Asia Telecommunications and Media Forum 2023 – in person

H.E. Dr. Chea Vandeth has served as Minister of Post and Telecommunications since April 2020 and has overseen some of the key laws and regulations, including the Digital Government Policy, draft Law on Cybersecurity, draft Postal Law and Digital Startup Subdecree. In addition, Minister Vandeth has implemented a number of strategic reforms of the functions and operations of the ministry, including digital skill training programs for officials and  revision to the administrative procedure through tech adoption. Recognizing the growing importance of digital technology, Minister Vandeth has engaged with the tech associations and startup communities to discuss challenges and opportunities, identifying elements that can accelerate tech sector development. More recently, Minister Chea has placed high emphasis on improving the quality of telecoms services and working closely with telecoms operators in expanding cell and network coverage across the country.

With over 20 years of service, H.E. Vandeth has held various positions in the government. After completing his PhD degree in Russia in 1997, H.E. Vandeth served as assistant to H.E. Sok An, co-minister in charge of the Office of the Council of the Ministers (OCM) until 2004. At the same time, H.E. Vandeth was also tasked with the positions as the office chief of economy and later as the deputy director of the department of international relations. In 2004, H.E. Vandeth was appointed director of the cabinet of the minister in charge of the OCM. He then went on to become the advisor to the Minister-in-charge of the OCM in 2008 and was concurrently appointed member of the board of directors of Telecom Cambodia. Following the 2013 election, H.E. Vandeth was appointed as advisor to the government.

H.E. Chea Vandeth graduated PhD in Economics from Russia in 1997. He also holds an Executive Master of Business Administration from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Chee Kheong Foong is Group Head of Regulatory Affairs, Group Corporate Office, Axiata Group Berhad. Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunications companies, operating in ten countries and servicing approximately 290 million subscribers.

Mr Foong has over 17 years’ experience in the field of mobile and fixed telecommunications, internet broadband, broadcasting and multimedia, primarily in regulatory strategy and policy development. Prior to this current position, he was in regulatory management roles in Digi Telecommunications, Celcom Axiata, U Mobile and the Multimedia Development Corporation.

Mr Foong holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom, and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde.

Dr Ahmad Nasruddin ‘Atiqullah is currently leading Infrastructure Planning & Management Division in the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the regulator for the converged communications and multimedia industry.

He was also the chairman of 5G Testbed Working Group under National 5G Task Force. Dr Nasruddin has served in MCMC since 2004, where he has held various portfolios in Spectrum Planning Division (from 2004 until 2014), the Head for MCMC Academy (from 2015 to Mac 2019) and was the Head of Technology and Standards Division (from 2020 to Sept 2022). He began his career as a telecommunication engineer in TM Touch prior joining MCMC.

Dr Nasruddin holds BEng. (Hons) in Electronics Engineering from Multimedia University, and Masters in Information Management from Universiti Teknologi MARA. In March 2018, Dr. Nasruddin was awarded the degree of Doctor of Engineering (Engineering Business Management) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Alasdair Grant has more than 20 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector, for most of this time holding “Head of Asia” positions in the public policy, corporate development, and regulatory functions of major global operators. In these roles he specialised in market entry and development through infrastructure investment and alliances. He has worked for the GSMA, Reliance, Verizon Enterprise, and Level 3/Lumen.

Mr Grant is an experienced reform advocate throughout Asia and has founded and led regional industry associations and delegations. He is the founding editor and co-author of Australian Telecommunications Regulation, currently in its 4th edition.

Mr Grant has degrees in Law and Australian Literature from the University of Sydney, Australia.

Amit Kushwaha joined AT&T in May 2021 and leads External and Regulatory Affairs for the AT&T businesses across India, Oceania & ASEAN. He advocates for the communications businesses – and for the interests of the cross-sectoral enterprise clients who depend on the secure global network of AT&T – to advance the positive role of technology in life, work, and entertainment.

Mr Kushwaha is based in Gurgaon and has a track record in managing public policy, regulatory operations, compliances, strategy, and corporate affairs in the telecommunications sector in India. He is actively engaged in the regional policy developments across industries, including 5G, digital trade and data movement, content protection, privacy, IoT, and AI governance.

