Kyra is a recent graduate of two bachelor’s degrees, one in Political Humanities from Sciences Po Paris and another in China Studies and Journalism from the University of Hong Kong.

At university, she developed an interest in the intersections of feminism, social justice and climate change. Her mission is to tackle these issues through visual storytelling, and she is passionate about theatre and documentary film-making as drivers for change and human connection. These interests have led her to explore the media landscape, NGOs and for-impact startups alongside her studies.

In her current position as a research assistant, she aims to make social impact spaces more accessible and inclusive for young innovators.

Steven is the Regional Associate Director of Leadership & Learning at Baker McKenzie, an international law firm. Prior to relocating to Hong Kong in 2014 to join Baker McKenzie, Steven worked as a consultant for Accenture and as the Head of Industry Learning for Grant Thornton. When he has free time, Steven enjoys spending time with his family and friends, playing with his cats (Misu and Momo), reading, cooking and exercising.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

• Educate and Advocate: educating myself and others about sustainability issues overall and advocating for social issues in the community.
• Minimize Waste: reducing household waste by composting organic waste, recycling more, and avoiding single-use plastics.
• Support Local and Sustainable Products: Aim to buy a portion of groceries from local farmers’ markets or stores that prioritize sustainable and ethical sourcing.

Lisa is head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Asia Pacific at Goldman Sachs. In this regional role she is focused on driving inclusive culture initiatives and overseeing efforts related to the development, retention and advancement of the firm’s talent, and ensuring the firm’s workforce reflects the diversity of its clients and communities.

Lisa most recently joined Goldman Sachs in 2014. Prior to her current role, Lisa had extensive experience in HR advisory, employee relations, organizational and cultural change, performance management, talent acquisition and management, as well as leadership and development.

Juliane is focused on growing the impact of The Sustainable Restaurant Association around the world, through strategic partnerships and through Food Made Good, the only global sustainability accreditation designed for the hospitality industry.

With a background in nutrition and a love of good food, her career has been deeply engaged in global food policy issues from sustainable farming and urban growing to food education and school food systems. Juliane has developed local and global campaigns and designed food education tools and resources for teachers; was Head of School Programmes at the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation; and was a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for School Food in the UK.

Juliane plays an active, hands-on role as Managing Director of The SRA, leading a global team in our mission to accelerate change towards a hospitality sector that is environmentally restorative and socially progressive. She is a regular and skilled speaker, moderator and advisor at sustainability, food and hospitality events worldwide, from the UK and Spain to the USA, Nicaragua and Hong Kong, and represented The SRA at 50 Best Talks in 2023.

Juliane is based in the UK but will travel to Hong Kong to attend ReThink in person.

Simon Yu works as an Associate Director at CBRE, the world’s leading commercial real estate services and investment firm, Simon has demonstrated exceptional skills in real estate investment advisory, transaction management, and market intelligence.

What sets Simon apart is his unwavering passion for bridging the worlds of property and technology. In 2019, he co-founded the PropTech Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the application of innovative technologies in the real estate industry. As the Co-Founder and President, Simon has been instrumental in building a thriving ecosystem for PropTech startups, corporates, and industry professionals, driving the digital transformation of the Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area real estate markets.

Through educational initiatives, collaborative events, and thought leadership, Simon has been at the forefront of advancing the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, data analytics, and sustainable building solutions. His vision is to make real estate more efficient, sustainable, and smart for the long run, benefiting all stakeholders, from developers and investors to end-users.

Simon’s exceptional performance at CBRE has been recognized with his promotion to Associate Director in the Capital Markets team in 2022. Under his guidance, he has brokered and closed over HK$8.5 billion (US$1 billion) in real estate transactions, showcasing his ability to navigate complex deals and deliver successful outcomes for his clients.

Beyond his professional achievements, Simon is a strong advocate for Canadian culture and education. As the President of the Alumni Association of his alma mater, Western University, in Hong Kong, he organizes social and fundraising events to reconnect alumni and promote the university’s legacy. Simon has also been active in bridging the West and East, facilitating talent exchange initiatives between Canada, Hong Kong, and mainland China, as well as supporting start-up integration.

Recently, Simon was invited to be the co-chair of the Property Committee at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, further solidifying his role as a bridge-builder between the two regions. With his remarkable accomplishments, passion for innovation, community engagement, and cultural exchange, Simon is a rising leader poised to make a lasting impact in the real estate industry, driving the digital and sustainable transformation of the sector.

Anthony, the Founder and CEO of EDGE AI, brings over 15 years of cross-industry experience and a unique background in internal and strategic management consulting. He is committed to leveraging the latest generative AI technologies in both business and daily life, helping companies significantly boost productivity, efficiency, and creativity.

Anthony’s workshops and AI assessment tools have received widespread acclaim throughout the region, serving top financial services companies in Hong Kong, China, and Southeast Asia.

