Confirmed Speakers
Yashan joined Google in December 2021, bringing with him deep expertise in consumer insights and analytics. Based in Singapore, he leads Google's Brand & Consumer Insights team. This team uncovers data-driven learnings and insights for Google's consumer-facing products, including Search, Gemini, Google Pixel, Android, Google Play, and the overarching Google brand. Their mission is to empower marketers with data-driven learnings, insights, and recommendations by developing and implementing research programs that inform future marketing strategies and go-to-market initiatives. Yashan began his career in the UK, working at JWT, Ipsos and Nielsen before moving to Hong Kong in 2017. In 2020, he relocated to Singapore as Commercial Director for Blackbox Research.
30+ years of diverse experience in Science, R&D Innovation and Consumer Research across the Academe and FMCG, FMCH and Nutrition industries.
Kathy leads the Consumer Science & Product Experience Global Community of Practice (CSPX COP) responsible for defining, shaping and influencing the CSPX innovation strategy including developing leading-edge capabilities on consumer and sensory science in Haleon.
Previous to this, Kathy led the CSPX for APAC and China where she created and championed product experiences that are relevant and preferred by consumers. She provided leadership in driving and influencing the innovation pipeline and portfolio across multiple categories in consumer healthcare (OTC – Pain Relief, OTC Respiratory health, Wellness and Oral Care) for APAC and China markets. As CSPX lead, she enabled the design of superior product experiences and drives consumer empathy and centricity in Haleon. Kathy has enabled successful launches in the market for brands like Centrum, Caltrate, Sensodyne, Panadol, Iodex, Voltaren, ENO, TUMS, Scott’s and Benefiber.
Prior to Haleon, Kathy worked 6 years at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Healthcare, leading consumer, claims and clinical strategy and innovation for brands like Neutrogena, Clean and Clear, Aveeno and Johnson’s Baby and 8 years at Unilever leading the Consumer Technical Insight for the Deodorants Category for brands like Rexona, Axe and Dove.
Kathy has led teams, set up facilities and established capabilities on consumer and sensory science driving pivotal consumer researches, insight to innovation programs, transformational programs driving innovation, employee engagement and digitalization, and the development and launches of consumer winning products.
Kathy has various publications and has presented at various conferences
Publications in various papers and conferences (2008- present)
2021 Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium, SenseAsia 2021 4th Asian Sensory and Consumer Research Symposium, 2023 Growth Asia Summit, 2023 Qual 360, 2023 Provoke Panel Member on Women’s Health, 2024 GRBN Webinar, 2024 IIEX, and various Consumer and Sensory Webinars 2024 Growth Asia Summit, ESOMAR 2024, ECONOMIST Impact Future of Health 2024, Nicholas Hall APAC 2024, 2025 IIEX
Marie Kristel Gabawa is a Senior Manager at the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), where she heads the Growth and Innovation pillar under Strategy and Insights. With over 13 years of market research experience spanning banking, FMCG, and engineering industries, she has led some of BPI's most significant consumer research initiatives, including a landmark study that informed the bank's alignment with BSP's Financial Inclusion Strategy. She previously worked at Kantar Philippines and holds an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management, where she graduated as a Presidential Scholar. Kristel currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Marketing and Opinion Research Society of the Philippines (MORES) for 2026.
Esther Tan is the Global Director of Marketing & E-Commerce at Plaza Premium Group, leading the development of the Group’s marketing and digital strategies, driven by a curiosity about human behaviour, customer experience, and data. Her expertise spans e-commerce, digital marketing, CRM and loyalty, backed by over 20 years of experience across the aviation, travel, and hospitality industries.
Ernest Hui, Head of Design at Cathay, leads a team focused on creating innovative, user-centric designs. With extensive experience in UX research, they drive design strategies that enhance user experiences and achieve business goals. Ernest excels in user research, interaction design, and usability testing.
Bharati has 17 years of experience in market research, insights, and design. She is a certified Design Thinker from MIT Sloan University. She holds a bachelor’s in Economics and a PG in Marketing. She is data agnostic and has worked on qualitative, quantitative, analytics, digital, design, and consultative projects across different markets globally. She has worked on commercial as well as public sector projects. In her current role, she is the UX Research Lead for the Global Experience Design team at HP. She has presented her work and thought pieces at several conferences, including ESOMAR, MRMW, IIEX, and MRSI, across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Tridib has had over a decade-long journey in UX design, leading projects for clients in insurance, finance, and government sectors across APAC, Mumbai, and Dubai. Now, at Thales, Tridib finds himself witnessing and contributing to a scaling user-centered design practice within a large enterprise organization. Having built lean UX teams, Tridib is passionate about co-creating processes while nurturing team growth. For him user research & design is fundamentally about uncovering and solving problems, whether involving an interface or not.
People are complex and emotional beings. We can track ‘what’ and ‘how’ they do things or take decisions, but we often are unaware of ‘why’ they do it. The discovery of ‘why’ can only happen when you understand the truth of real people in the real world, which is the reason why I love research.
Shruti Umesh Chakke is a transdisciplinary designer working at the intersection of regenerative education, experience design, and mobility. She is the Founder of Regenerative Nomads - Learning with the Soul & Soil, a Himalayan learning ecosystem in the making that reconnects youth with land, culture, ecology, elders, and local futures.
