Speakers
Please find below the list of the confirmed speakers as per date, in alphabetical order:
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Marc Bolland Mr Bolland was appointed Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer in May 2010. He began his career at Heineken NV in The Netherlands in 1987, occupying several Marketing and Sales management roles. In 1995 he was named Managing Director for Heineken in Slovakia, becoming Managing Director for Heineken Export Worldwide in 1999. Mr Bolland was then appointed to the Board of Heineken NV in 2001 with responsibility for Western Europe, US, Latin America, Northern Africa and Global Marketing. In 2005 he became Chief Operating Officer. He joined Morrisons in September 2006 as Chief Executive Officer. Mr Bolland is currently non-executive Director of Manpower Inc US, and has previously held non-executive Director roles at Hotel de I’Europe, The Netherlands (2003-2006), Quilmes, Argentina (2001-2003). |
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Mr Bernie Brookes Mr Brookes was appointed CEO and Managing Director of Myer in June 2006; he has been a Member of the Board since July 2006. In his role he has been responsible for the turnaround and rebuilding of the Myer business. He has led the development and implementation of the Myer five-point strategic plan, repositioning the business to meet today’s challenges and investing for the future. Mr Brookes has spent over 36 years working within the retail industry in local and international roles in India and China. Prior to joining Myer, he was a Management Director of Woolworths and was a chief architect of Woolworths’ Project Refresh, which reduced costs by more than $5 billion over five years and reinvested these savings back into the business. He has also held a number of roles as president and executive of various industry organisations including Retail Traders Association in Queensland and Victoria and President of the Queensland Grocery Association. Mr Brookes is currently a director of the Advisory Board of The Salvation Army. He has received many awards, including Food Week Retail Executive of the Year, National Retail Association Food Industry Executive of the Year and Food Week Buyer of the Year for four years during the 1980s and 1990s. He was also awarded the Sir Charles McGrath Award for Marketing Excellence – 2012 at the Australian Marketing Institute Awards. Mr Brookes is currently patron of the Australian Joe Berry Memorial Award and the Australian representative judge of the World Retail Awards. He is also a Member of the Advisory Board of First Unity Financial Group. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education degrees from Macquarie University. |
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Mr Abid Butt Mr Butt initially joined Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts as Area General Manager for the Group’s flagship resort, Banyan Tree Phuket, over ten years ago, followed by his appointment as the first Vice President of Operations. He was most recently the Vice President for Asset Management of Host Hotels & Resorts in the United States, where he oversaw the preservation and asset enhancement of a collection of hotels. He has also been affiliated with Sheraton Corporation and Benchmark Hospitality International during his hospitality career. Mr Butt has been involved with many hotel openings, renovations and repositioning projects, along with working with a team to facilitate the launch of two lodging brands – Angsana Hotels and Resorts and Four Points Hotels. He holds a Master of Science degree in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix, San Diego. His hospitality industry education was completed at Johnson & Wales University with double Bachelor of Science degrees in Food Service Management and Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management. |
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Dr John Cheh Dr Cheh joined the Canadian Government in 1974 and worked for the Treasury Board and Privy Council Office. From 1981 to 1993, he was with Canada’s Department of External Affairs and International Trade, and served in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo in senior diplomatic positions. He also worked for two years as the Executive Director of the Canada China Business Council in Toronto. In 1994, Dr Cheh moved to Hong Kong as the President, Asia, of Bell Canada International, in charge of its strategic telecommunications investments and M&A activities. In 2001, he became the President of Bombardier China, until he joined Esquel in October 2003. Dr Cheh was elected Vice Chairman of the China Cotton Textile Association (CCTA) in 2005 and Vice Chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce for Textile Import and Export (CCCT) in 2009. In early 2011, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation. In May 2012, the University of Western Ontario, Canada conferred an Honourary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) degree on Dr Cheh in recognition of his expertise in trade, economics and labour issues. Dr John Cheh received his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from McGill University and his Ph D in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. |
