Scaling What Matters

Mr Shombi Sharp, a national of the United States of America, was appointed Deputy Executive Secretary for Partnerships and Coordination of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on 1st December 2025. He has devoted more than 25 years of his career to promoting inclusive and sustainable development internationally, both within and outside of the United Nations. Within the Organization, he previously served as United Nations Resident Coordinator in India and United Nations Resident Coordinator in Armenia. Prior to that, he held numerous leadership positions at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), including Resident Representative in Armenia, Deputy Resident Representative in Georgia, Deputy Country Director in Lebanon, Regional HIV/AIDS Practice Team Leader for UNDP Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States in the Russian Federation, Programme Manager for the Western Balkans in New York and Assistant Resident Representative in the Russian Federation. Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Sharp began his career in development with the international non-profit CARE International in Zimbabwe. He is a published author of works in health economics and has served in advisory capacities with the World Health Organisation and the World Bank. Mr. Sharp holds a Postgraduate Diploma in HIV/AIDS management from the National Medical University of South Africa and Stellenbosch University, in South Africa; an Executive Program Certification from the University of Chicago in the United States; a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Colorado, in the United States; and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas, United States. He is fluent in English and Russian.

Theresa Sim is an Assurance Partner, Chief Financial Controller, Business Transformation Leader and a member of the Leadership Team of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Singapore. Ms Sim has more than 20 years of professional experience in providing audit and related advisory services including due diligence for purposes of mergers / acquisitions and other consulting work. Her clientele base covers a wide spectrum of industries which includes property development and management, retail, oil and gas, manufacturing and trading; cutting across SGX listed, government-linked and multinational companies. Through servicing a diversified client base, she has accumulated in-depth knowledge of group audit coordination and reporting requirements in various GAAPs and can value-add in areas of financial, governance, controls and risk management. She is presently also the Executive Committee Member / Honorary Treasurer of the Singapore Children’s Society and Board Member of Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund.

Mr Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin is CEO of Quantedge Capital and is director of Quantedge Foundation, which supports charitable causes in Singapore with a focus on improving social mobility. He was formerly Partner at Allen & Gledhill LLP., advising financial institutions and blue-chip corporations in financial transactions. Suhaimi is a strong believer in skills-based volunteering and leverages on his corporate experience to contribute on the boards of various organisations, He currently holds directorships at National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, Skillsfuture Singapore, National Environment Agency, The Esplanade, Quantedge Foundation and TalentTrust Limited. He is also Chairman of Learning Gateway Ltd and Tri Sector Charity Consultants.

Alfie Othman heads the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, raiSE. Alfie has had a successful banking career of over twelve years in the banking sector. Alongside his private sector work, Alfie has devoted significant time to the public sector and civil society. Alfie is recognised as a Social Enterprise practitioner within Singapore. He founded his own social enterprise to support ex-offenders, single mothers, and persons with disability. Since then, he has also served as advisor and mentor to many social enterprises in Singapore and in the region. Before Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, raiSE, Alfie was the Executive Director of the Social Enterprise Association. Since 2016, Alfie has been appointed as a Fellow at SUSS, providing advice on Fintech and Inclusive Finance.

Subashini Balakrishnan is the Assistant Chief Executive Officer at Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, raiSE. She oversees the Membership Engagement team and Corporate Services team. She champions the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders in supporting and nurturing the social entrepreneurial community in Singapore. In Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, raiSE’s endeavor to encourage every enterprise to be a Social Enterprise, the team is at the forefront of welcoming interested corporations to make Social Enterprises a part of their sustainability journey. Concurrently, she also heads the Strategic Communications unit that manages the marketing, branding, and public relations efforts to increase awareness of and raise support for Social Enterprises in Singapore. Prior to joining Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, raiSE in 2017, Subashini had led various teams in the areas of Enterprise Development, Marketing and Communications, and Corporate Development. She has 15 years of exposure in varied industries both in government and the private sector. Subashini is passionate about the impact that inclusive businesses can have on our communities and takes a personal interest in the narration of their impact through integrated communications. Having managed her own fashion retail business, she has an astute understanding of the trials and tribulations of a local startup founder and is known for her sensibilities and contagious enthusiasm.

Chen Ze Ling is the Managing Director and Group Head of Corporate and SME Banking at DBS Bank. In this role, Ze Ling assumes leadership over DBS’ business with mid-sized corporates and SMEs across Asian markets. Ze Ling is a member of the Management Committee of DBS’ Institutional Banking Group. He also serves as a board member of DBS Foundation, which is dedicated to uplifting lives and livelihoods by igniting change in businesses and communities. Ze Ling is an advocate for transformation of SME businesses and leads DBS’ franchise to deliver its commitment to empowering mid-sized corporates and SMEs to grow and thrive in these dynamic times. Under his leadership, DBS has launched flagship programmes such as Bridging Business Horizons, DBS ESG Ready Programme and DBS Spark GenAI Programme, which support businesses with targeted expertise, resources and financial solutions to drive their transformational changes through the key enablers of regionalisation, sustainability and digitalisation. Ze Ling brings with him over 20 years of banking experience across several geographies, where he had taken on various leadership roles with DBS. Prior to his current role, Ze Ling was the Singapore Head of Corporate Banking where he drove the strategy execution, client engagement and risk management of DBS’ business with mid-sized corporates in Singapore. He was also a member of DBS Singapore’s Country Management Committee.Ze Ling started his banking career in Citi as a Management Associate in Global Corporate & Investment Banking. He joined DBS in 2008 as an industry banker, where he had relationship coverage responsibilities for large corporate clients in energy, power and utility industry sectors in Singapore and other ASEAN markets. Ze Ling was a key member of the founding team which established DBS’ Australia Branch in 2015 and subsequently assumed the position of Country Head for Australia where he grew the franchise to become a significant International Centre for DBS, making valued contributions to the bank’s strategic imperatives of Asian connectivity and sustainability. Ze Ling graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, with a bachelor’s degree (First Class Honours) and the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal in Accountancy.

