Kenji Hosokawa

General Counsel - MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd. (MUIP)

Kenji Hosokawa is General Counsel of MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd. (MUIP), the corporate venture capital arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. established in 2019. He oversees legal and regulatory aspects of MUIP’s strategic investments in fintech and AI startups in Japan and globally. Recent portfolio highlights include IPOs or M&A exits by Figure Technology, Grab, Infcurion, Moneytree and sustainacraft. He is also involved in structuring MUIP’s funds, which have assets under management exceeding US$500 million.

For more than 20 years before joining MUIP, Kenji represented Japanese, U.S. and other clients in a range of transactions, including public offerings and stock exchange listings, private placements, venture capital financings, cryptocurrency/blockchain matters and M&A deals. Kenji also advised on disclosure, reporting and corporate governance matters, as well as bank regulatory requirements and economic sanctions programs. Kenji is admitted to practice law in New York and is qualified as a Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi in Japan.

For more than 10 years as a partner at SVP Tokyo and seven years as a board member of its parent organization, SVP International, Kenji has actively supported non-profits and social entrepreneurs. He currently serves as an auditor for Gojo Foundation, Torii International, and the Pirika Association. He is also a part-time lecturer at Keio University Law School and an advisor (and former auditor) to UWC ISAK Japan.

Deborah Im

Head of Legal, Asia Pacific - OpenAI

Deborah Im is the Head of Legal, Asia Pacific, at OpenAI. Prior to OpenAI, she was the Chief Legal Officer at Coda, a commerce platform that enables providers of digital goods to distribute and monetize globally. From 2020-2022, Deborah served as Stripe's first General Counsel for Asia Pacific, obtaining regulatory approvals and building partnerships for Stripe to expand into India, Indonesia, Korea and Thailand. From 2014-2020, Deborah served as Deputy Head of Legal, APAC at Meta, where she joined as one of its first lawyers in the region and helped establish Meta's local presence in countries across Asia and navigated novel legal and regulatory matters.

In addition to her legal experience, Deborah founded Love at First Bite Cupcakery in Berkeley, California, and was the co-founder and COO of Multiplier Holdings, a company focused on building AI-native professional services. She obtained her JD degree from NYU School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from UC Berkeley.

Esther Lim

Director of SEAS Legal - Google

Esther currently serves as a Director of SEAS Legal at Google. She joined the company in 2021 and now leads the legal team supporting Google’s business across Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier. Before moving into tech, she spent nearly a decade in various leadership roles at The Coca-Cola Company, including several years based in Shanghai.

Sabrina Nguyen

Head of Legal and Compliance - Danone

Sabrina Nguyen is currently Global Head of Legal and Compliance for Danone, Specialized Nutrition. Her professional experience includes roles in eight countries, five continents across consumer goods, private equity, and law. A passionate B Corp community builder, she has helped Danone subsidiaries across 40+ countries achieve B Corp certification since 2016. Sabrina was named 2024 UK GC of the Year by Women & Diversity in Law and was a founding member of CHIEF, a global network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders.

She holds a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University in Finance and International Business and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown Law.

Han Wai

General Counsel, Managing Director - ICBC International Holdings Limited (ICBCI)

Prior to joining ICBCI, he was Director and Senior Counsel at Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch where he support their Global Markets (Equities) business across Asia (ex-Japan). He was also formerly in private practice with Freshfields in Hong Kong and with Allen & Gledhill in Singapore.

Han Wai is a graduate of the National University of Singapore and is admitted to practice in Hong Kong and Singapore. He is also fluent in English and Mandarin.

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.