Siew Hoon has been covering the travel industry beat in Asia Pacific for decades, starting off as a rookie reporter and going on to lead and launch the region’s key industry media titles. In 2005, she founded WiT (Web in Travel) to tackle how technology was changing travel in Asia Pacific and created a new space in the fast-growing, dynamic region with a dedicated media and events platform.

Over the years, she took WiT to new places, launching editions in Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Middle East, Europe and Africa to keep the world’s attention focused on the three pillars of travel, technology and Asia.

Following the acquisition by Northstar Travel Group in 2014, she led the launch of Travel Weekly Asia and M&C Asia and formed the editorial team to execute the entry of Northstar Travel Group to Asia.

Her work has been recognised by numerous institutions including the Singapore Tourism Board which recognised her as Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014. The WiT Singapore conference, which remains its tentpole event, has won several awards including Most Innovative Marketing Initiative and Trade Conference Of The Year.

In 2020, WiT Singapore became the first travel conference to go fully hybrid, paving the way for a new model in events.

Other than writing about travel, Siew Hoon is also a published author of titles such as “Around Asia In One Hour: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries”, children’s books such as “Adventures of Habibie The Turtle” and “The Story of Baitong and Boon” and host of “A Life In Travel” podcast.

Fritz Demopoulos has been an entrepreneur and investor within the media and internet industries for over 10 years. He co-founded Qunar.com, China’s largest travel internet company; and Shawei.com, China’s largest sports internet company. Fritz also had senior positions at Netease and The News Corporation.

Ross is CEO & Co-Founder at Wego, which is online travel marketplace that provides top ranked mobile apps and websites for users living in the APAC and MENA regions. Wego harnesses powerful technology that simplifies the process of searching, comparing and booking flights and hotels across hundreds of airlines, hotels and online travel agency websites. Wego is has dual-HQs in Singpaore and Dubai and is backed by top-tier investors including Tiger Global, Crescent Group, Square Peg Capital and the MBC Group.

Ross is a veteran of the Asian internet industry having established Yahoo!s Southeast Asian operations in Singapore back in 1998 and leading product development efforts across the region for 6+ years. He is also Singapore Co-Chair of H2, the premier global leadership network for the digital industry. Ross has been an active angel investor in the technology sector for a decade and enjoys working with other passionate entrepreneurs. He has worked in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Kuala Lumpur and is now splits his time between Singapore and Dubai. He travels frequently for business but not nearly enough for leisure.

Alfonso Paredes serves as President of Expedia Group’s Private Label Solutions, responsible for powering the industry with Expedia Group’s technology and supply. He leads the global commercial operation, establishing partnerships in a broad range of sectors from financial institutions to travel companies, powering their sites through Rapid API and template solutions. Mr. Paredes also leads the Expedia Travel Agency Affiliate Program (TAAP), Expedia Group’s global travel advisor business.

With over 14 years at Expedia Group, Mr. Paredes previously served as the senior vice president of Private Label Solutions and Commercial Partnerships, driving significant growth in B2B. Throughout his tenure, he has led numerous global teams and more recently, secured the expansion of Expedia Group’s industry-leading technology with major partners across multiple sectors and regions. Previous to Expedia Group, Mr. Paredes held management roles at Fexco, IATA, Bookassist and Accor.

Mr. Paredes graduated from Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne and holds an Executive MBA from the Instituto de Empresa. An avid supporter of Athletic de Bilbao and Real Madrid, he also has a profound appreciation for American and French culture, and cooking while listening to Latin music.

As Chief Commercial Officer of Expedia Group, Greg Schulze leads Travel Partners and Media, ensuring Expedia Group’s global supply is the cornerstone of its marketplace. Additionally, Mr. Schulze is responsible for Expedia Group’s growing advertising business, considered the most valuable travel media network. With his experience in building transformational partnerships across all verticals, Schulze underscores Expedia Group’s commitment to strengthening relationships in the travel industry. His teams ensure Expedia Group customers have access to more than three million lodging properties, airlines, activities, rental cars, cruises, and more.

