2024 JURIES

 
 
COMPANY/ORGANIZATION, Sustainability & Achievement Awards Judging Committee
Sillett

Chair:

Sharad Govil, Chief Executive Officer
Amazing Hearing Group Pte. Ltd, Singapore

Sharad Govil is a highly accomplished professional in the field of hearing healthcare, known for his dynamic leadership and significant contributions to the industry in the Asian region, from providing trainings to many HCPs, to bringing new brands and products to the market. Currently serving as the CEO of Amazing Hearing Group since 2022, he has a rich background in managing diverse roles across the medical device and healthcare sector.

With a career spanning two decades, Sharad has demonstrated exceptional expertise and leadership. His journey began as a Clinical Audiologist at the National University Hospital in Singapore and then at National Audiology Centre, New Zealand from 2003 to 2006. His early clinical experience laid the foundation for his future success in the hearing healthcare industry. In 2006, Sharad transitioned into the corporate world, taking on the role of International Product Trainer for Sonova in Shanghai, China and later establishing a wholesale business in Singapore & Malaysia. He played a pivotal role in the company until 2015 and later on became Managing Director at GN Hearing, overseeing all commercial aspects as well as operations in Singapore and the broader Asia Market.

Sharad receives invitations to speak at regional conferences, showcasing his expertise and insights. He was also selected as one of the first few mentees by the prestigious Asia Mentor Circle, highlighting his standing as a respected figure in the industry. In 2022, Sharad Govil took a significant step in his career by acquiring a hearing healthcare clinic in Singapore, where he spearheaded its transformation of Amazing Hearing into a top- tier professional hearing healthcare company. This achievement did not go unnoticed, as both he and his company were honored with the prestigious Stevie Gold Award for Innovation in Management. In 2023, Sharad Govil's contributions to the business community were further acknowledged when he received the Singapore SME 500 award, a testament to his leadership and impact in the healthcare sector.

Passionate about making a positive difference in people's lives, he actively engages in clinical work within his company, mentors’ young graduates and executives, and remains dedicated to advancing the field of hearing healthcare. Continuing his pursuit of excellence, Sharad is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Clinical Audiology (AuD) at Salus University, expected to be completed by 2025. His commitment to continuous learning and professional development is evident in his earlier educational achievements, including an Executive MBA from the State University of New York (2013-2015) and an MSC in Speech Pathology & Audiology (2000-2002).

Committee:

Mohamed Saad Atia Abdalla, Tech Advisor            
MOI, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Professor Abdalla is a Technical Advisor for the Ministry of Interior (MOI. He is also Head of Excellence Team at Human Resources Directorates (MOI) and was also Director for the Geographic Information Security System Institute (GISSI) training center. He is a Professor and Lecturer at Engineering Colleges at the University of Bahrain, Kingdom University.

 

Alpha Omega Aquino, Chief People Officer            
Home Credit Philippines, Taguig, Philippines

Alpha Omega Aquino, Chief People Officer at Home Credit Philippines, Inc., boasts a distinguished career in the outsourcing industry. With a proven track record in multi-cultural operations, she champions a purpose-driven ethos. She advocates diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

 

 

Vipul Bansal, Director           
Deutsche Bank, New York City, New York, United States

Vipul is a Director in investment banking practice at Deutsche Bank. He is a seasoned finance professional with over ten years of experience in investment banking and capital markets across America, Europe, and Asia. He received an MBA from New York University, where he was a Dean's Scholar, and has CFA certification.

 

Raymond Banzuela, Education and Business Management Consultant    
Infintiy Training Consultancy Services, San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines

He is an Education Program Consultant, Business Management Consultant, Events Manager, and Organizer, Travel and Tour Service Provider, Accredited Competency Assessor in the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Accredited Tourism Trainer at the Department of Tourism, Licensed Professional Teacher, Certified Food Protection Manager at the Canadian Institute for Food Safety.

 

Anna Gizelle Camua, PR & Communication Professional   
College Law - Bulacan State University, Malolos City, Bulacan, Philippines

Gizelle has over 25 years of experience as a communications professional with acquired competence in fields of public relations, corporate social responsibility, marketing, corporate communication, change management, and business continuity planning. She is the Vice President for Community Investment and Advocacy of British insurer Pru Life UK. She holds a Master in Development Communication.