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Mr Xiaodong Chen Mr Chen graduated from Sun Yat-sen University in 1991 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economy & Enterprise Management, and later obtained his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Murdoch University, Australia in 2000. He was once the Assistant General Manager of the Investment Management Department of China Everbright Holdings Company Limited from 2001 to 2004, and the President of Science City Development Public Co., Ltd. later in 2004. He joined Intime Retail Group in 2006 and served as CEO in 2009. |
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Mr Simone Dominici Mr Dominici joined GruppoCoin in 2012 as Managing Director of Coin and became then Managing Director of Coin & Excelsior in January 2014. Prior to joining GruppoCoin, he was General Manager Home Care Europe of Bolton Group,Italian FMCG Multinational, that he joined in 2008. Mr Dominici spent 15 at Unilever where he held various executive positions in Italy, Spain and the UK. During his tenure at Unilever, he was also Vice President Global Savoury Food and Vice President Food Business Italy. He also spent a short period at Arthur Andersen that he joined following his graduation in Economics. In 2007 Mr Dominici published a book titled “The new Slaves“. |
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Mr Matthew Driver Mr Driver is responsible for managing all aspects of the MasterCard business in ASEAN including business strategy & development, customer management, business operations and stakeholder engagement. He joined MasterCard in 2002. Prior to his current position, he was senior vice president and general manager of the Key Relationships Division for MasterCard in APMEA looking after multinational clients. Before that, he was general manager and global lead for the ABN AMRO Global Account team based in London. Mr Driver has more than 25 years of experience in business development, consulting, product management and marketing in financial payments and business services at American Express, Edengene and group companies of WPP plc. He started his career at Westpac Banking Corporation. Born in New Zealand, Mr Driver has MBAs from Columbia University in New York, and from the London Business School; a Master’s degree with honours in International Business & Marketing from the University of Auckland, NZ; and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Economics & Marketing from the University of Otago, NZ. |
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Mr Tiang Sooi Foo Mr Foo joined TANGS as Chief Operating Officer in 1999 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2006.
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Mr Douglas Tong Hsu Mr Hsu began his professional career at Citibank, NY, before returning to Taiwan to join Far Eastern Textile (renamed as Far Eastern New Century). He now serves as Chairman of the following listed companies: Far Eastern Department Stores, Far Eastern New Century, Asia Cement Corp., Orient Union Chemical Corporation, U-Ming Marine Transport, Far Eastern International Bank (1996-current Vice Chairman); Far EasTone Telecommunications, and Asia Cement (China) Holdings. Mr Hsu graduated from the University of Notre Dame, IN (BA, MA) with post-graduate studies in economics at Columbia University, NY in the US. Since 2002, he holds an honorary doctorate of management from National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. Additionally, he is a recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2013 for the achievement in the new-generation of “City Shopping Centers.” |
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Mr Paul Kelly Mr Kelly is Managing Director of Selfridges Group, which comprises Brown Thomas in Ireland, Holt Renfrew in Canada, Selfridges in the UK and de Bijenkorf in the Netherlands. Mr Kelly is one the world’s most experienced retail Executives. Prior to being appointed to his current role in 2010, he had been Chief Executive of Selfridges & Co. and the Brown Thomas Group. During his tenure at Selfridges, the business was transformed to become a global destination and at the same time, outperformed the market considerably in terms of sales and profits. He is rightly credited with building the Brown Thomas department store brand in to Ireland’s premier fashion retailer. In addition, Mr Kelly was responsible for launching the youth-orientated fashion store, BT2 in Dublin, as well as overseeing the expansion of the AWear brand across the country. Mr Kelly was born in Ireland and started his career at Dunnes stores, the Irish department store chain. |
