Overview
What to Expect
Designed specifically for leaders and innovators, the Summit promises to be a melting pot of innovative ideas and fresh perspectives. It will be a platform to explore how we can collectively uplift and empower individuals and communities, aligning with the Forward SG vision.
Speakers’ Profiles
Seah Chin Siong
Chairman
NVPC
Welcome Address
9.05am
Level 4 (Engage Theatre Hall 406)
Mr Seah is currently the President & Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Institute of Management. In his role, Mr Seah is responsible for leading SIM in the transformation of lifelong learning and education for individuals and organisations and enabling them for the future of work.
As part of this, Mr Seah works closely with his team at SIM to define innovative learning pathways for people in maximising their potential and helping enterprises transform their workforce through customised role-based skills programmes for better organisational outcomes.
Prior to this, Mr Seah was the Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Pools (Private) Limited. Mr Seah was also the founding Chief Executive Officer of IDA International, a subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). He was responsible for crystallizing and executing IDA International’s mission and vision to help public agencies deliver socio-economic outcomes enabled through public service infocomm.
In his earlier years, Mr Seah was the Managing Director of Accenture’s Public Service Operating Group for Asia-Pacific and the Country Managing Director of Accenture Singapore.
Tony Soh
CEO
NVPC
[Presentation] Becoming The City of Good Together
10.15am
Level 4 (Engage Theatre Hall 406)
Tony Soh is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre. He aspires to build a City of Good for Singapore where individuals, communities, organisations and leaders give their best towards building a more caring, inclusive, and compassionate society.
Tony is passionate about reimagining community and business systems to create a society that enables and empowers human flourishing – one that is gracious, sustainable, and equitable for all.
In a career spanning more than three decades, Tony has held leadership and senior management roles in government ministries, statutory board and listed real estate company, with both regional and global responsibilities. He also serves in a voluntary capacity as chairman, president and board member in family, youth, community service and healthcare non-profit organisations.
Scott Harrison
CEO and Founder
charity: water
[Special Keynote] The charity : water Story
9.30am
Level 4 (Engage Theatre Hall 406)
Scott spent almost 10 years as a nightclub promoter in New York City before leaving to volunteer on a hospital ship off the coast of Liberia, West Africa as a volunteer photojournalist.
Returning home to New York City two years later, he founded the non-profit organization charity: water in 2006. Turning his full attention to the global water crisis and the world’s (then) 1.1 billion people without clean water to drink, he created public installations and innovative online fundraising platforms to spread international awareness of the issue.
In 16 years, with the help of more than 1 million donors worldwide, charity: water has raised more than $750 million and funded over 137,000 water projects in 29 countries. When completed, those projects will provide 17.4 million people with clean, safe drinking water.
Scott has been recognised on Fortune magazine’s list of 40 Under 40, Forbes’ Impact 30, and Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, where he earned the #10 spot. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Thirst.
Rebecca Marmot
Chief Sustainability Officer
Unilever
[Special Keynote] Activating Purpose for People, Planet and Prosperity
11.05am
Level 4 (Engage Theatre Hall 406)
Rebecca is responsible for Unilever’s sustainability strategy and implementation globally. This includes embedding sustainability across the Business Groups and Functions as well as leading external engagement, advocacy and partnerships across Unilever’s priority areas of environment, health & wellbeing and the social agenda.
Rebecca joined Unilever in 2007 and has held various roles across Corporate Affairs and Communications before becoming Global Vice President of the newly merged Sustainability and Partnerships Function and then Chief Sustainability Officer. Prior to Unilever, Rebecca worked in strategy consulting including for the UK Government and at L’Oréal.
Rebecca holds various industry positions including at the Consumer Goods Forum, WEF, TENT Partnership for Refugees.
Teoh Zsin Woon
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Permanent Secretary (Development), Public Service Division
[Panel] Giving Across Sectors – Convening Public, Private and People for Our Shared Future
11.20am
Level 4 (Engage Theatre Hall 406)
Ms Teoh Zsin Woon is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and concurrently Permanent Secretary (Development) in the Public Service Division (PSD), Prime Minister’s Office in Singapore.
As Permanent Secretary (Development) in PSD, she drives public sector transformation, workforce development and HR policies and systems across the Public Service. Zsin Woon also drives the integration of public services to serve citizens better, through an omni-channel system.
Prior to her current role, she was Permanent Secretary (Development) in the Ministry of National Development. During her stint in the Ministry of National Development, Zsin Woon oversees efforts to promote housing accessibility and affordability, the rejuvenation and upgrading of public housing estates, delivery of municipal issues and international cooperation.
Suhaimi Zainul Abidin
CEO
Quantedge Capital, Board Member, NVPC
[Panel] Giving Across Sectors – Convening Public, Private and People for Our Shared Future
11.20am
Level 4 (Engage Theatre Hall 406)
Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin is CEO of QuantEdge Capital. He was formerly Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP., advising financial institutions and blue-chip corporations in financial transactions.
Suhaimi is a strong believer in skills-based volunteering. He contributes as a board member on the boards of a number of Singapore statutory boards and agencies, and non-profit organizations, each of which addresses matters and causes close to his heart. This includes the Skillsfuture Singapore Agency, NEA, NVPC, The Esplanade, Warees Investments and TalentTrust Limited.
He is also a member of the Board of Governors of Raffles Institution, a council member of the Council for Board Diversity, Singapore Exco member of the Alternative Investment Managers Association, Exco member of the Young Business Leaders Network, and Board Chairman of Tri Sector Charity Consultants and Learning Gateway Ltd.
Shee Tse Koon
Group Executive & Group Head of Consumer Banking Group & Wealth Management, DBS
[Panel] Giving Across Sectors – Convening Public, Private and People for Our Shared Future, 11.20am
Level 4 (Engage Theatre Hall 406)
Tse Koon is Group Executive and Group Head of Consumer Banking Group and Wealth Management. Prior to this, he was Country Head of DBS Singapore, where he was responsible for anchoring the Singapore franchise with sustainable revenue drivers and strong mindshare.
Before that, he was Group Head of Strategy and Planning at DBS. Tse Koon was conferred the Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF) Distinguished Fellow Award (Corporate Banking) in 2021. In 2022, he was awarded the Medal of Commendation (Star) by the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) for his leadership in creating a future-ready workforce at DBS.
Tse Koon has 29 years of banking experience and started his career at Standard Chartered Bank where he held senior positions across various markets in Asia, Middle East, and the United Kingdom. He was CEO of Indonesia prior to joining DBS, and his other roles included Head of Governance (Europe, Middle East, Africa & Americas), Chief Information Officer (Singapore), Head of Technology & Operations (Singapore) and Regional Head of Trade.
Hazlina Abdul Halim
CEO, Make-a-Wish Foundation
[Panel] Giving Across Sectors – Convening Public, Private and People for Our Shared Future, 11.20am
Level 4 (Engage Theatre Hall 406)
Hazlina is the CEO of Make-A-Wish Singapore and the president of the Singapore Muslim Women’s Association, a member of Community Chest, and Director with the Singapore Business Federation Foundation and Yayasan Mendaki and actively champions several alliances for action. She was formerly a Singaporean television presenter, editor, journalist, news reader, simultaneous interpreter and radio announcer.
Before transitioning into the charity sector, Hazlina was U.S. Embassy Singapore’s public affairs advisor, formulating public engagement strategies and programs for the Embassy and its leadership. Career highlights include coordinating the media plan for Vice President Kamala Harris Inaugural Visit to Singapore, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s Visit to Singapore, and Airshow 2022.
Malcolm Chen
PVPA 2023 Winner
& Founder Ageless Bicyclists
[Panel] Voices of Impact: Giving as a Norm
2.00pm
Level 3 (Summit 2)
Malcom founded Ageless Bicyclists in 2015 with a mission to provide experiential inclusive cycling programs and learning for children and adults with different abilities. He has provided many memorable experiences for families with kids and volunteers.
As a certified cycling instructor, he has trained volunteers as a bicyclist coach for children with special needs and inducted them into operating the different programmes in Ageless Bicyclists. Malcolm is also one of the PVPA 2023 winners.
Nabillah Jalal
Co-founder ArtSee
[Panel] Voices of Impact: Giving as a Norm
2.00pm
Level 3 (Summit 2)
Nabillah Jalal is a musician, educator, and community champion. She is the founder of NJ Studio, a boutique music school, and co-founder of ArtSee, a non-profit project that gives underserved youths access to music education through a structured mentoring programme.
Beyond music, Nabillah also serves the community through roles such as serving on the Steering Committee of Mendaki’s Community Leaders Forum Labs, as Language Ambassador and Council Member for the Malay Language Council, and through groundup initiatives for causes such as migrant worker welfare.
A recognised youth leader, she also gives voice to Singaporean youths in policymaking through National Youth Council’s Youth Panel and was Singapore’s head of delegation at the 2023 G20 Y20 Youth Summit. She has also represented Singapore as head of delegation for JENESYS, a Japan-ASEAN Exchange Programme, and also the Singapore-Malaysia Youth Leaders Programme.