In 2023, Mr. Schulze was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. He also serves on the executive committee for the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the board of directors of Traveloka.

Previously, Mr. Schulze was Senior Vice President of Strategic Travel Partners, managing all global relationships with travel partners. A long-time Expedia Group veteran, he has held a wide variety of leadership positions for strategy, commercial, operations and analytics in his almost 20-year tenure with the company. Prior to Expedia Group, Mr. Schulze led pricing strategy for American Airlines.

Mr. Schulze holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina. He embraces a global perspective, having lived and worked in North America, Asia and Europe.

Omri Morgenshtern is the Chief Executive Officer of Agoda, part of Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG). He was appointed in July 2022. In his former role as COO, Omri was instrumental in driving global operations, Product, Partner Services, and the Customer Experience Group.

Omri joined Agoda in 2014 as Senior Product Owner, Algorithms and Learning Systems, and was later promoted first to Vice President of Product Development, then to Chief Product Officer and Chief Operating Officer in 2018.

He was co-founder & CEO of Qlika, an award-winning UpWest Labs start-up specializing in online marketing optimization, which was acquired by Booking Holdings Inc. in 2014.

Omri received an M.S. Magna Cum Laude in Physics from Tel Aviv University and B.S. Cum Laude in Physics, Computer Science and Mathematics from The Hebrew University.

Idan Zalzberg is the Chief Technology Officer of Agoda. In his former role as Chief Data Officer, Idan was monumental in managing and architecting Agoda’s data and security solutions.

Idan joined Agoda in 2014 as Advanced Technology Architect Director and was later promoted to Vice President of Data, then to Chief Data Officer and to his current role as Chief Technology Officer in 2022.

He was co-founder of Qlika, an award-winning UpWest Labs start-up specializing in online marketing optimization, which was acquired by Booking Holdings Inc. in 2014.

Idan received an M.S. Summa Cum Laude in Physics from Tel Aviv University and B.S. Physics and Mathematics from The Hebrew University. He is also a graduate from the prestigious Talpilot program of the Israel Defense Forces.

As Chief Operating Officer (COO) at OAG, Filipov drives the optimization of business operations, enhances organizational performance, and spearheads the company’s long-term strategic vision. His leadership approach focuses on fostering innovation and operational efficiency, ensuring OAG maintains its position as a leader in the aviation and travel data industry.

Before joining OAG, Filipov served as Vice President of Product and Strategy at Skyscanner, where he played a pivotal role in transforming the company into a leading global digital travel platform.

Outside the travel industry, Filipov has held senior management positions in venture capital and strategy consulting, including key roles at Opera Solutions in New York and London.

Kerry Healy is the Chief Commercial Officer for Accor’s Premium, Midscale & Economy division in the Middle East, Africa, Turkey & Asia Pacific. Kerry oversees the commercial function for this diverse region which comprises close to 900 hotels under iconic brands such as Pullman, Mövenpick, Swissôtel Novotel, Mercure and ibis. Based in Singapore, Kerry leverages her wealth of business acumen and over 25 years of hospitality experience to ensure all functions of the organisation are aligned to meet the Group’s strategic commercial objectives.

Kerry is an outstanding leader and a skilled negotiator who has a deep understanding of distribution, customer relationship management, partnerships and operations. With strong international experience across four continents, her commercial insight and wide connections play a key role in aligning Accor’s commercial strategy and driving increased revenue in an increasingly complex environment.

Kerry has a long history of managing teams to excellence through change, building trust and designing exciting robust strategies. She fosters a customer centric organisational culture based on quality, respect and trust.

With expertise spanning multiple continents, Kerry has held senior management positions in the UK, Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Rim.

Areas of Expertise include: Marketing, Sales, Consulting, Management, Travel,
Hospitality, and Technology

Boon Sian Chai currently serves as Managing Director and Vice President of International Markets at Trip.com Group. Based in Singapore, Chai oversees the entire International Hotel Supply team spearheading the growth of supply partners internationally.

