SFDA & TSSAG: Navigating the Asian Investment Landscape

Venue
Singapore Cricket Club – Gilmour Room
Connaught Drive, Singapore 179681 Singapore

Organisers

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Event Details

Navigating the Asian Investment Landscape

An exclusive industry thought-leadership exchange organised by The Securities Services Advisory Group (TSSAG) and the Singapore Fund Directors Association (SFDA)

The Securities Services Advisory Group (TSSAG)​ together with the Singapore Fund Directors Association Ltd (SFDA)​ are very pleased to invite you to a senior dialogue around topical securities and asset management industry themes at an afternoon event to be held at the Singapore Cricket Club​.

TSSAG was formed to foster collaboration between consulting and other firms focused on the securities services and post trade arena enabling members to offer clients broader subject matter expertise and geographical reach and aligned to that, to support thought leadership activity across our industry. SFDA, established in 2020, was formed with the mission to be Singapore’s premier body representing fund directors to foster long-term success through advocacy and standards-setting in corporate governance, and professional development for fund directors.

This half day post lunch event will feature expert panels on emerging opportunities within the Asia Middle East corridor, investment funds and the changing scene in Asia and harnessing AI in Asia within financial services.

Attendance is by invitation.

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Agenda

14:00 – 14:30
Registration and Networking Coffee/Tea
Kick off the afternoon with an opportunity to network with peers.

14:30 – 14:35
Welcome Address
Presented by: Mr Roger Harrold, Director, Alfasec Advisers.

14:35 – 15:15
Session 1 – Emerging Opportunities: The Asia-Middle East Corridor
Speakers: Mathew Kathayanat, Valérie Mantot – Groene, Shantanu Mukerji and Mrugank Paranjape

Infrastructure development and new energy transition in the Middle East are catalysing exciting business opportunities. Strategic partnerships between Asian and Middle Eastern stock exchanges, business joint ventures, offices set up by investors, and new investment products are redefining cross-regional collaboration.

This panel will delve into the emerging opportunities in the Middle East, exploring opportunities for collaboration and practical strategies to unlock the potentials.

Moderator: Mrugank Paranjape, Managing Partner, MCQube

Panel:
Mathew Kathayanat, Regional Head of Product, Securities Services, Deutsche Bank
Valérie Mantot – Groene, Regional Managing Director, Apex Group
Shantanu Mukerji, Managing Director, Gulf Capital

15:15 – 16:00
Session 2 – Investment Funds: The changing scene in Asia
Speakers: Dr Tom James, Steve Knabl, Jon Robinson and Paul Pak

The Asian fund industry is witnessing rapid changes driven by rising interest in private capital, tokenized assets, and cryptocurrencies, alongside market instabilities and geopolitical tensions. New practices are evolving to meet these new challenges.

This panel will examine the opportunities and challenges faced by fund sponsors to enhance evolving practices in face of the new dynamics.

Moderator: Jon Robinson, Managing Director, Robinson Consulting

Panel:
Dr. Tom James, Co-Founder – CEO / CIO – Tradeflow Capital Management Pte Ltd
Steve Knabl – Managing Partner, Wealth Management Alliance
Paul Pak, PwC Asia Pacific Asset & Wealth Management Leader, PwC

16:00 – 16:30
Coffee Break

16:30 – 17:15
Session 3 – Investment Technologies: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence in Asia
Speakers: Lawrence Au, Nitin Datta, Donald McDonald and Rajiv Premkumar

Asia’s financial services sector is embracing AI-powered tools like machine learning, big data analytics, and Generative AI to enhance efficiency and customer experience while staying ahead in a tech-driven world.

This panel will showcase some latest applications of artificial intelligence in Asia’s financial industry, shedding light on the opportunities and challenges in integrating these exciting technologies.

Moderator: Lawrence Au, Founder & CEO, The LaunchPad.Biz

Panel:
Nitin Datta, EY SG Technology Consulting Leader; Partner Data & Analytics, Ernst & Young Solutions
Donald McDonald, Head of Group Data Office, OCBC Bank
Rajiv Premkumar, CEO, Curia Regis

17:25 – 17:30
Concluding Remarks
Speakers: Jon Robinson

Presented by: Jon Robinson, Membership Committee of SFDA and Managing Director of Robinson Consulting

17:30 – 19:30
Drinks and Canapes

Wrap up the day with drinks and light bites, while networking with peers in an informal setting.

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Speakers

Lawrence Au
Founder & CEO of The LaunchPad.Biz

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-au
Lawrence is a recognised pioneer and thought-leader of Asia’s securities services industry, who has spent 40 years at the forefront of the region’s financial sector development. He formerly served as Asia Pacific CEO at BNP Paribas Securities Services and Northern Trust for 16 years combined, as well as senior roles at a number of global financial firms. He was honoured with prestigious awards including Global Custodian’s “Industry Legend Award” (2023) and Asia Asset Management’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” (2016), and has authored two books: “Asia’s Financial Industry 1986-2016” and “From Physical to Digital: Asia’s Securities Services Developments 1995-2021”. Lawrence is a member of TSSAG and SFDA.

Nitin Datta
EY SG Technology Consulting Leader; Partner Data & Analytics at Ernst & Young Solutions

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-datta-721243147
Nitin comes with 16+ years of Insurance and Banking solutions and consulting experience across multiple financial services giants like AIA, Great Eastern, NTUC Income, Citibank, SCB and Barclays. His strengths are in the field of health claims transformation, risk and regulatory reporting, advanced analytics solutions catering to turn-key program and change management of BFSI industries cutting across multiple functional lines. His interest lies in applying Thick data, Deep data and AI for innovation in BFSI offering.

Roger Harrold
Director of AlfaSec Advisors

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerharrold
Roger Harrold (Director of AlfaSec Advisors) Roger Harrold Director of AlfaSec Advisors https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerharrold Roger is a Singapore-based freelance consultant and Independent Director specializing in financial services. He advises regional head offices, holding, and operating companies on corporate governance, sustainability, regulatory licensing, and business development. With extensive experience at Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan, he has worked with major institutional and corporate clients on global transaction processing in payments, securities, and trade finance. As a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Banking and Finance and a member of the Securities and Investment Institute (UK), Roger brings deep industry expertise while maintaining a selective board portfolio to provide dedicated focus to his mandates.

Dr Tom James
Co-Founder – CEO / CIO of Tradeflow Capital Management Pte Ltd

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tgjames
Tom James is the CEO, CIO, and co-founder of Trade Flow Funds, a digital trade finance solution for bulk commodity transactions. He led the development of its USD fund in 2018 and Euro fund in 2020, integrating risk management and scalable FinTech solutions. With 30+ years in trading, investment management, and commodity finance, he advises governments and multinationals. He has served as a Senior Energy Advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense and sits on multiple advisory panels. A serial Commodity FinTech entrepreneur and published author of nine books, Tom holds a PhD in commodity trading and risk management.

Mathew Kathayanat
Global Head of Product Strategy & Client Solutions Securities Services at Deutsche Bank

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-kathayanat-mat-kat-9605b85
Mathew has over 25 years’ experience in building scalable new digital and data businesses. Based in Singapore, he is responsible for product development in support of client needs across Deutsche Bank’s Securities Services franchise globally. Prior to this, he held senior roles at BNY Mellon and Citigroup. Mathew is a member of the International Securities Services Association’s (ISSA) Global Operating Committee, a frequent speaker at industry events and securities market forums, and a regular contributor to trade publications. He holds a post graduate diploma in Strategy & Innovation from University of Oxford and an MBA in Marketing & Systems.

Steve Knabl
Managing Partner at Wealth Management Alliance

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-knabl-a38127
With over 25 years in financial services, including 15 years in Singapore and Hong Kong, Steve specializes in trading, alternative funds, and wealth management. Previously, as COO & Managing Partner at Swiss-Asia, he developed the platform for wealth managers, hedge funds and digital asset funds. Prior to moving to Asia, he led the Trading & Treasury department at Swissquote Bank in Geneva for 9 years. A Swiss citizen, Singapore PR and Hong Kong PR, Steve holds a B.Sc. in Hospitality Management from EHL and studied at the University of Neuchâtel and IMD.

