Agora

Thursday 14 September 2017

Friday 15 September 2017

• What are the next developments looming ahead because of the integration of all these technologies over the next five, seven, years?
• How can Start-Ups leverage technology innovation to become unicorns?
• What is the new modus operandi that fast technology changers require from us?

Thought Leader: William Saito, is an Entrepreneur from Japan and Special Advisor to the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. He is a world’s leading authority on cybersecurity. He incorporated his first software programming company in the US at the age of 20 and sold it later on to Microsoft. He then founded InTecur, a venture capital and technology consultancy company. He has been recognized by Nikkei as one of the 100 Most Influential People for Japan. While serving as the Special Advisor to the Cabinet Office he also advises the Ministry of Economic Trade & Industry and other national governments. William sits on the boards of several companies and is the author of seven book.

Moderated by: Woosuk Kenneth Choi, Deputy Editor Future Planning Department, The Chosun Ilbo, overseeing the annual Asian Leadership Conference. In his prior position as Deputy Editor of the Business and Industry News Desk, Kenneth has covered various industry sectors. He was also the Chief Washington Correspondent for the Chosun Ilbo and later was in charge of launching the Chosun Ilbo’s broadcasting activities.

A new breed of consumers is there, whether the millennials or the silver market or as a result of the new way consumers look at – and buy – products and services. IT is a new “How, Where, When” equation. New forms of commerce are reflecting and leveraging new consumers’ behavior and expectations. Online-offline are increasingly complementing each other and altering consumers’ habits. More educated households are becoming more demanding and choosier. Business as usual is not anymore an option.

• How do we respond to the rising demand for “experience” rather than just consumption?
• The rise of ASEAN + China and India as a major consumption driver
• How to be ahead of the curb to be able to provide the new kinds of products and services consumers expect – and in the way the consumers want them to be delivered?
• Reaching out to the Millennials without losing the baby boomers

Thought Leader: Sarah Boumphrey, Is Director of Economic and Consumer Research at Euromonitor International, a global strategic market intelligence company. Sarah leads Euromonitor’s economic and consumer trends research advising multi-national companies across B2C and B2B industries. Sarah has played a lead role in developing Euromonitor’s macroeconomic and consumer trend content over the past 17 years.

Moderated by: Clyde Prestowitz, founder and President of the Economic Strategy Institute, which plays an important role in the public policy process in Washington Clyde has played key roles in achieving congressional passage of NAFTA and in the final content of the Uruguay Round, as well as providing the intellectual basis for U.S. trade policies toward Japan, China, and Korea. Prior to founding ESI, he led many U.S. trade and investment negotiations with Japan, China, Latin America, and Europe. Clyde is the author of several other books on international trade and business strategy.

This is a radically transformed global landscape: The Western world appears weaker and less sure of its values than ever, with a US wary of the “world’s policeman” role; Europe having difficulties holding up together; China and India increasingly reluctant to just fit into an international mould shaped by the power balance of post-World War II; Putin’s Russia more than ever determined to force the West to deal with it as a great power. The disintegration of the Arab world and the emergence of non-State actors with tremendous nuisance power complete the picture of an increasingly volatile international context.

• What are the major disruptions risk that this volatile landscape creates for business?
• Is this just in a transitory phase before a new stable world architecture emerge or have volatility and unpredictability become permanent features of the world scene?
• How are China, India, and some key emerging countries changing the way global issues need to be addressed

Thought Leader: Richard Armitage, is president of Armitage International. He served as deputy secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration. He was also deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia and Pacific affairs and then, from 1983 to 1989, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Thought Leader: Charles Kupchan, is Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, professor of international affairs Walsh School of Foreign Service and Department of Government, Georgetown University, former special assistant to the president and senior director on the staff of the National Security Council (NSC) in the Obama administration, former Director for European Affairs on the NSC in the Clinton administration, author of “No One’s World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn”.

Moderated by: Claude Smadja, President Smadja & Smadja Strategic Advisory Switzerland. Before creating Smadja & Smadja, Claude was the Managing Director of the World Economic Forum from 1995 to 2001. He has been involved with the World Economic Forum altogether for 14 years first as a member of the Executive Board before re-joining the organization as its Managing Director. Claude Smadja began his career as an international journalist first in the print media and then joining the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation where his last position was as Executive Director for the News and Current Affairs Division.