Atmajitsinh Gohil, Vice President    
Deutsche Bank, New York City, New York, United States

Atmajit is working at Deutsche Bank as a Vice President. Atmajit has over 10 years of experience working in the finance industry, validating statistical and machine learning models, building statistical models, and performing financial data analysis. Atmajit holds a Masters in Economics from SUNY Buffalo.

Lauren Hoover, CoFounder and Head of Global Operations          
DOXA Talent, Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Lauren is the Cofounder and Head of Global Operations at DOXA Talent, a firm that helps business leaders find full-time, dedicated, highly skilled workers from around the world. Before joining DOXA, Lauren served as the Chief of Staff at Guidant Financial, a company that helps entrepreneurs raise capital to start or buy a business.

Varun Nakra, Vice President
Deutsche Bank, New York City, New York, United States
Varun Nakra is working as the Vice President for Deutsche Bank leading the development of the credit risk models. He has more than 15 years of experience working as a data science professional across multiple industries – Banking, Insurance, Transportation, Media and multiple geographies – US, Australia and Singapore.

Robin Patra, Director Innovation - Data, Analytics & AI       
ARCO Constructions, San Jose, California, United States

Robin, a seasoned Director of Innovation at ARCO Constructions, boasts over two decades of industry expertise. With a track record spanning diverse sectors like Construction, Wealth Management, and Supply Chain, he's orchestrated digital transformations at global giants like BlackRock and Cisco. Robin's strategic prowess, coupled with his adeptness in Data, Analytics, and AI.

 

Konstantin Popovic, Founder & CEO          
IMPACT3P, Jersey City, New Jersey, United States

Konstantin is the Founder of IMPACT3P, a sustainability consultancy that ignites sustainability journeys for SMEs and drives sustainability cultures for bigger organizations through highly engaging, gamified workshop experiences. Prior to moving into sustainability, KP (as he is widely known) had a 30-year career in advertising, solving business problems through creativity.

 

Amit Rai, Senior AI/ML Customer Engineer
Google , Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Amit Rai is a Seasoned Technology Leader at Google, with 17+ years of experience guiding businesses through digital transformation. He leverages expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and Data Analytics to empower enterprise leaders to build data-driven organizations. Amit is a passionate speaker and author for AI and Data Engineering.

 

Saunak Savla, Sr. Director Finance  
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey, United States

Saunak has an overall 18-year experience across various finance domains in the Pharmaceutical Industry. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ICAI) and MBA from India School of Business, Hyderabad. He has held several key leadership roles. Experience spans Statutory Audit, Controlling, FP&A, Investor Relations, Commercial Finance for NA Generics Organization.

Phuong Tran, CEO & Founder         
ExtendMax Vietnam Company Limited, Hanoi, Vietnam

Phuong Tran is the CEO of ExtendMax Vietnam Company Limited, a company that he founded in 2015. He has more than 20 years of management skills and more than 10 years of ICT products regulatory compliance proficiency to his role.

Human Resources & Thought Leadership Awards Judging Committee
Chair:
Aquino

Anna Volkova, Director of People & Culture
Kudosity, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Anna Volkova is a commercially driven People and Culture leader with over 15 years of experience in Human Resources across Organizational Design, Leadership & Culture, Talent Acquisition and People Operations. Specializing in hyper-growth businesses, Anna is determined to make an impact. She is passionate about implementing change leadership initiatives, building intentional cultures, and executing innovative people strategies where people thrive.
She is currently the Director of People and Culture at Kudosity. Her background spans many industries including Technology, Financial Services, Professional Services, and eCommerce, with previous roles held at Brighte, THE ICONIC, Westpac Group, Deloitte, and Macquarie Group. Anna has a Master’s degree in Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia
As a thought leader in the Human Resources domain, Anna is very excited to contribute invaluable insights to recognize and celebrate outstanding achievements in HR within the Asia-Pacific region.
Committee:

Deepa Ajish, Vice President
MUFG Bank, Ltd., New York City, New York, United States

Deepa Ajish is a result-oriented technology leader in the banking industry with over 20 years of comprehensive experience in transformation and automation using cutting-edge technology solutions.

 

Ramkannan Avadainayagam (NCS), Director - Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence
Singtel NCS Group, Singapore, Singapore
Ramkannan Avadainayagam is a Seasoned DigiTech leader with 20+ years of unparalleled expertise in Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.  He currently works for Singtel NCS Group as a Director, serving clients in ASEAN.  Before Joining NCS, Ram worked with Accenture USA, Teradata Corp, Oracle Corp, and IBM.

 

Dr. Shadiya Baqutayan, Senior Lecture      
UTM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dr. Shadiya is a seasoned mental health professional and licensed counselor, affiliated with the Malaysian Psychotherapy Association. With a PhD in Psychology from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, she boasts over 20 years of experience as both a lecturer and practitioner. She is an active member of associations such as APA and MPA.

Richa Chadha, Founder        
Coachampion, Sunnyvale, California, United States

Richa Chadha, an accomplished professional in coaching and organizational psychology, is an ICF-PCC and ACTC coach. Founder of Coachampion, with an MBA and expertise in organizational dynamics (MS-UPenn), she passionately brings human and organizational psychology to her work, dedicated to unlocking full potential for individuals and organizations.

Akshay Dipali, CEO  
Nasch  Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Akshay Dipali is the founder of nasch.io. Akshay comes with almost a decade of entrepreneurial experience with one successful exit under his belt. He is very passionate about solving operational problems, people challenges, and company culture.

 

Naga Vinod Duggirala, Chief Security Architect      
Visa Inc., Austin, Texas, United States

Vinod, a highly experienced Chief Security Architect at Visa, possesses two decades of expertise in Security Product Architecture. With a proven track record at companies like RSA and Samsung, he excels in implementing robust security solutions. Vinod's contribution to industry standards underscores his commitment to advancing cyber security practices globally.

Vinamre Gupta, DEI Specialist         
Yale New Haven Health Systems, New Providence, New Jersey, United States

Vinamre Gupta's professional journey has been defined by a commitment to driving change, fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), and reshaping corporate landscapes. Currently, Vinamre serves as a consultant to Yale New Haven Health and Azco, providing strategic DEI guidance. His responsibilities encompass setting DEI goals, nurturing an inclusive culture, and promoting supplier diversity.

 

Chhaya Kewalramani, Assistant Vice President      
Genpact, Dunellen, New Jersey, United States

Chhaya is an expert in Organizational Change Management. She is a leader in driving Human centered Change Management strategy for Digital Transformations, Enterprise Transformations and Operating Model changes. She is also a seasoned practitioner and has lead change interventions for multiple Fortune 500 clients.

 

Prateek Khandelwal, Director, Risk Management   
Citibank, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Prateek is a Director in Risk Management at Citibank and has over 15 years of leadership experience in risk management, strategic initiatives, product management, and consumer lending. He is responsible for the comprehensive risk management of the Mass Market Cobranded Cards Portfolio ensuring the portfolio's stability and success.

 

Umesh Babu  Manedi, Director of RF Engineering  
Systems With Reliability, LP, Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, United States

Umesh Babu Manedi is the Director of RF Engineering at Systems with Reliability (SWR). He is responsible for building Broadcast antennas and testing. His professional journey, marked by roles at organizations like NYCT and AEIS, has culminated in his successful leadership at SWR.

 

Atul Punj, CEO          
IBS Fintech, Bridgewater, New Jersey, United States

With over 30 years of experience in the IT industry, Atul is passionate about delivering innovative solutions that empower businesses to achieve their goals.  As the CEO of IBSFINtech USA, He leads the expansion of their corporate finance platform, the TMS, into the US market, a strategic move to revolutionize global treasury operations.

Abhijeet Rajwade, Senior Customer Engineer         
Google, New York City, New York, United States

Business outcomes focused Product & Technical Sales leader of 18 years, Abhijeet has experience in product management, start-ups, sales, and business operations. Abhijeet is passionate about building things, Gen-AI, analytics, and business strategy. He is currently leading key growth initiatives as Senior Customer Engineer for Google Cloud - NY region, spearheading development for cloud AI.

