Fireside Chat: Understanding Innovation and How to Leverage It in Your Business to Accelerate Growth
Event Introduction:
Navigating business in an uncertain world is fraught with difficulties. In the constant deliberation between “risking it all” and “missed opportunities” lies the trade-off between stagnation and super-scaling growth.
Thus, join us in this fireside chat to superscale your business in the context of a shifting macro environment, user needs and competitor landscape through business innovation.
Explore more on how to take control of your business growth trajectory by assessing the current business landscape and identifying untapped growth areas for future strategic plans. In addition, you can also learn about the various government support and schemes available that could support your business innovation journey.
Programme:
Time |
Event |
|
| 2.00pm – 2.30pm |
Registration |
|
| 2.30pm – 2.50pm |
Introduction |
|
| 2.50pm – 3.10pm |
Understanding Innovation and How to Leverage It in Your Business to Accelerate Growth |
|
| 3.10pm – 3.50pm |
Fireside Chat Mr Elvin Too Mr Wong Hong Wai (Moderator) Mr Ramachandran Rajamanickam |
|
| 3.50pm – 4.00pm |
TechInnovation 2023 ShoutOut |
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| 4.00pm – 5.30pm | Networking with Light Refreshments |
Main Speakers’ Profiles:
Mr Peter Tay, Head, Innovation Advisory (IPI)
Peter helms the Innovation Advisory team where he serves alongside former C-suite business leaders to advise enterprises, to guide their growth, and to superscale their business with technology and innovation. Innovation Advisory works with the owners and leadership bench of enterprises in various industries across the engineering, manufacturing, medtech, food, digital and sustainability space. Today, the team has brought and continues to bring impactful outcomes to over 100 client enterprises through product development, business strategy and tactical execution to achieve over US$1 billion in projected attributable revenue.
Mr Clive Ho, Manager, Business Advisory (SME Centre@SICCI)
Clive has more than two decades of experience managing the main subsidiary of a listed company. Besides meeting profitability, he has won numerous awards and has grown the company immensely. His experience also includes setting up and managing offshore manufacturing and support offices in North America, Latin America and Asia.
Prior to this, he was the Regional Director of an American multinational corporation responsible for all its Asia Pacific business activities.
Clive is also active in volunteering work and has mentored some startups on a pro bono basis. In his current job as a Business Advisor, he believes it is a way of giving back to society using his past experience to help local enterprises.
Fireside Chat Speakers’ and Moderator’s Profiles:
Mr Elvin Too, Founder (River Rock Collective), Senior Advisor and Executive Mentor (LinHart Group)
Elvin is a social entrepreneur and leadership counsellor. He spends part of his time developing a programme to equip caregivers (Eg. Parents of children/ youth, family of frail, ill or disabled adults) with the confidence and ability to coach and guide their loved ones towards holistic mental wellbeing. He also works with business owners, CEOs, and future CEOs on their most difficult professional and personal issues, so they become more effective at exerting positive influence. His motivation to pursue this unique career path is to expand his societal impact and accelerate his personal growth.
He was formerly a Vice President at Singtel, where he led an end-to-end transformation programme for the consumer business unit, spearheaded the launch of a new digital lifestyle business and restructured its digital product development. Prior to this, Elvin worked at NTUC FairPrice first as Chief Strategy Officer and then as Chief Omnichannel Officer. As the general manager for its e-grocery unit, he transformed its people, processes, and technology to compete more effectively with online platforms. Earlier in his career, Elvin was with Singapore Post as chief of staff to the Group CEO and SVP/ Head of its post office business.
Prior to his appointments in Singapore, Elvin was based in the U.S.. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania (summa cum laude) with degrees in International Studies, Finance and Management, he began his career as a management consultant with Bain & Company. He also worked for Walmart on global market development and Microsoft in corporate strategy and product management.
Mr Wong Hong Wai, Board Member (China Yuchai International Limited), Associate Faculty Member (Singapore Institute of Technology)
Hong Wai is a global executive with over 35 years of working experience in 6 countries: China, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States. He is presently a board member of China Yuchai International Limited (NYSE: CYD), an Innovation Advisor with IPI Singapore (a subsidiary of Enterprise Singapore), and an Associate Faculty member at the Singapore Institute of Technology.
He was with General Motors (GM) for 29 years and has extensive experience in areas such as M&A, new business development, strategic alliance management, sales/marketing, strategic risk management, business strategy, portfolio planning, global procurement and business process re-engineering.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Wai drove many of GM’s strategy development efforts that resulted in major investments in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Apart from expanding GM’s core passenger vehicle businesses in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Wai led growth initiatives in areas such as electrification, go-to-market business models incorporating the rapidly developing digital ecosystem, telematics, independent aftermarket parts and commercial vehicles to expand the scope and capabilities of GM’s existing business. He also piloted a personal urban mobility solution with Shanghai Jiaotong University using GM’s electric-networked vehicle that was first showcased at the 2010 World Expo. In 2021, Hong Wai was appointed Expert Committee Member by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center.
Prior to GM, he was with the Singapore Economic Development Board, where he was responsible for investment marketing and development of several industry clusters such as aerospace, marine and offshore engineering, oilfield equipment, process engineering and automotive component manufacturing.
(Moderator) Mr Ramachandran Rajamanickam, Former Vice President, Science & Innovation, Asia Pacific (DSM Nutritional Products)
Ramachandran Rajamanickam has over three decades of industry experience in pharmaceuticals and the broader healthcare sector in various leadership roles. Experienced with start-up operations in the emerging markets, he has set up many successful businesses in Asia, led acquisitions and helped shape the regulatory environment for healthcare products.
Rama was most recently Vice President, Science & Innovation, Asia Pacific at DSM Nutritional Products. In this role, he led market relevant innovation projects that expanded the DSM portfolio, enhanced label claims, initiated Asia-based clinicals, and leveraged technology and applications to drive consumer adoption. He also conducted multiple innovation workshops for DSM’s customers.
Before joining DSM in 2015, Rama was Corporate Vice President, Asia Pacific for Abbott Nutrition. He spent 30 years with Abbott and led its Asia pharmaceutical business in the earlier years before he transitioned to the nutrition business in 2008. During his tenure, Rama was deeply involved in driving Asia-relevant innovation and building multiple new businesses to accelerate growth.