Andrew holds several leadership positions at Temasek Trust. He currently is the Head of Portfolio Development & Management, where he leads development projects and portfolio management. This includes corporate strategy, mandate setting, capital allocation, investments, and management of a portfolio of designated beneficiaries and socio-economic enterprises at Temasek Trust. He also leads a new initiative, S3E, which seeks to deploy patient non-grant capital to help spur socio-economic enterprises in Singapore. Andrew has over 25 years of institutional investing and investment banking experience. He joined Temasek Trust from Temasek Holdings where he held various global investment roles across sectors including retail & consumer companies, business and financial services. Prior to that Andrew spent 12-years in investment banking at Credit Suisse based in Singapore where he advised companies on cross border transactions across M&A, public equity and debt capital raisings, and structured credit. Andrew started his career at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Institutional Banking, based in Sydney. Andrew graduated from the University of Sydney, Australia, with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Economics. He also has a Master of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, Australia, majoring in Economics and Finance. Andrew Is a Board member of MoneyOwl, a portfolio company of Temasek Trust.

Mint is an impact entrepreneur on a mission to ensure no child is left behind. She is the Founder and CEO of School of Concepts, a Singapore social enterprise that brings high-quality enrichment to children from low-income families, and School on Cloud, an EdTech venture that takes this model to learners across Asia. Under Mint’s leadership, School of Concepts developed a proprietary teaching methodology covering English phonics, Chinese culture, financial literacy, STEAM, and social-emotional learning. These are the foundations every child deserves, whatever their family’s circumstances. School on Cloud’s intellectual property has since been featured as a case study by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Through School on Cloud, she has scaled that vision beyond Singapore, building a network of schools and satellite centres with operations in Vietnam, Japan, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In 2023, Mint became Singapore’s first Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellow. She has also been recognised as a Robb Report Thought Leader, a Tatler Gen.T honouree, and one of Prestige’s 40 Under 40. Her work sits where social impact meets scalable business. She believes that access to great education should be a starting point for every child, not a privilege for a few.

Anjan has served in various leadership positions within the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), namely in social service strategy, service management and membership, service planning and development, and sector manpower. In these various roles, Anjan had worked with social service agencies (SSAs), and numerous other stakeholders from the public and private sector, to co-create solutions with a aim to meet the needs of vulnerable population. In his current role, Anjan leads the Capability Development Group, responsible to enhance the Organisation Capabilities of SSAs. Anjan is passionate about social service and enjoys good conversations to explore solutions that address social issues affecting the lives of people. He had also held a leadership position in Temasek Foundation, involved in international philanthropy work.

Shanti Alexander is Director of Policy Programs and Campaigns for Asia-Pacific at Meta, based in Singapore. For close to a decade, she has driven multi-stakeholder initiatives at Meta that bring together governments, civil society, academics, and industry to advance shared goals around economic growth, innovation, and the responsible use of technology. She currently leads the design and delivery of Meta's policy programs and campaigns across APAC, working at the intersection of technology, public policy, and societal impact. Shanti's portfolio spans some of the region's most pressing digital policy challenges alongside the most exciting opportunities for economic growth and social development. She oversees AI upskilling programs for small businesses, social impact initiatives for AI glasses, and digital literacy programs addressing youth safety, online fraud prevention, and responsible AI use. Through these programs, she and her team have engaged hundreds of developers, upskilled thousands of small businesses, and reached millions of people with critical tips on how to stay safe online across more than 18 markets.

Zac Toh is a Singaporean green entrepreneur whose career began in his father’s nurseries, where he spent his childhood plucking weeds, propagating plants, and even driving forklifts and bobcats. The nursery was his second home, and those early years gave him a lifelong passion for nature and sustainability. Zac’s most people-centred work is City Sprouts, the social enterprise he founded to transform underused spaces into vibrant community farms and learning hubs. As founder, he set out to bridge the gap between people, food, and nature by turning idle corners of the city into places where residents can grow food, learn new skills, and connect with their neighbours. Under Zac’s leadership, City Sprouts treats greenery as a platform for community bonding, food awareness, and sustainable living, not as decoration. Its shared green spaces and programmes make urban farming accessible to everyday Singaporeans, creating a sense of shared ownership and bringing people together around a common purpose.