Dipa Swaminathan
PVPA 2017 Winner & Founder, ItsRainingRaincoats
[Panel] Voices of Impact: Giving as a Norm
2.00pm
Level 3 (Summit 2)
Dipa Swaminathan is a Harvard-educated lawyer, a wife and mother of 2 teenagers, owns a rescue dog, but is perhaps best known as the founder of ItsRainingRaincoats. She took up the cause of migrant workers in Singapore at a time when it was not glamorous, recognising that they are largely invisible heroes toiling hard to build Singapore’s skyscrapers, dig underground tunnels, prune 30-foot trees and keep the city clean, for low wages while often enduring difficult living conditions.
It all began in 2014 when she was driving home and encountered 2 migrant workers caught in a thunderstorm without rain cover in the street where she lived. The story of Dipa taking them home in her car to give them shelter and saving one of them a few months later from a suicide charge went viral. This eventually led to the birth of ItsRainingRaincoats (IRR) in 2015.
IRR has come a long way since then. Dipa has gone from 2 volunteers in 2015 to more than 1000 volunteers now, and more importantly, IRR has galvanised the community towards this cause.
Eunice Olsen
[Panel] Voices of Impact: Giving as a Norm
2.00pm
Level 3 (Summit 2)
The winner of Miss Universe Singapore 2000, Eunice was appointed a Nominated Member of Parliament in 2004, making her the youngest ever at the age of 27 to go on and serve two terms. A recipient of the Singapore Youth Award, Eunice has been conferred the prestigious ASEAN Youth Award and became a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2008. Women’s empowerment, gender equality, people with disabilities, sustainability, and media ethics are issues that she advocates for.
Eunice is an advisory board member of the National Museum of Singapore, Silver Ribbon Singapore (mental health), August Robotics, and Space for Humanity, whose mission is to send 10,000 diverse humans to space. She also established multiple community projects in Cambodia from building sanitation for schools and evicted communities to Project Precious – a menstrual hygiene education programme, as well as a former Goodwill Ambassador for the Swedish Embassy in Singapore and is currently a Goodwill Ambassador for the Singapore Red Cross.
Sara Lomelin
Founding CEO
Philanthropy Together
[Presentation] Disrupting Philanthropy
2.45pm
[Panel] Forces Shaping Philanthropy
3.15pm
Level 3 (Summit 2)
Sara Lomelin is a connector of people and ideas, a relationship builder and a firm believer that everyone can be a philanthropist. A self-proclaimed philanthropy disruptor, Sara has travelled the world speaking about the power of collective giving and the correlation between civic engagement and Latino philanthropy. She is an expert in diversifying philanthropy. As founding CEO of Philanthropy Together, Sara is growing a movement of people-powered philanthropy to resource grassroots nonprofits, shift power dynamics, and promote widespread philanthropy.
Sara is frequently featured at high profile conferences and events for innovative leaders and big ideas, including TED 2022, Netroots Nation, and Unity Summit. An expert on the future of philanthropy, Sara is often quoted in news outlets including Forbes, The Associated Press, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy and her writing appears in Ms. Magazine and Philanthropy Women.
Neil Heslop OBE
CEO
Charities Aid Foundation
[Presentation] The Future of Philanthropic Partnerships
3.00pm
[Panel] Forces Shaping Philanthropy
3.15pm
Level 3 (Summit 2)
Neil has a distinguished career in both business and the charitable sector. He joined the Charities Aid Foundation as Chief Executive in October 2020 from the international disability charity Leonard Cheshire, where he served as Chief Executive since 2016. Under Neil’s leadership, annual charitable contributions entrusted to CAF topped £1 billion for the first time and continue to grow. As a result, hundreds of thousands of charities in more than 100 countries have been supported to deliver lasting benefits in communities around the world. Neil has led CAF through the growth of the CAF International network of partners a global collaboration of independent philanthropic organisations dedicated to accelerating social progress across the world.
During 25 years in business, Neil held senior leadership roles in the telecoms industry in North America and Europe. These include Head of Strategy and General Manager of Retail and Online at O2, CEO of Cincinnati Bell Wireless and Director of CTIA the Wireless Association. Neil is a law graduate from Newcastle University and holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management. In 2020 he was one of the first charity sector leaders to be invited onto the National Leadership Centre Public Leaders Programme.
Neil lost his sight aged 21 and is registered blind. He is a co-founder of the charity Blind In Business, a Trustee of ACEVO, a non-Executive Director of Charity Bank and a Foundation Member of Crown Agents. He was previously Co-Chair of the Disability Charities Consortium, a group of nine of the UK’s largest disability charities dedicated to promoting the rights and interests of 14 million disabled people. He acted as an advisor to the UK government on the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act in the 1990’s, which led to the Equalities Act 2010.
