2023 Speakers

Anna Znamenskaya is the Chief Marketing Officer at foodpanda leading brand, performance marketing and growth teams in 11 markets across Asia-Pacific.

Previously, Anna was the Chief Growth Officer at King/Activision Blizzard, and prior to that – Chief Marketing Officer at Rakuten Viber where she oversaw global marketing, product growth, business development, public relations, and analytics functions to create consumer-inspired innovations. Anna was instrumental in growing and expanding the capabilities for the business.

Prior to that, she was Country Manager for Apple Services, responsible for driving business growth and local operations of the App Store, iTunes, Apple Music and iCloud. She also served as Chief Digital Officer for Eurasia region of VEON, 9th largest global telco company, and in Mindshare, an award-winning global media agency.

In the past, Anna has also founded and grown several successful tech businesses including an online video streaming service, and a technology platform based on Big Data for retail banks.

Anna has a Master’s degree in Digital Marketing from IE Business School in Madrid. She is a TEDex international speaker as well as a dedicated mentor for ‘Women in Tech’.

Billy joined Liverpool FC in 2012 as Chief Commercial Officer and member of the Executive Team. He was promoted to Managing Director in February 2017, a role which saw him responsible for the Club’s global commercial operations and strategic growth.

During this time at LFC, he played a pivotal role in the commercialisation of Anfield’s expanded Main Stand, the multiple extensions of Standard Chartered’s longstanding principal partnership, creating the biggest kit supplier deal in the Club’s history with Nike, and the opening of the ambitious commercial office in London.

In September 2020, Billy was promoted to Chief Executive Officer, where he now leads the Club’s entire business operations, reporting directly to the Club’s ownership, Fenway Sports Group.

Billy is also proud to be Vice-Chair and Trustee of the Club’s official charity, LFC Foundation, which supports over 80,000 people every year.

Lu Yan is Vice General Manager of Shanghai Juss Event. Working roles across government relationships, logistics, strategy and business development and media rights management. She currently leads marketing and ticketing teams and is a passionate sports enthusiast.

Shanghai Juss Event is the organiser of the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, owner of Rolex Shanghai Masters (ATP 1000), host of Global Champion Tour Shanghai, promoter of Shanghai Snooker Masters and World Athletics Diamond League Shanghai.

Melita Teo is the Chief Customer and Digital Officer of AIA Singapore. Drawing on a wealth of industry experience, Melita is responsible for strengthening the customer, brand, health and wellness propositions, advancing the enterprise-wide analytics capabilities and usage, and accelerating the delivery of an integrated digital experience across customers and distribution.

Melita leads the division to identify strategic areas of growth for the business and service excellence to customers through an unwavering focus on customer experience and outcomes, and integrated digitalisation transformation of business and services.

Chatri Sityodtong is the Founder and CEO of ONE, Asia’s largest global sports media platform with a worldwide broadcast to 179 countries.
According to Nielsen, ONE ranks amongst the world’s top 5 biggest sports media properties (alongside NBA, F1, Champions League, EPL, etc) in terms of viewership and engagement. Through its marquee sports properties (ONE Championship and ONE Esports) and its passionate millennial community, ONE is a celebration of Asia’s greatest cultural phenomena, Martial Arts and Gaming, and the deep-rooted Asian values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion. ONE is on a mission to unleash real-life superheroes, tell stories, celebrate values, ignite dreams, inspire nations, and change the world.

Kaveri Khullar is the VP, Regional Consumer Marketing and Sponsorships for Asia Pacific, at Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry. In this role, Kaveri is responsible for the Digital, Brand and Sponsorships mandate for Mastercard, in the AP region.

Prior to joining Mastercard she held commercial, marketing and marketing innovation roles at EMI Virgin and Diageo, in local, regional, and global remits.

Caroline is the managing director at Melbourne Victory Football Club. MVFC is one of Australia’s premier football clubs, boasting 4 A-League Championships (and 3 Premierships), an FFA Cup title & 6-time qualifier for the ACL. Along with the A-League, the Club is proud to compete in the NYL, NPL & W-League. Caroline is also an inaugural member of the FFA (Football Federation Australia) Women’s Council (WC) and the WC representative on the New Leagues Working Group, designed to agree and recommend the structure for the Australian professional football leagues moving forward.

