Bio: Rachel Freeman has been appointed as AMTD's director and chief strategy and innovation officer since June 2019. Ms. Freeman is an experienced and internationally recognized financial expert, especially in the areas of cross-border financial services and innovative financial technologies. Before joining AMTD, Ms. Freeman has served as manager of Asia Pacific Advisory, Financial Institutions Group (Hong Kong) for International Finance Corporation (IFC) since 2014, and she led Asia Pacific Advisory in designing and implementing client solutions in digital banking, bank-fintech collaboration, climate change or green finance, SME finance, Banking on Women, and agri-digital solutions. From 2001 to 2014, Ms. Freeman held several senior positions within IFC, including manager of access to finance in East Asia Pacific, senior operations officer in Central Asia, and regional business line leader in Africa. Prior to joining the IFC, Ms. Freeman also worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of State between 1997 and 2000. She holds an MBA from University of Michigan Business School. In addition, she completed the executive education program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Topic: Smart Operation & Maintenance: Lessons from Mainland China and Hong Kong

Abstract:
• Insights from 15 years in the Chinese market by Smart O&M pioneer Siveco.
• Distributed high-tech utilities require sophisticated O&M management, from the design stage.
• China’s infrastructure growth has required new ways, new technologies, implemented on a large scale, now being exported on the Belt & Road.
• How can technologies such as BIM, mobility, AR, IoT, AI etc. find real, practical, applications in O&M (not just Proof of Concept)?
• Case studies of environmental and energy infrastructures in Greater China, including Baosteel Gases (multisite gas utility), Zhongshan Water (municipal water supply), Hongkong’s Organic Resources Recovery Centre Phase 1 (waste to energy), etc.

Bio: Guillaume Gimonet is COO of Siveco China. Siveco (www.sivecochina.com) has a long track record providing Smart O&M solutions to optimize the lifecycle of infrastructures and to ensure regulatory compliance. Guillaume has been with Siveco since 2008 in various positions ranging from business development to project delivery. As COO, he oversees the company's project, product and support teams, including the firm's Shanghai R&D center dedicated to IoT and mobility. Prior to Siveco, Guillaume was working in the paper industry in Shandong province.

Topic: Policies and Investments Trends in Renewable Energy in SEA

Bio: Vincent Bakker is a Dutch national with 10 years of experience in complex energy investments. He worked for Royal Dutch Shell, where he has worked on capital projects, acquisitions, divestments and government negotiations for projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei and Kazakhstan.

In 2018 he joined Positive Energy as co-founder. Positive Energy simplifies investments in Renewable Energy through digitisation and standardisation. Positive Energy supports developers of small- to midsize renewable energy projects (1 to 50 mln USD) to acquire funding.

Vincent believes technological innovation and commercial opportunities together is the strongest force for a sustainable future. He enjoys running, travelling and a good discussion over food and drinks.

Bio: Marco is a Portuguese national with extensive international Venture, Capital Market & Corporate Advisory expertise and has been based in Hong Kong since 2013. He is a CFA Charter holder, holds an MBA from both Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and London Business School and is a Master in Finance from Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon as well as an undergraduate Management degree holder from the same school.

He is frequent speaker conferences and other publications around the world.

Topic: Building Information Modeling (BIM) – A New Technology or Not?

Abstract: Building Information Modelling (BIM) is now a hot topic in the construction industry. While BIM has widely been adopted in projects design stage and construction stage, in recent days there are a lot discussion about how to extend BIM applications to Operation and Maintenance (O&M) stage and hence the whole building life cycle.

In this session, the speaker, will share the experience for the BIM application in O&M. A life project example will be demonstrated to show how exactly it works and what is the value.

Bio: Simon Ng is the Technical Director and Head of BIM for WSP Greater China. Being awarded as the ‘Young BIMer of the Year 2014’ award by the Construction Industry Council (CIC) of Hong Kong, Simon has extensive experience in BIM management such as modelling standard, execution plan, template, family database, skills development, training, etc.

Simon is a Mechanical Engineer and had a wide range of experience in engineering design, project management and application of Information Technology in construction industry.

Bio: Adam is an experienced investment banker with a depth of international experience having worked in Canada, Hong Kong and London. As an Executive Director for CIBC covering the Asian market, Adam advises clients on complex M&A transactions, particularly in the energy, agriculture and diversified industries and has helped build CIBC’s presence in the Asian market. Adam received an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD, a B.A.Sc. (Chemical Engineering) and a B.A. (Classics) from Queen’s University, Canada.

