Gladys Chun

General Counsel - Lazada Group

As the General Counsel of Lazada Group, Gladys Chun leads the Legal and Compliance department, and is responsible for all such matters across the countries in which Lazada Group has a local presence.

Gladys started her career in the corporate, commercial and tax practice at Baker McKenzie before moving in-house into retail, franchising and now technology. As the Group continues to expand, Gladys provides both the management team and relevant business units with strategic guidance in commercial and risk management.

Over the years, Gladys’ leadership, initiative and legal expertise has earned her an extensive list of regional and global accolades. These include the Financial Times’ Most Innovative General Counsel Asia-Pacific 2019 award, the inaugural Chief Legal Officer award, MNC Category, at SCCA 2017, and and In-House Counsel of Distinction at Asia Legal Awards 2017.

Gladys graduated with a Bachelor of Law (LLB) and Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Corporate Finance) from the University of Western Australia.

Stephen Clugston

General Counsel - Pacific Stream Renewables

Stephen is an international energy and infrastructure lawyer with 15+ years’ experience in project M&A, development/construction and financing with a strong focus on power and renewables.

He is General Counsel (consulting) of a renewables platform launched by an international private equity group. He is also owner and Managing Director of Clear Horizon, advising investors and funds executing/scaling renewable projects across APAC. Previously, Stephen was lead project counsel at a multinational investment management company focusing on renewables. He also spent time in senior legal roles at ING Bank in Amsterdam and Mitsui & Co. Ltd in Tokyo, supporting energy and infrastructure projects across Eastern Europe and APAC.

Stephen held senior roles in global firms Baker McKenzie (Singapore, Jakarta, and Tokyo) and Norton Rose Fulbright (Tokyo and London/HQ) focusing on project/project finance, following his early career at leading Australian law firms.

In addition to assisting clients in pursuing renewables outcomes, he is a vocal advocate for high quality projects, effective governance and leadership strategy, and sustainability frameworks (he is currently completing sustainability executive education at Oxford and SMU). He is known for providing practical training seminars and workshops to companies, clients and colleagues to impart knowledge and help them achieve their renewable goals. He is also actively involved in mentoring junior/mid-level lawyers seeking to pursue renewables-focused careers.

John Cordova

General Counsel - HSBC Thailand

John Cordova works with HSBC Thailand’s management to serve its customers by bringing to them HSBC’s breadth of banking and financial solutions, and regional/global networks. As General Counsel, Cordova is focused on ensuring that HSBC executes its business strategies and goals in a way that is consistent with HSBC’s best-in-class risk management frameworks. Cordova collaborates with his regional business teams to explore M&A and partnership opportunities for HSBC, leveraging off his Southeast Asian and new economies sector experience.

Before joining HSBC, Cordova oversaw Grab's fundraising, M&A, and venture capital activities from a legal and executions perspective. He led Grab's legal deal team that listed Grab on NASDAQ and closed the Grab/Uber Southeast Asia transaction. Cordova was a director of a US private equity firm where he originated and closed regional investments into education and healthcare projects. Cordova was a partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, a leading Singapore-based regional law firm, and practiced with two Magic Circle firms (Freshfields and Clifford Chance) for over 13 years, across four jurisdictions: Bangkok, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore.

Cordova is qualified in England and Wales as a solicitor and was admitted to the Rolls of the Supreme Court in 2000. He earned an LL.B (Hons) in Philosophy from the University of Kent, Canterbury, and did the Legal Practice Course at Nottingham Law School. He studied Mandarin at the Beijing Language and Cultural University, completed a Global Management Certificate with Insead, and a Leadership and Management course with Harvard Business School.

Rebecca Hong

APJ General Counsel - Autodesk

Rebecca started her career in private practice initially with Allen & Gledhill in Singapore and then with Simmons & Simmons in Hong Kong, followed by a career with Magic Circle firm Linklaters in London and Hong Kong, where she worked on M&A and Corporate transactions. In 2003 she joined Intel Capital (the venture capital arm of Intel Corporation) as their Senior Attorney supporting venture capital investments and related M&A work throughout APAC. Subsequently, she transitioned to Intel Corporation where she accumulated rich commercial legal experience and deep technology knowledge supporting different business groups within Intel Corporation, as Managing Counsel for the Sales and Marketing Group.

At the start of 2023, Rebecca was appointed the General Counsel for APJ at Autodesk and manages a team of over twelve lawyers and legal professionals in the region. Rebecca is currently based in Singapore and she is happy to have returned to her home country after more than two decades away.

