DIAN Conference I (Hong Kong): Transforming Human Capital Systems

Description

In today's dynamic business environment, it is essential to seamlessly integrate organisational development with diversity, equity and inclusion to build resilient and adaptable human capital systems. Our conference will focus on this critical synergy, highlighting its transformative potential for organisational culture, supporting key elements of the employee life cycle and building inclusive policies.

We are excited to invite you to the DIAN Conference on 23 May 2024, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM (UTC+8), in Hong Kong and virtually via Zoom. We have an exciting lineup of sessions planned for this full-day conference with panel discussions, practitioner discussions, networking opportunities and more. We will be revealing our guest speakers on our social media channels before the event.

Session Titles and Speakers:

Keynote Address: Driving Social and Business Impact through Inclusion
Speakers: Ajay Manissery Konchery, John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Limited
Facilitated Workshop: Transformative Evaluation to Measure Impact
Speakers: Dr Hannah Griffin-James, Expert Evaluation
Panel Discussion: Scaling DE&I Across Asia
Moderator: Mamta Hotchandani, UBS
Speakers: Ellen Lai, Michael Page, Reseena Abdullah, CFA Institute and Stephanie Galera, Radius Networks
Panel Discussion: Compassion in Action
Moderator: Noelle Sinclair, Diverse Minds
Speakers: Sam Lau, Total Loyalty Company, Tulio Maximo, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Veronica Llorca-Smith, Author
Panel Discussion: Caregiving and the Future of Workforce Diversity
Moderator: Zamira Monteiro, Amplify Consulting
Speakers: Damien Mooney, Financial Services Business Leader, Lisa Moore, The Women’s Foundation and Manisha Wijesinghe, HELP for Domestic Workers
Roundtable Discussion: Our Preferred Future - The Power of Imagination
Speakers: Saranta Gattie, Community Business and Yee Lin, Community Business

This event is only open to DIAN members. If you are interested in DIAN membership or joining us at the conference, get in touch with our team at dian@communitybusiness.org

Event Speakers

Ajay Manissery Konchery

Group Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Limited

Ajay Manissery Konchery has significant HR leadership and Board experience at MNCs such as Colgate Palmolive and Swire. He has served in leadership roles based in Hong Kong, the US, India and Southeast Asia. As the Group Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Limited, he supports a holistic, data and insight based approach for driving business and people impact through inclusion.

He is reputed for his strategic business partnership acumen and for facilitating organisational transformations across multiple cultures. Ajay is academically trained in Commerce, Psychology and Management and is currently pursuing a part-time MSc in Applied Neuroscience from King’s College London. He is an accomplished poet whose works have been translated into multiple European and Asian languages, and is a certified teacher of Compassion Based Resilience Training, an evidence-based method to support wellbeing developed by the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science, NYC.

Damien Mooney

Financial Services Business Leader

Damien is based in Hong Kong since 2006 but originally from Ireland, Damien is an experienced financial services business leader with a proven track record leading high performing teams distributing & marketing investment products, investment solutions and enterprise technology primarily to wealth management firms in Asia Pacific. Damien is an active advocate for gender equality and has been involved with the Male Allies initiative at The Women's Foundation Hong Kong for many years. In addition, Damien is a Parent Governor and Vice Chair of the Board of Kellett, The British International School of Hong Kong.

Dr Hannah Griffin-James

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Evaluation Expert. Founder of Expert Evaluation

Dr. Griffin-James is committed to the power of evaluation for positive transformations. With over 15 years of experience evaluating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, she is an experienced specialist with a focus on balancing metrics and narrative. As the founder of Expert Evaluation, she uses research and evaluation to evidence what works well in a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative and supports you to develop impactful strategies.

Ellen Lai

Regional Director, Michael Page

Ellen has 3 years of banking experience in Canada prior to joining Page Group.

