Powering innovation that's Right By You

10 Nov 2025 | 11:30am - 1:00pm
Insights Forum
Roundtable Room 3, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 4

Guardian is driving capital market innovation through various digital asset initiatives, demonstrating measurable benefits in operational efficiency and market access. This roundtable explores how digital assets are scaling liquidity, enhancing collateral management, and increasing asset utility. Through live implementation cases, from tokenised funds to cross-border solutions, this roundtable will highlight how digital asset innovation is transforming traditional market infrastructure and accelerating institutional adoption.

Speakers:

• Yip Kah Kit, Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets, Innovation Group, UOB
• Camille Blackburn, Director of Asia-Pacific (APAC), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Chan Boon-Hiong, Industry Applied Innovation Lead & Head APAC Market & Technology Advocacy, Securities Services, Deutsche Bank
• Chetan Karkhanis, SVP Strategic Ventures, Franklin Templeton
• Dr. Rhys Bollen, Senior Executive Leader, Digital Assets, Australian Securities & Investments Commission
• Emma Lovett, Markets Digital Assets, JP Morgan
• Georgina Jarratt, Managing Director, Head of FinTech & Digitalisation, International Capital Market Association
• John Allan, Head of Innovation & Operations Unit, The Investment Association
• Marita McGinley, Head of Digital Asset Strategy, Schroders

Moderator:

• Ken Chua, Deputy Director, FinTech & Innovation Group, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Yip Kah Kit
Executive Director
Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets
Innovation Group
UOB

Mr Yip Kah Kit is the Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at UOB Group. He is a seasoned banking and finance professional, having held various roles in Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). At the BIS Innovation Hub, Kah Kit co-led several innovation projects most notably Project Nexus which developed a next-gen multilateral fast payment network, Project Mandala which pioneered a programmable compliance model and Project Rialto which devised next-gen FX settlement protocols. At BNM, Kah Kit was instrumental in spearheading Malaysia’s migration to digital payments and foster the development of interoperable real-time payments. He also led BNM’s Digital Currency Research Hub to advance exploratory work on tokenisation, CBDCs and digital assets, including Project Dunbar which tested a multi-CBDC network involving the central banks in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and has been admitted as a Barrister-at-law by the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, United Kingdom. 

10 Nov 2025 | 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Insights Forum
Roundtable Room 1, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 4

As rapid technological shifts redefine industries and the nature of work, 6 in 10 workers globally will need to be reskilled or upskilled by 2030. This roundtable brings together industry, academia, and government leaders to identify the critical skills needed across sectors and how to deliver them at speed and scale.

Speakers:

• Hayley Yap​, Head of HR Business Partner, Group Human Resources, UOB
• Alessandro Di Lullo, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Education Council
• Dr. Shenglin Ben, Professor & Dean, Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS)
• Chen Leiming, Senior Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer, Ant International
• Ishita Goel, Global Lead, Talent Analytics Programme, ACIA, Aon
• Prof. Chia Tek Yew, Advisor, NUS - Asian Institute of Digital Finance
• Prof. Thomas Puschmann, Executive Director, Global Center for Sustainable Digital Finance, Stanford & Zurich University

Moderator:

• Akanksha Rath, Head of Capacity Building & Learning Institute, Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)

Hayley Yap 
Managing Director
Head of HR Business Partner
Group Human Resources
UOB

Ms Hayley Yap is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in business administration and human resources. Currently, Hayley serves as the Managing Director and Head of HR Business Partner at UOB. In her previous role as Group Head People Function at SingLife and Chief People Officer for AXA Singapore Pte Ltd, Hayley led significant transformations in organization design, talent strategies, and employee engagement.

Hayley's career includes senior management roles at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Standard Chartered Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, and The Development Bank of Singapore. Throughout her career, Hayley's responsibilities have spanned business execution, operational risk, strategic investments, and human resources. 

11 Nov 2025 | 10:30am - 11:30am, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Innovation Lab Crawl
SGX Centre 1, (Entrance at SGX Centre 1, 
Main Lobby)
2 Shenton Way, #01-01, Singapore 068804

This session offers an exclusive look into UOB TMRW – our data-driven, hyper-personalised digital banking platform. Designed to be simple, engaging, and transparent, UOB TMRW leverages advanced AI and tailored rewards to deliver a seamless banking experience that adapts to individual needs. Attendees can explore how technology is shaping the future of banking, enabling access anytime, anywhere.