Rebecca is regularly invited, as a panelist at legal conferences, to speak on a diverse range of legal and general interest professional issues. As a panelist Rebecca is able to draw on over 25 years of experience to share insights on how to deliver the practical, business oriented, solutions expected of in-house counsel. As a veteran of the two sectors she is increasingly asked to comment on the challenges for the legal profession to adapt to the rapid pace of change that technology brings.

Rebecca currently serves on the Board of HandsOn Hong Kong, a charity NGO that mobilises volunteers for over 50 charities. Rebecca is also deeply passionate about mentoring professionals and was part of The Women’s Foundation Hong Kong for many years.

Yeong Zee Kin

Chief Executive - Singapore Academy of Law

Mr Yeong Zee Kin holds a Master of Laws from Queen Mary University of London and completed his undergraduate law degree at the National University of Singapore. His experience as a Technology, Media and Telecommunications lawyer spans both the private and public sectors. He has spoken and published in areas relating to electronic evidence and intellectual property, as well as legal issues relating to Blockchain and AI deployment.

Zee Kin is an internationally recognized expert on AI ethics. He spearheaded the development of Singapore’s Model AI Governance Framework, which won the UNITU WSIS Prize in 2019. He is currently a member of the OECD Network of Experts on AI (ONE AI). In 2019, he was a member of the AI Group of Experts at the OECD (AIGO), which developed the OECD Principles on AI. These principles have been endorsed by the G20 in 2019. He was also an observer participant at the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on AI, which fulfilled its mandate in June 2020.

Zee Kin is also a well-regarded expert on data privacy issues. He has contributed to publications on legal issues relating to data privacy and has spoken at many well-recognised international and domestic platforms on this topic.

Zee Kin will be selecting the winning firm for one category – Law Firm Innovation of the Year.

 

Stanley Park

Member of the Board of Directors, Singapore Corporate Counsel Association

Stanley Park is an independent consultant/advisor and a member of the Board of Directors of the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association, joining the Board in 2014.

Park was Managing Director and Head of Legal - Asia Pacific Region for Scotiabank's Global Banking and Markets Division from Mar 2014 – Apr 2023. Based in Singapore, he was responsible for all legal matters across the region, including China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Among other responsibilities, Park provided (i) transactional advice and support to the Bank's businesses related to capital markets, investment banking, commodities, corporate lending/trade finance and global transaction banking; (ii) regulatory advice and support re the Bank's businesses; (iii) management of litigation and disputes; (iv) advice and support to the Bank's internal or proprietary functions (including proprietary investments, HR matters, Finance); and (v) participation in corporate governance or oversight.

Prior to joining Scotiabank, Park was with Daiwa Capital Markets, as Senior Legal Counsel, in Singapore and Hong Kong from 2011 – 2014; with Barclays Global Investors, as General Counsel, in Tokyo from 2009 – 2010; with DKR Oasis, as Chief Compliance Officer, in Hong Kong in 2008; with Salomon Smith Barney and UBS Securities in Tokyo from 2001 – 2007; and with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and Coudert Brothers in NYC, from 1992 - 2001.

Park graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1985 and received his law degree from the Harvard Law School in 1988, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Stanley has been a member of the New York State Bar since 1994.

Nisha Singh

Head of Legal - Single Family Office

Recognized as a leading lawyer in her field, Hong Kong-based Nisha Singh has more than 15 years' of international private wealth and tax experience. She has held leadership roles in top tier international law firms, as well as at a leading global bank owned trust company. Singh is currently theHead of Legal for a mature single family office.

She advises ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, family offices, trustees and private banks on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious matters from complex trust and company structures in multiple jurisdictions, structuring international assets and cross-border succession matters through to family governance, philanthropy advisory, establishing and operating family offices, dispute management, international tax and regulatory compliance, family matters and reputation management.

Singh is a Cambridge University graduate with First-Class Honours in Law. She trained as a lawyer in London and has subsequently lived and worked in Hong Kong, London and Singapore.

Beryl Sit

Head of IBD Legal and Managing Director - CITIC CLSA

Beryl Sit is the Head of Legal of CITIC CLSA’s global investment banking business which spans across 15 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States and advises on capital markets and M&A transactions, legal & compliance risks as well as strategic matters. Prior to joining CITIC CLSA, Sit held a similar position with another top-tier Chinese financial institution covering private equity and investment banking businesses. She was previously a corporate finance lawyer in private practice who has worked in several major US firms in Hong Kong and was also a founding partner of a reputable PRC law firm’s Hong Kong office. Sit obtained her LLB degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science and has previously been recognized as one of the “Asia 40 under 40” top lawyers.