GATES Enterprise Channel Summit, Southeast Asia, 2025

Dr.Boediastoeti Ontowirjo
Deputy of National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) of the Republic of Indonesia.

Dr. Boediastoeti Ontowirjo currently serves as the Deputy for Research and Innovation Policy at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) since May 2022. In this role, she is responsible for formulating and setting research and innovation policies, coordinating and synchronizing programs, budgets, and work plans, and overseeing nuclear energy and space activities. She also chairs the ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation (COSTI) of Indonesia, where she leads significant initiatives, including collaborations with ASEAN-Korea, ASEAN-US, and ASEAN-India, and advises on the Roadmap on Blue Economy. Her leadership extends to high-profile events like the ASEAN Economic Forum & GATES Enterprise Tech Channel Summit 2024 and the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting for Science and Technology.​

Dr. Ir. Boediastoeti Ontowirjo, MBA, has an impressive educational background in management and engineering. Additionally, she was recognized with The Best of Research Proposal at “The 4th Management Research Center’s Doctoral Journey in Management” in 2009. She holds an MBA in Finance from the Graduate School of Business Administration at Northeastern University, Boston, MA, completed in 1999, and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), graduated in 1992.​

H.E. Shri. Jayant N. Khobragade
Ambassador of India to ASEAN

Mr. Jayant N. Khobragade joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1995. He has done postings at the Indian Embassies in Moscow (Russia), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Madrid (Spain) and served as India’s Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan.​

​While being posted in India, he has served as Deputy Secretary / Director of Disarmament & International Security (D&ISA) Division of Ministry of External Affairs; Joint Secretary, West Africa Division of Ministry of External Affairs; and Joint Secretary (External Relations), Department of Atomic Energy.​
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Before joining as Ambassador of India to ASEAN in Jakarta, he headed the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) Division of Ministry of External Affairs.​
Mr. Khobragade is an Engineering Graduate (Electrical).​

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H.E. Mr. Sandeep Chakravorty
Ambassador of India to Indonesia

Mr. Chakravorty has a professional career spanning more than three decades. In his diplomatic journey he has been India’s Ambassador to Peru and Bolivia; Consul General in New York; and Deputy High Commissioner in Bangladesh. He has also served in India’s missions in Spain and Colombia.

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Professor Abhay Karandikar
Secretary, DST India

Dr. Abhay Karandikar is currently Secretary, Department of Science of Technology
(DST). Before joining DST in October 2023, he served as the Director, IIT Kanpur
from April 18th, 2018 to September 25th, 2023 (on lien from IIT Bombay). He also
served as Dean (Faculty Affairs) and Head of the Electrical Engineering
Department at IIT Bombay. He spearheaded a national effort in setting up
Telecom Standards Development Society of India (TSDSI), India’s standards body
for telecom with participation of all stakeholders. Prof Karandikar was the
founding member and former Chairman of TSDSI. He was also Member (Part-
Time) of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from January 2018-
January 2021. ​

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Prof Karandikar has several patents issued and pending, contributions to IEEE, 3GPP standards, contributed chapters in books and large number of papers in international journals and conferences to his credit. Prof Karandikar was awarded with IEEE SA’s Standards Medallion in December 2016 in New Jersey. ​

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His team also won Mozilla Open Innovation challenge prize in March 2017 for his work on rural broadband and digital empowerment in rural India.​

www.ee.iitb.ac.in/~karandi/​

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Dr. Praveen Kumar Somasundram
Head of International Cooperation Division and National Supercomputing Mission of DST, India

Dr Praveenkumar Somasundaram, a senior scientist of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India had done his Degree and Masters Degree in Physics from University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. He obtained his doctoral degree from Bharathiar University, Coimbatore in Physics on perovskites.

He has a professional career spanning over 29 years of conceptualizing, implementing and monitoring programs in the science & technology arena through various assignments. He had been involved in several R&D promotional schemes of DST at various levels.

