Dr Janil Puthucheary

Senior Minister of State
Ministry of Communications & Information
and Ministry of Health

Dr Janil Puthucheary, 49, was elected Member of Parliament in 2011. He is currently Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information, and Ministry of Health.

He chairs OnePeople.sg, which works to promote racial harmony in Singapore. His political roles include Chair of Young PAP (the youth wing of the People's Action Party), and Whip.

Ms. Vaishali Ahuja

Vice President, Human Resource
Region Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East, BMW Group

As the Vice President of HR for the Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East regions based in Singapore, Ms. Ahuja designs, defines and develops talent management concepts, guidelines, and initiatives for the regions in collaboration with BMW Group HR.

Ms. Ahuja started her career in the automotive industry in 2000 with the largest two-wheeler company in the world prior to joining BMW in 2006 as the Head of HR for BMW India where she steered the human resources function for the company from the start of operations.

After nine years, she relocated to Beijing to take on the position of Head of Talent Management, Functional Leader of the Academy of BMW Group China until May 2019. In this role, she led an international team responsible for regional topics and 26 associates for local training and qualification. In June 2019, Ms. Ahuja became the Country HR Director of Japan in Tokyo before taking on her current role in January 2022.

Ms. Ahuja received her Bachelor of Business Studies from the University of Delhi and her MBA in Human Resource Management and International Relations from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) in Pune, India.

Mr Benjamin Boh

Managing Director, Hanbaobao Pte Ltd

Ben assumed the role of Managing Director of McDonald’s Singapore in January 2022, having amassed broad leadership experience in the McDonald’s system in both regional and local market positions over a span of eight years.

Ben’s career with McDonald’s began in July 2013. As Director of Regional Strategy for McDonald’s Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, he worked closely with managing directors and the local market teams to deploy insightful strategies that would grow the business sustainably and responsibly. He also worked with regional presidents to explore opportunities and feasibility of new potential markets in the region.

He then joined McDonald’s Singapore in July 2015 to head up its Strategy and Planning department, before taking up a similar role in McDonald’s Japan in February 2017. As Director of Strategy and Planning, Ben played an influential role as a cross-functional lead in a foreign market, developing strategies and shaping execution plans to achieve 40% growth in the McDelivery business. He was also the key champion behind the piloting of a brand-new customer experience involving mobile order pay, table service and hospitality led by guest experience leaders in the Japan market.

Ben returned to Singapore in August 2019 and rejoined McDonald’s as Chief Operations Officer. He was instrumental in managing the overall day-to-day restaurant operations, ensuring that the highest standards of food safety/quality, customer experience and employee satisfaction are upheld across the business; and also rallied the organisation to ensure rigorous enforcement of safe management measures during the Covid-19 pandemic. His sterling and inclusive leadership style soon led him to the position of General Manager in January 2021.

Prior to his journey with McDonald’s, Ben had worked with Procter and Gamble International Operations Ltd (Global Consumers Insights and Strategy Manager) and Analytics Partners Inc (Senior Consultant for Singapore and Hong Kong).

Ben holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Information Systems Management) from the Singapore Management University. He is married with two young children.

Mr Alistair Carmichael

Expert Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company

Alistair is an Expert Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company and a leader of the People and Organizational Performance Practice and McKinsey Health Institute. He is a founder and global leader of McKinsey’s thinking and work on mentally healthy and safe workplaces.

From his base in Sydney, he advises and works with clients on workplace mental health, to transform culture and growth, better manage change, develop leadership and talent, and reimagine operating models.

Outside of McKinsey, Alistair is a passionate advocate for mental health and a volunteer at Lifeline (Australia’s suicide prevention and crisis line).

Prior to joining McKinsey, Alistair practiced employment and industrial relations law at law firms in London and Sydney.

Ms Gan Siow Huang

Minister of State
Ministry of Education & Ministry of Manpower, Singapore

Ms Gan Siow Huang is the Minister of State for Education and Manpower. She is the Member of Parliament for Marymount Single Member Constituency.

Prior to joining politics, Siow Huang was a military officer in the Republic of Singapore Air Force. She became the first female Brigadier General in the Singapore Armed Forces where she led the development of smart airbases and commanded daily operations of the largest formation in the Air Force.

After more than 25 years of military career, she joined the Labour Movement as Deputy CEO of NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute, a private company that provides career guidance, job-matching and skills upgrading services.

Siow Huang graduated from London School of Economics and Political Science with a Bachelor of Science (Economics) degree in 1996. She attained Master in Business Administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010.

