, and a deep respect for whenua (land and resources) and understanding whakapapa (intergenerational genealogical connections). 

From biotech to clean tech, Wayne has spent decades building ventures that don’t just chase profit, they deliver purpose. He’s passionate about unlocking opportunities across Asia-Pacific that uplift communities and reimagine how business can serve both people and the planet. 

Lisa Moon

President & Chief Executive Officer, The Global FoodBanking Network

Lisa Moon is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN), an 
international nonprofit that supports community-led solutions to dually address hunger and food loss and waste in nearly 50 countries. In 2022, food banks connected by GFN served 32 million people facing hunger.

Previously, Lisa served as Vice President of Global Agriculture and Food at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, where she convened stakeholder groups and carried out policy studies related to strengthening food systems globally.  Topics included agricultural development, the intersection of nutrition and chronic disease, the role of girls in rural economies, and the link between agriculture and food and climate change. 

Lisa holds a Master of Arts degree in Security Policy Studies from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies, Political Science, and Spanish from Bradley University.  She sits on the Board of Directors of the European Food Banks Federation, the Lineage Foundation for Good.  Lisa serves on the Advisory Board for Bradley University’s Office of Global Strategic Initiatives and as a Fellow for the Farm Foundation Roundtable. Lisa lives in Chicago with her husband, Rob, and three young children. 

Niap Juan Loh

Chairman, OCTAVE Capital

Loh Niap Juan (Niap) is Chairman of OCTAVE Capital, an impact investment firm driving sustainable growth across Asia. He also serves as Group Chief Corporate Officer of Tsao Pao Chee (TPC), where he is responsible for developing and executing corporate, business, investment, and organisational strategies, and steering the Group’s evolution toward the well-being economy.

Since joining TPC in 2019, Niap has accelerated its transformation by adding value to and positively impacting the Group’s businesses and investment portfolios, enhancing governance and performance frameworks, and strengthening organisational culture.

Niap has over 20 years of experience as a finance and investment professional, including more than a decade as a C-suite executive in government-linked companies, privately-owned family businesses, and multinational corporations.

Prior to joining TPC, he was Executive Vice President and Head of Finance at Fullerton Financial Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek, and began his career at Deloitte & Touche in London.

He serves on the boards of numerous TPC portfolio companies, including several publicly listed entities. Niap graduated with First-Class Honours in Accountancy from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW).

Koh Chaik Ming

Chairman, The Food Bank Singapore

Dr Koh Chaik Ming is an experienced educator, business coach and consultant and has been assisting many Singapore SMEs with their corporate strategy. He is the Chairman of the Board of Food Bank Singapore and contributes his time and expertise on assisting Food Bank Singapore with its strategy, digitalization, supply chain and fund-raising efforts. Chaik is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Operations Research & Analytics (IORA) at the National University of Singapore to assist in the research of Singapore’s Food Supply Chain Resilience. Prior to that, he was the Chief Executive Officer of the largest Chinese platform company facilitating two million tons of frozen meat and seafood import into China (or approximately a quarter of the China’s frozen protein market share). Chaik was responsible for Asia Pacific and spearheading the Group’s new cold chain real estate development platform in China.

Rob Kaplan

Founder & CEO, Circulate Capital

Rob is the Founder and CEO of Circulate Capital, a leading investment firm accelerating the circular economy in Asia’s and Latin America’s high-growth markets. He established Circulate Capital in 2018 to invest in partnership with global brands and institutional investors into solutions that deliver financial returns, advance the circular economy, and fight climate change. An award-winning sustainability expert, he has been a Forbes contributor since 2019 and is a frequent and globally-recognized speaker who has been featured in the WSJ, Barron’s and Nikkei, among others. Before founding Circulate Capital, Rob held leadership roles at Walmart and Closed Loop Partners. 

Cecilia Hough

Impact Management and Community Engagement Lead, B Lab Singapore

Cecilia boasts a diverse professional background spanning the education, social services, and hospitality sectors. Within her current capacity at B Lab Singapore, she guides companies across various industries to articulate their impact, leveraging B Lab’s frameworks. She also leads community engagement and training efforts.

Before assuming her role at B Lab Singapore, Cecilia served as the operations manager at MINDS Bakers, a social enterprise operating under the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore.

She is deeply committed to fostering the ethos of responsible business practices, advocating for environmental stewardship, inclusivity, and social justice.