Dr Somasundaram is currently heading the International Cooperation Division and National Supercomputing Mission of DST. He closely involved with many programmes spanning in Bilateral, Multilateral and Regional Cooperation which have profound influence in the S&T ecosystem.

Dr. Kanchana Wanichkorn
Director, Sectoral Development, ASEAN Economic Community, The ASEAN Secretariat

Kanchana Wanichkorn is the Director of Sectoral Development, ASEAN Economic Community in June 2023. She oversees and provides strategic guidance for ASEAN cooperation in key sectors, including energy and minerals; food, agriculture, and forestry; tourism; transport; science, technology, and innovation; the Initiative for ASEAN Integration and Narrowing Development Gap; sub-regional development; and the ASEAN Blue Economy agenda.

Prior to joining the ASEAN Secretariat, she was the Vice President of the Office of National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), Thailand. Kanchana received her PhD in Engineering & Public Policy and MS in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, MA in Applied Economics, MS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from University of Michigan and BS (Distinction) in Mechanical Engineering from University of Minnesota, USA.

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Mr. Juan Chua
Managing Director, Nexus Technologies

Juan Chua, with a background in electronics engineering and computer science, has been involved the Philippine IT industry for 40 years. ​

​He is one of the founders of the Philippine IT trade association: COMDDAP. He currently heads various IT companies in the Philippines : Nexus Technologies Inc., a leading Systems Integrator ; Wordtext Systems Inc. (WSI) the oldest IT distribution company in the Philippines; Jupiter Systems Inc. a 35 year old software development company; and Bnext Inc, a SAP consulting firm.​

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Dr. Zurina Moktar
Assistant Director/Head, Science and Technology Division, ASEAN

Dr. Zurina Moktar is the Assistant Director/Head of Science and Technology Division at the ASEAN Secretariat where she oversees the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) progression under the Committee on STI for 10 ASEAN Member States. Prior to that, she served at several ministries in Malaysia and was once attached with the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations, New York.

With more than 13 years proven track record in STI, capacity development and sustainable development, Zurina was awarded the Outstanding Service Award by the Government of Malaysia, in 2014.  In the UK, Zurina was the Deputy Director for Cambridge i-Teams where she facilitated the commercialisation of more than 20 new technologies. She received the 2018 Innovative Youth Incubator Award in Washington DC, US.

Zurina is a graduate technologist, holding an MPhil in Conservation Leadership (2014) and a PhD in Engineering (2018) from the University of Cambridge, UK.

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Shiva Kumar Y
Senior Director, Distribution Sales APJ and Greater China Cisco Systems

Shiva heads Distribution Sales for APJC at Cisco. He is responsible for driving growth and operational excellence with Distribution and 2-Tier Partners in the region. Shiva leads this central distribution organisation, collaborating with APJC Partner organisation and distribution teams across all countries in APJC.​

With 25 years of Experience in the technology Industry, Shiva has been with Cisco for the last 21 years. Most recently, he was the Managing Director for Commercial, Midmarket and Small & Medium Business segment for Cisco India & South Asia. He has done various roles across Enterprise, Global, Commercial and Public Sector segments. Shiva has played a key role in driving several strategic initiatives and customer engagements for Cisco, ensuring greater Customer satisfaction. He has a proven track record of scaling businesses, accelerating new growth engines, and is known for his steadfast customer and partner focus.