Bio:

Current responsibilities
Mr. Jennings is currently the Energy and Sustainability Global Lead for JLL working on the HSBC Account, the largest global facility management outsourcing contract by a financial services firm covering more than 50m sq. ft. of corporate real estate and 60 countries world-wide. In the 5 years he has been on the account JLL has helped HSBC avoid energy costs of over $85m USD and reduced their carbon footprint by more than 350,000 tonnes (the equivalent to power HSBC corporate HQ for more than 13 years)

Previous experience
Mr. Jennings joined JLL in October 2013 to take responsibility for Energy and Sustainability within the Asia Pacific region of the HSBC. Mr. Jennings has extensive knowledge and experience at executive level in energy, sustainability, climate change and engineering services. Mr. Jennings working experience encompasses major ‘blue chip’ companies, consultants, contractors and central/local government organizations.

Prior to joining JLL Mr. Jennings was Director of Energy and Environment at ISS Facility Services delivering energy and environmental solutions to Citi Group UK and Ireland as well as supporting ISS with their Energy and Sustainability Excellence proposition across the wider business including mobilisation of the Barclays global FM account.

For 3 years up until 2010 Mr. Jennings was Head of Technology at the London Climate Change Agency (LCCA). Working on behalf of the Mayor of London with responsibility for delivering innovative projects in the fields of energy, waste, transport and water efficiency.

For 5 years up until joining LCCA Mr. Jennings was Group Energy Manager for the Royal Bank of Scotland responsible for Energy Services and was instrumental in turning RBS from a position of ‘alsorans’ in the field of energy management to externally recognized exemplars, which was rewarded by becoming UK energy manager of the year finalist for 2 years in succession, together with receiving other prestigious awards in the fields of sustainability and transportation.

Mr. Jennings began his career within building services design and contract management, serving a fully indentured apprenticeship, before embarking on a career that has progressed to energy and sustainability via building services design, facilities and contract management, both from the Client perspective and on the service delivery side.

Education and affiliations
Mr. Jennings is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), and Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (FCIBSE)
Mr. Jennings has an MBA from the prestigious Henley Management College, and an honours degree in environmental engineering from Southbank University.

Bio: Born and raised in an entrepreneurial family, Calvin has co-founded startups across transportation, video game and e-learning industries in Hong Kong and Canada. As a former banking professional with Engineering & Commerce background, he utilizes his cross-industry expertise and experience to serve his current role as the Managing Director of P-Sense, a crowd tracking & analytics solution that supports and realizes the smart city initiative worldwide.

Topic: Challenges and Opportunities on Renewables Markets

Abstract: How much renewables would be needed if the world were to shut its 2000 GW of installed coal power

Bio: Simon has spent almost three decades focused on the energy sector. He has a background in finance and consulting, and has spent the last 15 years as an equity research analyst at both CLSA and UBS. He has worked across Asia in a number of consulting roles with Arthur Andersen and Arthur D Little on projects such as advising governments on gas and power policy, and privatisation. His equity research roles have given him a deep understanding of the Asian gas and power sector, having actively modelled and written about more than 100 listed Asian companies over the past 15 years. In addition he has helped a number of companies with M&A and debt and equity raises.

Topic: Green Finance: The Key to Unlocking Sustainable Development

Abstract: The financial materiality of climate change is increasingly recognized by the international capital market, which responds to the challenge with the global rise of green finance. Considering climate factors in investment decision-making processes is conducive to both investment performance and sustainable development. To unleash its full potential for low-carbon transition, it is essential to understand how the green finance ecosystem works and the roles that policymakers can and should play.

Bio: Johnson is a policy researcher of Our Hong Kong Foundation with expertise in sustainable finance and impact assessment. His research promotes the development of ESG integration, green bond, and social impact bond in Hong Kong. Recently in May 2019, he published a policy report titled "Leading Global Capital Markets Towards a New Era: A Policy Review on ESG Reporting for Corporates and Investors in Hong Kong", where he and his team discussed international ESG regulations and formulated recommendations for Hong Kong policymakers. Johnson holds an M.Phil. in Development Studies with Distinction from the University of Cambridge.

Bio: Albert Yip is the Chairman of Syndicate Capital and Chief Strategy Officer of Asia Cosmos Group, which are active investors in the international capital market across Greater China, Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. Prior to that, Mr. Yip is the Senior Vice President (Asia Pacific Region) at State Street, the world’s largest custodian bank and leading financial services provider to international financial investors and government authorities such as Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). State Street is responsible for US$33.3 trillion in assets under custody and administration, representing about 13% of global assets in the world, including The Tracker Fund of Hong Kong (SEHK Trackers Fund: 2800).