Chitra Sabapathy Ranganathan, Associate Vice President           
Mphasis Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, United States

Saba is a results-oriented, accomplished business technology leader with more than 24 years of experience in software engineering and design. He has a proven track record in designing, implementing, and delivering reliable, scalable systems across multiple technologies, including Mainframe, Business Intelligence, Cloud, Big Data, AI, ML, Advance Analytics, and Blockchain.

Indrajit Roy, Vice President - Technology    
Nielsen, Cumming, Georgia, United States

Indrajit is a consulting technology leader with specialization in analytics and supply chain management. Indrajit excels in leading digital transformation projects and programs. He also plays a pivotal role as a subject matter expert in designing supply chain processes leveraging optimal technology solutions. His expertise spans various industries.

Adi Safriyanto, Assistant Vice President Organization Development         
Injourney Aviation Services, Jakarta Pusat, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia

Adi Safriyanto (Asaf) is an HR enthusiast. I have been in the field for more than 15 years. He specializes in Human Capital Strategic and Organization Development. Having legacy and competency principles as a fundamental basis in every task and responsibility because humans must humanize humans.

Management & Customer Service Awards Judging Committee

Chair:

Professor Sangsoo Chong, Dept. Advertising & Public Relations
Cheongju University, Seoul, Korea

Sangsoo Chong teaches students at Cheongju University's Department of Advertising and Public Relations. He served as an Executive Creative Director and Vice President of Ogilvy Korea and has been a judge for the New York Festivals, One Show, APAC Effies, Eurobest, The International Business Awards, AME Awards, and AdStars.  He has also received the Korean Prime Minister's Award and the Red Cross President's Award.

 

Committee:
Sampath Amatam, Director of Specialty Sales Mainframe Modernization  
Avanade Inc, Irving, Texas, United States

Sampath Amatam completed a Bachelors in Computer Science from India in 2010. He has close to 14 years of experience in Mainframe Modernization. He currently works as Director of Mainframe Modernization at Avanade Inc. He helps clients from North America understand the importance of Mainframe Migration, risks, savings, timelines, and project estimations.

Vihar Garlapati, Director of Technology
Optum Inc, San Francisco, California, United States

Vihar Garlapati has over 15 years in Information Technology, is a dedicated Engineering leader specializing in Cyber Security and Application services. His expertise spans critical domains such as Identity and Access Management, Identity Governance, Administration, Audit Support, and Engineering Productivity Services for SAAS and On-Premises Applications.

Praveen Gujar, Director of Product   
LinkedIn, Sunnyvale, California, United States

Ambika Hanchate, Founder /CEO    
Hi-Vibe Edu-India Pvt Ltd, Vijayawada, Krishna (Dist), Andhra Pradesh, India

Ambika Hanchate has an MBA +PGDBA in HR and a master’s in economics. She managed learning systems and a professional life as a social entrepreneur, becoming a founder and CEO, leading the Hi-Vibe Edu India Pvt Ltd & Jana Mana Foundation (a Non-Government Organization).

Shantanu Indra, Senior Manager, Customer Engineering
Cloud and Customer Engineering, Austin, Texas, United States

Shantanu, a leader in Master Data Management (MDM), oversees Customer Engineering at Reltio, specializing in resolving data issues for healthcare and financial customers. With a 'customer-first' approach and a career spanning Informatica, Barclays, and Cognizant, he's dedicated to leveraging MDM for business operations excellence and cost optimization.

Ali Mirza, CEO
Rose Garden Consulting, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Ali Mirza is a sales expert who’s personally closed over $250 Million in sales throughout his illustrious career working with several Inc 500 companies and other rapidly growing startups. His work has been published in Inc., Forbes, Huffington Post, Business Insider, and more. He has authored two books, Predictable Closing and Radical Leadership.

 

Bishan Nandy, Director, Hospital Administration     
University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences, Chicago,Illinois, United States

Bishan Nandy is a healthcare executive with 15+ years of experience in healthcare strategy and operation. He is also a Board Member and part of the senior leadership teams at healthcare and education non-profit organizations. He holds a Bachelors in Engineering from Jadavpur University, and an MBA from Purdue University.

