Thien Duong
Grand Final Chairperson
General Director, GroupGSA Vietnam
Thien Duong
Thien Duong is a Canadian Vietnamese architect who carries the distinction of being a Chartered Architect with the Royal Institute of British Architects as well as Masterplanner. With an extensive background of over 25 years, he has contributed to significant architectural projects across various continents including Europe, North America, Africa, and Oceania. As a committed member of the Vietnam Green Building Council’s board of directors since its establishment, Thien has played a key role in shaping sustainable architecture practices. He is the Studio Leader of the award-winning Australian firm, GroupGSA in Vietnam, leveraging his local insight and international experience in sustainability to set new benchmarks in design and technology.
Lui Violanti
Vice Chairperson (Australia)
Regional Manager - Western Australian
,Inhabit Group
Lui Violanti
Over the past twenty plus years Lui has worked on a number of significant landmark and award winning projects across Australia. During this time he has been responsible for the design, delivery and management of a number of building typologies including education, health, retail, commercial, and residential.
In this capacity Lui has worked in all facets of the project development, from masterplanning, town planning, design to documentation and construction. This entails developing hand sketches and performance briefs at concept design, through to the management and delivery of production documentation, inclusive of performance specifications and glazing schedules to meet with the design intent, technical performance and budgetary constraints of the project.
His experience has been at the forefront of glass, remedial, envelope development and sustainable solutions in the façade industry. With a background in Architecture, he has worked with façade fabricators, developing expertise in curtain wall design and façade structures. Tony has designed façades on prominent buildings in Australia, in collaboration with the world’s leading consultants.
As Regional Manager for Western Australia has a key leadership role in interfacing with the design and construction teams, coordinating the requirements of the architectural, services, structural, acoustic and project brief requirements within the façade team. He also appreciates the project management systems and quality assurance system that are necessary for the delivery of large complex projects.
A personal interest in creating sustainable outcomes for supporting the construction industry drives Lui, pushing the boundaries around how architects and builders deliver superior quality, buildability and efficiency of the architectural vision and design intent.
Lui’s background as a Practice Director of an Architectural Practice, he also has a keen interest and appreciation of the architectural design, and enjoys working with designers to resolve complex geometries and developing systems that articulate design.
Education and professional qualifications
1991Registered Architect
1989Bachelor of Architecture, Curtin University, Perth
1985Bachelor of Applied Science, Western Australian Institute of Technology, Perth
Professional History
2013- PresentInhabit, Perth – Regional Manager Western Australian
2001-2013NHArchitecture, Melbourne - Practice Director
1998-2001Daryl Jackson Architects, Melbourne – Project Architect
1991-1998 Bollig Design Group, Perth – Architect
1988 -1991 Ministry of Housing and Construction, Melbourne – Graduate Architect
Specialist skills
- Project Delivery and Administration of Large Complex Projects
- Design Delivery / Lead Coordinator with Design Team
- Project Management and QA Systems
- Package Management between façade and other trades
- Performance Specifications
- Team Leader
- Buildability and Onsite works
Sorn Seap
Chairperson (Cambodia)
President, Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association
Sorn Seap
Obtaining his BBA and MBA degrees from the National University of Management and Norton University respectively, Sorn Seap has merged his intricate academic knowledge and passion for the field of real estate.
A well-seasoned veteran of over a decade in the real estate and property valuation industry, Sorn Seap contributes his experiences and profound local real estate knowledge cultivated through his former works with renowned local and international real estate companies including Lee Real Estate, Bonna Realty Group, Knight Frank (Malaysia), Knight Frank (Cambodia), Key Real Estate, KH25 Property and Asia Pacific Property Appraisal.
Versed in all aspects of real estate, his experiences have included intensive in-class training on property valuation in Malaysia, including field work on the supervisory and management levels.
Sorn Seap is currently the President for Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA), Chairman for KH25 Property, Chairman for Asia Pacific Property Appraisal and he is also the Chairperson of judging panel for PropertyGuru Cambodia Property Awards.
Ken Ip
Chairperson (Mainland China)
Chairman, Asia MarTech Society
Ken Ip
The author of "Life Hacks" and "Growth Hacks", Ken is an award-winning brand strategist, Associate Professor, columnist and expert commentator in Tech, Real Estate, Branding and e-Commerce. Ken has held a number of senior roles from corporate consulting to public affairs advisory for leading multinational and conglomerates. Ken was formerly the Head of Marketing at Atkins, one of the world’s largest engineering and design consultancies. He was also recently the marketing head for the 145 year-old design practice, Leigh & Orange.
At present, he is the Chairman of the Asia MarTech Society and serves on the Advisory Board of several professional organisations, including two universities.
Paul Tse
Chairperson (Hong Kong & Macau)
President Macao Association of Building Contractors and Developers
Paul Tse
Paul Tse has been active in property development and hotel investment in Asia and North America, sitting on the board of Keck Seng Investments (HK) Ltd, Sheraton Saigon Hotel, Caravelle Hotel in HoChiMinh City, Holiday Inn Wuhan Riverside, W Hotel San Francisco, Sofitel New York, and Golden Crown Development Ltd in Macau, where he was appointed by the SAR Government to serve as member on the Economic Council, Town Planning Council, Urban Renewal Council, as well as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Macau Electric Company. A member of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Committee of Yunnan Province, Mr. Tse is the current Chairman of The American Chamber of Commerce in Macau, and President of the Macau Association of Building Contractors and Developers.
