JEREMY GRANTHAM, Co-Founder and Trustee, is a co-founder and Chair of the investment firm Grantham Mayo and van Otterloo (GMO). He has been writing about climate risk since 2007 and has publicly committed over 95% of his net worth to environmental philanthropy. Jeremy was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015, was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2016, and received with Hannelore the Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy in 2017, all for early leadership on climate change. He has served on the boards of Environmental Defense Fund, Rare, and the Nature Conservancy. Jeremy has an undergraduate degree from the University of Sheffield and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Ira Noviarti is a seasoned executive with nearly thirty years of experience leading multi-country organizations and publicly listed companies within the FMCG, retail, and food service sectors. Her extensive background includes serving as the CEO and President Director of Unilever Indonesia, where she managed diverse brand portfolios across beauty, personal care, and food categories while engaging with high-level stakeholders, including investors and government regulators. Currently, she serves as a Strategic Advisor for Warburg Pincus and a Board Member at Telkom Indonesia, where she chairs the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Driven by a mission to unlock human and business potential, she leverages her expertise in channel development and leadership to drive successful organizational change.

Dr. Mehmood Khan’s distinguished career has included several senior corporate roles, including Vice
Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer of Global Research and Development at PepsiCo, and
President of Global R&D at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Khan has extensive experience in both
developing and developed markets, with deep knowledge of creating sustainable initiatives and
breakthrough innovations.
He is currently CEO of Hevolution, a first-of-its-kind global organization that provides grants and earlystage investments to incentivize independent research and entrepreneurship to improve human
healthspan for the benefit of all humanity. Under his leadership, Hevolution is now the world’s largest
philanthropic funder of healthspan science.
He was a faculty member in endocrinology at the Mayo Clinic and Medical School, where he served
as Director of the Diabetes, Endocrine and Nutritional Trials Unit. He also dedicated nine years to
leading programs in diabetes, endocrinology, metabolism, and nutrition for the Hennepin County
Medical Center, Minneapolis, and University of Minnesota.
Dr. Khan is a member of the Board of Directors of International Flavors & Fragrances, the Saudi
Research, Development, and Innovation Authority (RDIA), and a member of the Saudi National
Biotechnology Strategy Steering Committee. He was the past Chairman of the Visiting Committee on
Advanced Technology of the United States’ National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
past CEO and Executive Chairman of Life Biosciences, and former board member of Reckitt
Benckiser Group PLC and Cormedix.
Dr. Khan earned his medical degree from the University of Liverpool School of Medicine, England,
and completed a fellowship in clinical endocrinology and nutrition in the Department of Medicine and
Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. He is the recipient of several
honorary degrees and international honors. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in
London, a Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology, and an Elected Fellow in the Department
of Pharmacology at University of Oxford.

R&D Strategy and Innovation Leader with 17+ years of experience in food industry, career across product development, process engineering, packaging, and supply chain. Passionate and experienced in building growing innovation portfolio with strong cost efficiency and value creation. Skilled in shaping R&D direction from a strategic perspective, building innovation platforms via technical innovation, driving new category innovation from zero to scale. Combines global innovation capabilities with deep local consumer insights to create sustainable competitive advantages. Over 10 years of experience leading cross-regional teams across China, APAC, Middle East, and Europe.

Jessie Sijing Xiong is currently the Strategy and Investment Director of WuXi Biologics, working on M&A, investment, license in and strategic collaboration. Before joining WuXi Biologics, Jessie worked in Danaher China for 3 years and was enrolled in the General Manager Development Program. Between 2017 and 2018, Jessie worked in Suzhou as the Head of Operations China for a Singapore Biotech company and took charge of the general management work of its China company. Jessie did 4 years of postdoctoral research before 2017, and developed a drug screening platform in A*STAR Singapore. As a scientist before, Jessie co-authored 23 peer-reviewed scientific papers and filed 2 patents in her 10 years of research work.
Jessie received her PhD degree from Nanyang Technological University in 2013 and MBA degree from INSEAD in 2018.

Dr. Xiaofeng Ye currently serves as the Global Vice President of Novonesis, responsible for the Planetary Health Biosolutions in Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore. He leads a multidisciplinary organization across eight countries and is responsible for the strategic and operational direction of a diverse regional portfolio spanning Animal Health & Nutrition, Household Care, Oils & Fats, Bioenergy, Starch, Distilling, Plant, and the Technical Industries of Textile and Pulp & Paper. Under his leadership, the region has significantly strengthened its innovation capabilities, deepened customer partnerships, and delivered high-value biosolutions that enhance industrial and agricultural performance. Together with his team and partners, he remains committed to helping customers reduce energy use, improve operational efficiency, and accelerate progress toward a more sustainable planet.