She started her career in the Financial Services team in Page Personnel where she quickly was recognized as the Top Biller in the brand. With strong track records to provide tailor made solutions in expansion, strategic recruitment plans and projects to further develop talents within the banking industry - Ellen is now the Regional Director for Hong Kong in Managed Services, Procurement & Supply Chain, Healthcare Life Science, Retail, Business Support and Contracting business in Michael Page.

Ellen held a Master of Strategic HR Management in Baptist University and a Double degree in Mathematics and Economics in University of Manitoba.

Mamta Hotchandani

Chief of Staff & COO for Investment Bank Operations, UBS

Manisha Wijesinghe

Executive Director HELP for Domestic Workers

Manisha currently serves as the Executive Director of HELP For Domestic Workers, a Hong Kong based non-profit organisation empowering migrant domestic workers to access their rights through education, advice, community and employer engagement. With over 14 years of experience in the human rights and social impact sector, Manisha is a registered Attorney at Law in Sri Lanka and holds a Master of Laws degree in Human Rights from the University of Hong Kong. Prior to coming to Hong Kong in 2013, Manisha worked with the UNICEF Child Protection & Juvenile Justice Programme, the Ministry of Justice and Save the Children in Sri Lanka. In Hong Kong, Manisha has worked with Christian Action and Daly & Associates, specialising in the area of migrant worker rights and international labour law.
Manisha was named a winner of the Tatler Magazine’s 2022 Inaugural Front & Female Award and the 2023 American Chamber of Commerce 19th Annual Women of Influence Award for Champion of Disadvantaged Communities and Minorities. She has also been recognized in the 2023 Tatler Gen.T List for Asia’s most promising young leaders and the 2024 Zubin Foundation Diversity List.
Outside of her role at HELP, Manisha serves as an Advisor to the Board of MindHK, a non-profit committed to improving awareness and understanding of mental health in Hong Kong and as a Member of the Executive Committee of the Amber Foundation EMPOWER Programme to provide support and training to Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse female undergraduate students.

Reseena Abdullah

Director, Partnerships & Client Solutions, CFA Institute

Reseena Abdullah is Director, Partnerships & Client Solutions at CFA Institute. She is responsible for business development across Southeast Asia and Pakistan, engaging closely with regulators, institutions, academia and industry bodies to ensure successful delivery of client solutions. In addition, she partners with CFA societies in the region to develop and drive market plans and advance professionalism and strong governance within the respective local networks. Before joining CFA Institute in 2018, Reseena worked in regional business development roles at Project Management Institute and Singapore International Foundation. She holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Communications and New Media from National University of Singapore.

Janet Ledger

Chief Operating Officer at Community Business

The Chief Operating Officer as a member of the Executive Leadership team, contributes to the overall strategic direction and sustainability of Community Business as a not-for-profit organisation. Responsibilities include executive leadership of all operational functions including Marketing and Communications, Change Management and HR, Employee Engagement & Culture, Finance, Legal and Compliance, Technology and Infrastructure. In addition she has leadership oversight of our number of our key programs including Gender, LGBT+ and Employee Wellbeing.

Prior to joining Community Business Janet has built a successful career as a senior leader most recently with Telstra International in Hong Kong, covering a broad range of disciplines and functions including strategic business planning and performance, programme management and delivery, corporate governance, change management, organisational effectiveness and talent development. She also has experience in the Travel, Tourism, Training and Hospitality sectors. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Janet and her husband now call Hong Kong home.

Janet believes organisation is only as strong as its people. She has helped teams get where they want to be by working with people, opening channels of communication, developing and retaining the right talent and ensuring an inclusive environment where creativity and collaboration can thrive.

With over 35 years work experience Janet is continuing her learning by undergoing study towards a Bachelor of Psychological Sciences through Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is an alumni of The Women's Foundation Mentoring Program.