Amit Khanna
Chairperson (India)
Managing Director,
Phoenix Advisers
Amit Khanna
Amit is an Accountant and Management graduate by qualification and is based in New Delhi. As the Founder and Managing Director of Phoenix Advisers, Amit oversees the two divisions of Investment Banking and Multi-Family office. Phoenix specialises in the Education and Real Estate Industry. In his previous role, as CEO of InterGlobe Real Estate Ventures, Amit set up the Real Estate division for InterGlobe Enterprises and managed assets and cash equivalent to $300m. As an avid investor, Amit has invested in various private & public companies such as Hopscotch.in (online baby clothes e-commerce site), Shantha Biotech (Biotech Company), Aro Granite (Listed granite processing company), PayTM (payments gateway), Cipher (Cancer Care), United Wind (US-based distributed wind energy company) etc.
Dr. Nirmal De Silva
Chairperson (Sri Lanka)
Director/CEO, Paramount Realty
Dr. Nirmal De Silva
With a broad-based knowledge of the Real Estate industry, Dr. Nirmal De Silva is a business professional with over 15 years of senior management experience. He was instrumental in setting up operations for Regus PLC, the world’s largest flexible workspace provider in Sri Lanka. Dr. De Silva recently started his new venture Paramount Realty and is serving as the Director/CEO of the company. His success is built by his outstanding results and experience by working for a number of Multi National and Fortune 500 companies. Not only is he a well-respected thought leader in his area of expertise, he is also a much sought after Strategy Consultant & Start up Mentor
Suphin Mechuchep
Chairperson (Thailand)
Chief Executive Officer of Sen x Public Company Limited
Suphin Mechuchep
Current Responsibilities
Mrs. Suphin Mechuchep is currently serving as the CEO of Sen x Public Company Limited, a company dedicated to creating and development business real estate and world-class service in Thailand. With a network of operations spanning from commercial business including office buildings for rent, hotels, shopping centers, service apartments and warehouses to health-related business, Sen X Public Company Limited strives to elevate the standards of operation to an international level.
Work Experience
Suphin Mechuchep has been working with JLL, a leading global and largest real estate consultancy and services firm in Thailand with approximately 1,600 employees, since 1991. She is responsible for driving key business strategies, including various business units such as sales and leasing agents, building management, and consulting services. With extensive knowledge and understanding of managing different types of assets and real estate, she has continuously expanded the company's business growth.
In 2007, she was appointed as the Managing Director of the company, and in 2021, she was appointed as the Chairperson, playing a crucial role in representing clients in conducting large real estate investment transactions.
Bill Barnett
Founder and Managing Director of Asia-based C9 Hotelworks
Bill Barnett
Bill Barnett is a globally recognized hospitality, tourism and real estate advisor. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Asia-based C9 Hotelworks. In addition to being a leading consultant, he is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences.
With over 30 years’ experience in the Asia Pacific region, he has an extensive background in hotel operations, development and asset management. His past employment highlights include Senior Corporate roles at international hotel chains and publically listed companies. Bill is considered to be one of the foremost industry experts in the hotel residences sector.
To date Bill is the author of four books on travel, property and hospitality under the titles of Slave to the Bean, Collective Swag, It Might Get Weird and Last Call.
Kristin Thorsteins
Chairperson (Singapore)
Co-Founder & Managing Partner,
Portman Investment pte ltd
Kristin Thorsteins
Kristin has over 15 years of experience hotel & real estate development and advisory in Europe and Asia. A decade ago, fate brought her to Singapore, where her assignment was to lead development and asset management in APAC for Club Med and Partner with Portman Investment Pte Ltd. She is now Head of Partnerships – SEA, IWG PLC, the largest operator of flexible office space globally. Kristin is a recognized industry leader and a regular panelist & speaker at hotel & real estate investment conferences, a member of the Urban Land Institute - Hotel Development Council & Women's Leadership Initiative.
Vivin Harsanto
Chairperson (Indonesia)
Senior Director/Head of Advisory, JLL Indonesia
Vivin Harsanto
Vivin heads JLL Indonesia Advisory Group which includes Strategic Consulting, Research, and Valuation Business. Vivin has more than 23 years of experience in the real estate industry and has been involved in numerous projects in all sectors of properties and in most major cities throughout Indonesia. Her main role is to provide strategic advisory services to various private and public sectors in Indonesia as well as international corporations. Vivin headed the corporate real estate department in Citibank for 3 years before moving on to contribute her experiences at the National Logistic Agency before joining JLL in the year 2008 till present.
Cyndy Tan Jarabata
Chairperson (Philippines)
President, TAJARA Leisure & Hospitality Group Inc.
Cyndy Tan Jarabata
Cyndy Tan Jarabata has diverse experience extending 20 years in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry being involved in acquisition, hotel development, marketing and asset management. TAJARA is a leading hospitality consulting and development company working with investment firms and property developers in the Philippines, and serving clients in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, China and Thailand. Its in-depth knowledge and experience in mainstream and emerging markets guide owners and investors in making strategic decisions and provide local intelligence to facilitate the project’s development process. TAJARA also publishes 7107 Insider, a newsletter and blog, that guides stakeholders on hospitality, property and tourism investments in the Philippines.
Datuk Ar. Ezumi Harzani Ismail
Chairperson (Malaysia)
President, Malaysian Institute of Architects: 2020-2022
Datuk Ar. Ezumi Harzani Ismail
Datuk Ezumi Harzani is the President of Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM). He was appointed as the Advisory Board member of Kuala Lumpur City Hall from 2015 to 2019 and was a board member of Board of Architects Malaysia from 2013-2021. Ezumi is also the Director of Arkitek MAA Sdn Bhd, involves in implementation of various portfolios including hospitals, residential, office buildings and hotels. He graduated with Bachelor of Housing, Building and Planning, and Bachelor of Architecture from University of Science Malaysia, and Master of Philosophy (Policy Studies) from University of Technology Malaysia.