Crispr-Cas9 has emerged as a revolutionary technology allowing for the editing of parts of the human genome by changing, adding or removing elements of the DNA sequence. It is now the most precise, reliable, efficient – and the cheapest – method of genetic manipulation. We are witnessing a re-shaping of the whole bio-tech potentialities with new possibilities for treating a range of diseases with a genetic component such as cancer, hepatitis B or cardio-vascular diseases, with a new range of business opportunities for the bio-tech industry … And also with major ethical issues to contend with.

Thought Leader: Lily Chan, serves as CEO of NUS Enterprise at the National University of Singapore, where she is responsible for architecting a comprehensive innovation & entrepreneurship ecosystem for the support of NUS’ staff, students and alumni. She oversees entrepreneurial education, venture development, technology commercialisation, and industry partnership initiatives. During her tenure, Lily has been responsible for the growth of the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) programme and the BLOCK71 start-up launch pads into signature and globally known initiatives. Lily brings with her more than 25 years of industry experience, previously serving as Managing Director, Investments, of Bio*One Capital Pte Ltd, an investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board. She was also previously the General Manager (Singapore) and Director of Product Development (USA) for Genelabs Diagnostics Pte Ltd Singapore.

Moderated by: Paul Saffo, is a technology forecaster with over two decades’ experience exploring the dynamics of large-scale, long-term change. He teaches forecasting at Stanford University and chairs the Future Studies and Forecasting track at Singularity University. He is a Board member of the Long Now Foundation which foster long-term thinking.

What makes a leader? If most of us can instinctively recognize a leader when having one in front of us, there is a variety of qualities or features that people would associate with the notion of leadership.

• What is innate and what can be acquired in the capacity for great leadership?
• How are general expectations from leaders changing in an era where the notions of hierarchy, of power, are being reassessed?
• Are there ways to strengthen leadership capabilities?

Thought Leader: Shawn Hunter, is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker, and currently founder and president of Mindscaling, a company dedicated to creating beautiful, and intelligent online learning products. Until July, 2015 Shawn was Executive Producer & Vice President for Leadership Solutions at Skillsoft. For over a decade Hunter has interviewed, collaborated with, and filmed, hundreds of leading business authors, executives, and business school faculty. Hunter co-founded Targeted Learning Corporation with his father Hal Hunter, Ph.D., later acquired by Skillsoft. Shawn’s new book “Small Acts of Leadership: 12 Intentional Behaviors that Lead to Big Impact” was published October, 2016.

Moderated by: Jeffrey Lehman, inaugural Vice Chancellor of New York University Shanghai. He was previously president of Cornell University, dean of the University of Michigan Law School, and founding dean of the Peking University School of Transnational Law. He has been Chairman of the Board of Internet2. Jeff writes and speaks about education, law, and multicultural engagement.

With: Gita Wirjawan, is founder and Chairman of Ancora Group. Mr. Wirjawan served as Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, and as Chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia (BKPM). As an investment banker, he has held key appointments at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. He has served as a Commissioner of state-owned oil giant, Pertamina, and as an Independent Director of Axiata Group Berhad. Outside the world of business, his passion lies in philanthropy. He is a member of the international advisory board of ACE Group and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Moderated by: Yaël Smadja, CEO Smadja & Smadja USA Inc., is a content platform creator and manager, conference facilitator, communicator and consultant. Before opening Smadja & Smadja USA Inc., she was a Principal at the Dilenschneider Group in New York, a PR consulting Firm with clients among the Fortune 500 companies and high-profile individuals. Prior to her activities at the Dilenschneider Group Yael was Business Development Manager for Global Events Management (now Publicis Events).

Saturday 16 September 2017

All the key parameters have changed in the global economy: with the share of developed countries declining steadily from 2/3 of the world’s GDP 15 years ago to 50% now and just 40% by 2025. There is a new world map of wealth and growth with the new technological advances creating new activities while accelerating the obsolescence of many existing ones. The whole way of doing business and thinking about economic activity is undergoing dramatic changes.

• What all these trends mean for the sustainability of our activities?
• How is China’s growing economic weight reshaping the global economic architecture?
• What is the impact of the rise of ASEAN as global production area and as a major new market?
• What is happening to global supply chains?

Thought Leader: Beatrice Weder di Mauro, is professor of Economic Policy and International Macroeconomics at the University of Mainz in Germany. Presently she is Distinguished Fellow in residence at the Emerging Markets Institute of INSEAD in Singapore. She has provided high-level policy advice to European governments, the European Commission, several international organizations and central banks. She served on the German Council of Economic Experts, the highest advisory body for economic matters reporting directly to the German chancellor. She has led research projects and acted as a consultant for the IMF, the World Bank, the European Central Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, the OECD and the G20. She sits on the Boards of Bombardier in Montreal, of Robert Bosch in Stuttgart and of UBS Group in Zurich.