In previous roles, Mr Kushwaha was Vice President of Regulations and Compliance at Bharti Airtel. Prior to spending close to 12 years in Bharti Airtel, he was with the Department of Telecommunications of the Government of India for more than 8 years.

Mr Kushwaha works closely with various Industry associations including the Association of Competitive Telecom Operators (ACTO), Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI), US India Business Council (USIBC), AMCHAM India and Broadband India Forum (BIF).

Mr Kushwaha obtained a Master’s Degree in Technology (Telecom Networks) and further pursued a Post-graduate Programme in Public Management and Policy.

André Gomes works at Cullen International leading the digital economy service in the Americas. He has extensive experience in telecoms, media and digital economy regulation, including in Brazil, Korea and the US. Prior to his collaboration with Cullen, Mr Gomes coordinated policies to increase broadband coverage at the Ministry of Communications in Brazil.

Mr Gomes is a lawyer and holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University College London.

Arisa Siong is a public and regulatory affairs professional with extensive experience in telecom and digital industries. She is currently Director of Public and Regulatory Affairs for Telenor Asia. Arisa has extensive experience in telecom policy and regulation, including in relation to spectrum. Previously, she worked on infocomm and technology policy matters for the Infocomm and Media Development Authority of Singapore and has prior experience as a consultant for DotEcon, a London-based economic consultancy specialising in networked industries. Ms Siong has special interest in digital/technology policy and has written on blockchain and competition policy in a World Scientific book on Blockchain Economics.

With over a decade of experiences and extensive knowledge of Telecommunications, Mr Bunboren Tep serves as Director of Telecommunication Regulation Bureau at TRC with a vision of creating an enabling ecosystem for progressive development of telecommunications in Cambodia. Through his supervision and strategic planning, he administers the functions related to licensing, numbering assignment, telecommunication standard and statistic, and ccTLD (Country Code Top-Level Domain) .KH. In addition to operational management, he also actively involves in policy making and regulations drafting with the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and other stakeholders.

Before joining TRC, Mr Tep also has held various roles in private telecommunication companies which he performed diverse functions, including, but not limited to the frequency planning, mobile connection drive test and analysis, 2G 3G and 4G base stations rollout and swapping, and access network hardware and software planning and dimensioning.

Mr Tep is a technical individual by training. His specializations are in telecommunication regulation and wireless communication.

Chee Kheong Foong is Group Head of Regulatory Affairs, Group Corporate Office, Axiata Group Berhad. Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunications companies, operating in ten countries and servicing approximately 290 million subscribers.

Mr Foong has over 17 years’ experience in the field of mobile and fixed telecommunications, internet broadband, broadcasting and multimedia, primarily in regulatory strategy and policy development. Prior to this current position, he was in regulatory management roles in Digi Telecommunications, Celcom Axiata, U Mobile and the Multimedia Development Corporation.

Mr Foong holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom, and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde.

Chek-Tchung Foo has been a strong advocate for the adoption of new technologies, including blockchain, in financial services and payments throughout his years of experience in central banking, financial services, technology and consulting. He is currently the APAC public policy director for Meta Financial Technologies. As a strategic leader, he oversees external engagement regarding financial services policy and regulatory issues across Meta’s products and services.

Prior to joining Meta, Mr Foo was the director and head of the Payments Supervision Division at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, where he was responsible for the full range of legislative, licensing, supervisory work relating to entities and activities (including digital tokens) regulated under the Payment Services Act. He also previously headed the Payments FinTech Office in MAS where he led Singapore’s strategic efforts towards developing an e-payment society, including the implementation of various critical retail payment infrastructure in Singapore.

Chenda Thong has more than 20 years of experience in public sector.  After working at the central level of government, in November 2020 he was appointed Chairman of the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia.

Prior to joining the TRC, Chairman Thong held various positions such as a Secretary of State for the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, an advisor to the Office of the Council of Ministers, a legal advisor to the Chairman of the Third Committee of the National Assembly and the Vice President of the Royal Academy for Judicial Professions, one of the first state institutions to offer a fair and transparent national judicial entrance examination.

As a renowned leader within the public entity, Chairman Thong creates a culture of solidarity and harmony with the core value of high integrity in the working place. His previous background powered his aspiration to lead the TRC to be one of the world class regulators, finding practical answers for some of the nation’s complex questions and to ensure good governance and transparency in management and operations.

Chairman Thong holds qualifications in Law from Norton University and English literature from the Institute of Foreign Languages in Cambodia.

Darren Ong manages the public policy efforts for Amazon’s consumer offerings (e.g. e-commerce, video streaming, devices) in various APAC countries, particularly those in Southeast Asia. Prior to Amazon, he helped develop Netflix’s APAC policy strategy and presence as a member of their pioneer regional team. He started his career in Singapore’s Ministry of Education as a policy analyst focusing on educational technology issues before moving to the Ministry of Trade and Industry where he managed Singapore’s bilateral trade relations with several countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Esmond Chiu is the Assistant Director (Market and Competition) of the Office of the Communications Authority, the executive arm of the Communications Authority established in April 2012 as the unified regulator for the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in Hong Kong.

Mr Chiu oversees competition matters and fair trading practices for the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors, manages regulatory measures for protecting consumer interests, and promotes industry development through schemes facilitating 5G adoption and infrastructure rollout.

Esther Peh is responsible for strategy and execution of media and emerging policy issues across the Asia-Pacific region. Based in Singapore, she engages across a spectrum of internal and external stakeholders on theatrical, production, online curated content, privacy, crossborder data flows, content protection and digital services tax matters.

Ms Peh previously worked at the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Singapore. She negotiated several regional and bilateral free trade agreements, advanced Singapore’s foreign economic policy at international organizations, and was a former diplomat with the Permanent Mission of Singapore to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and chair of the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.

Ms Peh graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Felipe Olchenski is responsible for business development in emerging markets at Cullen International and has experience in the telecoms and digital markets. Before joining Cullen, Felipe was with Huawei Brazil as Account Manager for its Telefonica key account and also supported the company’s government relations and regulatory department. He holds an Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Brasilia and has a special interest in China and tech regulation.

Frank Yuan is MSSD, Huawei Asia Pacific Region, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., He joined Huawei in 2000 and is reponsible for ICT digital Infra industry promotion and strategy consultant.

Mr Yuan has over 4 years experience in oversea wireless in Europe, Latin America, ASEAN and South Asia.  He has also been a 5G industry and policy consultant in Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.  Mr Yuan has had cooperation with international organizations including ITU Asia Pacific and APT.  He is a GSA member in AP.

Guillaume Mascot was in charge of Government Relations for Nokia in APJ (Asia-Pacific, Japan) & India. He oversaw all aspects of current and future policy and regulation in the Asia-Pacific region. In this role, he was working with institutions and other relevant stakeholders to create a favourable political and regulatory environment to foster public and private investment in the digital and broadband industries with a focus on innovation for sustainable growth, competitiveness, and quality of life in a connected environment.

Previously, Mr Mascot led Alcatel-Lucent’s EU representation in Brussels, managed European Affairs and engaged with the European institutions. He was a board member of the EIF (European Internet Foundation) – a European think tank supporting European political leadership for the development of European multilateral public policies responsive to the political, economic and social challenges of the worldwide digital revolution – and was also an associate member of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT).

Mr Mascot holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science with a major on Public Administration and Public Policy from the University of Lille.

Hai Li is Director, Cyber Security, Public Affairs and Communications Dept, Asia Pacific, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

Mr Li has over 16 years experience working in the ICT industry with Huawei. He has spent 10 years in the Product and Solution Marketing Department and  7 years in Cyber Security, in Public Affairs and Communications Focus on Cyber Security Safeguards a Prosperous Digital Economy.

Mr Li has Masters from the University of Wuhan, China.

