THE WORLDS COMMUNITY FOR IMPACT TECHNOLOGY

With an early passion for music, Tony kickstarted his career as a marketing guy for Sony and Virgin. It wasn’t long though before he discovered another passion, bringing people together to drive positive change. Over ten years in Indonesia he built a leading marketing communications firm and worked with clients, NGOs and government to address poverty and climate change. After short stints with advertising giants Leo Burnett and Ogilvy, he then founded Global Initiatives which grew to convene some of the world’s most impactful sustainability forums in over 20 countries. Always connecting world leaders, investors, companies and international agencies to commit to a better future. Tony still listens to a lot of music, a soundtrack for positive impact.

Michal Falk-MenasheEcosystem ManagerBased in Singapore, Michal is managing Blue Impacts’ Ecosystem, mostly focused around SHIFT! programme, city hub partners, members and start-ups.Michal is an experienced Business Analyst who has held roles with Singtel Innov8 in Singapore and with the AT&T Foundry in Israel, leading their business analysis, scouting and start-up evaluation activities; prior to these roles Michal was part of a few start-ups in Israel, where she developed her passion for the start-up technology industry.

Ebby is our design-based creative director, with over 20 years of professional experience, ten of them in multinational advertising agencies such as FCB and Euro RSCG. Ebby creates concept-driven and contemporary design ideas that work in a commercial environment. His projects range from editorial design, music packaging and fashion apparel, corporate design and branding, to social documentaries and branded films. Ebby is also a passionate filmmaker, directing most of the branded short films that Blue Impacts has produced these past few years. He also has a strong interest in architecture. When not doing design and film, Ebby can be found playing with his daughters, DJ-ing, or creating street culture-inspired paintings.

Life can take you to surprising places. And sometimes, when you look back, you can’t help but think, How did I get here from there? Tony Boatman grew up on a small farm in Australia. He used to milk a cow before school. The first in his family to attend university, Tony went on to lead marketing for Nokia, Asia Pacific. At Nokia he launched the world’s first smart phone. Later as Head of Marketing at Microsoft he brought the Xbox 360 to millions of users. After leaving the corporate world, Tony co founded a Swiss health tech company, a social enterprise called Bicycle Barista and in 2012 was named Global top 100 Sustainability Leader for his work with Al Gore's Climate Project. Tony is an authentic leader and proven team builder who strives to disrupt the traditional idea of a job. “I get up each day feeling grateful for what I have and motivated to make a positive impact. Experiences excite me, things don’t.”

Jonathan is a full stack engineer and web developer haling from the southern Texas ‘Panhandle’. Jonathan leads the development of our Hubspot web platform of which all of our digital applications are hosted. Jonathan is excited about all thing tech. Preferring to work at night and being based in Texas, he is always available for a chat with those of us in Asia on the other side of the world! Jonathan love the outdoors, camping, fishing, shooting and the wide open spaces of Texas.

Chloe’s sense of adventure kicked in early. Shortly after high school she moved to the United States to study architecture, where she focused on green buildings and sustainable urban development. Upon returning home, Chloe joined the booming exhibition industry where she fell in love with the buzz and excitement that comes with convening large international events with up to 100,000 participants. A natural collaborator, Chloe has built strong partnerships with government which have become foundational to the Impact X business in China. Chloe enjoys the beach, travel and the company of good friends.

Robert has been creating marketing communications for the high tech sector for more than 25 years. As a creative director at Ogilvy, FCB, VMLY&R, and Wunderman, and as an independent consultant, Robert has led multidisciplinary teams in the development of campaigns for IBM, Microsoft, Dell, Plantronics, Cisco Systems, SAP, and CA Technologies, among many others. Much of the work he has created has appeared in markets around the world, and has garnered multiple international awards for response, creativity, and business results. Today, he is frequently called upon to create brands and develop go-to-market messaging strategies for multichannel communications campaigns, and is Chief Storyteller for ImpactX. “Writing is what I still do most, and what I most love to do,” he says.

LEarly in his career Michael spent three years working in New Zealand, where he discovered a passion for fine food, coffee and wine! A lawyer by training, Michael returned to China and entered the convention and exhibition industry in 2009. His entrepreneurial nature enabled him to quickly grasp the scale of opportunity in mega cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzen. Later relocating to Hainan, where the exhibition and events industry was growing exponentially in unison with the governments free trade zone policy, Michael quickly established himself as an industry visionary. A natural team leader with a passion for sustainable development Michael is excited to be part of the shift to a more sustainable world.

Yi Ting brings a zen-like calm and order to the ImpactX team. Unflappable, her presence is like the music that accompanies a mindfulness app when it instructs the listener to 'take a deep breathe and slowly exhale'! Passionate about leading cross-functional teams in a deadline-driven environment, Yi Ting's operational skills serve as the lubricant within the company, identifying gaps and easing development workflows from conceptualisation to delivery. Yi is the bridge across Product, Engineering, UI/UX, Customer Success and Sales. "I know I am succeeding when I go unnoticed"!

Brendan KavanaghSales DirectorBrendan began his career in London in the 90s, delivering cross industry conferences and exhibitions for business leaders, decision makers and solution providers across the globe. Moving to Asia 12 years ago, he has launched, grown and delivered numerous marque events across the region whilst developing high performing project, CX and sales teams along the way. A lover of rock music, football, cats and the planet - he is now focused on the latter, building the IX global partner ecosystem and in the process helping shift capital to impact technologies ideas that solve systemic global problems.

After attending an event at World Vision at an early age, Jiaming saw for himself the horrors of poverty and hence forth set out to be an agent of change. After completing his two years of national reservist training in Singapore, Jiaming immersed himself in the study of development and international politics. Working at the intersection of poverty reduction and planetary boundaries mitigation, Jiaming has participated in forums around the world to garner deeper insights into how technology can play a lead role in solving some of the world’s most pressing systemic problems. In managing the setup of SHIFT! Jiaming has found his calling, putting his passions to work. An avid follower of the English Premier League, Jiaming can be found cheering for Manchester United while enjoying the occasional pint of beer by the Singapore river.

Lynn is our Investor Community Manager based in Westchester New York. A seasoned leader and innovator in the community management space, Lynn also brings experience running customer success organisations for multinational technology companies. Lynn is totally authentic with strong relationship building skills and a knack of creating partnerships that deliver benefits to all involved. In her spare time, Lynn is an awesome mum and 'driver' for her three children where she can be found cheering them on at sporting events up and down the east coast.