Prior to joining Trip.com Group, Chai progressed through the ranks during his more than 14 years in the online travel agency (OTA) space. With an extensive knowledge and in-depth experience of the OTA space, Chai enjoys spending time consulting with hotel partners on their pricing, distribution and marketing strategies. His geographic coverage includes Asia Pacific, having spent time in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and he has extensive networks in these markets.

Before moving into the online travel space, Chai was the COO of an IT startup company
specialising in online human resource systems and held corporate planning and e-commerce positions with various enterprises working on strategic planning, business development and sales and marketing.

Chai holds an MBA from the Chicago Booth School of Business and a BSc with first-class honours from Loughborough University.

As Managing Director & Vice President of Asia Pacific, Laura Houldsworth leads and oversees business growth, operations and strategy for one of Booking.com’s most vibrant and diverse regions globally.

Laura joined Booking.com in June 2021, following 10 successful years at SAP Concur where she last served as Senior Vice President and General Manager for Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China. Laura has previously held regional roles in BCD Travel and ABN Amro Private Banking; and is a commercial leader with more than 18 years of experience managing successful, multi-cultural teams.

As a people-fi rst leader, Laura is a keen advocate for causes such as gender equality in the workplace and sustainability. She serves as an executive sponsor for multiple employee resource groups, such as B.Equal and B.Sustainable, supporting grassroots initiatives to make Booking.com APAC a great place to work.

Laura has lived and worked in Singapore for more than 18 years and holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Marketing Management from Bournemouth University, United Kingdom.

Deep is the Founder & Chairman of India’s leading online travel company, MakeMyTrip Limited.

In his current role, Deep is involved in business strategy, policy issues, inorganic growth opportunities, culture and mentoring. In addition, Deep represents the company in various industry forums and with the Government. He also spearheads the group’s CSR initiatives and oversees the ESG agenda for the company. Deep is passionate about Sustainable Tourism and has been championing this cause personally and through the MakeMyTrip Foundation acting as its Trustee.

Deep is the Chair of World Travel and Tourism India Chapter, and the co-chair of CII’s National Committee on Tourism and Hospitality. He is a founding member of IndiaTech.Org, an industry body representing the interests of Indian digital companies. Deep is on the Board of TiE NCR Chapter and served as President from 2013 to 2016.
He is also one of the founding members of Ashoka University and serves on their Governing Body and Board. Deep serves on the Board of GMDA, Gurgaon’s Metropolitan Development Authority. A believer in citizens effort, he is a founding member of ‘I am Gurgaon’— an NGO focused on improving the quality of life in Gurgaon.

Deep has been recognized by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year—Business Transformation (2011), and as the most powerful Digital influencer in India (2012) by KPMG. He holds an MBA degree from IIM, Ahmedabad and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.

Deep’s interests include swimming, yoga, adventure sports, quizzing and of course, travelling.

Aloke Bajpai is the Chairman, MD and Group CEO of ixigo, India’s leading travel search app. Aloke’s consumer-centric thinking, passion for technology products and deep knowledge of the travel industry make ixigo stand out as one of the most innovative companies of the online travel industry.

An IIT Kanpur Electrical Engineering alumnus and an MBA graduate from INSEAD, Aloke loves discovering new cultures, creative writing, history and gadgets. Prior to launching ixigo, Aloke worked in product & technology roles at Amadeus, Nice, France, where he was part of the team that built the world’s first web-based cruise-line booking engine for agencies.

Along with being a TiE charter member he is also an investor and advisor in several startups, incubators and accelerators.

Charlene began her career at Singapore Airlines (SIA) and has been with the company for over a decade. She started in the Product and Services division, where she gained in-depth knowledge of the airline’s reservations and ticketing policies and procedures.

She later transitioned to the Marketing department, where she played a key role in conceptualising and launching the airline’s digital marketing initiatives.

Currently, Charlene serves as General Manager, Distribution—a position she has held for the past five years. In this role, she spearheaded the development and global rollout of Singapore Airlines’ NDC (New Distribution Capability) programme and continues to lead its worldwide expansion.

Amy Wei is the Senior Product Director at Trip.com Group, where she exemplifies seasoned leadership in steering innovative product developments across diverse platforms including the Trip.com app, desktop, and mobile sites. Under her leadership, Amy oversaw the successful integration and launch of the revolutionary AI assistant TripGen on February 17, 2023, marking one of the first instances an OTA integrated advanced AI into its mobile app. Its successor, TripGenie, launched on July 26, 2023, employs cutting-edge large language model technologies to revolutionize travel planning and booking. It offers capabilities ranging from crafting detailed itineraries to facilitating instant bookings through both text and voice commands, and enhances user interactions with intelligently displayed images and links, leading to swift navigation within the app.

Prior to her tenure at Trip.com Group, Amy held significant roles in product management at global tech giants including Amazon, Motorola, and Nokia. In 2015, she transitioned to Qunar, a subsidiary of Trip.com Group, spearheading its international expansion in airline ticketing. Later, as the CEO of Trip.com Group’s global train ticketing division, she launched TrainPal in February 2018. This innovative platform for train and bus bookings saw unprecedented growth in the European markets, achieving a 520-fold increase in monthly ticket volume within 20 months, and becoming the second most popular booking service in the UK since 2019.

Amy holds an MBA from Tsinghua University and a Bachelor’s degree from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She is renowned for her global perspective, exceptional leadership skills, and her adeptness at nurturing international businesses from inception to market leadership, consistently driving outstanding results.

David joined Booking.com (or rather Rentalcars.com) 7 years ago from consulting to lead strategy and build new businesses. He has held various roles in the Trips vertical since then before coming to Accommodations as VP Product earlier this year.

During his time in Trips, David built our Rides product from the ground up, growing it into the business we have today. He led the Trips Strategy & Operations teams, ensuring we had a cohesive strategy across all of the non-accommodations verticals, as well as led and contributed to various large initiatives towards the Connected Trip Product Vision.

On a personal level, David had an international upbringing in Germany & Japan, so is excited to be spending more time outside the UK in his new role. His fiancee Roxy and 1-year old son James are the focus of his time outside of work these days, although when he has a little spare time he enjoys keeping active via squash, skiing and golf – and he loves photography especially when traveling.

Timothy Hughes is the Vice President Corporate Development of Agoda (Booking Holdings Company). Timothy is a “retired” blogger and pundit. Previously he was the editor and publisher of one of the top online travel industry blogs (the BOOT: the Business Of Online Travel) and a writer at Phocuswire.

Tim is a former lawyer and venture capitalist. As a venture capitalist and consultant he helped a number of start-ups (inside and outside travel) secure funding, set up online media companies, managed investments in public companies and held regular client briefing sessions for a brokerage house. As lawyer he represented technology, new media, Internet, telecommunications and broadcasting clients in Australia, Europe and Hong Kong.

He first joined the online travel industry in 1999 and has worked for top tier online travel companies in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Tim has a Bachelor of Commerce and Hons Law Degree from the Australian National University.

Mr. Xing Xiong is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Trip.com Group. Mr. Xiong joined Trip.com Group as Senior R&D Director in 2013 and became the Vice President of Technology. He was appointed the CEO of Trip.com Group Air Ticketing in 2014. In 2015, he became the Trip.com Senior Vice President , and in 2016 he was made the Trip.com Group Executive Vice President. Currently, Mr. Xiong is in charge of air ticketing, accommodation, corporate travel, technology, international business, Qunar Group and other areas within the group. Prior to joining Trip.com Group, Mr. Xiong held several management positions in R&D in Microsoft and Expedia. He has over 20 years of technology and management experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Peking University, and a master’s degree in Computer Science from Northeastern University in the United States.

The JTB Group traces its roots back to 1912 when “Japan Tourist Bureau” was formed to attract international travelers to Japan and assist with their travel needs. While our activities and clientele have expanded greatly since then, the JTB group remains aligned around a core purpose: bringing people, places and possibilities together.