She volunteers with Girl Guides Singapore and was formerly Chief Commissioner of the organisation. She also mentors young women as part of the Young Women’s Leadership Connection mentorship programme. She is married with three daughters.

Ms Peta Latimer

Chief Executive Officer
Mercer Singapore

As CEO for Mercer Singapore, Peta is responsible for the day-to-day business management to assure Mercer exceeds client’s expectations and delivers upon our brand promise of creating healthy, wealthy and talented workforces across the region. As a leader, Peta is focused on growth, partnerships and people excellence to help our clients tackle the problems of today.

Peta is also the Chair for Marsh McLennan Singapore, overseeing the four businesses: Mercer, Marsh, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman. As Chair, she drives internal synergy across the businesses and optimizes Marsh McLennan’s total portfolio of risk, strategy and people capabilities for greater market impact.

Outside of Marsh McLennan, Peta is a Board Member for WorkWell Leaders, an Ambassador for She1K’s ChiefX Angel Investment Syndicate and an active member of Women Corporate Directors.

With extensive experience in advising multinationals on change and workforce transformation, Peta is passionate about making a difference and always looks to drive high performance through people in an authentic and sustainable way. This stems from her background in Organizational Psychology and experiences of living in many different parts of the world.

Ms Lyn Lee

Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
Shell

Lyn Lee is a Singapore-based Asian female global leader with an extensive track record in Shell.

As the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Shell plc. Lyn is responsible for the strategic direction and implementation of DE&I commitments and Shell’s aspiration to become one of the most diverse and inclusive organisations in the world. The DE&I commitments in four key areas: gender, race and ethnicity, LGBT+ and disability inclusion and enablement form part of Shell’s Powering Progress strategy.

Lyn represents Shell in global forums and not-for-profit organisations such as the Business Disability Forum, The Valuable 500, Purple Space, Community Business, Catalyst and Workplace Pride.

With close to 20 years at Shell, Lyn has held HR leadership roles in the Commercial Downstream businesses and in core expertise areas of talent, organisation development and organisation effectiveness. She was also instrumental in driving the strategic people growth and transformation of the Shell Business Operations (SBO), the operational backbone of business processes that help deliver Shell’s business solutions across the globe, which she led for 5 years before taking up her present role in October 2018.

Outside of work, Lyn enjoys the outdoors and trekking, and spending time with her two daughters, two dogs and three cats. Recently she has also started Korean language classes and is hopeful that one day she will be fluent in the language!

Ms Low Peck Kem

Chief Human Resources Officer & Advisor (Workforce Development)
Public Service Division
Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore

As the Chief HR Officer and Advisor (Workforce Development) for the Public Service Division (PSD), Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore, Peck Kem is responsible for professionalising HR in the public sector of 16 Ministries and more than 50 Statutory Boards.

She is also the twice-elected President of the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI).

Prior to her current appointment at the PSD, she was the Senior Director for HR & OD for a not for profit organisation, The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) based in Geneva, where she was responsible for human resource, organisation development, legal, internal audit and corporate administration for its 15 global offices.

Peck Kem has the unique combination of experience, from quality engineer to manufacturing manager to VP human resources in the private sector (Tandon, Western Digital, Hewlett Packard, Agilent Technologies & Avago Technologies), from a Divisional Director of National HR Division in the Singapore Ministry of Manpower in the public sector, to Senior Director ODHR in GAIN, to currently Chief HR Officer for Singapore Public Service Division. This combination has widened her perceptions in the private, public and NGO sectors, and enabled her to view leadership from both the Asian and European perspectives.

Peck Kem was the first in Asia to be named CIPD Chartered Companion and was listed as a top HR influencer in Asia in 2021.

Ms Pearlyn Phau

Group Chief Executive Officer
Singlife with Aviva

Pearlyn Phau is Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of leading homegrown financial services company Singlife with Aviva, formed by the merger of Singlife and Aviva Singapore. Pearlyn leads Singlife's strategy, innovation and business efforts to deliver a better way to financial freedom for customers and the financial services industry.

Pearlyn cut her teeth in wealth management, digital and retail banking and has amassed over three decades of experience in the financial services field. She is well-respected amongst industry peers for being a strong leader with a digital-first mindset and having an exceptional track record of leading key strategies and business transformation initiatives.

Prior to her current appointment, she held several senior executive roles in DBS Singapore and the region.

Pearlyn is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a BA in Economics and Statistics from the National University of Singapore.