DIAN Conference I

Abam Mambo is the Managing Director for workplace consultancy, BelongingIQ. She’s an employment lawyer, Belonging, Diversity and Inclusion strategist, and thought leader on workplace culture. She helps organizations boost employee engagement by etching Belongingness into their cultural footprint. 

Her Belongingness Quotient model adopts a fresh and multi-disciplinary approach to creating a diverse, inclusive, safe and engaged workforce. A captivating speaker, Abam has spoken in over 25 cities around the world to organizations including the World Health Organization, Microsoft, GSK, John Deere, and Transparency International, etc. 

A former litigator and workplace investigator, she has advised and trained C-suite executives and their organizations on fair employment practices, diversity and inclusion, and speak-up culture. Abam has held regional, director-level roles in Legal and Compliance at Microsoft and GSK. She’s lived and led teams in North America, Africa, and Asia, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

As Human Resources leader for the Asia Pacific (AP) region, Amanda Gervay works closely with the AP Leadership Team to drive and implement the regional HR strategy to ensure that Mastercard is where the best people want to be. A seasoned HR leader, Amanda is well versed in the dynamics of organizational design and restructuring, as well as culture change across Asia, Europe and the Americas. Prior to joining Mastercard, she was the regional HR lead for Thomson Reuters in Singapore, where she oversaw the people strategy, with a focus on diversity, talent and leadership development, as well as organizational change arising from M&A and divestiture projects. In that position, she also led the creation of the people function for Thomson Reuter’s Financial and Risk business, Refinitiv. Prior to Thomson Reuters/Refinitiv, Amanda held HR leadership roles with Huntsman Corporation, Babcock & Brown, BlueScope Steel (formerly BHP Steel) and AXA Asia Pacific based out of Singapore, Australia and China. Amanda graduated from the University of Sydney and holds a Master of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, Australia. A strong advocate of volunteerism, she has worked with a number of non-profits, providing assistance across civil rights, healthcare, and social services issues. Amanda is now based in Singapore. 

Charu Srivastava is the Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder at TriOn & Co, a strategic communications consultancy. She is responsible for driving strategic communication initiatives for the agency’s clients, with a focus on corporate and government affairs locally, regionally and globally. With more than 13 years of experience, Charu’s expertise ranges from cross-border communications, government relations, and corporate and public affairs to crisis management, media training and relations, and stakeholder management. 
 
An award-winning communications professional and industry advocate, Charu is driven by a passion to guide and mould the next generation of communications professionals and effecting sustainable change in the industry through my diversity, equality and inclusivity (DEI) activism. She is the Chair of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) APAC’s inaugural Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and manages Diversity Matters - a monthly podcast that discusses DEI issues across the communications industry in the region. Charu is also an accredited member of the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore. 

Charu was recognised as an Outstanding PR Mentor at the PRISM Awards 2021. Over the years, she has led her teams to multiple wins and shortlists at the PRCA APAC Awards, PRISM Awards, PR Awards, SABRE awards.  

A lover of fine, martial and performing arts, she can be found painting, doing Muay Thai and dancing in her free time. 

Dharshi combines her passion for people, connection, technology and AI with over 14 years of international experience as a technology, privacy and media lawyer helping organisations navigate commercial arrangements, laws and regulation, and their intersection with individual consumer trust and corporate imperatives. Starting her career in London and moving to Australia, her clients have ranged from the US West Coast’s largest tech companies to Australian and APAC start-ups. 

Dharshi recently relocated to Singapore and now splits her time between heading up a Technology and Media Law practice, and practicing as a DEI consultant, developing bespoke diversity surveys to help organisations grow an inclusive culture and provide the most meaningful starting point for any diversity and inclusion strategy. All whilst remaining compliant with the myriad of regulations governing data. 

Dharshi’s passion lies in leveraging her skills and experience to combine the worlds of data and diversity. In a world where almost all corporate decision making is data-driven, few would argue that the same should be the case for diversity and inclusion when it comes to creating the most impactful strategy to harness and maintain a safe, inclusive and diverse workplace. But even fewer actually follow this approach, and that’s where Dharshi seeks to help.  

Since 2014, Dharshi has been undertaking diversity and inclusion roles alongside her legal career through participation in steering committees, employee action group leadership teams, undertaking speakerships and hosting and taking part in panel discussions on diversity and inclusion within corporate organisations, harnessing lived experience in the bid to address current inclusion gaps. 

Dharshi explores the human side to bias in her podcast, UNBiased where guests share their experiences and their work to remedy some of the inequities they or others continue to face. 

Dr. Pereira studied at the National University of Singapore on a SingHealth Undergraduate Medicine Scholarship and graduated with their MBBS in 2018. They subsequently completed their MRCP (UK) and M. Med (Int Med) in 2021. Prior to joining ManaDr, they were part of the Singhealth Internal Medicine Programme. As part of their training, they rotated through and gained diverse experiences in various medical subspecialties. Their main area of interests are in sexual health as well as gender affirming care. Dr. Pereira strongly believes in providing inclusive and evidence based care to their patients.

Janelle Mims is the Senior Programme Manager of DIAN at Community Business. She is responsible for the strategy, design and delivery of events, written content and other programming that align the priorities and needs of our DIAN members. 

Janelle comes from a background in learning & development in the hospitality industry beginning in the US and continuing in Hong Kong. Prior to Community Business she was the Director of Talent & Performance for a lifestyle concierge service; her passion for people and the overall employee experience allowed her to contribute to several employee wellness programs as well as help launch their global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion council and several regional initiatives.  

Janelle holds bachelor’s degrees in Mass Communications with a focus on Electronic Media, and Theatre Performance. She is native in English, and intermediate in Spanish. She uses she/her/hers. 

Rob has over 20 plus experience in senior leadership roles in organisations such as Apple, HP, Publicis Mojo and Miller Heiman Group (Korn Ferry) before joining NLI. He is an accomplished speaker having presented keynotes and workshops internationally and locally on the subjects of Mindset and Leadership. Rob is the author of several books including his latest on Growth Mindset, It’s All Possible and Small Business, Big Opportunity. He has appeared on numerous TV and Media programs such as Kochies Business Builders, Business Daily and TickerTV on the subjects of leadership and business growth. He holds a Bachelor of Business and a Post Graduate in Applied Finance and Investment. Rob is also former world champion yachtsman and passionate about the power of unleashing the potential in people.

Jean Illyria is a self-proclaimed feminist and community activist. She transitioned at the age of 28, and her personal experience has made her a strong advocate for trans visibility and rights. She is the APAC lead of the Trans-at-Google employee resource group, and a moderator of 3 international trans community support groups. When not otherwise occupied with an existential crisis or helping mobile app publishers in Southeast Asia with their advertising strategy, she is a gamer, dancer, and part-time mermaid.