Lisa Moore

Senior Director of Research & Advocacy at The Women’s Foundation

Lisa Moore is Senior Director of Research & Advocacy at The Women’s Foundation (TWF), an NGO dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls in Hong Kong.
Lisa is responsible for leading research on under-discussed gender issues, collaborating on cross-sector advocacy efforts to support TWF’s mission and policy agenda as well as overseeing their communications strategy and execution to drive TWF’s presence and impact in the wider community.
She is also part of Meta's Global Women’s Safety Expert Advisors, a group of experts that help Meta develop new policies, products and programmes that better support women who use their apps.
Prior to TWF, Lisa served as a Teaching & Research Fellow for Morningside College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Originally from the US, Lisa has called Hong Kong home for over a decade. She holds a BA in Ethnic Studies from the University of Richmond, an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University, and an MSc in Psychology from Sheffield Hallam University.

Saranta Gattie

She/Her

Senior Programme Manager, DIAN

Saranta is the Senior Programme Manager for DIAN. She is responsible for driving the development and execution of DIAN across the region.

Prior to Community Business, Saranta was working with founders and leaders committed to building authentic work cultures and workplaces that empower their teams. Her experience brings together a unique blend of workplace strategy, learning & programme design and leadership coaching.

Passionate about the future of work, Saranta launched The Working Capitol, a co-working space in Singapore to re-imagine the way work, wellbeing and inclusion can co-exist. She was also the Head of Learning for a private network of female leaders, spearheading the programme design & delivery and member experience across events, workshops & networking opportunities, to advance the role of women in leadership. Saranta is a strong believer in the power of community to drive transformation and create impact and is a champion of diversity & inclusion practices in and out of the workplace.

Saranta was born in Belgium and raised in Singapore. A graduate from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts, International Studies & French, she worked in the US and Southeast Asia representing global brands in her early career before exploring the world of entrepreneurship. Saranta is a coach-in training, supporting especially female founders and working mothers. She is fluent in English and French, conversational in Italian and learning Indonesian.

Sam Lau

CEO, Total Loyalty Company Limited

Sam Lau is an entrepreneur and thought leader in the area of corporate wellness and employee engagement. Based in Hong Kong, he is the founder of Total Loyalty Company (www.totalloyalty.hk), an HR agency that specialises in helping companies of all sizes create happy and healthy workplaces. Sam was born in Hong Kong, and after 10 years of corporate life with Shell Australia, started his Australian business in 1995 around employee engagement before returning to Hong Kong in 2010 to start Total Loyalty Company, building it to now servicing 450,000+ members and growing. Sam is an active Rotarian and also sits on the board of Fair Employment Agency, a domestic helper recruitment agency that focuses on the ethical hiring and treatment of domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Socially, Sam loves enjoying the outdoors when possible in Hong Kong, with regular hikes and tennis games. Also, like most people in Hong Kong – he loves trying out the wide range of restaurants on offer here!

Steph Galera

Lead Consultant, Radius Network

Steph Galera's pronouns are she/her/hers. She is a proud Asian woman raised in the Philippines, now residing in Thailand. She is also part of the women, LGBTQ+, and neurodiversity communities.
Steph was with a global tech company for 15 years and has been in different roles within HR and People disciplines from Talent Acquisition, Business and Data Analytics, Talent Development, and Diversity and Inclusion. She has had the unique opportunity to have volunteered and led Employee/Business Resource Groups for many years until she took on the strategic approach to DEI in HR organizations as a global DEI practitioner for workplace programs and community engagement. She continues to advocate for communities across the globe by volunteering with civil society organizations to promote LGBTQ+ health, well-being, and economic empowerment. As a Lead Consultant for Radius based in APAC, Steph uses her unique knowledge of the region to support & connect employee resource groups across Asia and globally.

Tulio Maximo

Assistant Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Dr. Tulio Maximo is an Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's School of Design. He is an innovative designer and ergonomist who focuses on people-centered design. His professional aim is to bridge people, institutions, and knowledge to improve society collaboratively.
His research interests encompass intergenerational and inclusive design, mobility devices, sitting ergonomics, design-led social entrepreneurship, and co-designing healthcare and assistive technology services. He has made significant contributions to the field, including interventions in Brazilian healthcare services and for children living in subdivided units in Hong Kong. He has received funds from several sources, such as UGC, JCDISI, CNPq, and Banco do Brasil.
Tulio is the receiver of the prestigious UGC Teaching Award 2022 as an early career faculty member. He teaches courses in Inclusive Design and Assistive Technologies, Ergonomics Design Research, and Cooperative Project. His work has received numerous awards from institutions such as IDSA, Red Dot, Royal College of Arts, and DFA. Dr. Maximo continues to strive for societal improvement through his research and teaching.

