Service Excellence in the Omni-channel Era

Mr. Tim Kobe Founder & CEO of Eight Inc

Tim Kobe founded the award winning, strategic design firm Eight Inc. in 1989.

Eight has established itself as a global leader in innovation and branded experience, working with companies such as Apple, Virgin Atlantic, Nike, Coke, and Citibank. Prior to Eight, Tim co-founded West Office Design Associates in 1987.

Tim has substantial lecturing experience, including on behalf of the US State Department. He is trustee at Art Center College of Design, Chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, and board member for the Grabhorn Institute.

Mr. Rob Findlay Customer & Innovation Culture Lead, DBS Bank

Rob currently leads the customer culture and innovation practice at DBS. Prior to this, he was Director of Innovation for BlackBerry Asia Pacific.

Rob began his career in the creative industry, running his own brand and design company. Transitioning to financial services, Rob led the customer experience for National Australia Bank’s direct banking channels, and led a culture change programme at OCBC. Since 2007 he has authored The Bank Channel, an innovation thought leadership resource. In 2011, he founded Next Bank, an open and collaborative community driving change in the banking industry.

Mr. Philip Whittaker Chief Marketing Officer, Themed Attractions and Resorts Sdn Bhd

Philip Whittaker has 20 years’ experience in sports and entertainment marketing, working with leading Australian and global brands. His career started in hotel management with Sheraton Hotels International, followed by a move into sports marketing where he worked with leading sports such as Australian Rugby League. He also held senior roles with Warner Village Theme Parks, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Goodwill Games. Whittaker holds a degree in Hotel Management (with Distinction) from Griffith University and a Masters of Business in Marketing (with Distinction) from Queensland University of Technology.

Mr. Andrew Roth Founder of Perx

Andrew has over twelve years' of experience in technology project management and business development. Prior to Perx he worked at Accenture, and as Vice President of Marketing at Inovaware. He was also co-founder of maiplay.com, which connected businesses with new customers.

In 2009 he launched PLAYHawaii.com, Hawaii’s first and premier group buying platform, with his business partner. The company was sold in 2011, when Andrew and his partner launched the Perx mobile CRM application in Singapore.

Mr. Ian Wilson Senior Vice President, Hotel Operations, Marina Bay Sands

The Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations for Marina Bay Sands (MBS) boasts broad Hospitality Industry expertise. Prior to joining MBS in 2013, Ian oversaw Fairmont’s growth in Asia for six years.

He leads hotel operations for the 10 million square foot MBS Complex, managing 4000 employees and operations across the resort, including 2561 hotel rooms, six celebrity chef restaurants, SkyPark, the world’s highest Infinity Pool, Retail, Call Centre, valet parking, and Banyan Tree Spa.

Ian holds a Master’s Degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University.

Mr. Mark Wee Director, Experience Design, ONG&ONG

Mark is the Founder & Director of OXD, the Experience Design studio at ONG & ONG. The studio takes a human-centered, design-based approach to helping organisations innovate and grow. Mark pioneered the use of design thinking in the area of organisational change in Singapore and has worked with clients like the Singapore Stock Exchange, Ministry of National Development, Housing & Development Board & Changi Airport Group.

An award-winning architect, Mark’s projects have been featured extensively in international design publications.

Mark was the Chair of the Architectural League under the Singapore Institute of Architects, where he serves as a council member.

Mr. Boaz Boon Yean Leong Senior Vice President (Learning & Development), CapitaLand Ltd

As SVP (Learning & Development), he will be responsible for enhancing CapitaLand’s real estate and technical capabilities through the design and delivery of programmes. He delivers a holistic and integrated approach which includes forging strategic partnerships with educational institutions, and bringing attention to the latest real estate innovations and thinking to CapitaLand through news, case studies, speaker seminars, and other collaborations.

His previous appointment in CapitaLand as Head of Research covers economic and real estate market research in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, India, UAE, Kazakhstan, Russia and London. His research covered the residential, office, retail, serviced apartment markets, integrated resorts, industrial and logistics space, and real estate financial products like REITs and Property Funds.

He holds a Ph.D from Cambridge University (UK). Prior to joining CapitaLand in 2001, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Real Estate (NUS) in charge of the Real Estate Market Analysis and Urban Management modules. He has also spent some time in the Ministry of National Development in charge of Public Housing. He has been invited to teach and deliver papers in many institutions. Amongst them were the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Bank for International Settlement.

Mr. Lim Swee Cheang Director & CEO, Institute of Systems Science

As Director & CEO of ISS, Swee has been instrumental in leading ISS education and consulting programmes since 1984. At present, he is a member of the Advisory Committees of Nanyang Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic, a member of the NSL Ltd’s (formally known as Natsteel Ltd) Corporate Research and Development Advisory Panel, as well as an appointed Director of EZ-Link Board. In 2006, Swee initiated and set up the e-Government Leadership Centre in partnership with Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Swee was pivotal to the successful implementation of the ISS Continuing Education and Training (CET) Centre guided and funded by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and IDA.

Mr. Stuart Smith Chief, Service Innovation Practice, Institute of Systems Science

Stuart is an expert in service transformation and innovation. His experience spans major private and public-sector clients around the world. After graduation, Stuart was employed as a consultant advising organisations on environmental monitoring and policy. During the dot.com boom, Stuart was headhunted to join a major global telecoms firm working in an "Internet Centric" service strategy team, which developed and delivered some of the most ambitious service innovation projects of the time primarily using internet based technologies. Since returning to the consulting world, Stuart has acted as CEO of Wood Holmes creating a niche innovation company that works around the world on complex service innovation, digital innovation and sustainability consulting.