Rooted in the belief that every village holds knowledge, every landscape holds wisdom, and every young person holds potential, her work explores how place-based learning can help communities facing migration, cultural loss, and ecological change imagine regenerative futures. Through Regenerative Nomads, she supports young people in becoming rooted thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and stewards of their homeland.
Shruti studied Experience & Museum Design at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and holds a Master’s in Transdisciplinary Mobility Design from IED Torino. Her work across the Himalayan region spans curriculum design, community museums, indigenous knowledge systems, village transformation, and mobility as a living relationship between people, place, and opportunity. Her explorations in Cosmic Education and Transdisciplinary Design have received the SDGs Design International Award for Quality Education three times, in 2020, 2022, and 2023.
Phong is the Head of Research and Trends at Circles., a global telco tech startup At Circles, he sets up the research and trends teams and oversees insight & foresight projects across product, marketing and strategy to accelerate the company's 10X growth in the telco industry. Formerly with Visa and Kantar, Phong has 15 years of experience in consumer insight and foresight with clients across sectors. He is passionate about the intersection of consumer, culture and future. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths College and is finishing his Master of Science in Foresight at University of Houston.
Warisara (Cherry) Bergholdt is the BGAsia Insights & Analytics Director at FrieslandCampina, leading consumer and commercial insights across Asia. With more than 26 years of experience spanning FrieslandCampina, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, L’Oréal, and leading research agencies, she has built a career at the intersection of consumer understanding, business strategy, and growth.
Cherry specializes in translating consumer, shopper, and category insights into actionable strategies that drive brand growth, innovation, portfolio development, and commercial activation. She has led regional and global initiatives across FMCG, helping organizations unlock growth opportunities and build consumer-led businesses across diverse Asian markets.
Jim is a seasoned market research leader, driving data-driven strategies for one of Southeast Asia’s most influential tech platforms. Blending market research with advanced analytics, he shapes Grab’s go-to-market strategies, ensuring that products and services evolve in sync with market trends. From optimizing the Ads and Enterprise experience, to enhancing Grab’s core ride-hailing and delivery services, Jim’s insights fuel growth and innovation. His research journey began in global firms like Kantar and Nielsen, working across industries ranging from FMCG, Tech, Telco and Political Science. His deep understanding of market dynamics makes him a driving force behind smarter business decisions in an ever-changing landscape.
Belinda Pang is a globally recognized expert in sensory, consumer, and behavioural sciences, with more than 26 years of experience developing pioneering research approaches that connect consumer behaviours, psychology, cognitive science, and market intelligence. At IFF, she partners with leading global and regional brands to unlock deep consumer insights, drive innovation, and deliver sustainable growth. Her expertise in translating human understanding into strategic business decisions has made her a trusted advisor to organizations across Asia Pacific and global markets.
Priyanka Bhargav has over 20 years of experience in Brand Strategy, Brand Marketing, UXR and Insights, Corporate Communications, & CX across an array of industries that includes E-commerce, Grocery, Telecom, FMCG and Retail. She is a passionate evangelist of Customer Centricity and has played an instrumental role in GTM strategy for new business and Product innovations. She is an extremely well rewarded and globally recognised business leader. She holds a Limca Book of World Record for CSR driven Marketing Campaign. She is recipient of the Young Business Leader Award by BTVI (Business Television India), Femina World Women Leadership Award, By ET Now and leadership awards by Forbes and World Marketing Congress.
Snehal Pawar is a design leader, mobility strategist exploring the shift from human-centred innovation to planet-conscious prosperity. Currently serving as Head of Advanced & Creative Design for Alstom Asia. With more than 15 years of global experience spanning automotive and transportation design, he has played pivotal roles in shaping award-winning products and future mobility solutions across Tata Motors, Hyundai Motor Group, Mahindra Automotive, and Alstom Mobility.
A graduate of the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, with advanced studies in Strategic Design Management in Germany, Snehal is recognized for translating deep human insights into meaningful products, services, and experiences. His work bridges industrial design, user experience, systems thinking, and strategic business far sighting, to help organizations navigate complexity while creating lasting value for people, planet and society.
At Alstom, Snehal is helping shape the future of mobility by advancing a new design narrative that moves beyond traditional measures of growth, efficiency, and sustainability—a more holistic vision of progress that balances economic value with human well-being, social inclusion, cultural relevance, and planetary responsibilities. In this emerging paradigm, transportation is not merely about moving people efficiently, but about enabling individuals, communities, and ecosystems to thrive together.
A sought-after speaker, advisor, and mentor, Snehal regularly contributes to global conversations on strategic role of design leadership, inclusive mobility, social innovation, regenerative thinking, sustainability governance, and planet-conscious business transformation. He serves on the CII National Advisory Committee for Design & Innovation and supports entrepreneurship and design-led innovation through advisory roles with NID Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore's NSRCEL Startup Incubation Programs.
Drawing inspiration from disciplines as diverse as mobility, heritage crafts, agriculture, theatre, and systems design, Snehal champions a future where organizations measure success not only by performance and profit, but by their ability to create shared prosperity for people, business, and the planet. His perspective challenges organizations to look beyond the limitations of purely human-centred models and embrace a more holistic view of progress—one where business success, societal well-being, and planetary health are intrinsically connected.