James Cheatley is Senior Regional Director, VOD, Digital Affairs and Intellectual Property at the Motion Picture Association and is based in Singapore. James has worked in media and copyright policy for over 15 years. Mr Cheatley started his career working in copyright policy at the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department in Canberra. Subsequently, Mr Cheatley worked in Sydney as a copyright lawyer and was secretary of the Copyright Society of Australia and edited the Society’s journal – the Copyright Reporter. Before joining the MPA, James was Director of Government Relations for Screen Producers Australia.

Jean-Jacques Sahel was appointed Asia-Pacific Information Policy Lead at Google in November 2019, overseeing Google’s public policy approach in the region for issues including misinformation, online safety and intermediary liability.

He has been involved in international government and regulatory affairs for over 15 years in both the private and government sectors. Before joining Google, Mr Sahel was Managing Director of ICANN’s Brussels office and led the organisation’s corporate strategy and operations across the European region. He also led ICANN’s strategic plan for outreach, support and engagement with governments, private sector, and user groups throughout Europe, and worldwide for civil society.

Previously, Mr Sahel headed government and regulatory affairs for Skype, then digital policy at Microsoft for Europe, Middle-East & Africa regions. He had started his career in the City of London, before spending several years in the UK Government, leading in particular its international telecommunications policy.

Ex officio, Mr Sahel chaired the UK Chapter of the International Institute of Communications (IIC) from 2009-2019.  He currently serves on the IIC’s Board and is Chair of the IIC Strategy Committee. He was a member of OSAB, the Advisory Board of UK communications regulator Ofcom for 2 terms until 2016. He has authored articles and research in both mainstream media and academic publications particularly on Internet policy and governance.

Toff Rada is the Head of Public Policy for ByteDance, where he leads corporate engagement with government and external stakeholders in the Philippines and Malaysia. Among the products he represents is the leading short-form mobile video platform TikTok.

Toff has over 15 years of experience as a public affairs executive and media practitioner. Previously, he held leadership roles in industries such as Food & Beverage and Water.

He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Juris Doctor both from the University of the Philippines. He has also attended executive education courses in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and the Columbia Business School.

Lasse Nagel is a Manager at Frontier Economics with more than fifteen years’ experience advising stakeholders in the communications sector.
Having advised regulators, policy makers and industry players across the globe on a range of regulatory, competition and policy matters, Mr Nagel has developed a deep understanding of key trends in the sector, as well as current and emerging issues pertinent to the sector. Mr Nagel has direct experience in working in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and the Caribbean.

Mr Nagel holds an undergraduate (BA) and postgraduate (MSc) degree in Economics.

Lynn Robinson became Director General of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), in March 2020.

Lynn is an experienced senior director and trustee / non exec-director, having held key senior leadership positions in the technology, built environment, regulation, accreditation and dental industries. She has extensive experience of professional membership bodies working within the full spectrum including, Regulatory bodies, Industry associations and Chambers of Commerce. Lynn is a well-known and established ambassador in these areas having led on many strategic programmes to aid engagement, growth, retention, change management, stakeholder and political engagement.

An experienced Trustee / Non-Executive Director as Vice Chair at Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust, a unique heritage site in the heart of Bristol (UK), Lynn is also a Trustee / Non-Executive Director at The Bristol and Bath (UK), Parks Foundation.

Reflecting on becoming Director General at the IIC at the outbreak of a pandemic, Lynn said, ‘these last two years have been like no other we have known, with many challenges coming our way. In 2020 we successfully pivoted the organisation through a digital transformation programme to maintain a full schedule of events and by increasing the outputs delivered. Transforming the programme enabled us to continue to deliver the professional service and increase our engagement with IIC members and stakeholder community to remain connected to them through such a difficult time.

As we move through 2022, I am delighted to return to a combined in-person and online programme and to continue to evolve the IIC in to the next phase, with the vision and strategic focus to deliver our objectives and to build on our growth, engagement and retention’.

Meg Chang is the APAC Head for Content Regulation Policy at Meta. Prior to this role, she led the company’s election integrity efforts in many countries across the EMEA region. Before Meta, she was the head of operations at EUobserver, a Brussels-based EU political and investigative online news outlet. She was also a management consultant, working with Global 1000 companies in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific.

Ms Chang studied politics and law at the University of Kent in the UK and the Brussels School of International Studies in Belgium.

