Community Thought Leaders

Based in Singapore, Carlo van den Akker is Legal and Compliance Healthcare ASEAN at Philips. Previously he was VP Legal at Triquesta International, and before that General Counsel Asia for NXP Semiconductors Singapore Pte Ltd, in addition to being the company’s Ethics Compliance Officer for Asia. Prior to these roles van den Akker had a long-standing career at Philips Electronics in Europe and Asia as well as with Shell International. He was one of co-founders of the Hong Kong Corporate Counsel Association, the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association, and the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

To read Carlo’s In-House Insight click here.

Taj Bussadeegarn is Associate General Counsel and Director at True Corporation Public Company Limited, a major communications conglomerate in Thailand. He is a graduate of Thammasat University (LL.B.), the University of Brussels (LL.M., with Cum Laude) and the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) (Course on International Diplomacy). From 1979-1990 he was, successively, Diplomatic Officer attached to: the Treaty and Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Royal Thai Embassy in Bonn, Germany; and the ASEAN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Previous to his current position Khun Taj was a local Partner with Baker & McKenzie in Thailand. His main areas of expertise are in TMT, regulatory, corporate, M&A, anti-trust, construction and contracts.

Choo Suit Mae is Group General Counsel with Sime Darby Group, heading a team of over 35 lawyers at group and division level located at offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Australia and the Netherlands. She first joined the Sime Darby Group in August 2006 as Group Head, Legal-Mergers & Acquisitions. Mae has over 25 years of experience as a corporate/commercial lawyer. She began her career in private practice in Malaysia before moving to Hong Kong where she worked for 8 years as a lawyer with Reed Smith Richards Butler, Denton Wilde Sapte and Victor Chu & Co. Upon her return to Malaysia, she resumed legal practice at Zul Rafique & Partners (where she was one of the founding partners), and then as a partner in Skrine, one of the largest law firms in Malaysia. Her practice focus included mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, structured finance/asset securitisations, cross-border joint ventures, corporate finance and corporate/debt restructuring. She has represented a number of multinationals, corporations and financial institutions in both domestic and international transactions.

To read Mae’s In-House Insight click here.

Currently based in Sydney, Australia, for most of his career Peter Connor has lived abroad in Hong Kong, Switzerland, England and Silicon Valley, US, gaining experience on all sides of the legal industry: with one of the largest law firms in the world; in-house with prominent IT multinationals in a Chief Compliance role and in various regional General Counsel roles; and in a VP business role with a small tech-enabled compliance firm. He has acquired skills and knowledge in government affairs, compliance, employee learning and development (training), third party channel management, software product development, marketing, sales and support. Connor formed AlternativelyLegal to share his experiences, knowledge, skills – and some specific innovative products – to help in-house legal and compliance professionals throughout the world innovate, change and add value. He does this globally through his Everything But The Law™ training and consulting services and Change4Legal™ workshops for lawyers and his Trouble Traps® compliance videos and Alternative Compliance Solutions for corporate employees.

Stefan Gannon is Commissioner of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) Resolution Office. He was previously General Counsel and an Executive Director with the HKMA. Called to the Bar in England and Wales (Middle Temple) in 1973, he was in private practice before being appointed as an international legal adviser to Midland Bank Plc. Following his move to Hong Kong in 1983, Gannon became the legal adviser to the Monetary Affairs Branch of the Hong Kong Government, and was involved in the establishment of the HKMA in 1993, from which time he has held the role of General Counsel. He is a member of the International Law Association’s Monetary and International Law Sub-Committee, is the Vice Chairman of the Professional Advisory Board of the Asian Institute of International Financial Law, and is a Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. Stefan Gannon was the recipient of the inaugural In-House Community, In-House Achievement Award in 2011.

To read Stefan’s ‘The Thing About …” interview from November 2017 click here.

To read Stefan’s archived In-House Insight click here.

Philip Gu is the General Counsel for Danone China, a position he has held since 1999. Having passed the first national bar exam in 1988, Gu undertook ten years of practice before joining Danone just before the turn of the century. He is the third generation in his family to have embarked on a legal career. Gu also lectures on law at the East China Institute of Politics and Law.

Lily Rozita Khairi is the Managing Counsel for the Downstream, Gas and Power and Shared Services Units with Shell Malaysia Limited. In the 14 years that she has been with Shell, she has worked in several portfolios, having started in Human Resource before moving on to legal portfolios in Upstream, Downstream, Gas and Power and Corporate. Khairi specialises in commercial negotiations and her pet area of interest is in Decommissioning of Upstream Installations. She read law at Cardiff Law School in Wales, and holds a Diploma in Human Resource Management from the Malaysian Institute of Personel Management. She is currently also the Deputy President of the Malaysian Corporate Counsel Association.

Sue Lynn Koo is general counsel at Coupang. Previously, she was Managing Director and Head, Group Legal and Secretariat at DBS Bank, and before that Sue Lynn was at Korea Exchange Bank, joining as their first General Counsel. She began her career as an attorney with Morrison & Foerster. Her first in-house role was as GC and COO at a technology start-up, specialising in voice recognition during the height of the tech boom. She then joined Prudential Financial (US) as Chief Legal Officer for their Korean operations.

To read Sue Lynn’s In-House Insight click here

Joseph P. Longo is General Counsel, Asia (ex-Japan), for Deutsche Bank AG. Based in Hong Kong, Longo’s responsibilities include reputational and regulatory risk matters and sitting on the Bank’s regional governance board. Having graduated from the University of Western Australia Law School and Yale Law School (LLM), he worked for Australian and US-based firms earlier in his career, practising in corporate and commercial litigation and finance, “white collar” defence and contentious regulatory matters. He also held the role of National Enforcement Director at the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, where he was responsible for the coordination of ASIC’s investigation, prosecution and enforcement activities. In May 2006, Longo was appointed to the Listing Committees of the Main Board and the Growth Enterprise Market of the HKSE.

Arshella Mailoa is the Head of Legal Counsel with PT First Media Tbk (First Media), one of the largest broadband communication services providers in Indonesia. Mailoa obtained her law degree from Parahyangan University in Indonesia. She later received a scholarship from the Australian Government to undertake her Masters degree at the University of New South Wales, during which time she also worked for Sydney law firm Potok & Co on a Native Title Representatives Bodies project. Prior to joining First Media in 2006, where she had the responsibility of establishing the company’s legal team, Mailoa worked at Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners where she practised a broad range of capital market, corporate and commercial, tax and trade legal matters and specialised in securities and capital markets.

Adam Malouf is the Chief Operating Officer of Saffar Holdings. He was previously Director of Legal for the Arabian Real Estate Investment Trust (AREIT), the first and only real estate investment trust in the Middle East. A qualified Australian lawyer, he graduated from the University of New South Wales and earlier in his career worked for Allens Arthur Robinson and Clayton Utz in their banking and finance, corporate/commercial and commercial litigation practice groups. Prior to joining AREIT two years ago, he also worked for Clyde & Co in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Malouf is responsible for all legal and compliance matters concerning asset acquisitions, asset management, acquisition finance and equity fundraising. He also acts as company secretary and as director and alternate director for several of the AREIT group companies. He is currently the Chairman of the Australian Business Council – Dubai.

Joshua Margolis is a Director & Counsel (Commodities & Futures) with Citibank, N.A. Singapore. Admitted to the New York Bar, Margolis holds Juris Doctor and Master of Laws degrees from Temple University in Philadelphia. He also holds Bachelors degrees in Chinese and Linguistics which he obtained from Georgetown University, and has over 12 years of experience in Asia. Prior to joining Citigroup, Margolis worked in the Global Principal Investment and Secured Financing group at Merrill Lynch, and previously was in private practice at White & Case LLP and at Hwang Mok Park P.C. He had led the legal department for Citigroup’s securities and investment banking business in Korea for almost 5 years.

Yutaka Nakamura is General Counsel of NTT DOCOMO, a position he has held since 2004. He currently sits on the company’s executive committee, advising on strategic decisions. Prior to joining NTT DOCOMO in 1999 as the head of its international legal practice group, Nakamura served as a senior counsel with a leading Japanese manufacturer for 12 years, and throughout his career has gained extensive experience in international M&A and IP licensing projects and dispute resolution, as well as domestic experience in telecommunication regulatory matters. A member of the New York State Bar, he obtained an LLM degree from the University of Washington. He is a member of the examination committee for an education program for Japanese in-house counsel and lectures at Japanese law schools on IP and telecom regulations.

Now an independent consultant, until April 2010 Mysore Prasanna was Group Executive President, Corporate Legal with Aditya Birla Group (ABG). In addition to his general counsel role, which he held since 1998, Prasanna has also been a director on the boards of many of the ABG companies in India and abroad. Holding a Masters degree, he worked as an independent counsel earlier in his career before working in corporate roles for companies including Alfa Laval, Brooke Bond India Limited (now part of Hindustan Unilever), and Larsen & Toubro Limited. A member of various organisations, Prasanna’s current engagements include Advisor to the Managing Committee of the Bombay Chamber, and Vice Chairman of the Corporate Counsel Forum of the International Bar Association. In 2006, he was conferred the “National Law Day” Award by the Prime Minister of India.