Over an 18-year-career at JTB, Eijiro Yamakita was involved in the development of the company’s global strategy and then moved to Europe, where he was appointed to be a top management at the forefront of the company’s global business. Prior to becoming a Managing Executive Officer, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kuoni Travel Investment Ltd and the European Head of JTB Group for 3 years. After he returned to Japan, he is the President and CEO of JTB Corp since then.

Yoshiyuki Takano is head of Travel & Mobility Business, Rakuten Group, Inc. since Jan 2017.

He started his career at Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd. and joined Rakuten in 2002. His expertise in digital marketing and business management has been contributing to Rakuten Travel’s rapid and continuous growth.

Dr. Michael Jiwon Ahn, D.HTM is the CEO of Rakkojae Hanok Collection, the first and premier owner and operator of traditional hanok hotels in South Korea.  Rakkojae was awarded the distinction of being on La Liste’s Top 1,000 World’s Best Hotels list in 2023.  Rakkojae currently operates two hanok hotel complexes: in Seoul’s Bukchon Hanok Village and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Andong Hahoe Folk Village.

Dr. Ahn also is the Founder and CEO of House of Heritage, a company focusing on encapsulating Korean culture in innovative food and beverage products fit for the global audience.  The first product by House of Heritage is KORI Gin, a contemporary gin crafted with 10 botanicals native to the Korean peninsula.

Dr. Ahn obtained his Doctor of Hotel and Tourism Management degree from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, his Master of Science degree from New York University and his Bachelor of Science degree from École Hôtelière de Lausanne.

Having majored in Finance and International business at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, founder Stephanie Chai has always opted for the path less traveled as she embarked on a modeling and TV career post graduation. Having come from a family of entrepreneurs she finally nipped the entrepreneur bug with TheLuxeNomad.com. Initially a flash sales only site, TheLuxeNomad.com launched in July 2012 with a round of angel investment and a small team of just two. With its then innovative Celebrity Nomad angle the site quickly grew and expanded to include book anytime hotels and villas for the discerning traveler.

To date Stephanie has raised over USD 1 mil from investors such as Innosight Asia and Douglas Khoo, one of the founders of China’s largest travel booking sites, Qunar. With offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, the site seeks to solve the issue of ‘time and trust’ by offering affluent travelers its highly curated collection of properties.

Chris has spent his entire professional life in and around startups and high-growth businesses in travel, hospitality and technology having founded six companies during his 30 years in business. Today he is a co-founder and Managing Director of Thayer Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in emerging technology companies in the travel and transportation space. Immediately Prior to Thayer Ventures, Chris was founder and President of iCare Marketing (sold to Sysco Foodservice Corporation in 2012) and founder and CEO of Dynamic Payment Ventures (sold to Elavon, a subsidiary of US Bank in 2007).

Prior to that, Chris was founder and CEO of CriticalArc Technologies, a supply-chain software provider to the foodservice industry, founder of E&O Kitchen and Bar, a casual dining restaurant based in San Francisco, founder of The Hemmeter Collection, a direct response retailer and founder of Hemmeter Publishing, a publisher and distributor of travel books and content. Upon graduating from Cornell University in 1986, Chris joined Hemmeter Investment Company, a real estate developer of destination-resort properties. Founded by his father in 1962, the Hemmeter organization developed major destination resort hotels in Hawaii and operated several related hospitality and travel businesses in the foodservice, gaming, retail and aviation sectors.

Chris received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Cornell University and his graduate degree from Harvard Business School in 1995, where he was recognized as a Baker Scholar for his academic achievement.

A senior travel industry executive with unparalleled experience of developing and leading global technology platforms, Mike’s ambition is for Meili to become the market leader in travel tech. As the former CEO of CarTrawler, Mike used his superior perspective on the mobility marketplace to oversee continual growth over a decade, the successful completion of two major private equity investments and multiple acquisitions. Mike’s commercial expertise and stellar track record make him uniquely qualified to guide Meili on its path to growth.