Dr. Ye joined Novonesis in 2011 and has since held senior leadership roles across the company's headquarters, North America, Asia, and China. With extensive experience in sales, marketing, strategy, and digital management, he has built a strong track record of driving business growth and leading digital and innovation transformation across regional and global organizations.

Dr. Ye holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Nankai University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Head of Communications at Aitas Foundation, entrepreneur, and strategic communications expert working at the intersection of climate tech, sustainability, public policy, and media. Ruslan is a co-founder of a climate tech startup Forest Hero and a non-profit Climate Action Initiative Central Asia. He serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Renewable Energy Association of Kazakhstan (AREK) and a member of the Public Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, contributing to the development of sustainable development and green energy policy in the region. Ruslan has over 15 years of experience in media, strategic communications and international events. He is the founding curator of Global Shapers Almaty Hub, part of the World Economic Forum network, and regularly speaks at international forums and summits on climate, and strategic communications. Born in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Ruslan is fluent in Russian, English and French.

Dr. Debbie Saunders, an Australian National University PhD in Conservation Ecology, specializes in translating research into innovative nature technologies. As the founder of startups NatureHelm and Wildlife Drones, she scales biodiversity conservation by helping organizations turn ecological risks into financial opportunities. Drawing from her research on endangered migratory species, Dr. Saunders addresses global knowledge gaps through cross-sector collaboration with government, academia, and business. She has spearheaded the deployment of world-class conservation tech across 15 countries, enhancing how investors and researchers monitor and value biodiversity. A recognized leader in her field, she has received numerous accolades for her creative, impactful solutions, including the prestigious National Telstra Best of Business Award for Promoting Sustainability. Her work continues to push the boundaries of environmental technology, providing essential tools for global nature restoration and sustainable management.

Dr. Debbie Saunders, an Australian National University PhD in Conservation Ecology, specializes in translating research into innovative nature technologies. As the founder of startups NatureHelm and Wildlife Drones, she scales biodiversity conservation by helping organizations turn ecological risks into financial opportunities. Drawing from her research on endangered migratory species, Dr. Saunders addresses global knowledge gaps through cross-sector collaboration with government, academia, and business. She has spearheaded the deployment of world-class conservation tech across 15 countries, enhancing how investors and researchers monitor and value biodiversity. A recognized leader in her field, she has received numerous accolades for her creative, impactful solutions, including the prestigious National Telstra Best of Business Award for Promoting Sustainability. Her work continues to push the boundaries of environmental technology, providing essential tools for global nature restoration and sustainable management.

Kukuh Roxa is the CEO of Pandawa Agri Indonesia, an agri life science company pioneering technologies to reduce agriculture’s carbon and chemical footprint. With over a decade of experience in the agricultural sector, he has led the development and large-scale adoption of input optimisation solutions across Indonesia and Malaysia, with expansion underway in Asia. Since 2018, he has championed low-carbon coffee systems that enable smallholder farmers to improve productivity while strengthening climate resilience and livelihoods. Kukuh is a graduate of IPB University and a fellow of the Stanford Seed Transformation Program (STP) Indonesia.

Harry Macpherson is a Senior Associate at Deep Science Ventures. After graduating from Oxford University with an MEng in Materials Science he developed electrochemical processes for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries and the transformation of CO2 to chemicals at Johnson Matthey. In 2023 he co-founded Yama which is developing an electrochemical technology for CO2 capture from dilute point sources and air. At Deep Science Ventures he helps founders to build companies tackling outcomes from the decarbonisation of ironmaking to the miniaturisation of wastewater treatment. He has a particular interest in detoxifying the economy by creating safer chemicals and materials, mapping the chemical exposome and improving methods of toxicology screening and prediction.

Heather Courtney is the Founding General Partner of Alwyn Capital, an impact-driven venture capital fund investing in biotech companies that are reinventing how we feed, clothe and care for a growing global population. Alwyn Capital partners with innovators who are at the forefront of transforming the future of food, materials, and medicine by developing alternatives that reduce dependence on animal products. In addition to her role at Alwyn Capital, Heather is an advisor to the Center for Contemporary Sciences and previously for the Material Innovation Initiative. Her academic credentials include a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Florida and a BA from Parsons School of Design.

Sten Estrup is passionate about building healthier value chains and driving purpose led innovation that improves the wellbeing of people and the planet.
As President AMEA and President Global People & Organizational Performance at AAK (a leader in plant based specialty oils and fats), he brings extensive leadership experience across the global food and health ingredients sector. His academic background includes an MSc in Dairy Science & Technology, an MBA, and an Executive Master in Change from INSEAD. Sten also serves in non executive roles and invests in early stage nutrition and health companies, supporting sustainable, resilient solutions to global food and health challenges.