Mutia Rivayanthi is the Region Counsel for PT Coca-Cola Indonesia. In her role she is covering Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and The Somolon Islands. She graduated from the Law Faculty of Trisakti University in Jakarta, Indonesia in mid 1995, and was admitted to practice as advocate in Indonesia in 2004. Prior to joining PT Coca-Cola Indonesia in 2005, she was working with The Law Offices of Hadiputranto, Hadinoto, and Partners (member of Baker & McKenzie), where she spent 9 years providing professional legal advice to various multinational and national clients from different industries. Her last position was Senior Associate, focusing on General Corporate and Commercial, Information Technology and Telecommunications, and Broadcasting and Entertainment Law practices. She is one of Asian Legal Business 25 Asia’s Pre-eminent In House Counsels – 2007.

Anak Surasarang is Head of Legal & General Counsel at Siemens Limited based in Bangkok. He received a Bachelor of Laws from Chulalongkorn University, and obtained respectively two Master Degree of Laws from the University of Sheffield, UK, and the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Before joining Siemens Limited, Anak was a Legal Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal in Bangkok. He has extensive experience in infrastructure projects and other projects in Thailand having advised project owners and constructors. His past work includes the BTS Skytrain, MRT subway, the Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link and Power Plants located in Bang Pakong and Songkhla.

Muhammad Tariq is Senior Legal Counsel at TECOM Investments (a member of Dubai Holding), a major Dubai based company having various business parks which are home to over 4,500 businesses, including major multinationals and many of the Fortune 500. After completing his education in England, Muhammad started his career working in private practice in Pakistan in 2004. He has been in the UAE since 2007 and has advised his clients (in private practice and in-house) on numerous M&A transactions and corporate commercial matters. He takes particular interest in the evolving role, relationship and future of the in-house lawyers and law firms and the ways of sourcing and delivery of legal services.

To read Muhammad Tariq’s In-House Insight click here.

Kenny Tung is General Counsel at Lex Sigma, providing ad hoc general counsel services to businesses from a regional perspective. Previously, Kenny was Chief Legal Counsel at Geely, helping the Chinese auto company to expand its international business. His initial portfolio included projects with international partners like Volvo, and also the support of the rapid growth of Geely export business and cross border supply chain. Prior to this, Kenny served as legal director/general counsel in Greater China or Asia at PepsiCo, Goodyear, Honeywell and Kodak. In these roles he actively participated in the relevant geography’s leadership team, supported functions such as manufacturing & supply chain, sales & marketing, HR, finance, R&D, managed M&A and strategic projects, fielded a vast variety of issues in areas such as employment, government relations and IPR protection and also shaped & implemented compliance programs. He also drove efficiency projects and practices in the legal function from the time he started his in-house legal roles. Kenny first came to China in 1994 with the international law firm of Coudert Brothers where he helped to negotiate major projects such as the US$1.6 billion Shanghai General Motors auto assembly plant and technical center. Born in Hong Kong to Shanghainese parents, Kenny was graduated in secondary school in the U.S. and received his bachelor and juris doctor degrees from Columbia University.

Charles (Jin) Wang is currently acting as VP & Head of Legal for Amazon China. He was previosuly the Head of Legal for Shell companies in the Greater China Region. Wang holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California and an LLM in Taxation from New York University School of Law, in addition to an MBA and a Bachelor of Arts, and during his 20 years of professional life has lived in the United States, Hong Kong, Europe and China. Prior to joining Shell, Wang led the Asia Pacific Law Department of a Fortune 100 conglomerate. He also practiced for a number of years in the US and Hong Kong at international law firms including Baker & McKenzie and White & Case. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Legal Working Group with the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

 

Tony Wenas is President Commissioner at April Indonesia. Previous to his current position, he was CEO of PT Inco, and prior to that, Director and Executive Vice President of Legal, Tax and External Affairs with mining company PT. Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), a subsidiary of Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold. From 2005 – 2006, he was assigned to lead the company’s Government Relations Department in addition to his general counsel role. Wenas obtained a law degree from the University of Indonesia and, before joining PTFI in 2001, gained experienced across various industries including banking, telecommunications, and oil & gas. In 2004, he also served as the acting Chairman of the Indonesia Mining Association and was appointed as Vice Chairman of the Permanent Committee of Mineral Resources of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce. Wenas has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Permanent Committee of Funding and Investment Infrastructure from 2008 – 2013.

Peter Zhang is General Counsel and Board Secretary of Sony Mobile, a role which requires him to lead the legal department for Greater China. He has more than 17 years of in-house experience in China, having previously also held corporate positions with Unilever China, Ericsson China and Yahoo China. Zhang holds an LLB and LLM and has also practised in a Hong Kong law firm. Active in legal society, he has participated on various occasions in the drafting of legislation from an industry point of view, and has been active in legislation lobbying. Throughout his career, he has developed experience across a range of areas including M&A, compliance, anti-trust and competition, trade and commerce, litigation and arbitration, risk management and control, commercial negotiation, employment and IP protections.