Michael Coonan is a media and communications policy and regulatory leader with experience in both government and industry roles.

Mr Coonan joined SBS (Special Broadcasting Services), the Australian multilingual and multicultural public broadcaster, as Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs in 2017. Prior to SBS, Mr Coonanworked in public policy at Australian subscription television provider, Foxtel, for five years. In these roles, Mr Coonan has worked on a broad range of policy and regulatory issues, including audio description, classification, closed captioning, codes of practice, copyright, local content regulation, privacy, prominence, set top box energy efficiency, spectrum and technical regulations. Prior to Foxtel Mr Coonan spent eight years at the regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, in both broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory areas.

Moses Ngeth is a digital security consultant. He has have experience working with Cambodian CSOs focused on advocacy, legal education, and human and labor rights.

Mr Ngeth served as a media and communication coordinator and ICT project manager from 2008-2018 and later as a digital security expert for Dan Church Aid Cambodia from 2018 – 2020. Over the last two years, he has worked on multiple digital security projects as a private consultant. Mr Ngeth is also the co-founder of “Open Cyber Talk,” a digital rights event promoting digital safety and security practices among young Cambodians. His expertise and experience in digital security spans over a decade and includes projects such as Human Rights Defenders in the Cyber-Age, combating CYBER-CENSORSHIP and promoting internet access, digital and psychosocial protection, and strengthening the digital security capacity of local CSOs.

Critically-acclaimed and awarded director-writer-producer, Njel de Mesa is the CEO of NDMstudios, a popular film studio in the Philippines. He is a respected public servant and philanthropist as the Founding President of Koiné Theater Foundation, a foundation that grants free performing arts classes to poor underprivileged street children.

He is also a renowned and published author of best-selling books, an award-winning singer-songwriter, musical arranger, record producer, multi-musical instrumentalist, a professional stage performer & thespian. He is highly respected in the local film industry and multimedia arts, and has written, directed, and/or produced several short or full-length films, of various genres such as: KontrAdiksyon, Coronaphobia, Al Coda, True Or False Positive, The Miranda Bomb, Subtext which won 1st Prize in the Don Carlos Palanca Awards (Philippines’ local Pulitzer) and Respeto which won Best Picture in Cinemalaya and Best Feature Film in the New York Asian Film Festival.

He is now serving as Vice Chairman for the MTRCB: Movie Television Review and Classification Board—but has also served as a consultant to PAGCOR and other government agencies.

As a musician, he has written and produced music for Universal Records, GMA music, and other popular corporate brands. He won the prestigious Best Male Artist in the Philippine Digital Music Awards in 2008 and Abs-Cbn’s DREAM Songwriting Competition in 2006. He was once a board of trustee for the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (FILSCAP) and a committee member of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). His songs “Missed You”, “Itigil Mo Na”, “Hot Maria Clara”, “Sadly Falling” have been on top of the charts and some of his personal singles have been played in the U.K., Australia, and the United States. In the U.S., Njel de Mesa won the Silver Award for Music Video Direction from BEAT 100 awards.

He is also a critically acclaimed film and stage actor—his plays won best play awards from 24/7 Nocturnal Awards, Aliw Awards, and National Shoppers Choice hailed his theater company, One Acts – NDM Theater Company as number 1 entertainment Center in QC.

As a professional production designer, he has designed big musicals such as costumes for Trumpets’ Little Mermaid, Noah’s Big Boat, Alice in Christmasland, Fisherman and his Wife, The Happy Prince, Joseph the Dreamer and countless corporate events. He has also served as a graphic and book designer for leading book publications such as Anvil, UST Press, DLSU Press etc.

Dr Peter Lovelock is Principal, Fair Tech Institute, Access Partnership. Prior to its acquisition by Access Partnership, Peter Lovelock was the Director of TRPC, along with Professor John Ure.  Peter and John established the Telecommunications Research Project (TRP) at the University of Hong Kong in 1993 and the Telecoms Infotechnology Forum (TIF) in 1996. Peter subsequently established the TRPC offices in Beijing (1999) and Singapore (2006) and expanded the academic collaborations in both locations, initially with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and subsequently with Qinghua University and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Between 1999 and 2004, Peter built and ran China’s leading IT research consultancy, and prior to that he was a lead policy analyst at the UN in Geneva, where he was principal author on the World Telecommunications Development Report amongst others, including many of the ITU Secretary General’s speeches from this period.