 

Fardin Quazi, Associate Director - Digital Business Solutions         
Cognizant Technology Solutions US Corp, McKinney, Texas, United States

Fardin Quazi is a renowned expert in Digital & Business Transformation within the Healthcare domain, with 18+ years of extensive global experience in Healthcare Technology, Management & Admin Solutions, Robotics & Intelligent Process Automation, AI-ML, and Digital Technology-based Business Solutions. He holds a Master’s degree in Information Systems & Operations.

Vijay Rengarajan, Director of Product Management            
Applied Systems, University Park, Illinois, United States

Vijay Rengarajan’s passion is delighting customers with intuitive products that drive efficiency and growth for agencies. He is an innovative strategist and effective product leader with over 16 years of experience in product management in the IT industry and Property and Casualty Insurance domain.

Maulik Shah, Senior Director - Delivery        
RCG Global Services, Frisco, Texas, United States

Maulik Shah has more than 23 years of experience in technology and management. His main areas of expertise are Enterprise Data Management, Advanced Analytics, and Cloud Computing. He has played many major lead and critical roles in globally reputed and distinguished organizations to execute and deliver high-profile, business critical, and large-scale IT projects.

 

Manas Srivastava, Sr. Customer Engineer  
Google, Mill Creek, Washington, United States

Manas, a seasoned technical architect with 17+ years of experience currently working for Google. He has modernized IT infrastructures, transitioned to the cloud, and optimized SAP ERP solutions for businesses. He holds an Executive MBA and Engineering degree.

Vinodkumar Tiwari, Senior Leader, Client Operations        
Cisco Systems Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Vinodkumar has over 16 years of industry experience supporting Enterprise and Service Provider customers globally. He is leading the APJC Asset Management business under Commerce & Lifecycle Operations (CLO) at Cisco. This business supports ~200 clients across the APJC, supported from 3 different strategic locations, providing an accurate and up-to-date view of the Hardware & Software Installed Base.

Tokumasa Yamashita, Co-Founder & COO/CTO   
Qlay Technologies, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Tokumasa Yamashita is the Co-Founder and COO/CTO of Qlay Technologies. He is a serial entrepreneur with 20+ years of professional working experience in software development, real estate private equity and management consulting. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Corporate Communications/PR, Publications, Events & Video Awards Judging Committee 

Chair:

Vonj Tingson MBA, President & Chief Operations Officer
PAGEONE Group, Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

Recognized as one of the top 25 Innovators in PR and Communication in Asia Pacific, Mr. Tingson leads PAGEONE Group, a prestigious network of global-awarding winning agencies that boasts of clients across Asia Pacific. He leads campaigns developed and implemented for top Philippine conglomerates and multinational corporations headquartered in several business districts in the country. He also leads international marketing and communication projects of global brands in major consumer markets in Asia.

Given his strategic and excellent stewardship, his network of agencies have clinched an impressive 11 Agency of the Year awards, recognized with a Hall of Fame award, and was declared Best PR agency in Southeast Asia by several awarding giving bodies in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and Canada. All these cement his status as an industry leader in PR and Communications in Asia Pacific.

To date, PAGEONE Group boasts an astonishing collection of over 400 awards, the agency on record for several global brands, and an industry thought leader -  a testament to its relentless pursuit of innovation, top-notch quality, and global excellence.

Committee:

Neha Arora, Head of Corporate Communications    
Triveni Engineering and Industries Ltd, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Neha is a seasoned Communications Specialist with over 19 years of experience and an MBA in Marketing & Advertising. At Triveni Engineering and Industries, a leading industrial conglomerate in the Greater Delhi area, she has leveraged her expertise to develop and execute comprehensive communication plans that have helped the company build a strong reputation and engage stakeholders effectively.

 

Sruthi Dhulipala, Senior PR Manager          
The Right Now, Los Angeles, California, United States

Sruthi is a multidisciplinary publicist and media strategist dedicated to representing purpose-driven content. Having worked with renowned titles in film, TV, and brands, including the BTL work for hit shows like Jordan Peele’s Nope, House of the Dragon, and Pinocchio, Sruthi crafts compelling stories and narratives that captivate audiences worldwide. She is a graduate of Boston University.