Hermione is a leader with 15 years’ experience in sales, marketing, strategy and business development in the technology & travel sector.

Hermione leads the APAC Travel team for Google’s Large Customer Sales business, working with leading online travel agents, airlines, hotel chains & vacation rental companies to develop digital business strategy & products for Asian consumers.  Additionally she oversees the APAC Vertical search team, who help clients adopt our more technical solutions such as Hotel Ads, and work with our Product & Engineering team to build products for our region.  Prior to this, Hermione worked in Google’s Sydney office managing major Retail clients.

Before her time at Google, she worked in the TV industry for 4 years, working for 7media West running the Key Accounts team. When she launched her career she started in Creative Advertising working initially for M&C Saatchi and then TBWA in Sydney.

Hermione was educated in Sydney Australia, completing  a degree in Economics & Social Sciences from Sydney University and was awarded the Young Citizen of the Year (2009) by the Woollahra Mulinciptilty.

Hermione now lives in Singapore, and has done so for six & a half years. She is a mum to three young children and a Red Kelpie, and is an incredibly passionate traveler.

Jacinta, co-founder of Seek Sophie, is a serial entrepreneur driven by the power of business to create positive change. From closing billion-dollar deals as an M&A lawyer at Linklaters, a top London law firm, to scaling a micro-insurance start-up that transformed millions of lives across Asia and Africa, her career has always been about impact.

But it was her travel adventures in over 60 countries that ignited her deepest passion. Jacinta saw firsthand how tourism could uplift communities and safeguard the environment, and was inspired to redefine how we travel. She founded Seek Sophie with a mission: to make travel a force for good, empowering local communities and safeguarding the planet we explore.

Seek Sophie now operates in 7 countries, offering earth-friendly adventures that empower thousands of small businesses across Asia. Jacinta’s vision is proof that sustainable tourism isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a movement, and it’s changing the way we experience the world.

As Chief Digital Technology Officer at Almosafer, Qais Amori brings over 15 years of experience in the tech industry to his role, where he leads a talented team of software engineers, solution architects, DevOps specialists, cloud operations experts, and Data technology experts.

In his role, Qais oversees the software engineering, solution architecture, DevOps, cloud operations, and Data technology teams, ensuring that they have the tools, resources, and support they need to build products that are both innovative and scalable. He is a champion of state-of-the-art technologies and frameworks, and his passion for technical excellence is contagious, under his guidance, the team is responsible for delivering innovative products that enhance the customer experience of Almosafer’s brands.

Throughout his career, Qais has demonstrated a passion for building large-scale products, as well as creating dynamic and productive work environments that foster a culture of collaboration and technical excellence.

He has a proven track record of building strong technology teams, and his expertise in solution design, software architecture, and cloud computing has been a critical factor in the success of several major technology initiatives, including “dawriplus,” the largest online platform for watching the Saudi Professional League, and “jawwytv,” now known as STC tv, the leading Saudi OTT platform.

Qais possesses a wealth of technical expertise and a proven track record of driving innovation and achieving exceptional results, making him a valuable addition to Almosafer. He is a leader who inspires and motivates his team to deliver their best, and his unwavering commitment to excellence is evident in all aspects of his work.

Reiwa Travel Inc. is a digital travel agency with the mission of “Designing New Travel Experiences.

We aim to provide innovative experiences and new societal value through international travel. Since April 2022, we have been offering the international travel booking app ‘NEWT.’

We aim to maximize the digital transformation (DX) of booking and management operations in the travel industry,  offering new and innovative package tours that are “easy, affordable, customizable, and secure.

We are dedicated to creating societal value through the experience of international travel.

Donggun Lee is the founder and CEO of MyRealTrip. Lee launched the service in 2012, while a student at Korea University. In five short years, MyRealTrip became a go-to-marketplace for all things travel among Korean tourists. Currently, it provides over 12,500 tours in 540 cities around the world, and has collected over 160,000 authentic reviews from its customers.

Lee completed degrees in Business Administration and Psychology from Korea University. He also studied at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Koblenz, Germany as a foreign exchange student.