He brings more than 25 years’ experience in telecoms, technology and media to these undertakings, including regulatory assessments, implementation and execution projects, and due diligence and market entry strategic guidance projects throughout Asia.

In recent years, Dr Lovelock has provided advice to governments and companies alike regionally on digital enablement and digital transformation, including to ASEAN on its ICT Masterplan, and to APEC on the Internet and Digital Economy principles and roadmap; as well as authoring reports on global data networks and bandwidth developments, cross border data flows and the economic impacts of data localisation, digital transactions, authentication and digital identity.

In the financial services and fintech spaces, Dr Lovelock has been involved in the establishment of new payments regulatory regimes in Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Zambia, focused on facilitating fast access channels and furthering financial inclusion He has advised and authored thought leadership on blockchains, digital and crypto currencies and national payment gateways and is currently working with multilateral donor agencies on the development of regulatory financial sandboxes in several jurisdictions and national eID schemes. Dr Lovelock is advising the Central Bank of Myanmar on their QR code standardisation and adoption, and is an expert on TV White Spaces and other non-traditional connectivity options for extending access.

Dr Lovelock is an advisor to PECC on digital and internet economy developments and sits on the board of the International Institute of Communications (IIC). TRPC provides Executive Director and Secretariat support to the Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA) and the Asia Pacific Spectrum Innovation Group (APSIG), among others.

Between 1999 and 2004 Dr Lovelock built and ran China’s leading IT research consultancy. Prior to that, Peter worked at the ITU in Geneva.

Professor Phallack Kong was appointed as the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the Kingdom of Cambodia pursuant to the Royal Decree No.NS/RKT/0822/1016 dated 24 August 2022.

Professor Kong has 21 years in teaching and 20 years in law and policy development including legal practice and mediation. He has been engaged in mediation on social and environmental disputes impacted by the business as well as resolving labour disputes. He has written laws, policies papers and books related Cambodian Laws. His publication includes Introduction to Cambodian Law (2012), Cambodian Constitutional Law (2016), Contemporary Environmental Law in Cambodia and Future Perspectives (2020), Perspectives on Cambodian Constitutional Law (2020), Contemporary Cambodian Employment and Labor Law (2021), and Law in the Digital Age: and Protection of Consumer Rights (2021). Professor Kong’s contribution to development of laws and policies are legal and judicial reform, ombudsman, telecommunications, post, cybersecurity, and personal data protection, public private partnership, social protection, social security, persons with disabilities, environment, health and so on.

Professor Kong obtained an LLM in Law and Politics (Nagoya University, Graduate School of Law, Japan in 2001.

Philip Marnick is the General Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). He was appointed early January 2022 by the Members of the Board, to assume the position, paving the way for a more effective regulatory framework by continuing the evolution of the telecom sector liberalization.

Mr Marnick leads the TRA, including the development of consumer protection initiatives and resolving disputes. The TRA develops regulatory rules that promote competition, innovation, and investment in broadband services and facilities, as well as developing a more comprehensive and competitive framework that aligns with international best practices. Ensuring that Bahrain remains a center of innovation and that its telecommunications sector serves everyone while supporting Bahrain’s strategic objectives.

Before assuming his role at the TRA, Mr Marnick managed and directed at Ofcom in the UK, where he was the Group Director of Spectrum responsible for all aspects of UK national and international spectrum management – from strategy to delivery including awards, clearance and enforcement. Mr Marnick has worked in the telecommunications sector for over 30 years. He has served as a senior executive in technology, operations, and strategy. Mr Marnick has worked in both start-ups (from inception to sale) and major corporations, in firms such as UK Broadband, O2, Orange, BT, J-Phone in Japan (now Softbank Mobile), Extreme Mobile, and SpinVox (now Nuance).