Diana Ablyakimova is an investment and trade professional with over 12 years of international experience across Southeast Asia. She serves as Foreign Representative of KAZAKH INVEST in Singapore, appointed by a board chaired by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, and is also an Investment Officer at the Embassy of Kazakhstan, focusing on strengthening ties with ASEAN.
She began her career at Frost & Sullivan in Malaysia and Singapore, supporting IPO due diligence, and later held a leadership role as Deputy Director of Sales & Marketing at Royal Phuket Marina in Thailand.
At Kazakh Invest, she contributed to enhancing Kazakhstan’s investment climate by developing strategic materials like “Why Kazakhstan,” engaging with media such as CNBC and Financial Times, and collaborating with organizations including the OECD and World Bank. She supported projects with global companies like PepsiCo, Honeywell, TikTok, and Wabtec, and Asia-Pacific firms including Proton, ICG, and PSA International.
She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Swinburne University of Technology.

Dr. Xiulan Sun is a Full Professor and Dean of the School of Food Science and Technology at Jiangnan University. She directs the Joint Laboratory for International Cooperation in Food Safety and is a recipient of China's prestigious National Outstanding Youth Science Fund. Her research targets contaminants (microorganisms, biotoxins) in food processing, focusing on developing analytical methods, risk assessment, health interventions, toxic effect changes, biomarkers, and control strategies. Dr. Sun has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, secured 45 patents (including 5 U.S. patents), and contributed to 10 international and national standards. Her work has been honored with prestigious awards, including the first prize in Science and Technology of Jiangsu Province, the first prize in Technical Invention from the Ministry of Education (MOE) of China’s Scientific Research Outstanding Achievement Award, and the China Patent Excellence Award.

Dr. Fakhruddin is a leading expert on climate resilience. He has over 24 years of experience advising governments and organizations around the world on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. As a hydrometeorologist, his specialty is in climate risk assessment, early warning systems, community resilience, and water security.

Dr. Fakhruddin is currently leading the Water Sector at the Green Climate Fund. He oversees climate investments in vulnerable countries around the world to support water security and early warning project origination. He serves on international expert committees, Chair, Board Member and Professor such as the International Science Council, CODATA, Earth GEO, WMO, and lends his expertise to advance national resilience agendas for governments in LDCs and SIDS.

Dr Eugene Ho is currently the Research and IP Director for Mengniu Dairy, a leading publicly-listed Dairy giant with a market cap of over $60 Billion HKD. At the Chinese dairy conglomerate, Dr Eugene Ho contributes his IP, patents and venture capital expertise to enable the Dairy giant to expand its innovation and businesses beyond dairy into nutrition, biotechnology and Life Sciences. Dr Ho manages the dairy company’s IP strategies and entire patent portfolio of over 6,000 patent applications, over 4,000 granted patents comprising of inventions, utility models and registered designs.

In 2024 and 2025, Dr Eugene Ho was also awarded as “Asia Pacific’s Top 40 Inhouse IP Elites” by IPR Daily and “Asia Pacific IP Leader of Year” by Managing IP respectively. Dr Eugene Ho is currently listed as one of the World’s leading IP strategists in the IAM Strategy 300 listing for 2023 – 2025. The IP team led by Dr Ho at Mengniu Dairy was also awarded as Asia Pacific IP Team of Year from the World Trademark Review (WTR) in 2023.

With his passion for IP education and youth empowerment, Dr Eugene Ho is also a Senior Adjunct lecturer at the National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine where he teaches industry-relevant IP and venture capital topics relating to Life Sciences innovations, drug patents and biotechnology.

Manoj Kumar Rupa is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Capsber Agriscience, an agricultural biotechnology company developing microbial and bioactive innovations to detoxify agriculture and reduce dependence on synthetic chemicals. With over 18 years of experience in agricultural microbiology and biotechnology innovation, he leads Capsber’s scientific strategy, partnerships and commercialization of biological crop inputs designed to integrate with mainstream fertilizer systems. Under his leadership, Capsber has developed proprietary biological innovation platforms including BioIntelX™, CapsElicit™, and CapsulX™, enabling the discovery, development, and scalable formulation of next-generation biological solutions. They are currently developing a microbial metabolite-based biological weedicide to reduce herbicide dependence and promote climate-resilient agriculture. The company holds 12 patents and has received multiple recognitions, including innovation recognition from the World Food Prize Foundation and NASSCOM’s DeepTech innovation programs, reflecting both scientific innovation and realworld impact.

Engineering leader with 13+ years of experience building and scaling high-impact products and teams across startups and enterprises. Proven track record in metrics-driven execution, system architecture, and mentoring high-performing teams across global environments.

Sachin Darbarwar is a visionary entrepreneur at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and consumer wellness. With a strong track record of building and scaling ventures, he brings a unique blend of scientific curiosity, strategic thinking, and execution excellence. As the founder behind multiple initiatives, including pioneering work in early disease detection and nutraceutical innovation, Sachin is driven by a mission to create accessible, preventive, and impactful health solutions.

