ContentAsia Awards

Jose Mari R. Abacan
First VP, Program Management, GMA Network, Inc (Philippines)

Jose Mari R. Abacan has been involved in the TV & film industries for 28+ years. Aside from heading Program Management – one of GMA’s content providers – he is the current Project Director of GMA Network Films, Inc. Among other achievements, he was instrumental in GMA’s introducing Koreanovelas to local audiences; it is also through his efforts that GMA airs Thai series (lakorn), Turkish and Indian dramas. He leads and oversees GMA programme acquisition initiatives, dealing with local/foreign suppliers and producers. Early in his career, he was the supervising producer of award-winning GMA Telesine Specials (TV movies). At present, he spearheads the overall operations and programming of all GMA Network, Inc’s digital terrestrialchannels (Heart of Asia, I Heart Movies, HallyPop & PinoyHits).

Myleeta Aga-Williams
Director, AnKi Media

Myleeta has managed diverse product portfolios and led marketing and sales teams across geographies at Netflix, BBC Studios, Discovery and UTV, among others. As Netflix director of content (SE Asia/Australia), she led teams while commissioning originals and programming content across Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Australia. Before Netflix, Myleeta spent over a decade in senior roles at BBC Studios across business, channels, digital, production and consumer products portfolios, and supervised the production of BBC formats such as “Dancing with the Stars”, “The Office” & “Criminal Justice”. Prior to BBC Studios, Myleeta helped co-found TV guide channel, What’s On India. She was also an executive producer at Discovery, based in Washington DC, for eight years, earning two Emmy nominations for her work on “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations”. She is currently CEO, Int’l for integrated learning, skilling and workforce development company, UpGrad. 

Yeni Priana Anshar

Yeni Priana Anshar started her career as a broadcaster at Indonesian free-TV network RCTI in 1995, and for 14 years held a number of strategic positions in the Emtek group, both at SCTV (2001-2013) and Indosiar (2013-2014). As head of programming at Indosiar, she was involved in a talent search programme, D’Academy, which took Indosiar to #1 position in 2014. She is known for her strategic abilities to build clear and strong programme positioning for Rajawali Televisi (RTV), where she worked from 2015 to 2020, enabling rapid performance growth in Indonesia’s fiercely competitive free-TV environment. She most recently worked for Net TV.

Roxanne Barcelona
Vice President/Consultant, Worldwide Division, GMA Network, Philippines

As the Vice President/Consultant of GMA Network Inc’s Worldwide Division, Roxanne is responsible for the distribution of GMA’s content worldwide. She has nearly 40 years of experience in the broadcast industry and is now in her 27th year with GMA. During her first 18 years with GMA Worldwide, she headed both content acquisition and distribution. At present, she heads the syndication and distribution business of GMA Network Inc under the network’s Worldwide division.

Angela Cheung
Video Consultant & Corporate Trainer

Angela has come to be known as the “Fairy Godmother of Video.” With a career spanning across Disney, Fremantle, MTV, Channel V and more, she has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands and won numerous awards. As a video consultant and trainer, Angela helps companies develop their in-house video capabilities, and trains professionals in presenting, video and storytelling to grow their presence. Previous roles include Regional Director of Broadcast Marketing at Hong Kong Disneyland, and Regional Director of Production at Walt Disney Television Asia, where she had responsibility for Disney’s original content and production strategy. Committed to mentorship, Angela sits on the communications and development board of Bai Xian Asia Institute.

Shigeko (Cindy) Chino
Co-founder, GM Japan, Empire of Arkadia

Cindy Chino is a leading international business development executive in Japan with 36 years of experience in both creative & commercial. Chino departed commercial broadcaster, Nippon TV, in March 2022 where, after experiencing production/news and global strategy & sales, she led the international sales team for more than seven years. She was behind the roll out of non-scripted titles such as Masquerade, Old Enough!, Block Out and scripted titles such as Mother, Woman and Your Home is My Business. Currently in close alignment with both local and global partners, her primary focus is to execute strategy for Japanese creatives to cross further borders.  

Art Kaneearch Dandumrongsuk
Channel 3, Thailand

Art has been a media activist since 1999. Starting out as a singer/songwriter, Art has released three studio albums with Sony Music and performed over two thousand shows in Asia, the E.U. and the U.S.  Art has hosted hundreds of television shows and still maintains his passion for talk radio. His role in programme acquisition for BEC World has now been transformed to digital content and marketing for 3Plus, BEC’s online platform. In his spare time, he is the owner of hotel-villa, Arttra Villa, along Bangkok’s Chaopraya river.

Sabrina Duguet
EVP, Asia Pacific, All3media International

Sabrina Duguet was appointed EVP for Asia Pacific in 2015, relocating the following year to Singapore to head up the regional operation. Prior to that, she worked in the U.K. for nearly 11 years, including stints at Indigo Film and Television. She joined all3Media in 2010, becoming SVP for international format sales and leading the sales team as well as covering formats sales for France, Germany, Netherlands, Asia and Russia. Duguet studied television and film production in Paris. Before moving to the U.K., she worked in production for entertainment programmes, feature documentaries and films in France.

Jose Escalante
CEO-Director, Latin Media Corporation

Jose has been CEO-director of international acquisition, production and distribution company, Latin Media Corp., since September 2009. The company maintains strong content links with Asia, acquiring series from, among other markets, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines  India and Taiwan, for distribution in Latam, and the U.S. The company also distributes series & telenovelas from Latin America in Asia, Latin America and Europe. Jose’s previous roles include president/CEO, Dori Media, and CEO and VP, RCTV International

Magdalene Ew
Head of Content – Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery,  Southeast Asia, Taiwan & Hong Kong 

Magdalene leads the entertainment content team at Warner Bros. Discovery in the region, including programming, original production and content acquisition. Her responsibilities include curating regional channels Warner TV and HBO as well as supporting streaming service HBO GO. Recent HBO Asia Originals from her team include The Bachelor Indonesia, Food Affair with Mark Wiens, and Emmy-nominated On the Job. Upcoming titles include cooking series MarkKim + Chef and reality series Deane’s Dynasty from Thailand. Prior to joining Warner Bros. Discovery, she was sales and marketing director at Singapore Grand Prix. A marketing and content veteran with over 20 years of regional experience, she also led the sponsorship marketing department at MTV Asia, and has held positions at Nike and Discovery Channel. 

Sonia Fleck
CEO, