Shunsuke Ichikawa
Executive Advisor & Head of International Business
GarageBank Corporation
Following diverse early experiences in entertainment and scaling Southeast Asian internet infrastructure at GMO Internet, he founded "yathar," a leading regional super app. He later served as COO of Japan Open Chain, leading its global IEO and exchange listings. Currently, he is Executive Advisor & Head of International Business at GarageBank Corporation, while advising global startups on international growth.
Shun Omori
Sakana AI
Chieko TANABE
Program Manager
ERIA (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia)
Chieko Tanabe is a Program Manager for the Startup Ecosystem at ERIA, where she works within the E-DISC (ERIA Digital Innovation and Sustainable Economy Centre) to promote cross-border collaboration, knowledge sharing, research, and regional initiatives that leverage digital innovation to strengthen the startup ecosystem and support sustainable economic growth across Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Kazuhiko Yoshimatsu
Managing Director of Singapore, Head of APAC
Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., Singapore
Joined the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1997, working on listing, trading, and compliance rules, before moving to the Financial Services Agency of Japan in 2003 for international regulatory dialogue.
In 2005 he joined Japan Exchange Group (JPX), covering Media and Investor Relations, Corporate Planning, and Global Strategy, and contributed to the establishment of FinCity.Tokyo in 2019.
Since April 2021 he has led the Tokyo Stock Exchange Singapore, expanding global investment in Japanese equities across the Middle East, India, and APAC, and building ecosystems that attract overseas startups seeking to list on the TSE in APAC.
Mega Prawita
Managing Director
KUMPUL
Mega Prawita is the Managing Director of KUMPUL, Indonesia’s leading entrepreneurship ecosystem enabler. With extensive experience in business development, partnerships, ecosystem building and go-to-market strategy, she leads initiatives that strengthen Indonesia’s innovation landscape through impactful collaborations.
Since 2015, KUMPUL has empowered over 82,000 MSMEs and 57,000 startups, partnering with 150+ industry collaborators and 40+ local hubs across Indonesia, while driving cross-border collaborations across Asia Pacific and beyond to connect local potential with global opportunities.
Kasper-Tanakrit Sermsuksan
Founder at SEA Bridge & Author of The Startup Mindset
SEA Bridge
Kasper-Tanakrit Sermsuksan is Founder of SEA Bridge, the Bangkok-based cross-border venture builder that takes companies into new ASEAN markets. He co-founded Kulina in Jakarta and previously worked at Amazon, Sony Pictures, Deloitte and Product Madness. He is the author of The Startup Mindset.
Richard Armstrong
Partner
TA Ventures
Richard Armstrong is a Partner at TA Ventures, where he leads the firm’s investments across Asia and the US. TA Ventures has backed 17 unicorns, including SumUp and DeepL. Richard’s personal investment portfolio includes Anthropic, xAI, Rainmaker, Superpower, and Corgi, among others. He is an active angel investor with investments worldwide, with a particular focus on technology, AI, and emerging markets.
Arnie Alvarez
Chief Technology Officer
Huawei Technologies
Mr. Arnie Alvarez is a seasoned technology leader with over three decades of experience in the Information Technology sector. Currently serving as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Huawei Technologies, Arnie bridges the gap between complex technological solutions and business outcomes, regularly engaging with customer executives across diverse industries including finance, healthcare, retail, hospitality, education, manufacturing, government, and aviation.
More speakers will be announced soon.