From analogue to 5G, he has engaged across every mobile generation. Throughout his carrier he has been at the forefront of industry developments – in both fixed and mobile. He has collaborated on the first deployments of mobile networks utilizing new technologies and standards, this has also included innovative products such as the first camera phone and photo messaging service, as well as mobile internet and hosted voice services.

Assistant Professor Prapanpong Khumon (PhD) is an Associate Dean of School of Law, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Thailand. He is the President of Academy of Public Enterprise Policy, Business and Regulation (APaR). He also acts as an Expert Committee in the Personal Data Protection Committee of Thailand.

Professor Khumon leads a number of research projects for the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NBTC) including a comparative study about media regulation in ASEAN, a comparative study of media regulation of the EU and ASEAN, and a study on regulation of the pay TV sector, child online literacy, market access and communications satellite services liberalisation, and ASEAN cross-border personal data protection. He also heads a research project for the Thai Council of State on Digital Economy regulations for Thailand.

Professor Khumon has published a number of scholarly articles on cross-border data protection and trade in services in a number of academic journals, including the law and development review and Asian Journal of WTO and International Health Law and Policy.

Priya Mahajan is the Head of Asia Pacific Public Policy & Regulatory Counsel where she is responsible for strategic-level regulatory and policy advice regarding Verizon’s operations in Asia Pacific. Ms Mahajan previously served as Chief Counsel for Verizon-India where she led legal, regulatory & policy matters pertaining to India operations.

Her expertise includes consulting and advising on a range of telecom, media and technology matters. In her policy role, she works closely with the stakeholder’s policy makers, regulators and trade associations to build, support and promote the company’s policy position on ICT issues. She has successfully led policy efforts related to regulatory simplification, market access, digital trade, anti-trust, data protection & Cyber Security policy across the region.

Ms Mahajan holds honorary position at Executive Body of the Asia Pacific Carriers Coalition (APCC), an industry advocacy body representing the interest of global carriers, closely working with the policy makers in the Asia Pacific Region. She is a founding member of the Society of Women Lawyers (SoWL), a mentoring and professional platform for women lawyers in India.

Ms Mahajan is a qualified attorney, an Associate member of Institute of Company Secretaries of India. She has also attended the Accelerated Management Programme (AMP) at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad

Seow Hiong Goh advises government officials and regulators across Asia Pacific on a range of ICT-related policy issues, assisting them in adopting policies and regulations that foster investment, innovation, growth and adoption of advanced ICT technologies and services. His current focus includes advising on national broadband strategies and deployment, convergence policy, cyber-security and e-government.

Previously, Mr Goh was in the Singapore public service for 10 years, where he undertook various responsibilities including Deputy Director for Infocomm Development Policy, Deputy Director for Infocomm Security and Special Assistant to the CEO at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. He was subsequently in private legal practice for several years, before taking up the position as Director, Software Policy for Asia with the Business Software Alliance for five years. He joined Cisco in his present position in 2008.

Mr Goh has a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science, with Honors and Distinction in General Scholarship from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University. He also holds a Bachelor of Law with Honors from the University of London and a Postgraduate Diploma of Singapore Law with Merit from the National University of Singapore. He has completed the Executive Management Programme in Strategic Management at the National University of Singapore. He is called to the bar of the Supreme Court of Singapore as an advocate and solicitor.

Sharon Yiu is a Senior Legal Counsel overseeing global privacy and data protection of Tencent’s international products including games, communication tools, platform and content products. Sharon also provides privacy advice and support to Tencent’s privacy related public affairs matters.

Prior to Tencent, Ms Yiu spent four years in a US law firm handling TMT regulatory matters. M Yiu has also worked in a US-based global technology conglomerate where she provided legal support on general corporate and privacy matters.

Ms Yiu is a qualified lawyer in Hong Kong. She holds a Business Administration degree and a Law degree from the University of Hong Kong.

Mr Keo Sothie serves as Secretary of State of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. In his role, he oversees the legal work of the Ministry including legislation drafting, arbitration and litigation, and contracts. He has recently helped spearhead the drafting of key laws and regulations including the draft cybersecurity law, draft personal data protection law, draft postal sector law, and draft amendment of the law on telecommunications.
He is also responsible for the Ministry’s International Cooperation Department. In this capacity, he advises the Department on major international engagements, both at the bilateral and multilateral levels.