His current focus spans cutting-edge diagnostics, personalized wellness ecosystems, and integrated care models that combine modern science with natural approaches. He is particularly passionate about solving large-scale health challenges such as cancer detection and diabetes reversal through scalable, technology-led platforms.

Known for his ability to identify emerging opportunities and translate them into actionable ventures, Sachin combines deep domain insight with a relentless focus on outcomes, partnerships, and long-term value creation.

Karen Cheah is the Founder and CEO of Alterpacks, a Singapore-based advanced materials company transforming agricultural by-products into highperformance, plant-fibre materials that reduce reliance on virgin, unsustainable resources. A former journalist and creative strategist, she founded Alterpacks after witnessing the impact of waste on communities. Today, the company works with international brands and organisations, including the United Nations Development Programme, to develop scalable waste-to-resource solutions. Alterpacks’ materials are applied across industries, including food packaging and healthcare, delivering performance without plastic coatings. The start-up focuses on rethinking how materials are designed and used — balancing performance, safety, and scalability in real-world conditions. Alterpacks has received international awards for its material innovations. Karen holds an MSc in Innovation from Singapore Management University, where she was a Dean’s List awardee and Leadership Scholar; and a BA (Hons) in History and Mathematics from the National University of Singapore

Dr. Shuang Li is the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Scientist of Terpiot. She is also a Professor at South China University of Technology and a Researcher at the China-Singapore International Joint Research Institute in Guangzhou. She holds both her Bachelor's and Ph.D. degrees from Tsinghua University and was a visiting scholar at UCLA. Her expertise spans synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. Dr. Li pioneers AI-driven microbial cell factories to biosynthesize high-value natural active ingredients. Her work transforms expensive compounds into affordable, everyday solutions, successfully replacing polluting chemical synthesis and land-intensive plant extraction. As an accomplished scientist-entrepreneur with over 40 SCI papers and over 30 patents, she has led Terpiot to secure multiple rounds of industrial financing. Under her leadership, the company achieved the ton-scale commercialization of multiple green bio-alternatives. Her outstanding industrial impact recently earned her the Gold Award at the 2025 Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurship Competition.

Michelle Arsjad is the CEO and Founder of Aquabloom, an Indonesian agri-biologicals company converting tropical seaweed into high-performance biostimulants and feed additives that help smallholder farmers grow more and lose less as climate risk intensifies. Aquabloom's products have been proven across 27+ crops and 46 field trials in real Indonesian farm conditions, delivering 20–30% yield improvements and 30x ROI per growing cycle. Michelle holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and spent four years at McKinsey & Company advising governments and corporations across Southeast Asia. She subsequently served as Chief Strategy Officer of Edufarmers Foundation, working directly with Indonesian smallholder farming communities, and as VP of Marketing and Growth at Segari, Indonesia's leading fresh grocery e-commerce platform. She has also served as a policy aide at Indonesia's Presidential Palace.

With over 20 years of experience as a sustainability practitioner in conservation and nature-based solutions, she specializes in natural resource management, community-based conservation and extension, sustainable plantation landscapes and sustainable agriculture. Her work involves multi-stakeholder and bilateral engagement with governments, research institutions, private sector partners, NGOs, and local communities. She provides strategic technical support and promotes best practice in agriculture and natural resource management.
She currently serves as Regional Director for CABI, leading programme strategy and operations in Southeast Asia. In this role, she advances sustainable agriculture and pesticide risk reduction initiatives, including integrated pest management, sustainable production and biodiversity, food safety and trade facilitation, as well as policy, extension, and capacity building.

Bram Pareyt is Group Upstream R&D Director at Puratos, an international group that produces a complete portfolio of innovative products, raw materials and application expertise and services for bakers, patissiers and chocolatiers. He leads a team of 50+ research experts focusing on ingredient innovation, food biotechnology, food packaging and processing, and dedicated areas such as sensory and R&D digital transformation. The team aims at translating scientific insights into industrially scalable solutions for the bakery, patisserie and chocolate sectors, driven by a high commitment to Health & Well-Being and Sustainability. His team combines collaborations with different Business Units within the company with open innovation approaches with start-ups, suppliers, academia and customers.

An entrepreneur implementing academic research outcomes in the biotech field. Leveraging a Master of Science background and diverse experience across government agencies, who advocates a new concept called “Bio-Digital Transformation (Bio-DX)” that accelerates plant breeding through AI and data-driven approaches, with core strengths in realizing innovation from deep tech. Proven track record of growing a deep tech startup in the bio field from zero revenue to approximately $600,000 and securing $5 million in Series A funding. Currently, as CEO of PtBio Group, establishing an Asian hub to expand Japanese deep tech into Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East while driving Bio-DX (Bio Digital Transformation) in these regions