Albert has over 30 years of experience in the banking sector and capital markets. He has been leading IPO and corporate finance, corporate governance (GRC), financial management and regulatory teams. He also served in roles of SVP, CAE, CFO, financial controllers and other senior corporate governance and strategic administration positions with various reputable international organizations. He worked in the United States and Asia Pacific for renowned financial institutions including State Street Bank, Manulife Financial and Westpac Banking Corporation.

Albert earned a Master of Science Degree in Information Systems from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Honors Degree in Accountancy from the City University of Hong Kong. He was also a graduate from Chinese University of Hong Kong. Albert holds FCPA (Aust.), CPA, CMA, CRMA and Forensic CPA designations.

Albert always serves as an advisor and interact closely with government authorities and public institutions in Hong Kong such as Hong Kong Science Technology Park, Cyberport, Financial Secretary’s Office, HKEx, HKMA, Home Affairs Department, InvestHK, SFC as well as other trade development councils in Hong Kong and overseas. His pubic appointments included:

● Chairperson of the Financial Services Committee of CPA Australia.
● Governor and Chairman of Professional Development of IIA HK
● Honorary Advisor and Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee of CMA Australia.,
● Founding member of HK-ASEAN Cooperation Foundation
● Charter President of Lions Clubs of HK IFC

Topic: Asia Pacific LNG Market, with a Focus on China and ASEAN Markets.

Abstract:
● Economic switching point of coal vs gas in the power sector in Asia
● Impact of increasing solar penetration on gas-to-power in Asia
● Economic value of building LNG terminals in Asia
● Key bottleneck of gas-to-power in Asia such as gas infrastructure and government regulation/policies etc

Bio: Mr. Liutong Zhang is a director at WaterRock Energy Economics with expertise in the electricity and gas markets in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines. His work for regulators, grid companies, international power and gas companies, financial institutions and private equity firms focuses on economics of gas vs other fuels, economics of LNG terminal infrastructure, thermal and renewables generation asset valuation, gas and power price forecast, renewables and carbon policy and wholesale energy market design in Asia. Mr. Zhang holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering with first class honours from the National University of Singapore.

Bio: Mr Villupuram has over 19 years of experience in design & implementation of transformational smart operational solutions leveraging smart cards, Biometrics, Video Analytics & various kinds of sensor solutions across different domains viz. construction, police, customs, casinos, property, cargo terminals etc.  He is presently leading Digital Services (East Asia) – ARUP. He has managed several landmark projects in Hong Kong over the past 18 years and gained extensive multidisciplinary experience in bid to strategic delivery.  He holds board of director position PMI HK Chapter & HKIOTA.

Mr Villupuram is a CPIT (Project Director), PMP, CISA & CISM. He is currently pursuing his executive course with Massachusetts institute of technology in Innovation & Leadership.

Mr Villupuram holds an MBA degree in Marketing & Management in HKUST & Bachelor degree in Electrical & Electronics from India.

Bio: Ali has over 15 years of energy experience across multiple geographies and has been working with Kerogen Capital for over 6 years focusing on investments origination, execution, asset management and exit. He is also responsible for the digital implementation across Kerogen's portfolio companies, and origination and execution of the firm’s digital and renewables investments. Ali is a board member of Ideol and a few technology companies.

He previously worked in the investment team of Kenda Capital, manager of Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1, an energy venture capital firm investing in step-change oil and gas technologies. Prior to Kenda, Ali worked as an Engagement Manager for the global energy and chemicals practice of Arthur D. Little focusing on business strategy and operation optimisation projects in the U.S., Latin America, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. He also worked for Exxon Mobil Gas & Power Marketing, Grant Prideco and Schlumberger Oilfield Services in market analysis, technical sales and engineering optimisation roles based in the U.S., Oman and Malaysia.

Ali holds an MBA focusing on strategy and finance from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of California at Berkeley.

Bio: Daniel Ropski is a Project Manager with Black & Veatch’s Data Center Group in Hong Kong. Mr. Ropski has more than 10 years of international experience working in the data center and new energy sectors and has been directly involved in technical due diligence projects totaling of over three gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar assets; over five GW of coal and natural gas generation assets; and over 20 megawatts (MW) of energy storage assets in North America, Middle East, and Asia.

Mr. Ropski has performed numerous bankable technical assessments for prefabricated data center manufacturers as well as various solar technologies including solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and tracking / racking systems. Such assessments required his in-depth review of the design, manufacturing processes, reliability, and performance of these technologies.  Mr. Ropski is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and worked more than three years in Mainland China prior to relocating to Hong Kong.