Speaker:

• Stuart Smith, Head of Innovation, Group Retail TMRW, UOB

Stuart Smith
Executive Director
Head of Innovation
Group Retail TMRW
UOB

Stuart Smith is the Executive Director, Head of Innovation, at Group Retail TMRW. He is an internationally recognised leader in design and innovation. He has over 20 years of experience spanning innovation and design in major private, public, and startup organisations around the world, focused on digital, urban and financial service design.

11 Nov 2025 | 11:15am - 12:45pm
Insights Forum
Roundtable Room 2, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 4

The roundtable will focus on discussing key use cases across the financial sector and identifying the underlying common AI components, such as AI models and guardrails. We will explore how different financial institutions could collaborate to build shared AI components for the sector. These common components could enable financial institutions to build their own AI applications more efficiently whilst focusing on differentiated services. This ecosystem approach will reduce duplicate efforts across the industry and speed up the AI adoption.

Speakers:

• Richard Lowe​, Group Chief Data Officer, Innovation Group, UOB
• Dr. David Hardoon, Global Head - AI Enablement, Standard Chartered
• Dr. Geraldine Wong, Chief Data Officer, GXS Bank
• Jefferson Chen, Co-founder, Group Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Advance Intelligence Group
• Dr. Zhao Jingyuan, Managing Director, Group Data & AI, Great Eastern
• Kieran White, International Head, AI COE, Nomura
• Mark Czajkowski, Chief AI Officer, Asia, Manulife
• Yip Shue Heng, Head of Asia Digital Strategy, MUFG Bank, Ltd.
• Nicolas de Skowronski, Head Digital Business Transformation, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd.

Moderator:

• Alan Lim, Director & Head, Financial Infrastructure & Artificial Intelligence Office, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Richard Lowe
Managing Director
Group Chief Data Officer
Innovation Group
UOB

Mr Richard Lowe is the Group Chief Data Officer and Managing Director of Data Management Office, Innovation Group in UOB. He oversees the development and implementation of UOB’s strategic data and monetization vision through data governance, data quality, data security, ethical use of data and artificial intelligence, and applied advanced analytics. He also fosters a culture of data analytics driven decision making and innovation to create value for the bank’s employees, customers, and stakeholders.

Richard has over 20 years’ experience in data and analytics, and prior to joining UOB, he spent most career in Australia building and leading data and business analytics capabilities in both Financial Services and Telecommunications Sectors.

He is passionate about industry trends and best practices and serves a variety of roles in industry, most recently as the Chairman of the Standing Committee for Data Management for the Association of Banks Singapore (ABS) 2021 to 2023, and Chairman of the Interoperable Data Framework Taskforce for the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA) 2021 to 2023. He is conferred the IBF Fellow Award by the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore in 2023.

He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Data Analytics Advisory Board of Singapore Management University (SMU) and is involved in and a member of the IBF Future-Enabled Skills Working Group, Veritas Consortium, and Mindforge Consortium to name a few.

11 Nov 2025 | 11:45am - 1:15pm
Insights Forum
GFTN Selects Roundtables, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 4

Illicit crypto flows are growing more complex and AML playbooks need to keep up. This roundtable with global crypto platforms, financial institutions, blockchain intelligence and regulators tackles the real-world risks, gaps and investigations shaping the response to financial crime today.

The conversation will explore:

• How real-time data sharing and international coordination can enhance the detection and disruption of illicit activity across borders.
• What effective and forward-looking regulation looks like in an ecosystem defined by speed, decentralisation, and constant change.
• How regulators and industry can work together to build common standards, align incentives, and reinforce trust in digital finance.

Speakers:

• Yip Kah Kit, Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets, Innovation Group, UOB
• Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy, TRM Labs
• Dane Shelly, Head of Compliance, APAC & LATAM, Coinbase
• Dr. Clara Guerra, Director Office for Digital Innovation, Liechtenstein Government
• Elisabeth Wallace, Head of Innovation & Conduct Policy, Dubai Financial Services Authority
• Matthias Obrecht, Head Market Analysis, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA)
• Peter Kerstens, Advisor, DG FISMA, European Commission
• Todd McElduff, Enterprise Compliance Director, Binance

Moderator:

• Elise Soucie Watts, Executive Director, Global Digital Finance

11 Nov 2025 | 1:15pm - 2:45pm
Insights Forum
Roundtable Room 2, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 4

This roundtable aims to improve the regulatory enablement of AI in Finance in the UK and Singapore. As global thought-leaders, The Financial Conduct Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have various industry initiatives which enable and encourage the safe adoption of AI in the financial sector. The discussion, involving policymakers and industry leaders, will reflect on these initiatives and explore how regulators can go further in promoting innovation in their markets. It will also explore how the two regulators can collaborate to strengthen ties between the UK and Singaporean markets by providing safe avenues for firms to experiment cross-border. Senior discussants from the MAS and the FCA will facilitate the discussion, drawing from the expertise of leading players in the field from both countries.

Speakers:

• Frankie Phua, Head of Group Risk Management, UOB
• Dr. David Hardoon, Global Head - AI Enablement, Standard Chartered
• Dr. Hamish Macalister, Founder & Chief Scientist, Transparently Pte Ltd
• Dr. Harry Wang, Chief Growth Officer, Sonar
• Dr. Huang Weiwei, Head of Solutions, 6Estates
• Lem Chin Kok, Chief Executive Officer, Airts
• Simran Singh, AI Lab Lead, Financial Conduct Authority
• Lee Wan Sie, Cluster Director (AI Governance & Safety), AI Verify Foundation, IMDA
• Philip Clements, Chief Executive Officer, finspector
• Rohit Vaish, President & Co-founder, Saturn

Moderators:

• Jessica Rusu, Chief Data, Information & Intelligence Officer, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Kenneth Gay, Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Frankie Phua
Managing Director
Head of Group Risk Management
UOB

Mr Frankie Phua is the Managing Director and Head of Group Risk Management at UOB. In this role, he oversees various risk management functions including credit risk, market risk, operational risk, technology risk, and ESG/climate risk. He has over 30 years of extensive experience in the banking sector, having spent over a decade in corporate and commercial banking before moving into risk management.

Frankie is highly active in the risk management community, serving as Chairman of the Risk Management Practitioners Association (RMPA) in Singapore and as a lecturer at the National University of Singapore’s Risk Management Institute (RMI). He has also been recognised as an IBF Distinguished Fellow, an honor given to leaders with significant contributions to the financial industry in Singapore.

12 Nov 2025 | 2:05pm - 2:45pm
Catalyst Stage
Hall 3, Singapore EXPO

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in the workplace, the line between augmentation and automation is blurring. Once hailed as a tool to elevate human potential, AI is now linked to sweeping layoffs and structural workforce shifts, with many roles eliminated and never returning. This session explores the paradox at the heart of AI’s rise: is AI fulfilling its promise to enhance human potential, or is it accelerating our obsolescence?
 

Join us as we explore the ethical, economic, and existential implications of intelligent machines, where we’ll ask hard questions about value, dignity, and the meaning of humanity.

Speakers:

• Alvin Eng, Head of Enterprise AI, Innovation Group, UOB
• Dr. Ben Leong, Director, AI Centre for Educational Technologies, National University of Singapore (NUS)
• Dr. Siddarth Warrier, Consultant Neurologist, Sid Warrier Brain Clinic

Moderator:

• Linda Nguyen Schindler, Regional Director of Ecosystem Strategy & Partnerships and Head of Al (Asia), Start2 Group

Alvin Eng
Executive Director
Head of Enterprise AI
Innovation Group
UOB

Mr Alvin Eng is the Head of Enterprise AI, Innovation Group in UOB. In this role, he leads the Bank’s AI center of excellence in the development of AI solutions to address business challenges. He also spearheads the strategic transformation and adoption of Generative AI and Agentic AI across the Bank. Additionally, he oversees the enterprise data science platform, driving innovation and operational excellence in AI development, deployment and governance.

Prior to this, Alvin held leadership positions across UOB in Investment Management, Finance, Corporate Banking and Data Management. His responsibilities included managing proprietary hedge fund investments of the Bank, driving financial strategy and analytics, balance sheet optimization and capital management, and served as the Head of business management in Group Corporate Banking. 

A Monetary Authority of Singapore scholar, Alvin began his career as an economist at MAS focusing on macroeconomic surveillance and financial stability research. He also served as a diplomat and Adviser to the Executor Director representing the Southeast Asia Voting Group at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, and was a Management Associate at Standard Chartered Bank where he focused on private equity valuation. 

Alvin graduated with a double degree in Statistics and Economics (First Class) from the National University of Singapore. He also hold a MSc in Financial Economics from Oxford University Said School of Business and a MSc in Business Analytics from New York University Stern School of Business. He is currently pursuing his third Masters degree in Computer & IT from the University of Pennsylvania. Alvin also held multiple professional qualifications across finance, risk and project management, including the CFA, CAIA, PRM and PMI-ACP, as well as numerous technology-related qualifications, including AWS certified Machine Learning Engineer, Solutions Architect, Cloud and AI practitioner. 

12 Nov 2025 | 3:35pm - 4:15pm
Impact Stage
Hall 3, Singapore EXPO

Singapore's drive to modernise its financial infrastructure takes centre stage, with particular focus on the development of the Digital Singapore Dollar infrastructure. The panel examines how the Monetary Authority of Singapore's SGD Testnet is supporting the development of common settlement assets for tokenised assets.

Speakers:

• Lee Zhu Kuang, Head of Innovation Group, UOB
• Lim Soon Chong, Group Head, Global Transaction Services, DBS Bank

Moderator:

• Kenneth Gay, Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Lee Zhu Kuang
Managing Director
Head of Innovation Group
UOB

Mr Lee Zhu Kuang is a seasoned innovation leader with over two decades of experience in top international banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan, and Deutsche Bank. He recently joined UOB as Group Head of Innovation, following his role as Chief Digital, Data & Innovation Officer at HSBC. He is responsible for defining and driving the innovation strategy, and delivery of digital and data transformation.

His expertise spans: 

• Digital assets & tokenisation – Practical experience implementing blockchain-based custody and tokenisation in institutional finance
• AI, data & platform innovation – Driving adoption of advanced analytics and digital services in regulated environments
• Cross-market perspective – Combining global insights from Europe and Asia to shape next-generation financial ecosystems
• Business Model Innovation – Pioneering new monetization and partnership models that align digital transformation with sustainable growth. 

Zhu Kuang graduated with an Honours degree in Computer Engineering from the National University of Singapore. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from Singapore Management University and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. 

13 Nov 2025 | 2:05pm - 2:40pm
Frontier Stage
Hall 5, Singapore EXPO

The threat landscape in financial services is evolving as AI-powered cyber-crimes give rise to synthetic identity frauds, scams and more sophisticated forms of threats.

How can banks, technology platforms and fintechs collaborate to adequately strengthen cyber safeguards against financial crimes and enhance the sector's overall integrity to fortify the financial system? In this session, panelists will explore how emerging technologies and approaches can fortify the financial landscape, and what long-term cyber strategies will look like for finance in the coming years.

Speakers:

• Tobias Gondrom, Chief Information Security Officer, Head of Group Information Security, Group Technology and Operations, UOB
• Aditi Sawhney, Senior Vice President, Security Solutions, Asia Pacific, Mastercard
• Tamas Kadar, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer, SEON
• Kathleen Gan, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Asia and Middle East, HSBC

Moderator:

• Pieter Franken, Co-founder & Director, Japan, Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)

Tobias Gondrom
Managing Director
Chief Information Security Officer
Head of Group Information Security
Group Technology and Operations
UOB

Mr Tobias Gondrom joined UOB in 2018 and is the Group Chief Information Security Officer. He is responsible for ensuring the end-to-end information security in UOB and implementing all cyber security initiatives across the Bank.

Tobias has more than 20 years of experience in information security, software development, application security, cryptography, electronic signatures and global standardization strategies. He has held various roles in independent software vendors and large global corporations in the technology, financial and government sectors. Prior to joining UOB, Tobias was the Chief Technology Officer (Security) at Huawei.

He holds a London Business School Sloan Masters degree in Leadership and Strategy. 

Since 2021, Tobias is the chair of the ABS (Association of Banks in Singapore) Standing Committee on Cyber Security (SCCS) and in 2022 has been awarded by the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) as IBF Fellow. From 2014 to 2018, Tobias was a member of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC) and the chair of the IETF Trust. From 2004 to 2018, he was also the chair of multiple IETF workings groups in the security domain, the latest one being the chair of the DDoS Open Threat Signaling (DOTS) working group and a member of the IETF security directorate until 2018.