 

Ma. Belen Fernando, Board Director & Governor for Strategy Development         
Magna Anima Teachers College, Sta Rosa, Laguna, Philippines

Ma. Belen Fernando, or Blen, a seasoned and multi-awarded marketer and industry leader, has experience from local and multinational companies. She was the CMO of Alaska Milk Corp/FrieslandCampina Phils., who primarily grew the business into the Pho21Bn company and led its sports and nutrition program. Currently, she is a Trustee, Advisor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketing, Social Media, Websites & App Awards Judging Committee 

Chair:

Janine Leghissa, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Thirroul, New South Wales, Australia

Janine Leghissa is the founder of Desiderate, a gorgeous jewelry brand, and Taleeta, a stunning fashion label. Janine started her jewelry business in 2017. At first, she sold via Facebook, using profits to commission more jewelry pieces. In those early days, Janine begged suppliers for smaller quantities, as she couldn’t afford larger orders. (Nowadays she is their biggest client.) As demand grew, Janine invested in Facebook advertising and email marketing. She launched a Shopify website and studied SEO. Janine’s self-taught marketing efforts paid off, and the Desiderate website now ranks for 3,300+ keywords, with an impressive 458 keywords appearing in the top ten Australian search results. (Data Source: SEMRush). Janine’s email list is now more than 60,000+ and many new product releases sell out based on email marketing alone. Desiderate customers know that they need to purchase quickly if they want to secure their desired jewelry items.

Customer focus has always been the cornerstone of the Desiderate brand, and the award-winning customer loyalty program builds a stronger brand connection and encourages customers to continue purchasing to build their jewelry collections. Janine has accumulated 887 Google reviews from loyal customers with a 5-star average rating. The Desiderate product range features numerous gemstones and jewelry designs, giving customers a chance to create matching collections in their favorite stones and styles. Desiderate is also famous for its signature collections of sterling silver bangles, bracelets, and Herkimer diamonds. In 2022 Janine extended her ecommerce empire by launching fashion label Taleeta, which specializes in stylish and flattering designs made from natural breathable fabrics for modern 40+ Australian women. The launch of the brand has been a tremendous success, and Taleeta has grown rapidly, with each product release extending the range and brand reach in a highly competitive marketplace.

Desiderate and Janine have won many local and international awards, including the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. In 2022, Janine won eleven awards and in 2023 the business won 18 awards, including Beam Awards, Roar Awards, AusMumpreneur Awards, and SEMRush Awards. Now Janine is turning her attention to judging and is looking forward to seeing an excellent array of impressive entries from the entrepreneurs in the Asia Pacific Region. “I have always found entering awards highly motivating, because it creates a yardstick of quality that I could measure my business success against in the early days,” says Janine. “I used to dream of winning awards to build the reputation of myself and my business, so it’s quite an honor to become a judge. To me, the Stevies are the pinnacle of awards success as they are the most well-organized, prestigious and stringently judged, so I’m looking forward to reviewing the high standard of entries from entrepreneurs across Asia Pacific. I encourage everyone to enter — best of luck to all entrants!”

 

Committee: 

Felipe Abello, CEO & Cofounder      
Nara, San Francisco, California, United States

Felipe Abello, Founder and CEO of Nara, an AI sales agent company. As a former first employee and founding team member of Rappi, Colombia's first unicorn valued at over $6 billion, Felipe brings extensive experience in the tech industry. He's a YC alumni and has a proven track record in building successful tech businesses.

 

Hande Alaca Un, Marketing Director
Eczacibasi Building Products - VitrA, Istanbul, Turkey

Hande Alaca Un has accumulated over 15 years of experience in marketing and product management, working as the Marketing Director at Eczacibasi Building Products Company. She is also pursuing a PhD in marketing at Istanbul Technical University, researching "Consumer Behavior in Omni-Channel Retailing" and its relationship with digitalization.

 

Chanuttita Chitmanasak, Regional CRM and Marketing Automation Lead - East Asia & Australia          
Michelin, Bangkok, Thailand

Being a CRM regional leader for Michelin East Asia & Australia for years, Chanuttita possesses extensive experience in APAC market. She has a strong background in CRM, Marketing Automation and Customer Care. In recognition of her insight on marketing, she was invited to speak at the APAC marketing conference.

 

Orhan Dogan, Chief Technology Officer      
GoldPath Media, Istanbul, Turkey

Experienced Chief Technology Officer with 20+ years. Architected and developed software systems to solve business needs. Managed end-to-end production teams with different tech stacks. Contributed to 217.5M$ GittiGidiyor acquisition by eBay and 23M$ funding for Homzmart. Led teams of 7 to 200 professionals across multi-national, multi-office settings.

 

 

Sakshi Jain, Chief Growth Officer     
Loop Solutions Inc, Cupertino, California, United States

Sakshi, as the Chief Growth Officer at Loop Solutions Inc., leverages over a decade of expertise across CPG and Tech industries. Proficient in marketing, growth strategies, partnerships, and new projects, she has demonstrated her skills in diverse geographies, including the US and APAC regions.  

 

Astor Keung, Market Development Advisor - Global Environmental Products       
Shell HK Ltd, Hong Kong, China

Currently the Market Development Advisor at Shell Global Environmental Products Business, Astor is a result-driven and seasoned brand and digital innovation leader with extensive B2B and B2C experience that spans across local, regional and global levels. Astor is passionate about leading brands through premiumization and innovation, and seeing herself as a brand guardian.

 

Prashant Mahajan, CEO       
Zeda.io, San Francisco, California, United States

Prashant is the founder and CEO of Zeda.io and has more than 10 years of experience in Product Management and Development. He has built products for 50M plus users in industries such as Fintech, AI, Ecommerce, and Enterprise. Having worked in different geographies such as the US, India, Southeast Asia, and Japan markets.

 

Jeevan Chowdary Mandadapu, Founder & CEO 
Froogal.ai, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Jeevan Chowdary is the innovative Founder and CEO of Froogal.ai, a rapidly expanding SaaS company in CRM, Loyalty, Personalization, Marketing, and Analytics. His expertise uniquely blends technology with business strategy, driving success and significant growth for numerous consumer brands. He is recognized for transforming customer engagement through data-driven solutions.

 

Tomofumi Nakata, Co-Founder and CEO    
Qlay Technologies, Tokyo, Japan

Tomofumi Nakata is the Co-Founder and CEO of Qlay Technologies. Qlay is a generative AI-powered consumer sentiment analysis tool. Before founding Qlay, Tomofumi worked at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on growth strategy in the consumer goods sector. Tomofumi has a B.A. in Statistics from Harvard College.

 

Suryaprakash Nalluri, Senior Vice President /InfoSec Group Manager     
CitiGroup, Irving, Texas, United States

Surya is a seasoned cybersecurity leader with 18+ years in Finance, associated with CitiGroup since 2007. Proficient in team leadership, Secure-SDLC, Governance, and Architecture, he manages global security operations and drives SDLC Shift Left, as part of DevSecOps. He holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and a Master's in Information Systems Security.

 

Jayanta Nandy, Co-Founder
axiusSoftware, Beijing, China

With an Engineering and MBA degree, Jayanta comes with 23+ years of IT experience, including 15+ years of extensive experience in China, and is the Co-Founder of axiusSoftware. He has been in Leadership roles in TCS China and Infosys China.

 

 

Karen Ng, General Manager, Corporate Branding & Marketing       
Airport Authority, Hong Kong, China

Karen Ng is an accomplished marketing and branding professional with a track record of delivering results. As the General Manager for Corporate Branding and Marketing, she leads campaigns to promote Hong Kong International Airport as a key regional hub, supporting Hong Kong's post-pandemic economic recovery.

Arun Rajagopal, Sr. Director, AI/ML, Search & Optimizations        
AdMarketplace Inc., New York City, New York, United States

Arun is a seasoned AI/ML leader with extensive experience in search optimizations, ad auctions, and AI-enhanced product discovery. With a solid background in data science, engineering, and AI initiatives from Affinity Solutions to Ernst & Young, and significant contributions to machine learning at Tata Consultancy Services, Arun has built groundbreaking AI/ML products and teams.

 

Arijeet Roy, Partner
Guidehouse, McLean, Virginia, United States
Arijeet brings over 15 years of experience spearheading digital transformation for global organizations and government agencies. Specializing in program management and governance of large-scale digital transformations, he excels at advising C-Suite executives on transitioning to modern technologies. Arijeet has played a key role in building Guidehouse's technology consulting practice, team building, and collaboration.

 

Karthik Shivkumar, Director of Engineering
Walmart, San Bruno, California, United States

Karthik has over 15 years of experience in the tech industry and is renowned for his strong leadership skills as the Director of Engineering at Walmart. He has led pivotal projects like the Sam's Club Club Pickup Service and the Member Access Platform (MAP), demonstrating a knack for innovation and strategic planning. 

 

 

 

Dominic Stallard, Founder / Experience Leader
The Experience Makers, Singapore

 

 

 

 

New Products, Product Management & Technology Awards Judging Committee 
Chair:

Stephanie Anne Kubota, President & Chief Executive Officer
RUSH Technologies Inc., Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines

Stephanie Kubota is the President and CEO of RUSH Technologies Inc., an eCommerce and Loyalty SaaS portfolio company of 917Ventures. She graduated from Boston University in 2014, then began her career within the Globe Group. Starting as Marketing Analyst for a movie ticketing platform called GMovies under Yondu, she went on to become the youngest female CEO within the Ayala ecosystem. An honoree of Tatler’s GenT list for helping small businesses enter the digital age, and a Young Leader of the Year awardee by Asia CEO Awards in 2022, she has made pivotal contributions in uplifting the country’s economic landscape by empowering Filipino businesses in their digitalization.

She has been leading RUSH to exponential growth, democratizing eCommerce to SMEs and elevating customer loyalty for enterprises. Under Steph’s leadership, RUSH has bagged multiple international and local accolades in recent years, including Gold and Silver awards in the Asia Pacific Stevie Awards and Overall SaaS Award in the Appealie SaaS + Software Award. To date, RUSH serves over 1,000 merchant partners from micro to large enterprises spanning reach to almost 7,000 branches nationwide and delighting more than 8 million registered customers.

 

Committee:

Preeta Chandran, CEO         
eWandzDigital Services, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Preeta has a versatile industry experience of 23+ years. She has been CEO at ewandzdigital since 2018, prior to which she was Operations Leader with Genpact and has worked with General Electric for a large part of her career, handling global learning and technology operations with clients across geographies. 

 

Sai Bhargav Mettu, Principal Specialist, Supply Chain       
KBI Biopharma, Raleigh Durham, North Carolina, United States

Sai Bhargav Mettu is a Principal Specialist in the Global Supply Chain team at KBI. He comes with 6+ years of experience in the areas of Supply chain planning, digital transformation, systems management, a graduate of masters in Industrial & Systems Engineering from University of Florida.

 

Morris Gheeyong Ong, R&D Director
MorrisCookies Science & Development Ou, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
As Director of R&D in the field of food science, Morris is responsible for overseeing a team of highly skilled individuals. His role involves driving forward innovative product development, effectively managing available resources, ensuring the highest standards of quality and safety, and staying ahead of emerging trends within the industry.

 

Sai Gurudatta Pamulaparthy Venkata, Senior Data Engineer
Village Practice Management Company, LLC, Chicago, Illinois, United States

 

Rama Krishna Panguluri, Senior Principal Software Engineer       
CBRE, McKinney, Texas, United States

Rama Krishna Panguluri has over 17 years of experience in designing and developing scalable, multi-tiered, distributed software applications for enterprises in the Security/SIEM, financial, and Real Estate domains. He specializes in microservices architecture, high-availability applications, cloud migration, and security. He holds a degree in Computer Science Engineering from Acharya Nagarjuna University.

Sumit Sanwal, Senior Engineer        
American Express, Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Sumit is a seasoned Software professional with a distinguished background in the Information Technology field and 20 years of overall experience in the fields of software development and Information Technology. He is currently working as a Senior Engineer where he is responsible for leading Architecture to automate mission critical initiatives for the organization.

Mihir Shah, Senior Staff Software Security Engineer           
ForgeRock, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Mihir is the author of the Amazon best-seller - Cloud Native Software Security Handbook. He frequently speaks at international cybersecurity conferences, training events, and meetups. He is a member of multiple security organizations including British Computer Society, CIIS, OWASP, and the Null Community. He frequently writes articles and papers published in IEEE, Medium, and other scholarly journals.

 

Venkata Thota, Technology Architect - Vice President        
USBank, Chicago, Illinois, United States