Mr Ong is currently Sunway Group’s Executive Director in the Chairman’s office overseeing Group Brand Marketing and Communications, Group’s Sustainability and the ESG agenda as well as the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, the largest education-focused social enterprise in Malaysia.

Mr. Ong served Malaysia’s Public Works Department for 8 years before joining the Sunway Group as a Resident Engineer in the Seberang Jaya Town Centre in 1993 and has held numerous leadership positions in Sunway prior to his latest role, including Managing Director – Property Development, International of Sunway Property, Joint Managing Director of Sunway Property Development Malaysia/Singapore, as well as the Executive Director of Monash University Malaysia.

Mr Ridzuan joined the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as the Head of the Investment Operations Department in 2019 and currently leads the Investment Transformation, Investment Services, Shariah Services and Sustainable Investment Centre at EPF. Prior to joining EPF, Ridzuan spent around 19 years in the management consulting industry, involved in servicing clients from various industries ranging from plantations, high tech to asset management and financial industries focusing on strategy, performance improvement and programme management.

William Thomas is the Director of the Economist Corporate Network in South-east Asia. An experienced advisor to senior business and government leaders, he helps organisations understand the strategic, operational, and talent implications of geopolitical changes.

William holds a PhD in public policy from George Mason University in the US, as well as a degree in economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA. His academic research has centered on managing change in large, multinational organisations, with an emphasis on organisational culture.

William is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant colonel, having spent much of his 21-year career as a strategic planner for complex operations such as humanitarian assistance and counterterrorism. He was Associate Professor of Political Science at the US Air Force Academy, and later taught at Georgetown University in Washington DC and as a Fulbright Scholar at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Having worked in Asia since 2012, William has focused on leadership development and organisational change as a consultant, leadership coach, and training facilitator.

Kristina is a highly accomplished economist, specializing in the fields of macroeconomics and public policy. She possesses over a decade of experience advising firms and governments on economic and business regulatory developments in Malaysia, enabling clients to make well-informed strategic decisions in a complex business landscape.

Prior to joining The Economist Group, Kristina was the Head of the Economic and Sovereign Research at RAM Ratings Berhad, Malaysia’s first Credit Rating Agency. Apart from providing research and analysis capabilities in-house, she also led the delivery of macroeconomic briefing services for a range of clients in sectors such as financial services and public utilities. These briefings served as valuable inputs for corporate planning and risk strategy purposes.

Kristina also garnered significant public policy experience working at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (KL) – the UK government’s department in charge of foreign affairs. During this time, she specialized in economic governance and trade policy issues. Notably, she was involved in market access strategies and Free Trade Agreement consultations between the European Union and Malaysia. Outside her role at ECN, Kristina also serves as an economic consultant for the World Bank, working on private sector development projects.

Kristina holds a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a MA in Economics from the University of Malaya.