A global Franchise and Commercial leader, Joe is a seasoned veteran of The Coca-Cola Company tenured for over 17 years in numerous leadership positions across commercial and customer partnerships both within the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide.

Originating from Sydney, Australia, Joe and his family moved to Hong Kong mid-pandemic over 2 years ago to take up his current role which includes championing the growth of Coca-Cola’s legacy partnership with the Hong Kong Rugby Union, its’ unparalleled, flagship event, the Hong Kong Sevens and extensive network of valued partners

With two decades of experience in the sports and media industry, Yannick Colaco co-founded FanCode in March 2019. FanCode is India’s premier sports destination committed to giving all fans a highly personalised experience across Sports Content, Commerce and Statistics.

With all his years of experience in the industry, and being an avid sports fan himself, Yannick was determined to help improve the consumption experience of sports fans, an experience which is fragmented and underserviced when it comes to accessibility to content, commerce and building fan communities. Addressing this, along with another industry veteran – Prasana Krishnan, Yannick co-founded FanCode as a brand under Dream Sports.

Jana Sim is Director of Marketing for SPOTV Asia, focusing on digital fan engagement in this region. Previously, her sports & entertainment marketing experience included Lagardere Sports (Football Asia), WWE Asia Pacific, The Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros Pictures, and MTV Networks.

Ray is an aviation and management professional with experience across a variety of leadership positions in Cathay Pacific Airways. He has worked in both passenger and cargo commercial functions over the past decade in Hong Kong, China, The Philippines, and now Singapore. He currently looks after the airline’s marketing and sales activities in the Southeast Asia region. His portfolio includes passenger sales & distribution, business development, marketing and PR, digital sales, and customer care. Ray graduated from the Wharton Business School with a Bachelor’s Degree in Operations and Information Management, as well as Marketing.

Takeyuki Oya Graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and joined the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2004. He was in charge of agriculture, forestry and fisheries projects in Africa and ASEAN countries as well as project management in the ASEAN region. In 2009, he joined Japan Professional Football League (J.LEAGUE) and mainly in charge of international competitions such as AFC Champions Leagues, and FIFA Club World Cups. From 2012, he has been involving in the overseas business department of the J-League and from 2015, he also serves as an AFC match commissioner.

Euan is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Astro and is instrumental in the rebranding of New Astro, the OTT aggregation strategy which saw 10 global streaming apps on one platform, the introduction of the connected Ultra 4K UHD and Ulti HD boxes, entry of Astro as an internet service provider via Astro Fibre, the launch of OTT platform sooka, and many more. Euan is an established media executive with a unique skill set spanning both business and technology in media operations and in transformation.

Bernard Goh is a sports broadcast production professional with 23 years of experience in the APAC broadcast industry. Based in Singapore, he has worked with multiple broadcasters and federations over the last two decades to deliver innovative graphics for events such as Southeast Asian Games, BWF Tour, LPGA, Rugby Sevens and many more. As Regional Director for AE Live, Bernard is driven in helping broadcasters and production agencies delivering the best sporting experience for their fans and clients, through innovative and cost-effective technology.

U-Jin oversees the day-to-day business operations of Paris Saint-Germain Esports globally. U-Jin’s role at PSG Esports is to work closely with the club on their esports strategy and is responsible for the team operations, business development and strategic partnerships. PSG Esports currently has teams competing in Arena of Valor, Dota 2, FIFA, League of Legends and Rocket League. U-Jin holds an MSc in Sports Management from Columbia University in the City of New York.

Having joined the Union in 2003 as the Community Rugby Manager, Robbie assumed the role of CEO in May 2017.

Prior to the Union, he spent 11 years in the Hong Kong Police Force, where he served in a number of roles including Police Tactical Unit Instructor, Assistant Manager of the Police Officers’ Club and presenter of the “Police Report” TV show.

He has a MA (Oxon) and completed a PGC in Sports & Recreation Management at HKU Space in 2001.

He represented Hong Kong at “A” level at both 15s and 7s and is a two-time winner of the Police RFC “Raz Erasmus Award”.

He is Director of local charity, Operation Breakthrough, which uses sport as a medium to help at-risk local youngsters.

Robbie is married with one son, a serving police officer, and a small dog.

Roddy is the Director of Partnerships & International Business at Tennis Australia, responsible for the global sponsorship programme for the Australian Open, lead in events and tennis participation programmes. In addition, Roddy’s International team executes local content and event initiatives in key international markets such as China & The US. Before joining TA, Roddy held commercial roles in the music industry, most notably at Universal Music and has previously worked at Fox Sports and The Football Association.

With 25 years of extensive work experience in leadership roles across media technology and new business initiatives, Shweta has a deep understanding of the challenges as well as the innovation which the industry thrives on, which in turn has helped her earn the trust of many media executives around the globe. She works closely with the media companies in the region on their initiatives to leverage cloud technology to transform their core workloads utilising the power of AI & machine learning, and drive viewer engagement and monetization across all consumption platforms.

Kathryn co-leads CSM’s business across Asia and is responsible for creating and implementing sponsorship solutions across sport and entertainment.
Experience working closely and advising major brands and rightsholders on their growth strategies across Asia. Her experience is diverse across the APAC region having worked in Hong Kong, Singapore and more broadly across Southeast Asia. Over the last 7 years, Kathryn has specifically developed the strategy and delivery of HSBC’s multiple brand partnerships across the region as well as advising on how the Bank can utilise a range of partnerships globally to appeal to key audiences. Additional strategic client work includes Hilton, Shell, Asahi, AFC, AXA, Adidas, Tudor, and Booking.com. Kathryn provides consultancy to brands on how best to maximise existing partnerships and identify new opportunities in the region for both brands and rightsholders.

Marco Guida is the Chief Business & Chief International Officer for True Digital. He focuses on monetizing the digital assets of the group with a specific emphasis on digital advertising, OTT and premium content subscriptions. Previously he worked in McKinsey. True Digital Group is the business subsidiary of True Corporation, that leverages advanced technology to improve businesses and enhance the life of our consumers through digital product and services.

James Hodge is the Chief Executive Officer at Tiparra, a sports tech company providing a fan engagement platform and digitally augmented live event experiences for sports as diverse as Rugby Union, Ice Hockey, and Australian Calisthenics.

Prior to Co-Founding Tiparra amid the pandemic James spent 22 years as Founder and CEO of Fyshh, pioneering innovations in the social media and mobile applications space. Fyshh developed the very first social networking application aimed at the LGBTIQ+ market, leveraging the then newly created 18+ App Store category and paving the way for industry names like Grindr. James grew the company to develop social media and fan engagement applications for Extreme Sports Athletes sponsored by Oakley/Arnette, as well as social media applications for NBC Universal, Billabong and Verisign.

James has Bachelor’s degrees in Information Technology and Economics from the Australian National University. He is an established speaker at international digital media and software development conferences and a published freelance writer for Evo Australia magazine.

As the Founding Partner of AST, JB’s mission is to transform and empower the Sports, Esports, and Health & Wellbeing ecosystems for Asia’s 4.5 billion citizens by leveraging breakthrough IPs & technologies. AST guides companies to new and exciting opportunities in unfamiliar markets and leverage the large opportunities the region has to offer.

JB is passionate about accelerating businesses on how to best leverage the Asia-Pacific region to accelerate their growth from a Strategic, Commercial and Capital advisory angle.

With almost 15 years of experience in Asia-Pacific in strategic advisory, cross-border M&A and investments, JB has a good understanding on how to maximise your growth in Asia-Pacific, manage Asian stakeholders and prevent pitfalls pitfalls – from $1m investments in early stage start-ups to HKEX/NASDAQ IPOs. Working across cultures JB enables people to break through stereotypes and misconceptions to find mutual ground and create solutions that drive success.