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Mr. Sachin Gopalan
Chairman, Asian Economic Insights

Sachin currently chairs the ASEAN Economic Forum. He is a serial entrepreneur with leadership level experience across sectors of Media, Education, Conferences, Events and Startup Incubation. He is the Founder of Indonesia Economic Forum. ​

​He is also the Co-Founder of Orbit Future Academy, Director of Investor Trust Media, Chairman of IndoFringe International Festival of Performing Arts and Advisory Board Member of Inotek Foundation.​

​In his career spanning 33 years, he has been the founding CEO of BeritaSatu Media Holdings, Marketing Director of CastleAsia’s Indonesia Country Program & Research Services and Regional Marketing Manager of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. Sachin is a University Gold Medallist in Bachelor of Engineering (Production) from the College of Engineering, Anna University, one of India’s leading engineering institutions.​

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Mr. Daniel Schroeder
Head of Digital Transformation, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

Daniel Schröder is the Head of Digital Transformation Center of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Indonesia. Working out of Jakarta, he is responsible to establish and steer digital innovation and solutions in the portfolio of the Indonesian-German development cooperation.​

His current priority project is all about identifying digital & green innovation and making them ready to scale. Daniel is committed to creating new opportunities for Indonesian and German businesses for sustainable growth.​

Prior to joining GIZ, Daniel spend 15+ years with Deutsche Telekom, designing, developing and launching digital products. The last 5 years he lead the Berlin campus of hubraum – DTs tech incubator, focusing on building and supporting technology startups.​

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Ms. Michelle Huang
Founder and director, GA ESG solutions

Michele Huang is an experienced business leader with over 25 years in the technology industry in brands such as Intel, Microsoft and HP. She has deep go-to-market knowledge in both Commercial and Retail channels in Southeast Asia where she was the head of the Printing business in HP till 2024.​

She has always had a strong focus on consumer engagement innovation and most recently launched the first ever ink subscription program in Asia with predictive delivery, a convenient and green solution to customers. She was also conferred the 2023 Singapore 100 Women-In-Tech award from the Singapore Computer Society for her achievements.​

Michele has a deep passion for sustainability and has been a director and mentor in a Singapore-based sustainability consultancy for more than 10 years. She is now pursuing her passion full-time in GA ESG Solutions, providing practical solutions to IT channels and SMEs in their sustainability journey.​

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Mr. Sanjeev Gupta
COO GATES

As a Director at Certification Partner Global (CPG), I lead the cloud audit programs for various international standards and certifications, such as SS 584, CSA STAR, ISO 27001, ISO 20000-1, ISO 22301, and ISO 9001. I have over 30 years of experience in IT management, business alignment, risk management, and project delivery, working with clients such as the Singapore Stock Exchange, AWS, Microsoft, G42 Cloud, and IBM Cloud.​
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I am also a co-founder and CTO of Gates APAC Pte Ltd, a platform that connects IT vendors and resellers in the Asia-Pacific region, and a vice-chairman of the IPv6 Forum Singapore, a non-profit organization that promotes the adoption and deployment of IPv6. I hold several credentials, such as CISA, CDPSE, and Lead Auditor. I am passionate about applying my IT expertise and leadership skills to create value and innovation for businesses and communities.​

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Mr.Japnit Singh
Yamada Spire Research & Consulting

Japnit is the Chief Operating Office at Yamada Consulting and Spire. He specializes in supporting organizations with marketing entry and growth consulting in Asia. With over 20 years of regional experience he has worked with fortune 500 companies as well as government agencies from Singapore, USA, Spain, Oman and Japan.​

These include Ithraa (Oman), Catalonia Trade and Investment, Austrade, JETRO, United Nations, ASEAN secretariat and others. He also works with private sector organizations such as Hewlett Packard, Schneider electric, Hitachi, Rakuten, Griffith Labs, Chilli’s Restaurants, Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola and others​

His expertise lies in market analytics, business partner matching and go-to-market strategies for multinational organizations as well as SMEs having successfully completed over 1000 market research projects globally.​

Japnit is passionate about education and spends a lot of his free time lecturing and working with local student bodies at NUS and NTU.​

Japnit holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, and is a part of the MBM 2004 Batch of AIM.​

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Mr. Samir Dixit
Head@Acorn Consulting - Brand Growth & Transformation

