2019 Asia Learning and Development Conference

• Monday, July 15, 2019

  4:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Why You Should Encourage "The F-word" (Fun) in the Workplace

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Ron Johnson

Ron Johnson is Managing Director and co-founder of Blueprint Creative – one of the Caribbean’s leading strategic branding agencies and the world’s first ‘bhranding’ agency. Ron and his team help CEOs, marketing teams and HR departments build stronger brands and stronger businesses. While Ron is passionate about all aspects of branding, he is especially passionate about helping clients build company cultures where hard work, fun and profitability can co-exist. Ron has led his team at Blueprint Creative to win several “ADDY awards” for its branding work with clients as well as three Barbados’ Best Employers Awards in recognition of the company’s exemplary culture, working environment and HR practices. When Ron isn’t helping clients with their branding projects, you can find him thinking (about branding), reading (about branding), writing (about branding) and speaking (about branding).

• Tuesday, July 16, 2019

  10:00 am - 10:45 am: A Culture of Learning is a Culture of Winning

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Sashe Kanapathi

Sashe has over 19 years of work experience in the technology field across multiple domains, and currently serves as the COO of Leaderonomics Digital which was started up to disrupt the L&D space by leveraging the best of technology has to offer and applying it to the work place. He started his career at EMC Corp in Massachusetts, where he honed his skills in technology and obtained a US Patent. He has since gone on to work with and for startups, small and medium-sized enterprises, and multinational companies, enjoying successes in both an entrepreneurial and corporate environment. Prior to his current role, Sashe held the position of Global Systems Service Manager at First Solar, where he was part of a startup team that built up the largest solar manufacturing facility in the world. He was also the Director of Delivery at Quintiq, where he led multiple teams to deliver software projects around the world. He has a Masters in Engineering from Georgia Tech, and has continuously strived to focus his career on people as the enablers of business.

• Monday, July 15, 2019

  11:40 am - 12:55 pm: Panel: The Digital Journey: Transforming Learning With Technology
• 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm:

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Danny King

Danny is the co-founder & CEO of Accredible, an industry-leading digital credentialing platform which allows users to securely issue, manage, track, and verify their certificates and badges. Its platform is used by over 600 organizations worldwide, including MIT, UC Berkeley, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Google, IEEE, Intel, McGraw Hill the CFP Board, Rosetta Stone and many others.

• Monday, July 15, 2019

  10:45 am - 11:40 am: The Human Science Behind Learning & Development

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Andrew Lau

Andrew Lau is the CEO and founder of Think Codex, a multiple award-winning Gamification Organization. He was trained by An Coppens (one of the Top 10 Gamification Gurus Globally) and has received multiple gamification and design-thinking certifications from top ranking business schools including George Washington University, IDEO, and the Wharton Business School. He is the Vice Chair and the Malaysian ambassador of GamFed (International Gamification Confederation), an European based association of gamification experts. As a thought leader, he has spoken at numerous conferences and is frequently featured in both radio and TV interviews. He sat on the advisory board of KDU’s School of Computing & Communication, was the advisor to the AIESEC Malaysia Leadership Team, and writes for the Star Newspaper (MSJ) on Consultancy & Hard Talk sections. Prior to founding Think Codex, he was the Country Brand Manager for Shell FuelSave, the main grade fuel for Shell in Malaysia. In this role, he co-led Shell’s biggest product launch in 9 years and garnered multiple fold increases in sales. He worked extensively in Asia and Europe implementing global IT orders and commercial projects with values exceeding USD 110 Million, implemented change initiatives for thousands of Shell staff, and conducted workshops for senior global and regional leaders.

• Monday, July 15, 2019

  2:50 pm - 3:30 pm: CONCURRENT SESSIONS

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Veejay Madhavan

Veejay Madhavan has spent over 20 years in the life insurance industry, holding various roles in training, sales management, compliance, operational risk and strategy. During his early years, Veejay implemented Training & Competency and Suitability frameworks in AIA Singapore, which became the blueprint for the life insurance industry. As Prudential’s Regional Compliance Director, Veejay account managed 6 countries and worked on successful M&A activity in Singapore and Thailand. He implemented a 360-degree compliance risk assessment tool across the region; bringing compliance closer as a partner to the business. In 2015, Veejay oversaw Agency strategy and Training in Indonesia, covering a network of 260,000 agents across 150 cities. He successfully launched programs to build agility in recruitment, sales and agency life cycle training. In his current role since 2017, Veejay implemented a full time Career Agency model which now contributes about 50% of the channel’s business. He also implemented a bancassurance referral framework resulting in double digit growth in referrals and conversions for Prudential Cambodia. During this past year, he oversaw the training transformation of sales teams leveraging on simple technologies and innovative training delivery, departing from traditional classroom format.

