MELCHERS, Alexander is Vice President of the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and also a Founding Member & Member of the Advisory Council of the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (SGC). He is a member of the National Wages Council (NWC) of Singapore since 2006 and he was the Chairman of the Tripartite Implementation Workgroups on Employability of Older Workers to prepare for the laws on Retirement and Re-employment. He is also a Director in the Institute for HR Professional (IHRP). After ten years, he resigned as Board Member of Tripartite Alliance for Fair a Progressive Employment (TAFEP). “Tripartite is part of me”, he says. He is the Advisor of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies, who oversee the activities of the St. Gallen Management Symposium and he heads the St. Gallen Alumni Group in Singapore. He received the Public Service Medal (PBM) and Public Service Star (BBM) from the President of Singapore in 2008 and 2013 respectively. In 2014, he received the Meritorious Service Award from the NTUC.​

​Mr Melchers (55) is born in Bremen, Germany and resides in Singapore since 1997. He did his vocational training in international trade in Essen and then worked in Venezuela for one year before studying business at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. After his graduation, he started to work in brand management with Procter & Gamble, with a focus on business in Asia. He then joined the C. Melchers Group of Companies in Singapore as Managing Director today. C. Melchers GmbH & Co. is a diversified trading, development and services company established in 1806. C. Melchers has her headquarter in Bremen, Germany and it has offices across Asia.

Akbar is the founder and Managing Director of his own construction company founded in 1993. He is also a serial entrepreneur with experiences in several industries. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the National University of Singapore and a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from SIM.​

​He has served on various Boards and Committees such as Mindef Advisory Board; Yayasan MENDAKI, National Productivity and Continuing Education Council (NPCEC), COMPASS (MoEdn), Workplace Safety and Health Council, National Crane Safety Taskforce, SAFRA Clubhouse Management Committee, Bedok CCMC, Businesses for Families Council (MCYS) and Advisory Council of STADA as well as ISEAS (Yusof Ishak Institute) and the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industries and SMECentre@SMCCI. ​

​Always a voice for the SMEs, Akbar believes that the experiences gained from his businesses and his service to the community, he would be able to again serve the SMEs by promoting good HR practices. He firmly believes that human resource management is a crucial ingredient for the success of an organisation. To achieve this, it is imperative that HR professionals are well trained, equipped and certified. He looks forward to contribute in the development of HR professionals especially among the SMEs.

​Deanna Ong is Chief People Officer and Managing Director at GIC, responsible for Human Resource & Organization, and Corporate Governance for the GIC group. GIC is a global investment management company established to manage the foreign reserves of the Government of Singapore. GIC invests internationally in public equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity and infrastructure assets.​

As Chief People Officer, Deanna oversees people strategy to attract, develop and retain talent for enterprise performance, seeded with the right values and culture for GIC. As part of the Group Executive Committee, her areas of focus include talent strategy, leadership development, reward and engagement for organization effectiveness. As Company Secretary, she oversees corporate governance and client relations.​

​Deanna was previously Director Finance from 2009 to 2014, where she headed the Finance Group responsible for financial management across GIC’s portfolio, covering financing arrangements for assets, tax planning, investment holding structures, accounting and management of revenue and expenditure.​

​Deanna is currently a board member of Swiss Re Ltd and the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds. She holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and completed the Stanford Executive Programme.

Edy Tan Wei Hock is the progressive, people-centered and public-minded CEO of Chye Thiam Maintenance (CTM). Chief to 3,000 employees, Edy leads his company’s expansion as a cleaning specialist in the 1980s, to become one of Singapore’s largest environmental services companies today, with interests in facilities management, environmental robotics & analytics, waste recycling and landscape services.

Edy believes that people are core to his industry’s growth, and places great emphasis in the development, upskilling and welfare of his employees. He is also heavily committed to investing in technology and automation, and sees this as a means to bring productivity to the industry.

Edy was appointed as Vice-President of Environmental Management Association of Singapore (EMAS) in May 2019 and was re-elected in Oct 2023. As the Vice President of EMAS, and an active charter member of the Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners, Edy was a forerunner in introducing the Progressive Wage Model for his company. Edy has also pioneered with the Singapore Labour Movement, the innovative rollout of flexible work arrangements (FWA) for the cleaning sector to much industry interest.