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Mr Chris Leung Mr Leung is DBS Bank’s Executive Director and Senior Economist; he joined DBS in January 2002. He is responsible for monitoring the macroeconomic conditions of the Greater China region. Prior to joining DBS Bank, Mr Leung was an economist at Citibank and Chase Bank. As an expert on the Chinese economy, he appears regularly on Bloomberg, Cable TV, ATV, TVB, CNBC, CNN and various print media, providing his professional views on financial and economic issues. His insights have been published in the Financial Times (Chinese version) and a book published by China Economic Publishing House. Mr Leung graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. He also holds a Masters Degree in Statistics from Columbia University, a Masters Degree in Economics from New York University, and an Advanced Diploma in Managing Economic Crisis and Reform from the Harvard Institute for International Development. |
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Mr Tadamitsu Matsui Mr Matsui was appointed Chairman and Representative Director of Ryohin Keikaku Co in 2008. Prior to this, he held various senior executives positions in the company as President and Executive Officer of the supervision to Information System Division in 2004, President of MUJI.net, President of R.K. Trucks and Managing Director of Ryohin Keikaku. Mr Matsui has been Director of R.K. Trucks Co and Director of MUJI.net Co since 2001. He is a Graduate of the Tokyo University of Education (present University of Tsukuba), Department of Physical Education. |
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Dr Christian Mikunda Dr Mikunda comes from the film and television industry. He is considered the founder of Strategic Dramatization. He advises companies from various sectors such as the automobile industry, retail industry and shopping malls. He is a renowned international lecturer, a professor in Vienna, Salzburg and Munich; he was a guest speaker at Harvard University in Boston. His books are considered long sellers and are edited in various languages including Chinese and Korean. |
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Mr Gregg Mowins Mr Mowins has been the CEO of Åhléns since 2012. Prior to this, he spent 24 years within the IKEA Group, where he held senior management positions in North America, Sweden and South Asia, gaining significant global retail experience. Mr Mowins has been a member of the Management Group of IKEA Sweden and a Board Member of IKEA Iberica. He is a former Member of the Board of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in India and a participant of the World Economic Forum. Mr Mowins started his career at Macy’s, USA. He holds a BS in Marketing and Finance from Syracuse University, New York, USA and is a passionate student of leadership development. |
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Mr Sehun Park Mr Park is CEO of Hanwha Galleria, the leading luxury retail brand in Korea. Galleria has 5 department stores nation-wide (US$ 1.7 billion in volume), including its renowned flagship in Seoul considered to be the most premium specialty store in Korea. Prior to joining Galleria in 2012, Mr Park has been CMO of Hyundai Capital/ Hyundai Card for 7 years (part of Hyundai Motor Group), and a consultant at McKinsey & Company for 8 years. He holds a M. Phil degree in international relations from St. Antony’s College, Oxford. |
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Mr Hiroshi Ohnishi Mr Hiroshi Ohnishi has been serving as President & CEO of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings since April 2012, as well as President & CEO of Isetan Mitsukoshi since April 2011. He joined Isetan Co. in April 1979 being graduated from the Faculty of Commerce of Keio Gijuku University in March 1979 and he started his career at Men’s Apparel and Sportswear Department. He served as a Branch Stores Manager and General Merchandising Manager for Men’s Apparel and Accessories Department of Merchandising Headquarters, Executive Officer, Strategic Planning of Corporate Planning Division, and Store Manager and General Merchandising Manager of Tachikawa store. Mr Ohnishi planned and committed in grand opening of Isetan Men’s building in 2003, becoming the architect of success. He also conducts a remodelling project of Isetan Shinjuku Store in 2013 which is the world’s largest department store in terms of sales and number of visitors and then established Shinjuku store as ‘the world greatest fashion museum’, which related the sales growth accelerated to 10 %. Mr Ohnishi pursues absolute value through innovation; such as supply chain management reform, making sales skills viewable, and developing other growth business. |