With over thousands participants, his initiatives have delivered exceptional transformational results, including a 30% increase in productivity and efficiency through the correct application of generative AI.

At EDGE AI, our commitment to sustainability is rooted in the belief that AI can be a powerful force for positive change. Our goals for 2024-2025 are focused on three key areas:

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

1. Empowering and Upskilling AI Talent: We aim to significantly enhance the AI skillset across various sectors in Hong Kong. By offering advanced training programs and workshops, we will empower individuals and organizations to harness the full potential of AI, ensuring that the workforce is well-equipped to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

2. Transforming Hong Kong into a Smart AI City: We are dedicated to helping Hong Kong achieve its vision of becoming a leading smart AI city. Through strategic partnerships and innovative projects, EDGE AI will work towards integrating AI technologies across urban infrastructure, improving efficiency, and enhancing the quality of life for all citizens.

3. Driving Sustainable Business Growth through AI Adoption: Our goal is to assist businesses in fully embracing AI as a catalyst for sustainable growth. By providing tailored AI solutions and strategic guidance, we will help companies innovate, optimize operations, and reduce their environmental impact, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and resilient economy.

Paul Chen is a trusted advisor to global investors and managers of alternative investments. For over 20+ years, Paul has helped clients formulate and execute their digital transformation strategy to enhance returns across real estate, private equity, and credit. Most recently, Paul has been helping his clients navigate the emerging AI landscape.

Paul is the Managing Director of Radiant PropTech, a digital transformation consultancy. Paul is also the Co-Founder of Asia PropTech, a proptech ecosystem based in Asia Pacific. He has been an advisor to investment technology startups, the regional chair for a real estate blockchain assocation, and a mentor at technology accelerator programs.

Paul has a BA in Economics from UC Berkeley and received his MBA from the University of North Carolina.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

1. Recycling as a part of every inhabitant’s DNA (not recycle only when it’s convenient).
2. Adopt technologies that can make a real difference in reducing carbon footprints of real assets.

Ranked within the Top 20 by Involve’s Global LGBTQ+ Future Leaders in the last 3 years, Jeiz is a proud Asian, cisgender, bisexual, neurodivergent woman who champions societal inclusion. She has most recently joined Community Business as Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) overseeing the organization’s strategy for its DEI programs. Before this, she has spent the last 14 years in IBM dabbling in Global Mobility, HR Services and finally leading Marketplace Diversity for the APAC region where she actively influenced Diversity and Inclusion strategies, policies and programs through work with various industries’ Employee Resource Groups, Business Leaders and Civil Society Organizations.

One of the Philippine Financial & Interindustry Pride’s Advisors of the Board, having co-chaired the Philippine Business Disability Network and co-founded the National Inclusion Council of the Philippines, Jeiz’s passion revolves around surfacing voices that are unheard to make an impact to various communities.

Yee Lin Ng is responsible for consulting and training design and delivery, as well as client relationship management.

Well equipped with over 30 years of work and life experience, Yee Lin seeks to coach and motivate the next generation of thought leaders by enriching their personal growth and heightening their professional value. She is a ICF PCC certified coach with many years of executive leadership experience.

Prior to joining Community Business as a consultant in C&T, she was based in Shanghai for 10 years and worked in a creative agency in branding strategy and project management with global brands.

Actively involved with ICF Singapore’s Community of Practice for Team Coaching and Outreach & Coaching for Community, she holds a Mentor role with Asia Institute of Mentoring, Singapore Halogen Foundation’s Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and Hong Kong Kids4Kids’ Action For A Cause. This is her vision of paying it forward to build a highway of hope for future generations.

Yee Lin holds Bachelor Degree in Economics and Political Science, National University of Singapore. She is also a certified CSM, CAL-E, CAL-T and CAL-O with Scrum Alliance. She is native in English and fluent in spoken Mandarin and Cantonese.

Maxi is a transport planner with PJA based in the UK. He specialises in strategic transport planning and sustainable mobility including Active Travel.

He has a track record of delivering over 10 of strategic plans of active travel network across regions, counties and towns in the UK of both urban and rural characteristics. He leads the technical development on methodologies and approaches on active travel network development with spatial analysis and formulation of evidence base. He is also experienced in scheme design reviews and development for route and area-wide active travel schemes.

Prior joining PJA and his MSc Transport Planning with University of Leeds Institute of Transport Studies, he was the project manager leading and co-authoring a district-based planning and transport study for the Tsuen Wan District Council, during his time with the Chinese University of Hong Kong Institute of Future Cities.