Samir is an award-winning strategist and business transformation expert with over 3 decades of brand, marketing, IP Management, M&A, and accelerated business growth experience having worked across business consulting, IP management, and valuations (Brand Finance), client side (Standard Chartered, LG) and multiple agencies (Ogilvy, Bates, Publicis etc)​

​Samir has been guiding C-Suite, company boards and governments on their IP and business growth strategies across Asia. He knows and understands what it takes to build a branded business, drive preference, loyalty and most of all profits and competitiveness. ​
Samir has worked across a plethora of product categories and segment and can always help find the right balance between internal strategy and external market reality.​
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Samir likes to trek, travel, read, play golf and shop. Samir is also a whisky aficionado and passionate about everything whisky.​

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Mr. Ben Tan
Senior Executive Partner, SEA & KOREA at GARTNER.

Ben is a senior business executive specializing in business strategy and digital transformation advisory. He has in-depth insight and knowledge of the Asia Pacific market, having spent the last 28 years in the region – competency from Board Member, Business Owner, Research, Advisory, Consulting, Program Management, Business Development, and Sales and Marketing roles.​

Ben is currently an Executive Partner with Gartner Executive Programs based in Singapore, manages CIO and CxO relationships in Southeast Asia region. In this capacity, acts as mentor and trusted adviser to senior IT and business executives on mission critical initiatives and priorities that are underpinned by technology investments. He is also a frequent speaker and presenter at various forums. ​

Prior to joining Gartner, Ben was the Country CEO of COURTS Singapore was responsible for driving all of COURTS’ local retail and business operations across its island wide network of stores as well as its e-commerce platform, COURTS​

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Mr. Cyrus Daruwala
Adviser, ASEAN Economic Forum

Cyrus is the Advisor of ASEAN Economic Forum & Managing Director Global Financial Services @IDC. His research and advisory practices cover banking, insurance, and capital markets and topics such as legacy modernization and transformation, hybrid cloud, Big Data and analytics, customer life-cycle management, digital experience, ecommerce ecosystems, IOT, cognitive, blockchain, and fintech.​
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For the past 20 years, Cyrus has been working with financial institutions to help them assess their business and operational and technical challenges, select the right vendors/partners, better understand their IT TCO, and grow their customer base. Before joining IDC Financial Insights, Cyrus was a managing partner with a regional research and publication firm. He was instrumental in growing the firm’s proprietary as well as subscription-based research business along with the publishing businesses. ​

​His understanding of a range of business, market, regulatory, and investment-related issues enable him to work closely with financial institutions, consultants, vendors, and government agencies on various multidisciplinary initiatives. ​
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He has a Master’s degree in Business Finance, Economics, and Business Law from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics​

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Mr. Ashish Kapahi
Executive Director, GATES

A visionary business leader with over 25 years of experience in the dynamic world of technology. In 2005, he earned a nomination for the “Outstanding Chief/Senior Executive (Overseas) Award” from IE Singapore, a testament to his exceptional.​

​Ashish is the founder and CEO of GATES APAC Pte Ltd., Asia’s largest independent Technology channel platform. He is a hands-on strategist, adept at developing and managing large cross-functional teams to achieve organizational objectives. His global experience includes starting and managing greenfield operations across Asia, ANZ, and Western Europe, transforming them into sustainable profit centres. ​

​Beyond the corporate achievements, he is an advocate for public-private partnerships and have played a pivotal role in initiating and leading various PPP and intergovernmental projects, both regionally and globally. With a passion for creating value in the tech industry he continues to be a driving force in shaping the future of the technology channel ecosystem.​

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Ms.Celine Schulze
Managing Partner, 10Power9 Pte Ltd

Celine Schulze is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of 10power9 Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based fund management company. Through its impact fund Narwhale Ventures, the company provides equity and capacity building to ocean-related, sustainability-driven early-stage companies from Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Beyond her role at 10power9, Celine is the founder and leader of the Southeast Asian Chapter of the global “Women in Carbon”, a non-profit of 700+ female members leading the transition towards a low-carbon economy.