A firm believer in giving back to the community, Edy is an active board member of several charities, public committee and counsels. He is the Vice-Chairman of the Citizens’ Consultative Committee for Toa Payoh West-Thomson, a Council Member of the Public Hygiene Council, and sits in the Advisory Committee at imPAct@HongLim Green. Edy was conferred the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat Public Service Medal in 2018.

Edy graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Property Management from University of Salford, UK. He is married and has two children. In his free time, he enjoys golf, football and going to the movies.

​Frank Koo is currently the Asia Head of Talent & Learning Solutions at LinkedIn. Frank’s team supports companies in talent acquisition, development and retention through the LinkedIn platform and solutions. Prior to LinkedIn, Frank was the Chief Operating Officer of BE Education based in Shanghai and Asia Pacific President of Learning Solutions at Pearson Education. At Oracle, he was the MD for Singapore and South Asia Growth Economies.

Frank has a Bachelor of Business Administration graduate from the National University of Singapore. He has also attended executive programs with INSEAD and IMD.

Ian Lee is an Executive Committee member and President of Geographies for the global HR company, The Adecco Group. He oversees the Country Presidents of the Group’s 12 largest markets (around €20B in sales). Additionally, Ian serves as the CEO of Adecco Workforce Solutions in APAC and Japan. He also oversees the Group’s JV in China, serving on the board for the €3.5B FESCO Adecco business.

Before joining The Adecco Group, Ian spent 14 years at Whirlpool Corporation in various roles, including CEO of North Asia and CFO of APAC.

Prior to Whirlpool, Ian also had a 13-year tenure at P&G, where he was CFO of the Global Feminine Care Business, CEO of Taiwan, and CFO of Greater China Personal Beauty. He joined P&G in 1990 as a Financial Analyst in the US.

Ian holds a BSc with Honours in Finance (Magna cum Laude) and an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He is pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) at Singapore Management University and serves on the Global Dean’s Advisory Council at Kelley School of Business. Ian was also an adjunct business professor at Nanjing University from 2010 to 2012.

Ms Anandarajah is a Partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and heads the Competition/Antitrust + Trade Practice and Leads the Corporate Governance Practice. Her key practice areas are Competition and Trade (including consumer protection), with strong secondary practices in Employment, Environmental (EHS) & Sustainability, Corporate Governance and Telco/Media Laws, where she has formidable accolades. ​

She also holds several positions in various organisations and associations including: ​

– Board Member, Building & Construction Authority​
– Dy Chair, Council of Estate Agents Appeal Board ​
– Member, National transplant Ethics Committee (lay-Persons)​
– Member, Competition Roundtable formed by the Competition Commission of Singapore. ​

Her prior board roles include being a board member of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education, where she was instrumental in introducing mandatory continuing professional development for lawyers. She also served on the WSH Advisory Committee and subsequently WSH Council, and was appointed as the Chairperson of WSH Council Engagement and Outreach Committee from 2008 to 2017 and Deputy Chair of the WSH Council as well as Chair of the Finance Committee from 2017 to 2020. ​

Anandarajah was awarded the Public Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat) which is conferred by the President of Singapore.

Norbert Ehlert plays a HR Leadership role for P&G’s Research & Development Function across business sections in two P&G Regions. This role is strategic and operational, leading HR for a large population of Researchers and Scientists who innovate with intent, sculpting science into irresistibly superior consumer solutions in world class Innovation Centers and strategic Innovation hubs.​

​With over 25 years of experiences in different regions, various markets and FMGC categories, Norbert Ehlert is the business partner and internal culture consultant that enables organizations to deliver desired business results. Driving the business with Integrity, Passion for Winning, principled-based decisions making, Equality & Inclusion that includes all and having fun at work are cornerstones of my work style.

Pao Jia Yu is the Deputy Chief Executive overseeing planning and resource allocation at SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore. Prior to this appointment, she was the Group Director for Planning in SkillsFuture Singapore. Jia Yu has also served in various roles in the Singapore public service including the Strategy Group at the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Wendy started off as an Industrial Relations Officer in NTUC with rotations in various unions before she was appointed Director to lead NTUC’s Youth Development unit. One key project was leading the 2023 NTUC Youth Taskforce engagements of 10,000 youths to better understand the aspirations and concerns of the future workforce. She also previously served as a Council Member in the 16th and 17th National Youth Council.

She is currently Senior Deputy Director in U PME, the department that focuses on enhancing the wages, welfare, and work prospects for PMEs, driving the innovation of new value propositions, forming strategic partnerships, and advocating for PME rights and protection.