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Mr Philippe Schaus Mr Schaus joined DFS Group in 2011 as Group President, Merchandising and Marketing. He was named CEO in mid-2012. He began his career in 1987 at J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc. in Brussels as Assistant Treasurer and then moved on to The Boston Consulting Group in Munich as Senior Consultant in 1990. In 1992, he integrated Villeroy & Boch A.G. in Germany as International Commercial Director of the Tableware Division, and was appointed Managing Director of the same division in 1999. In 2003 Mr Schaus joined Louis Vuitton Malletier, part of the LVMH Group, as President of the Europe Zone; he was appointed Executive Vice President International and a Member of the Management Board in 2006. Mr Schaus was educated at University of Liège – Belgium as an aerospace engineer in 1987 and undertook an MBA at INSEAD – Fontainebleau in 1990. |
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Mr Govind Shrikhande Mr Shrikhande joined Shoppers Stop, as Head of Buying & Merchandising, in April 2001, became the COO in 2004 and was promoted to the position of CEO in April 2006. He became the Managing Director of the Company in 2009. Under his leadership, Shoppers Stop has doubled the number of stores and undertook a major logo and positioning evolution. A textile graduate from VJTI, Mumbai and holding a MBA from Symbiosis, Pune, Mr Shrikhande has more than 27 years of experience in leading textile and apparel companies like Mafatlal, Arvind, Arrow and Bombay Dyeing. He was part of the team responsible for creating the Denim Revolution in India in the ‘90s. Mr Shrikhande is a well regarded speaker & jury at many National & International events. He has been recognized with various awards: Award of Excellence 2012 – ‘For Creating & Nuturing Excellence in the Field of Business’, ‘Movers of Time’ – Samay Bharati 2012, ‘Retail Professional Of The Year’, award by CMAI in 2009, ‘The Most Admired Retail Professional Of The Year Award’ in 2009 by Images, ‘Alumni Of the Year’, by his Alma Mater Symbiosis in 2008. The National Education & Human Resource Development Organization awarded Mr Govind Shrikhande - Rashtriya Udyog Ratna Award whilst awarding Shoppers Stop with the ‘Top Class Brand Award 2012-2013’. |
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Mr David Spooner Mr Spooner was appointed at Vice President Sales & Marketing, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts in 2012. He heads up the overall Sales and Marketing efforts for the group who are celebrating their 20th anniversary and are about to embark on a new growth phase that will expand the company from 35 to 66 hotels over the next 4 years. Mr Spooner began his hotel career in 1991 with the Sheraton Luxury Collection before joining Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in 1995 and was then appointed as Vice President of Sales and Marketing (EMEA) for Mandarin Oriental in 2000. From 2008 to his most recent appointment, he held senior vice president roles in sales and marketing positions at One & Only Resorts and Sanctuary Retreats. Mr Spooner holds a BA in Hotel and Catering Administration from the University of Huddersfield, UK and a MBA from RMIT in Melbourne. |
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Mr Wee Sung Tang Mr Tang is the second son of Mr Tang Choon Keng (C.K. Tang), the founder of TANGS. He joined TANGS in 1975 and then moved steadily up within the company to take over the chairmanship from his father in 1995. A graduate in business administration of Menlo College in California, USA, Mr Tang took TANGS’ original basement concept to the height of the contemporary forerunner in Singapore’s retail industry. He oversaw the rebranding of TANGS for a more modern audience, bringing TANGS from a business built on Chinese curios to today’s one-stop Superstore and ensuring its relevance for the next generation. He was also credited with conceptualising TANGS STUDIO in 1988, Singapore’s first curated fashion and lifestyle station. As TANGS grew in prominence in the retail scene, Wee Sung was also instrumental in the creation of the islandwide campaign, The Great Singapore Sale in 1994, which is now one of the biggest annual attractions for both international and local shoppers. While the business has grown to include several stores in Malaysia, Mr Tang continues to run the business with the same philosophy as that which his father started out with – honesty, integrity and great value. |