Celine brings her expertise in finance and sustainability to the leading Singaporean University Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where she lectures on sustainability principles and practices, carbon markets and mechanisms, and climate finance.

Prior to this, Celine worked with a venture capital firm in Shanghai and a hedge fund in Geneva, and is a sought-after mentor and business coach. She currently advises startups in Singapore Management University’s incubation program, supported entrepreneurs in fundraising and negotiation for Innosuisse—the Swiss Federal Agency for Innovation Promotion—and guides emerging businesses through Climate and Blue Economy organizations across Asia and Europe.

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Mr. Madhav Narayan
IIT Madras Global Research Foundation (IITM Global)

Madhav Narayan, is a Global leader at the intercept of Technology & Business, who has successfully built, transformed, scaled businesses, developed new markets, driven business model innovation, championed digital transformation for hyper growth of Tech MNCs, Public Authorities and startups (Intel, HP Inc, Dell, Samsung, Epson, Redington, DEWA, Shycocan Corp.) over a 38-year career in pan regional senior leadership roles. Since 2011 Madhav Narayan has been actively mentoring young entrepreneurs & disruptive tech start-ups and helped them raise capital to scale globally. Madhav Narayan is now The Chief Executive Officer for IIT Madras Global Research Foundation (IITM Global), with a charter to take the research, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem of Indian Institute of Technology Madras, global.​

Mr. Madhav Narayan is a Bachelor in Electronics and Communications from Coimbatore Institute of Technology, University of Madras (1985) and holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) jointly awarded by Stern Business School (NYU), London School of Economics & HEC, Paris. Mr. Madhav Narayan has also completed various certified professional development programs in Advanced Leadership, Management Core, Digital Transformation from world renowned Academic Institutions like Stanford, UC Berkeley.

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Ms. Arifa Tan
CEO & Founder IStar Technology, Indonesia

Arifa is a tech venture builder, entrepreneur, and business coach with 30+ years of experience in the IT industry. As the founder of IStar, I’ve led investments and M&A across Southeast Asia, transforming traditional businesses into scalable digital ventures.

My passion lies not just in building companies, but in building people. Through coaching, I empower leaders to lead with clarity, values, and global readiness. I believe every business can scale with the right strategy, team, and heart

From launching digital transformation projects in Indonesia to investing in biotech and wellness in Vietnam and Malaysia, my journey has been driven by purpose and vision

Let’s connect if you’re building something impactful — or looking for a coach, investor, or partner who can walk the journey with you.

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Prof. Braj Bhushan
Deputy Director, IIT Kanpur

Prof. Braj Bhushan is Deputy Director and Professor at IIT Kanpur, specializing in cognitive neuropsychology, trauma, and affective science. With extensive research and academic leadership, he has held key roles including Dean of Administration. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and the Association for Psychological Science.

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Prof. Deepu Philip
Director (Professor-In-Charge, Innovation & Incubation), IIT Kanpur.

Prof. Deepu Philip is a faculty member at IIT Kanpur, specializing in systems engineering, simulation, and product lifecycle management. With a Ph.D. from Montana State University, he holds a patent and applies his expertise across sectors. He currently serves as Professor in Charge of the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC).

Mr. Sailesh Prasad
General Manager, Exim Bank.

Sailesh Prasad leads the Sustainable Enterprise and Export Development Group at Exim Bank, with over 22 years of experience in credit, project finance, trade, and SME-agri financing. He has served in global offices and multilateral forums, supporting scalable Indian enterprises through finance, technology, and advisory interventions.

Mr. Anurag Singh
CEO, FIRST IITK

Mr. Anurag Singh is the CEO of FIRST at IIT Kanpur’s SIIC. He leads incubation efforts across deep-tech domains like MedTech, AI, Defence, and CleanTech. With a focus on strategic partnerships and startup scaling, he plays a key role in fostering innovation and early-stage venture development in India.

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