Prior to AST, JB had a variety of Finance & Strategy roles for a decade in Asia including Director of the PE/VC arm for European FO and Associate Director of Strategic Advisory for Regional Strategy & Valuation group. JB is also a mentor at leading Sports Innovation Hubs in Europe and US as well lecturing at various universities including HKUST, CUHK, ESSEC and ESCP on the business of Sports & Esports and Sport Finance.

JB graduated with a MSc in Corporate Finance from SKEMA Business School and HKUST and polished his HSK mandarin at CUHK-Yale Language Centre.

JD Wu is an avid gamer who got his start as a professional League of Legends player. He is now an Emmy Award-winning live media professional. With over a decade of experience in esports and gaming, he specializes in the live broadcast of gaming and esports events. He is passionate about telling stories in all forms and growing with the ever-evolving gaming industry.

Shad Hashmi is a customer-obsessed, cloud-focused media executive leading AWS Media and Entertainment Partnerships across APJ. In his previous role at BBC Studios, he built and launched digital products, led partnership initiatives with Telcos, and ran media operations. Before this, he held commercial and engineering roles at Encompass Digital Media, a Tier 1 broadcast services provider, and CNBC. Shad also gives back to the media community by mentoring and working on diversity initiatives.

Mousumi Dutt is a sports broadcast professional with over twenty years of experience. Based in Singapore, she has worked with industry stalwarts like ESPN and Fox Sports, and is now a senior member of the production team at Infront Pan Asia. Mousumi, better known to her counterparts as Mosh, has worked on the big sporting events such as the Tennis Grand Slams, Formula1, the Cricket World Cup, Champions league, Bundesliga, various major Asian football tournaments and most recently the HSBC BWF World Tour. When not working, she can be found bring the peace at home with her football crazy husband and sons.

Fernando Loureiro is a seasoned global sports marketer with 15 years of experience spanning across LATAM, NA and SEA. He is passionate in using the power of sports, gaming and entertainment to connect people and create unique experiences that truly leave a mark. Fernando is an advocate of fan engagement and part time photographer.

Kevin Khor is currently serving as the Regional Head of Digital at SPOTV. With a strong focus on driving audience engagement and revenue growth, Kevin is at the forefront of spearheading the digital strategy for SPOTV’s DTC streaming product. His extensive background in media and entertainment, which began at Twentieth Century Fox, has been further enriched by his experience in regional marketing leadership roles within the travel e-commerce and media sectors, including roles at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Soo currently leads Endeavor Streaming’s commercial and business development activities in APAC and ME. Soo has more than 25 years of progressively responsible experience in the corporate, telco and video content management, monetization and delivery industries. Prior to Endeavor Streaming, Soo was the commercial head for SES. He was also the MD of Globecast Asia as well as held positions managing Media & Entertainment sales for Intelsat, Managing Director for APAC at Verestar and sales lead at Loral Cyberstar.

Tom Elsden is the Senior Business Director at Mailman, based in Singapore after 10 years in Shanghai. Mailman is the leading Asia sports digital consultancy and marketing platform helping global rights holders, athletes and brands build a successful business. Tom is managing some of the world’s largest sports organisations, clubs and talent, including FIFA, PSG and David Beckham, as well as establishing the Mailman Esports Division. He is regularly featured in global news publications, including the Financial Times, CNN and Forbes.

Lianne Adamopoulos is a Senior Manager (Global Partnerships) in Creative Artists Agency’s Sports division – representing the commercial rights and interests of CAA’s roster of sports talent and rights holders and is responsible for bridging partnerships between these clients and APAC brands. Prior to this, Lianne worked across talent partnerships at IMG, and international expansion for ONE Championship.

Mark Thomas, Managing Director, S2M Consulting: Over 25 years of global Sports Industry experience most of which was spent in APAC region. Involved at a senior level in, investment, sponsorship, marketing, and facility activities having owned & promoted major events as well as delivering strategy, events, and activation activities on behalf of brands. He founded and owned his own China-based sports marketing business and has a healthy mix of entrepreneurial and corporate experience. Mark speaks fluent Chinese and has worked in complex and dynamic organizational environments, managing large teams across geographic locations while working with an eclectic range of rightsholders and brand clients.