Moderated by: Clyde Prestowitz, founder and President of the Economic Strategy Institute, which plays an important role in the public policy process in Washington Clyde has played key roles in achieving congressional passage of NAFTA and in the final content of the Uruguay Round, as well as providing the intellectual basis for U.S. trade policies toward Japan, China, and Korea. Prior to founding ESI, he led many U.S. trade and investment negotiations with Japan, China, Latin America, and Europe. Clyde is the author of several other books on international trade and business strategy.

“Time to knowledge” has shrunk spectacularly over the last 25 years. The emergence of new eco-systems for technological innovation in China or India – but not only there – means that while the US and Europe still have an edge in some key technology domains, the global balance of technology power if fast changing, with tremendous economic, business, geopolitical and social implications.

• What does the across the board technological catch-up potential of China mean in creating new terms for business competition and business sustainability in today’s economy? Where does a country like India fit?
• How is technological innovation power being redistributed?

Thought Leader: Georges Haour, Emeritus professor of Technology and Innovation Management at IMD, Switzerland, adviser to firms and organizations for effective management of the innovation process, and commercialization of technology., author “Resolving the Innovation Paradox”, “From Science to Business: How Firms Create Value by partnering with Universities”, “Created in China: How China is becoming a Global Innovator”.

Moderated by: Jeffrey Lehman, inaugural Vice Chancellor of New York University Shanghai. He was previously president of Cornell University, dean of the University of Michigan Law School, and founding dean of the Peking University School of Transnational Law. He has been Chairman of the Board of Internet2. Jeff writes and speaks about education, law, and multicultural engagement.

The work-life balance challenge is among the priorities on the mind of a growing number of entrepreneurs who strive and struggle to redefine entrepreneurial success above and beyond monetary terms.

• What does the notion of work-life balance mean in a new business and social context where the realities of work and life are constantly in flux?
• Are there ways to create a successful synergy – rather than a lose-win situation – between commitment to a successful career, to a significant other and family… And to oneself?

Thought Leader: Maura O’Neill, is Distinguished Teaching Fellow, Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business. She was appointed by President Obama as the First Chief of Innovation and Senior Counselor to the Administrator at the US Agency for International Development Co -creator of the Development Innovation Ventures, now known as the Global Innovation Fund, former Senior Advisor of Energy and Climate and Chief of Staff for the Under Secretary of Agriculture, and author of President Obama Biofuels Strategy, founder of four companies in the fields of electricity efficiency, smart grid and customer info systems and billing, e-commerce and digital education.

Moderated by: Woosuk Kenneth Choi, Deputy Editor Future Planning Department, The Chosun Ilbo, overseeing the annual Asian Leadership Conference. In his prior position as Deputy Editor of the Business and Industry News Desk, Kenneth has covered various industry sectors. He was also the Chief Washington Correspondent for the Chosun Ilbo and later was in charge of launching the Chosun Ilbo’s broadcasting activities.

While digital technologies from social media to IOT and robotics capture headlines, a myriad of other more profoundly disruptive technologies are sneaking into our lives virtually unnoticed. The common thread among them all is a pattern of exponential growth that all ultimately successful technologies follow. Understand this essential exponential and one can easily identify overlooked opportunities – and anticipate the equally inevitable exponential challenges lurking just over the horizon.

Thought Leader: Paul Saffo, is a technology forecaster with over two decades’ experience exploring the dynamics of large-scale, long-term change. He teaches forecasting at Stanford University and chairs the Future Studies and Forecasting track at Singularity University. He is a Board
member of the Long Now Foundation which foster long-term thinking. Paul is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. He has been, among many other positions, the Founding Chairman of Samsung SAIT Science Advisory Board, a Member of the National Research Council Committee on Forecasting Future Disruptive Technologies.

Moderated by: Yaël Smadja, CEO Smadja & Smadja USA Inc., is a content platform creator and manager, conference facilitator, communicator and consultant. Before opening Smadja & Smadja USA Inc., she was a Principal at the Dilenschneider Group in New York, a PR consulting Firm with clients among the Fortune 500 companies and high-profile individuals. Prior to her activities at the Dilenschneider Group Yael was Business Development Manager for Global Events Management (now Publicis Events).