• Tuesday, July 16, 2019

  9:10 am - 10:00 am: Linking Competencies to Learning Strategies

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Sarala J. Marimuthu

Sarala has expansive knowledge and experience in Talent Planning & Strategy, Quality & Business Excellence, Competency Development, Product Development and Learning & Development. She has held executive positions related to training, competency development, product development, assessment, and teaching/learning quality evaluation, and has experience in the design, development and facilitation of face-to-face and online learning programs. She currently spearheads client needs analysis, product strategy, design, development, and sales for the FAA, ensuring the organization remains relevant and current in the talent and learning development space. Sarala was instrumental in the development of significant quality initiatives including the FAA Quality Framework (FQF), Finance Qualifications Structure (FQS), FAA Recognition of Learning (FRL), FAA Learning Criteria (FLC), FAA Learning Standards (FLS), Certified Training Professional (CTP) program, the Islamic Finance Professional Qualifications Standards (IFPQS) and e-Learning Guidelines. She has an MSc in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations from University of Newcastle, Australia and is recognized by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), UK as a certified trainer and Associate member. She is also certified in Design and Develop Recognition Strategies (TAEASS504A, Australia), Assessor Capability Development Professional by Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), UK, and Accredited Competency Professional (ACP) by Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), UK.

• Monday, July 15, 2019

  2:00 pm - 2:45 pm: CONCURRENT SESSIONS

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Nick Osborne

Nick has over 30 years of insurance industry experience, starting his career as an agent in England before “taking a chance” on a career opportunity in Asia in 2001.  Since then, he has crafted a reputation for creating consistent & sustainable growth in Sales Distribution as well as training & development across Agency, Bancassurance, Broker, and Retail channels.  He currently leads FWD’s research and learning development through their Academy, an initiative that equips their advisors and representatives with guidance and training to sustainably manage and grow their business.

• Tuesday, July 16, 2019

  9:00 am - 9:10 am: WELCOME BACK
• 11:20 am - 12:30 pm: Panel: Predictions About the Future of Learning

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Shalini Pavithran

As the CEO of the Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII), Shalini’s immediate focus is leading MIl on a transformational journey, whilst continuing to ensure that the right support is in place to drive the insurance industry in raising its professional standards and in supporting the growth of the economy. Shalini has over 20 years’ experience in various sectors within the financial services industry. Prior to this, Shalini served as the CEO of the Malaysian Association of Money Services Business (MAMSB) until December 2018 before becoming part of the core team responsible for developing the Money Services Directors’ Education Programme (MDEP) in collaboration with ICLIF Leadership & Governance Centre (ICLIF) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). During her tenure at MAMSB, Shalini formulated and implemented various strategic initiatives that helped make the Association an international benchmark for the Money Service Business (MSB) industry. Shalini has also been invited by the World Bank to share MAMSB’s success story internationally. She has also successfully organized and regularly presented and moderated at international conferences organized by MAMSB as well as BNM, Asian Institute of Finance (AIF), Currency Research and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). Prior to MAMSB, Shalini was with the banking industry and played a key role in various areas.

• Monday, July 15, 2019

  11:40 am - 12:55 pm: Panel: The Digital Journey: Transforming Learning With Technology

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Simon Phipps

Simon is responsible for TDIs global development and business in Asia, as well as their blockchain lead. With over 25 years in insurance, Simon has deep industry and consulting experience, working in increasingly senior roles across Life, GI and Asset Management businesses in Europe and Asia, most recently as KPMGs lead partner for insurance advisory & digital innovation and, previously MD of Aviva, in Hong Kong. He is passionate about helping insurers engage more effectively with customers and, making insurance more relevant to more people, through technology.

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Kartik Sakthivel, M.S.-IT-CIS, M.B.A.

As chief information officer for LIMRA and LOMA, Kartik Sakthivel is responsible for developing the information technology strategic direction for the enterprise. In this capacity, he directs and manages computing and information technology policies, programs and schedules for business and enterprise systems, and manages information services to meet LIMRA and LOMA’s corporate goals and objectives.  An industry thought leader, Kartik champions the use of technology to improve the revenue, profitability and efficiency of the organization.

Joining LIMRA and LOMA in 2017, Kartik has broad industry experience, most recently as director of technology at Liberty Mutual Insurance.  Kartik holds a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems / Information Technology, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.

• Monday, July 15, 2019

  9:20 am - 10:15 am: Disruption in Learning & Development (L&D) and The Future of Salesforce Training

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Nick Wilson, MCIPD

Nick Wilson is a Learning and Development Director with a proven track record of success in the development of people in global organizations. During his career, he has focused on talent management as a key skill, developing and coaching top organizational leaders and sales people. He has directed projects with AIA, HSBC, British Telecom and Rotork Engineering on leadership and sales development initiatives designed to groom executives and to drive organizational change. Wilson is a Graduate Member of the Institute of Personnel Management (MCIPD) and has earned the Mortgage Advice Qualification (MAQ) from the Chartered Insurance Institute. His other qualifications include Business application of Neuro Linguistic Programming, Advanced Skills and Business tools DISC and Relationship Awareness Theory. He also received the Business Education Council National Award in Great Britain.