Experienced Marketing Leader with a demonstrated history of working in the Luxury/Fashion/Retail and Sports industries. Skilled in Luxury Brand Marketing, Integrated Brand Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Retail Marketing, Digital/e-commerce, PR/Influencer Marketing, Sports Marketing and Sponsorship.

As Customer Success Chief at Tiparra, Mike has made it his mission to build meaningful relationships between sports properties and fans. Tiparra is a platform that provides engagement and event experiences for fans of any sport, from a local grassroots level to internationally renowned sports properties.

Starting out in technical fields such as PCB design, he discovered a need for clear communication about technology for a wider audience. This sparked a 20-year career in Learning & Development as a designer, communicator, and analyst. Prior to his role at Tiparra, Mike managed his own learning business, The Learning Deli, with a client list that included many Australian Government departments and industry leaders such as Smart Communications.

Originally from the Netherlands, he ventured out to Australia in 1999 and made it his home. Honouring his Dutch heritage, he does still prefer chocolate sprinkles over Vegemite.

Mirwan has over 20 years experience in sports, advertising and creative industry. He recently joined Indonesia’s Djarum Group to represent their interest in IP development , investment and distribution including Indonesia based OTT platform Mola , Italy’s Como TV, production and investment company SENT Entertainment and Como 1907 football club.

Eric Geng is the Managing Director of Rights at China Sports Media (CSM), a leading sports marketing agency in China. Eric is responsible for rights acquisition and distribution, and distributed Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga, World Endurance Championship in China. CSM’s rights portfolio also include J.League, K League, A-League, Brasileiro Série A and Professional Fighters League in China.

Prior to CSM, Eric was the senior principle at China Media Capital (CMC), and played an important role in CMC’s investments in City Football Group (CFG), CAA, Formula E Holdings.

Eric holds a Master Degree of Sport Management from Loughborough University.

Adil Saxena is the VP – Growth at Asia Sports Tech (AST) with 10+ years of APAC experience across FMCG, Sports, Retail & Consumer Services. Adil joins AST after nearly four years in the Asian Partnerships team at FC Barcelona. Adil graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s MBA program in 2016, prior to which he worked in various marketing roles at Yum! Brands, across the Digital, Activation and Innovation teams in India. He is extremely passionate about the technological transformation of the sports, health and fitness industries in the Asian century, and would love to help you understand more through AST!

Unmish is a recognised name in Asian sports media, technology & investment scene whose worked in content, product, strategy & sales roles with blue chips across the Sport industry value chain – from federations (ICC, BWF), to agencies (IMG/TWI, Lagardere, DDMC Fortis), event promoters (ONE Championship, ESL India) and TV & OTT platforms (BBC, ESPN STAR Sports, Fox, News Corp.). In 2015, Unmish founded PictureBoard, a boutique advisory with Principals in Singapore, London & Mumbai that monetises premium content (Sport, Gaming & Entertainment), established & emerging technologies and institutional investments.

George is a Content Manager at SportsPro leading in the curation of their online and in-person event agendas. He also hosts the weekly SportsPro Podcast exploring the trending news and themes across the world of sports business.

George has a strong background in B2B professional services having worked with KPMG in their marketing, sales and ESG teams before moving to Sports Marketing Agency WePlay in 2020 to oversee their marketing and communications team.

Guy has over 20 years experience working across technology, data and consultancy roles within the global sports business industry. Currently managing WSC Sports business across Asia Pacific, he has overseen the growth of WSC’s AI powered video highlights automation technology to partner with major sporting properties and media companies across the region.

Mike joined beIN Asia Pacific at its inception in May 2016. As Managing Director, Mike works closely with the beIN Media Group’s global leadership team to realise its mission of redefining the sports and entertainment experience for fans in Asia and ANZ. With extensive experience in media, sales and sports marketing, Mike is tasked with shaping beIN’s business model and operations in the region while identifying new customer experiences and revenue opportunities.