Valérie Mantot – Groene
Regional Managing Director of Apex Group

https://www.linkedin.com/in/val%C3%A9rie-mantot-groene-34974b11
Valerie is a Regional Head-ASEAN at Apex Group, with over 20 years of experience in leading alternative assets servicing teams across Europe, Middle East, and Asia.In her current role at Apex Group, she also has a focus on driving ESG and D&I initiatives in APAC.

Valerie has been an active contributor to the industry throughout her career, serving on the board of various professional organizations and committees. Currently, she is the Chair of the Association of Luxembourg Funds (ALFI) in Southeast Asia, as well as member of the D&I committee of the Singapore Fund Directors Association (SFDA) and the Singapore Venture Capital Association (SVCA).

Donald McDonald
Head of Group Data Office at OCBC Bank

https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-macdonald-sg
Donald is an industry veteran with 30 years of international experience in data analytics. Currently, he heads OCBC Group’s Data Office across Asia, providing support in Data Strategy, Analytics Translation, AI Lab, and Data Engineering to drive value from OCBC’s data assets through Analytical and Generative AI to enhance revenue, reduce costs, mitigate risks, and improve customer experiences. As the Analytics CoE, he enables analytic teams across OCBC through development of next-generation analytics tools, data strategy, and literacy programs. Donald began his career in Data Mining at Standard Life, provided consulting for PwC and IBM, before spearheading OCBC’s data transformation.

Shantanu Mukerji
Managing Director of Gulf Capital

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shantanumukerji
Shantanu is the Managing Director and head of Gulf Capital’s Singapore office, a leading thematic alternative investment firm with over 18 years of experience in growth markets. He has been leading the firm’s private equity investments and portfolio growth activities in Asia since 2021. With over 20 years of experience, he specializes in consumer and luxury industries, having previously spent nearly a decade at L Catterton, the world’s largest consumer-focused private equity group. There, he handled investments, value creation, and divestments. He also held senior roles at renowned brands like LVMH Watch & Jewellery, Zegna, and Nike. Shantanu holds a B. Tech from IIT Delhi and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad in India.

Paul Pak
Partner, Asia Pacific and Singapore Asset and Wealth Management Leader at PwC

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-pak-9a351316
Paul is the Asia Pacific and Singapore Asset and Wealth Management Leader for PwC Singapore overseeing its firm-wide market strategy. He is also the Risk and Compliance Solutions Leader in PwC Singapore’s Asset and Wealth Managed Services business, which specialises in providing regulatory compliance, internal audit and risk solutions to asset and wealth managers, family offices and funds.

Mrugank Paranjape
Managing Partner at MCQube

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrugank-paranjape
Mrugank is a renowned expert and consultant in capital & commodities markets. He is the Non-Executive Independent Director on the Board of the State Bank of India & Oracle Financial Software Services, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sewa International. Prior to this, he held leadership and senior roles in NCDEX eMarkets Private Limited, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, and Deutsche Bank. He was awarded the “Custodian Banker of the Year” (2012) by Asian Investor. Mrugank is an alumnus of IIT Mumbai (B Tech, Electrical Engineering) and IIM Ahmedabad (PGDM with Specialization in Information Systems).

Rajiv Premkumar
CEO of Curia Regis

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajiv-premkumar-b849826a
Rajiv is a qualified Barrister in England and Wales and an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. With extensive experience in regulatory compliance, he has worked on the buy side and in corporate and trust services with deep local and global exposure. He played a key role in securing Singapore’s first crypto-exchange license and later led Curia Regis, a boutique compliance firm serving capital markets and web3/crypto sectors. As Chairman of Access Digital Management Subgroup, Rajiv engages with industry stakeholders on innovation, data, and technology to advance automation and institutionalization in digital asset management.

Jon Robinson
Managing Director of Robinson Consulting

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmerobinson
Jon has a wide range of experience in human resources, remuneration, governance, financial services, strategic planning and execution. This experience is supplemented by extensive knowledge of Asian markets, business practices and cultures. Jon’s business interests include a robotic solar panel cleaning business and artificial intelligence powered recruiting technology.

Jon serves as an Independent Director for investment funds, including two VCCs, and Adansonia Fund Management Pte Ltd, a private equity manager specialising in Africa. He is an Executive Committee member of SFDA and leads the membership committee. His qualifications include being a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors.