Nine talented young women from across Southeast Asia were unveiled as winners of the first ever Women of the Future Awards South East Asia, the UK-born movement showcasing and strengthening the pipeline of female talent.
Announced at an Awards Ceremony on March 21 at the Hilton Singapore, the winners were celebrated across nine categories and were selected from a shortlist of 50 candidates representing 10 countries across the region. The winners in their respective Award categories were:
- Arts & Culture: Laura Mam, Singer/Songwriter, CEO and Founder, Baramey Production (Cambodia)
- Business: Christina Gao, Global Product Manager, Shell (Singapore)
- Community Spirit & Public Service: Phyu Hninn Nyein, General Manager, Farm Advisory Services, Proximity Designs (Myanmar)
- Entrepreneur: Khai Lin Chua, Co-Founder and CFO, Fundnel (Singapore)
- Media & Communications: Jessica Cheam, Managing Editor, Eco-Business (Singapore)
- Professions: Mary Bounthalath, Trade Commissioner, Office of the Embassy of Canada to Lao PDR (Laos)
- Property, Infrastructure & Construction: An Nguyen, Director, Research & Consulting Services, CBRE Vietnam (Vietnam)
- Science, Technology & Digital: Chern Ein Oon, Senior Lecturer, Universiti Sains Malaysia (Malaysia)
- Social Entrepreneur: Cherrie Atilano, Social Entrepreneur & Founder/President, AGREA Agricultural Systems International, Inc. (Philippines)
Pinky Lilani CBE DL, founder, Women of the Future (WOF) Programme, said: “We are extremely delighted to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our Award winners and shortlisted candidates at our first Women of the Future Awards in Southeast Asia. These talented young women are reshaping their various fields and helping to create a better future for all, while blazing a trail for a new generation of women.”
“In a region faced with significant human resource challenges, women are a tremendous untapped resource that can ease the talent shortage and contribute to the growth of the region. Through the Women of the Future Awards we aim to recognise and inspire women so as to deepen and broaden the female talent pool, and build a global collaborative network of women to inspire and mentor each other to support progress in Asia,” added Lilani.
Chris Wei, executive chairman, Aviva Asia & FPI and global chairman, Aviva Digital, said: “Diversity lies at the heart of our business at Aviva and we are honoured to support the inaugural Women of the Future Awards Southeast Asia. By building an inclusive workforce that values the contributions of both women and men alike, we seek to provide an environment where talented women feel empowered to harness their fullest potential at Aviva. Congratulations to the Award winners and nominees who have made huge achievements in their respective fields. I believe they will continue to inspire many generations of female leaders to come.”
The Award winners were selected from a shortlist of 50 candidates. Judging took place at the Aviva offices in Singapore by a distinguished panel that also represented a diverse field, ranging from Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Group, Caesar Sengupta, regional vice president of product development for Google, to Jacqueline Poh, chief executive of Singapore’s Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and Marie-Agnès Mazas, Asia Pacific talent director, Sodexo. The Judging panel was chaired by Vicki Treadell, British High Commissioner to Malaysia.
Founded 12 years ago in the UK by Pinky Lilani CBE DL, and proudly supported by headline sponsor Aviva, the Women of the Future Awards aim to recognise the inspirational young female stars of today and tomorrow. They are open to women aged 35 or under and celebrate talent across nine different fields, ranging from business, entrepreneurship, to property, science and technology, the arts, and community service.
The Award winners and shortlisted candidates of each category will gain access to many different opportunities, including the Women of the Future (WOF) network—a global and collaborative network of women who support and inspire each other to further professional and personal success.
The Women of the Future South East Asia Awards is also sponsored by AirAsia, Astro Media, CIMB, Mishcon de Reya LLP, RICS, Shell, Said Business School, University of Oxford & Sodexo, and partnered by CNBC Asia, Grip.
About Women of the Future
Women of the Future (“WOF”) Programme is a portfolio of events and projects that support and celebrate the successes of women through the WOF Awards, WOF Summit, WOF Ambassadors and WOF Network. WOF was founded in 2006 by Pinky Lilani CBE DL and Cherie Blair CBE is Awards patron.
WOF is a movement focused on kindness and collaboration in the workplace, galvanising a community of influential women to work together as a new generation of talent across business, media, culture and public service.
Previous winners of the WOF Award, UK include the Team GB Paralympic athlete Sophie Christiansen; writer & television presenter Dawn O’Porter; former Women’s Editor at The Daily Telegraph, Emma Barnett; notonthehighstreet.com co-founder Holly Tucker; and Liv Garfield, Chief Executive of Severn Trent.
Women of the Future Global Ambassador – HRH The Countess of Wessex
About Aviva Asia
Aviva operates in six markets in Asia (Singapore, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vietnam and India).
Aviva is a top tier insurer in Singapore and one of the biggest providers of employee benefits and healthcare insurance.
As at 31 December 2017, Aviva-COFCO ranked number 9 among 27 foreign life insurers in China in terms of APE, operating in 14 provinces with over 89 branches.
In Indonesia, Astra Aviva Life is an equal joint venture between Aviva and Astra International, one of Indonesia’s largest diversified conglomerates, to sell and distribute insurance products.
Aviva has had a presence in Hong Kong for more than 150 years. In January 2018, Aviva Life Insurance Company Limited, a digital insurance joint venture of Aviva, Hillhouse Capital and Tencent, received regulatory approval.
In Vietnam, Aviva launched Aviva Vietnam Life Insurance Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary, in August 2017.
Aviva partners in India with the Dabur Group, one of India’s oldest and most respected business houses and one of the largest producers of traditional healthcare products, and has a distribution network of over 100 branches and more than 15,000 financial planning advisers.
In July 2017, Aviva announced the sale of Friends Provident International.
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