Since 2007, Tobias has also held leadership roles for the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), a global not-for-profit organization aimed at improving software security, including as a member of the board from 2014 to 2017 and former global chairman. In addition, Tobias is former a board member of the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Hong Kong and Macau Chapter and a former member of the NIS Platform of the European Commission, where he advised the European Union on Cyber Security and Risk Management.

13 Nov 2025 | 4:25pm - 5:00pm
FutureMatters Stage
Hall 5, Singapore EXPO

As traditional financial institutions adapt in response to emerging technologies – from the advent of digital currencies to AI and embedded finance – they are increasingly rethinking their value proposition, business models, and approaches to infrastructure and partnerships with new players.

In this high-level dialogue, leaders from financial institutions will discuss how to best navigate technological disruptions, shifting customer expectations, and the evolving regulatory landscape in anticipation of the next decade of finance.

Speakers:

• Janet Young, Head of Group Channels and Digitalisation, Group Strategic Communications and Brand, UOB
• Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President, Head of Services, Asia Pacific, Mastercard
• Dr. Vivek Ramachandran, Head of Global Trade Solutions, HSBC

Moderator:

• Oliver Bussmann, Chief Executive Officer, Bussmann Advisory

Janet Young
Managing Director
Head of Group Channels and Digitalisation, Group Strategic Communications and Brand
UOB

Ms Janet Young heads Group Channels and Digitalisation, Strategic Communications and Brand for UOB. She is responsible for delivery channels serving retail and business customers across branches, self service banking, websites and champions Fintech and ecosystem partnership initiatives across the UOB group. She also oversees brand management, strategic communications, community stewardship teams across the group to build strong community relationships and achieve the ambition of being the most preferred bank in Asean.
 

Janet is a Board member of Singapore National Environment Agency, Singapore National Council of Social Service, Innoven Capital, Accuron Technologies and serves on the Advisory Councils of Nanyang Business School, NTU Singapore and Elevandi.
 

She has more than 25 years of banking and corporate experience. Prior to joining UOB, she held senior roles at global banks and European MNC.

14 Nov 2025 | 4:25pm - 5:00pm
FutureMatters Stage
Hall 5, Singapore Expo

As global emissions continue to rise, the goal of net-zero by 2050 seems to be an increasingly difficult goal to achieve. This session will dive deep into the question of whether net-zero emissions can truly be achieved in the coming years, the measures and solutions that leaders and organisations can take to support and revive flagging net-zero momentum, and how the financial sector can mobilise capital and capabilities toward a net-zero, climate-resilient, and socially inclusive future.

Speakers:

• Eric Lim, Chief Sustainability Officer, Coporate Sustainability Office, UOB
• Dr. Parag Khanna, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, AlphaGeo
• Oi-Yee Choo, Chief Executive Officer, Climate Impact X

Eric Lim
Managing Director
Chief Sustainability Officer
Group Corporate Sustainability Office
UOB

Mr Eric Lim is Managing Director and the Chief Sustainability Officer at United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB). His role is to drive UOB’s sustainability strategy and objectives of helping businesses and individuals transition to a sustainable future and fostering social and environmental well-being among colleagues and communities. 

Eric was also the Head of Group Finance from 2013 to 2022, where he was responsible for the Bank’s core finance functions spanning financial strategy, capital management, regulatory and financial reporting, tax management, business finance and performance management. 

Eric holds positions in key UOB management committees, including Chairperson of the Group Sustainability Committee. He is also a member of the Management Committee and the Asset and Liability Committee, and holds directorships in UOB affiliated companies. 

Prior to joining UOB, Eric was Managing Director and Head of Wholesale Banking Finance, Singapore and Southeast Asia for Standard Chartered Bank, responsible for driving the strategic partnership between the wholesale business and finance teams. During this time, Eric led the finance functions covering commercial banking, financial markets and investment banking. 

Eric began his career with GE Capital where he took on various executive positions in the areas of financial planning and analysis, mergers and acquisitions, audit and controllership. He lived and worked in more than 20 countries, with particular focus in the USA and Japan during that time. 

Eric holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from the Nanyang Technological University and an Executive Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.