John is North Ridge Partners’ Head of Asia based in our Singapore office.  He has more than 30 years of investment banking experience in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

John started his career in Australia with CS First Boston and Jardine Fleming / Ord Minnett.  From 1997, he worked for ABN AMRO throughout the region, with roles including Head of NZ ECM (2001 – 2003), Head of Asian M&A (2003 – 2005), Head of Asian ECM (2006 – 2007) and Head of South East Asian Investment Banking (2007 – 2008).  After leaving ABN AMRO, John joined Craigs Investment Partners in NZ (the former ABN AMRO NZ) and led their investment banking team (focused primarily on ECM) between 2010 and 2014.

John joined North Ridge Partners in 2021 and has worked on transactions for clients in NZ, Australia and Asia.  Most recently, he has advised Stuff Limited on the sale of an interest in Stuff Digital to Trade Me.

Oliver M. Rippel is a Partner and Co-Founder of Asia Partners.

Previously he was the CEO of B2C e-commerce for Naspers, which included all e-tail, B2C Marketplaces, and online travel operations globally. As of Dec 2017, the B2C portfolio of Naspers was yielding a total portfolio IRR of 30%, higher than Naspers’ total internet portfolio (outside of Tencent) IRR of 23% at the time, generating exits >US$4Bn.

Mr. Rippel led all of Naspers’ investments in Flipkart, where he served as Naspers’ appointed Director to the Board for six years, which included chairing the Audit Committee and being part of the Investment Committee.  In August 2018, Flipkart’s exit to Walmart was one of the very largest exits ever in the Internet and e-commerce space and India’s largest-ever exit of a technology company. Walmart invested US$16 billion to obtain an approximate 77% shareholding at closing. As part of this transaction, Naspers exited fully, selling its 11.2% percent stake for US$2.2Bn. The investment was a US$1.6Bn or 3.6x return over six years, at an estimated 29% IRR.

Mr. Rippel joined Naspers in January 2009 as head of business development in Southeast Asia before managing e-commerce in Africa and the Middle East shortly after. From 2011 to 2014 he oversaw e-commerce in Southeast Asia, India, and Africa, after which he was managing online services segments including e-tail outside of Europe, travel, real estate, and mobile services.

Before working for Naspers, Mr. Rippel spent nine years at eBay – first in his home country Germany and then as part of the Asia-Pacific region in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. There, he mostly focused on strategy, business development, as well as category management, and marketing operations. Mr. Rippel is of dual Asian and European ancestry. He studied economics in Berlin, Germany, and holds the INSEAD International Directors Program Certificate. He is also a member of the Young Presidents Organization Singapore Chapter.

William is a General Partner at SOSV, a US$300M AUM accelerator-focused venture capital fund, and Managing Director of Chinaccelerator, East Asia’s first startup accelerator. Previously, William was the Managing Director of China investments at SingTel Innov8 Ventures and a Partner at Softbank China & India Holdings. William is also an active angel investor, with 39 investments between 2006 and 2014 when he joined SOSV.

In 2005, William was ranked #1 stock picker in Technology, Media and Telecom and #3 overall in Hong Kong and China by Forbes/SCMP/Starmine. The following year, he was ranked #3 analyst in Asia for Technology/Software and IT Services by Institutional Investor Magazine Asia.

He currently holds advisory or director board seats in several companies (GMobi, ChaseFuture, Neonan, EscapeX, Thoughtful Media Group, Vericant, Mingbo, iTalki, kineticOne) as well as major roles in active Asian startup organizations (Angelvest, AAMA Shanghai, Techyizu). He holds a BA from Bowdoin College.

Stephan Ekbergh married father of 4, lives in Cape Town. Ex professional DJ for 10 years. Entrepreneur in Travel. Started the E-commerce revolution in Scandinavia 1999. Is now doing the same in Africa. Passion for releasing gifts and entrepreneurship with people. Writes and speaks about business, life and taking risks. Investor and active boardmember, also works with and finances non profits organization Thembalitscha foundation.