YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

A pioneer sustainability practitioner for over 20 years, Esther is instrumental in building up City Developments Limited’s sustainability leadership. Since 1995, she has been spearheading the company’s efforts in strategic sustainability integration, reporting, stakeholder engagement and green financing. She sits on board several international and local sustainability organisations including the UNEP Finance Initiative Property Working Group; UNEP Sustainable Stock Exchanges’ Green Finance Advisory Group, World Green Building Council Corporate Advisory Board, GRI Corporate Leadership Group for Integrated Reporting; Asia Pacific Real Estate Association Singapore Chapter Board and Global Compact Network Singapore Management Committee. Founder of the Women4Green Network, Esther is committed to engaging and empowering women to drive sustainability practices at home, at work or at play.

Christina is deeply passionate about sustainability & business. She founded Global Green Economic Consulting (GGEC) in Singapore in 2012. GGEC successfully spin-off its business conference, GGEF (Global Green Economic Forum), to become a social enterprise in 2015 as well as launched Global Green Connect in 2016.

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Christina was appointed as Asia Managing Director of the leading global business media, Bloomberg Businessweek (formerly known as BusinessWeek) where she worked for 12 years. Actively in supporting media industry and business communities, Christina was the Deputy Chairman of SOPA (The Society of Publishers in Asia) and Chairman of its China Projects Group Sub-Committee.

She is currently the advisor of Tsinghua University x-lab, a board of director of Canaan Garden Charity and permanent member of Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce & the Youth Elite Association in Hong Kong. Christina holds a Masters Degree in Management from Macquarie University (MGSM), Sydney.

Ms. Koh Ching Ching was appointed Head of Group Corporate Communications in November 2004 and Executive Vice President in March 2012. She leads OCBC Bank’s group communications initiatives with the media, employees, customers, shareholders and the general public. Prior to her role in corporate communications, she led OCBC Bank’s franchise expansion efforts in trade finance in Malaysia. Before this, Ms. Koh had 16 years of corporate and retail banking experience, having held various senior customer and product positions in local and foreign financial institutions. She graduated with First Class Honors in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore

Michael Aw is an award-winning underwater photographer, author, publisher, and the founding director of OceanNEnvironment, an NGO which promotes and initiates preservation projects, and documents the status of coral reefs, bio-diversity and the impact of man-made pollution through research programs, and measurable conservation projects. With OceanNEnvironment, he initiated the Napoleon wrasse protection program in the Maldives in 1998, turtle nest adoption program in Indonesia 1999 and Say No to Shark Fins campaign in the South East Asia 2002.

Aw is also founder and publisher of Ocean Geographic Magazine, a quarterly publication showcasing the underwater realm and promoting conservation of our water planet.

Michael’s work on environmental issues and natural history have been featured in BBC Wildlife, National Geographic, CNN, CNBC, Asian Geographic, GEO, Times, Nature Focus, Action Asia, Scuba Diver, Smithsonian magazine, Forbes, Asia Week, DIVE, Unterwasser, and Tauchen. Michael has published 35 books, and was a contributing author to another 11 books. His photographs have received more than 65 awards from several international organizations including the prestigious Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year on four occasions.

Dr. Chou Loke Ming is Adjunct Research Professor at the Tropical Marine Science Institute of the National University of Singapore. He obtained his PhD in Zoology from the University of Singapore in 1976. His research on coral reef ecology and integrated coastal management covers Southeast Asia and he coordinated and edited the 2009 State of the Marine Environment Report for the East Asian Seas for the United Nations Environment Programme. His current research focus is reef restoration and he is particularly interested in how corals can be re-established in the highly turbid conditions of rapidly developing coastal areas. Prof. Chou has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (International Coral Reef Initiative), serving as its Chairman from 2003 to 2005. He is currently an Honorary Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Biology and a Fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science. He has provided consultancy services in the field of marine environment management to international agencies such as UNEP, FAO and the World Bank, as well as many national agencies.

Dr. Karenne Tun is the Director of the Coastal and Marine Branch at the National Biodiversity Centre, National Parks Board (NParks). She joined NParks in 2013, after an 18 year circuit within academia, non-profit organisation and private environmental consultancy, during which time she obtained her PhD from the National University of Singapore where she focussed on developing tools for coral reef monitoring and management. Karenne’s interest in the marine environment was ignited as an undergraduate, where, over the years, her fascination turned to concern at their rapid decline, particularly within the region. Karenne subsequent work at NUS focussed on studying the impacts of anthropogenic activities on coral reefs, before moving onto coordinating coral reef monitoring efforts in the Southeast Asian region. Karenne’s current work at NParks covers issues related to the management and conservation of Singapore’s coastal and marine environment and the biodiversity they support. Her team is also responsible for managing Singapore’s first Marine Park – the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, and works closely with the wider community to encourage responsible stewardship and sustainable use of the Marine Park to achieve the overarching objectives of conservation, outreach, education and research.