Believing transport is intrinsically linked to people’s access to opportunity, Maxi is passionate about developing transport strategies for local authorities that delivers for the people and the future. He is therefore a keen advocate and is part of “Street Reset”, the first collective group promoting human-oriented transport planning and street design in Hong Kong

Alain Chiaradia is Vice president of the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design, Associate Professor and Deputy Head at the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Urban Planning and Design. He specializes in network-based morphometrics and design thinking to explore the health, social, economic, and environmental impacts of urban design and transport. Chiaradia is the founding lead co-author of the 3D Spatial Design Network Analysis software (3D sDNA), used globally by urban professionals and researchers. His applied research on the impacts of the built environment has been internationally recognized as having “outstanding impacts in terms of their reach and significance.” Chiaradia is also the Programme Director of the Master of Science in Urban Design and Transport at HKU.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

Supports sustainability objectives of creating all weather more liveable, pedestrian-friendly cities and reducing emissions from transportation.
Sustainable urban planning and transport policies that balance economic development with environmental considerations.
Support for exemplary data-driven insights on how urban design affects liveability, health, and wellbeing.

Eli Konvitz is an expert in sustainability and urban development with experience on five continents. He consults on urban innovation and development, is Vice-Chair of the Urban Land Institute in Hong Kong, and adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong.

He has led masterplans for new cities, urban regeneration, transit oriented development, reclamation and waterfront development, industrial, tourism and leisure projects. He is experienced in masterplanning and urban design, large-scale urbanisation and regional strategies, and climate change strategy and policy. In 2006 he led the ground-breaking creation of the evidence base for climate change in the London Plan, and in 2008 he pioneered creation of a mechanism to fund and drive low-carbon retrofit of existing buildings.

Eli was previously Director of Atkins’ Planning and Urban Design practice in South East Asia and Net Zero leader for Asia; Asia Practice Lead for Consulting, Strategy and Advisory; and Chair of Atkins’ Urban Planning Global Network. Prior to joining Atkins, he was at Arup in London and co-founder of startup localCarbon.

A graduate of The Johns Hopkins University and has an MSc in Town Planning from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, he is Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, a member of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, sits on the Advisory Board of AMRACE in Malaysia and on the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design’s Public Affairs and International and Mainland Affairs Committees.

President and Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design, a UK Chartered and Hong Kong Registered Landscape Architect, Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building Engineers, an accredited Construction adjudicator and CEDR Accredited Mediator. A long standing Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Architecture, University of Hong Kong, he sits on various HKSAR Government Advisory Committees, Mediation Panels and International Arbitration Courts in both Hong Kong and China. He received award from the China International Urbanization Development Strategy Research Committee in 2012 for his contribution to China’s urbanisation transformation and the 2019 Reed & Mallik Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers for his paper “An Outline to Futureproofing Cities with Ten Immediate Steps”. A long-term advocate of sustainable, forward thinking development approaches, his consultancy practice – Barry Wilson Project Initiatives has been tackling urbanisation issues in Hong Kong and China for nearly 30 years. His book – Futureproof City : Ten Immediate Paths to Urban Resilience was published by Routledge in 2021.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

1. Hong Kong Government to appoint an “Urban Champion”, acting like a mayor across silos, to generate a new vision for renewal of the urban realm that prioritises citizen’s health, safety, and equity; promotes innovation, quality and renewal and rejects traditional fastest, biggest, cheapest development scenarios.

2. Adopt new quality and impact based metrics to assess societal development and success – phasing out the use of one-dimensional, consumption-lead economic growth measured by GDP.

Coral has been in marketing and innovation for over 23 years, working for global brands in 3 continents
. With a focus on consumer behaviour and innovation/ consumer anthropology and strategic marketing, her role entails deciphering consumer behavior to craft impactful marketing strategies. She also serves as an adjunct professor at HKUST since 2017, leveraging these insights to educate and inspire future leaders, emphasizing the importance of strategy and innovation with a focus on responsible and sustainable practices within the business landscape.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024:

• Food waste reduction.
• Fashion waste reduction.

John Pabon has spent two decades in the business of saving our Earth. After leaving his role at the United Nations, John travelled the world studying the impacts of sustainability first-hand in factories, on fields, and in Fortune 500s.

He is an expert in sustainability with a mission to move sustainability from theory to practical strategies that help people and businesses confidentially make real impact. To get there, he shares his message through books, consulting to businesses, and keynote speaking to audiences around the world.

John’s global career has taken him from Los Angeles to New York, Shanghai to Seoul to Melbourne. He’s had the privilege of working with the United Nations, McKinsey, A.C. Nielsen, and as a consultant with BSR, the world’s largest sustainability-focused business network. A decade of experience living and working in Asia inspired him to found Fulcrum Strategic Advisors with a mission to help companies, governments, and individuals capitalise on the benefits sustainability offers.

He is a regular contributor to major publications and speaks to an array of global audiences on issues of sustainability, geopolitics, communications, and societal change. John is the Chair of The Conference Board’s Asia Sustainability Leaders Council, advises the United Nations, and serves on the board of advisors to the U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce. He is the author of “Sustainability for the Rest of Us: Your No-Bullshit, Five-Point Plan for Saving the Planet” and “The Great Greenwashing: How Brands, Governments, and Influencers are Lying to You.”