Veronica Llorca-Smith

Public Speaker & Author

Veronica is a motivational speaker, DEI consultant and award-winning author.
She has 15 years of experience leading and developing large multicultural teams in APAC for world brands (Apple and Estée Lauder) and specializes in Inclusive Leadership, Cultural Agility, and Inclusive Language.
Having lived in 9 countries, from Brazil to France, Australia, and China, she has a deep understanding of how to leverage cultural agility to develop inclusive, high-performing teams. Veronica speaks 6 languages and advocates for inclusive language as a catalyst for equity and inclusion in organizations and society.
Veronica is an amateur triathlete and a mom of 2.

Noelle Sinclair

Founder & CEO - Diverse Minds

Noelle is a recognized leader advocating for cognitive diversity within the workplace. Drawing on her personal experiences as an autistic and ADHD individual, along with her extensive corporate background, she understands that today's complex problems require a multitude of perspectives for effective solutions. To this end, she guides organizations in improving performance by enhancing communication, refining decision-making processes, and providing leadership training—key elements in leveraging a cognitively diverse workforce. Through her DE&I contributions, engaging speaking engagements, and strategic collaborations with leading firms, Noelle aims to drive business success and social inclusion across APAC, reinforcing that no single individual can address today’s complex business challenges alone. With an MBA in Global HR Management and graduate studies in Strategy from Oxford, and Neuroscience and Psychology from King’s College London, she is continually learning and applying this knowledge and experience to show the world what is possible when diverse minds come together.

Yee Lin Ng

She/Her

Consultant, C&T, Community Business

Yee Lin Ng is a Consultant for the Consulting and Training team at Community Business. She is responsible for consulting and training design and delivery, as well as client relationship management.

Well equipped with over 30 years of work and life experience, Yee Lin seeks to coach and motivate the next generation of thought leaders by enriching their personal growth and heightening their professional value. She is an ICF ACC certified coach with many years of executive leadership experience. Prior to joining Community Business as a consultant in C&T, she was based in Shanghai for 10 years and worked in a creative agency in branding strategy and project management with global brands. Actively involved with ICF Singapore’s Community of Practice for Team Coaching and Outreach & Coaching for Community, she holds a Mentor role with Asia Institute of Mentoring, Singapore Halogen Foundation’s Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and Hong Kong Kids4Kids' Action For A Cause. This is her path of giving forward and to build a highway of hope.

She is most grateful to have a healthy mind, a healthy body and the opportunity to continue her passion in discovering the beauty of engagement and interpersonal relationships.

Yee Lin holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and Political Science, National University of Singapore. She is also a certified CSM, CAL-E, CAL-T and CAL-O with Scrum Alliance. She is native in English and fluent in spoken Mandarin and Cantonese.

Zamira Monteiro

Founder, Amplify Consulting

Zamira Monteiro is a seasoned nonprofit professional and trainer based in Hong Kong, with a strong background in migration, gender equality, and empowering marginalized communities. With a demonstrated track record in communications, program management and senior leadership spanning over a decade, Zamira established Amplify Consulting in 2023. Her mission is to help organizations and individuals enhance impact, amplify voices, and strengthen capabilities. She has previously worked at The Women's Foundation, Enrich HK, Justice Centre Hong Kong and The University of Hong Kong.
Zamira is deeply passionate about empowering community-driven change and fostering collaborative partnerships. She currently serves as a Communications Board Advisor for HELP for Domestic Workers, where she leverages her expertise to drive positive change within the community. In 2020, she was recognized as co-Champion and Best Performance awardee of the OSC/UBS/CUHK NGO Leadership Programme.