The Role of AI in Tackling Sustainability Challenges in the Built Environment

Alex started his career at John Swire & Sons working in the United States, China & Hong Kong.
Since 2004 he has been an entrepreneur in many different areas of the real estate investment space, co-founding a serviced apartment business, Kush Serviced Apartments, a boutique neighbourhood retail brand called Warehouses on West and a real estate investment and asset management business, District15. District15 co-invested with large real estate institutions and funds and was responsible for repositioning, asset managing and exiting these real estate assets and portfolios.

Alex also has a long history of mentoring and investing in start ups and technology companies in the proptech and real estate space. His latest platform, Undivided Ventures is focused on investing in companies looking to solve for the many sustainability challenges in the built environment.

Joon Nak CHOI (JC) holds academic appointments as Advisor to the MSc in Business Analytics and Adjunct Assistant Professor at HKUST Business School, and as Faculty Associate at the Institute for Emerging Market Studies at HKUST; he has also held visiting professorships at Stanford University and NYU Shanghai. He has worked in the private sector as a management consultant and an entrepreneur, having founded data science startups Zectr and Learnovate in Hong Kong. His work has been cited in the MIT Technology Review, the South China Morning Post, Sina.com, and the United Nations; his editorials have been published in some of the most widely read newspapers in Asia, including the South China Morning Post and the Maeil Kyungjae Daily.

Yoonmin Cho is a partner at Sopoong Ventures, spearheading global investment with a keen focus on climate tech. Her climate tech investments include Capture 6, a DAC startup in the US and Selex, an electric motor bike company in Vietnam.

Before Sopoong, as a CBDO at Kmong, a Korean startup, she led global business expansion. Prior to that, she spent 10+ years at Google both in Southeast Asia and Korea. After she contributed to the successful expansion of Google business and offices in the Southeast Asia region, she launched Google for Startups in Korea and led APAC-wide startup programs.

Leo is the CEO of YMS Development and director of the Parkview Group. Leo was a key director for the relaunch of Atlas Bar in the family owned Parkview Square in Singapore. Atlas Bar now ranks 4th in World’s 50 Best Bars Award 2020. In 2010, he spearheaded the development of the multi-award-winning, environmentally friendly Parkview Green FangCaoDi, a large-scale mixed-use development in Beijing. This 200,000 sqm project was the first mixed-use development in China to be awarded the LEED Platinum Certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in 2009 and was Asia’s first LEED Dynamic Plaque recipient in 2017. Prior to Parkview Green, Leo worked on the Battersea Power Station project in London from 1999 until 2007 when the project was sold. It was one of the largest mixed-use urban regeneration developments in Europe. Leo graduated in London after completing his studies in film and video production.

Isaac is Associate Head of Investment for MTR Lab, where he was a founding member and focuses on venture investments across mobility, proptech and smart city technologies. He holds a Bachelor degree in Economics from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, USA. Prior to his current role, Isaac was CFO to a Beyondcars, an online used car trading and consignment platform. Previously, he was venture capital professional in two family offices focusing on seed to Series A investments. Isaac also founded a User Experience Design company. He is an avid scuba diver and is passionate about sustainability and social inclusion.