Synopsis
In this second session, on progressing Agri-Innovation in the region, we will focus on collaborations across corporates, start-ups and ecosystem enablers and how these organisations are structuring engagement and investment to help accelerate better outcomes.
Encouraging and supporting Agri-tech solutions aimed at innovating the way soil, crops, nutrients and related-tech are funded, farmed, harvested, processed, traced and transported is crucial. We look forward to understanding how leaders are connecting within the SG and SEA innovation eco-system to enable smallholders to introduce innovative and scalable solutions to meet affordable and evolving requirements. This will be an insightful session with showcases of the new models, approaches, and initiatives being pursued in the region.
Programme
4.15 pm Webinar Waiting Room Opens
4.30 pm Welcome Remarks by EuroCham
4.35 pm Opening Remarks by Ms Michele Lemmens, EuroCham Sustainability Committee Co-Chair
4:45 pm Presentations
– Suresh Sundararajan, Olam
– Wei-Li Woo, Grow Asia
– Michael Schklowski, Bayer
– Manfred Borer, Koltiva
5.30 pm Moderated Q&A and Panel Discussion by Ms Michele Lemmens, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
5:50 pm Closing Remarks by EuroCham
Speakers
Suresh Sundararajan
Managing Director & Group Head, Global Corporate Services
Olam
Suresh joined Olam in 1996 as Finance Manager in Cameroon and was transferred to Singapore in 1998 to head the Corporate Affairs function overseeing Financial Accounting, Tax, Secretarial, Audit as well as equity capital raising activities of the Group. In late 2008, Suresh moved on to oversee Business and Corporate Finance and lead the newly created Global Business Services function responsible for end-to-end business processes and analytics. In 2016, Suresh assumed the lead role for Corporate Functions that include Digital, Tax, Legal, IT, Global Business Services and Strategic Investments. Currently, he oversees Risk, Market Compliance, IT, Cyber Security, Global Business Services, Digital and Legal functions with additional responsibility to incubate and run three new business ventures for Olam.
Suresh holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Madras, India, a degree in Cost Accountancy in 1990 from The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, and is a qualified Company Secretary with The Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Suresh is also a member of Olam’s Executive Committee.
Wei-Li Woo
Lead, Innovation
Grow Asia
Wei-Li Woo is Lead, Innovation at Grow Asia, a multi-stakeholder partnership platform that catalyzes action on inclusive agricultural development in Southeast Asia. The platform convenes governments, farmers, NGOs and other stakeholders to co-create value chain initiatives focused on smallholder farmers and the environmental sustainability of agriculture. Grow Asia was established by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat. Wei-Li manages Grow Asia’s Digital Program, which brings together business, government and NGO leaders who share a commitment to using digital innovations to make smallholder value chains more productive and sustainable. Prior to Grow Asia, Wei-Li worked for the Singapore government in various positions, including in an industry development role for local production and agri-food tech.
Michael Schklowski
Head of Digital Business Development APAC
Bayer
Michael started his career with Bayer 9 years ago in Germany working in Consulting and Strategy roles with a focus on Digital Transformation and New Business Models. He currently serves as Head of Digital Business Development APAC based in Singapore taking care of Bayer’s portfolio of Digital experiments and external partnerships in the Digital space, tapping into the ecosystem of the region. He is part of a team of corporate venture builders that develop Digital solutions addressing Smallholder farmer pain points ranging from access to financing to agronomic advisory, mechanization and market linkage.
Michael holds an MSc in International Management from the Vienna University of Economics and Business as well as a BSc in Business Administration from Mannheim University and also worked and studied in China and Finland.
Manfred Borer
Chief Executive Director
Koltiva AG
Manfred Borer was born in Switzerland, vocational training as a carpenter and started his career in 1994 as owner-manager of a construction company in his home region. He graduated 12 years later as a Business Process Manager with an Engineering Degree from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, majoring in Plant Management. Since 2007, Manfred worked as a software developer, project manager and country director for a Swiss-based organization in Indonesia. In 2017, Manfred joined PT Koltiva and established Koltiva AG, an integrated agriculture technology company that provides tailor-made software solutions and services for end-to-end business processes. As Koltiva CEO, Manfred is presiding the board of directors and leading the global Business and Product Development.
Moderator
Ms Michele Lemmens
Head of Business Sustainability & CTO APAC
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Michele Lemmens is responsible for championing sustainability initiatives with stakeholders to bring the depth and breadth of TCS, Research & Innovation and COIN to deliver measurable economic, social, environmental outcomes. She has extensive experience in business model transformation often led by strategies around the new market entry, M&A, JVs, start-ups and strategic alliances. This experience has been built across multiple business functions and industries spanning APAC, ASEAN, Middle East and UK geographies.
Most recently she was responsible for establishing the Regional ASEAN Hub for Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on secondment in Singapore and worked across multiple stakeholder groups to advocate for sustainability, build capability and enhance ESG disclosure dialogues to enable better decisions, based on information that matters to drive more sustainable outcomes. She is a strategic adviser for a sustainable start-up, has been part of ESG Slingshot Judging panels from 2019 to 2021 (upcoming) and also participates in a mentoring program dedicated to progressing women’s careers. Michele is passionate about the opportunities for businesses to embrace more sustainable business models by harnessing the power of innovation and digital in the way they operate and champion change for a better triple bottom line.
Registration Guidelines –
Please follow these simple steps for easy registration to our webinar.
Step 1: Register below. You will receive an automated registration confirmation email from EuroCham.
Step 2: Prior to the event, a Zoom link will be sent 24 hours before the event. Please watch out for this second email.
Step 3: Using the link provided in the second email, click on the link 15 minutes prior to the start of the event.
Step 4: We will only admit attendees whose Zoom profiles match their registration names, so please make sure that your Zoom profile corresponds with your registration name.
Thank you for your understanding.
The organisers reserve the right to change the programme content without giving prior notification or any reasons thereof.