Mr Sothie is a member of the Secretariat of the National Digital Economic and Social Council, whose role is to promote digital economic and social development. With the adption of the Digital Economy and Society Policy Framework 2021-2035 and Digital Government Policy 2022-2035, the Royal Government of Cambodia is on a rapid path toward digital transformation.

Mr Sothie is a licensed lawyer both in the Kingdom of Cambodia and the State of Colorado. He received his Juris Doctor and Master of Laws from Northwestern University School of Law and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Washington. During his spare time, he teaches law at the American University of Phnom Penh as an Adjunct Law Professor

Jommy Patcharakorn is a Country Lead in the Expansion Markets of Binance, the world’s leading blockchain, crypto infrastructure provider, and largest digital asset exchange by volume. Ms Patcharakorn focuses on expanding markets, access, and infrastructure for digital assets throughout the Asia-Pacific region. She also has extensive experience in running various blockchain and digital asset workshops and training for organizations and communities in Southeast Asia.

Ms Patcharakorn graduated from the University of Sydney with a master’s degree in Marketing. She is also working very closely with blockchain and digital asset communities on the blockchain, digital asset education, and charity projects in Southeast Asia.

Trairat Viriyasirikul is Acting Secretary General, The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NBTC).

He has previously held positions in the NBTC as Executive Director of Commissioner Affairs Bureau, Acting Executive Director of Broadcasting Affairs Bureau, Acting Executive Director of Office of The Strategy and Budgeting,Acting Executive Director of Office of The Telecommunications for Policy –oriented activities

At the Office of the National Telecommunications Commission (Office of the NTC), he was Director of Chairman’s Affairs Division, Secretary to Chairman and Executive Director of Chairman’s Affair Bureau.

At the Office of the Prime Minister he was Budget Analyst, Budget Bureau.

Yee Ler Lau leads Tencent’s public affairs and policy work in Southeast Asia. He oversees the company’s engagements with governments and other partners on programmes and policy developments to promote the positive impact of technology on the economy and community.

Prior to Tencent, Mr Lau spent eight years with the Singapore Foreign Service and worked on cross-cutting issues including foreign policy, economic partnerships, and security. He also served as a diplomat at the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta.

Mr Lau holds a bachelor’s degree from Cambridge University and a master’s degree from the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Yih-Choung Teh is Group Director, Strategy and Research at Ofcom. The group leads on setting Ofcom’s overarching strategy, drawing on insights from our research and analysis of the sectors we regulate. He has previously been a Director in Ofcom’s Competition Group, working on issues including Ofcom’s strategy to encourage investment in telecoms infrastructure, and overseeing Ofcom’s broadcasting and media competition programme.

Before joining Ofcom, Mr Teh worked for a strategy consultancy in the telecoms sector, providing policy and strategy advice to public and private sector clients globally. Prior to this he held an academic research post in the University of Oxford.

Yoonee Jeong is the Senior Digital Technology Specialist with the Digital Technology for Development Unit at ADB.

Ms Jeong is a public policy professional in digital technologies with over twenty years of international experience. Before joining ADB, Ms Jeong was the Director of Public and Regulatory Affairs with the Telenor Group, a global mobile operator, and led the advisory and stakeholder engagement on policy and regulatory issues related to telecommunications, emerging digital technologies, and data governance in Asia.

Previously, Ms Jeong led several research and policy analysis projects on the digital economy, digital infrastructure, e-commerce, cloud computing, and data privacy and cybersecurity for both the public and private sector clients as a senior consultant to the World Bank and as the Director of Research and Consulting with TRPC, an advisory firm. She also spearheaded capacity-building initiatives to foster the digital transformation of government services and women-led businesses with the United Nations ESCAP/APCICT and APWINC, an international NGO.

Ms Jeong obtained her Master’s degree in International Development Policy from Duke University as a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Scholar and her bachelor’s from the Ateneo de Manila University of the Philippines.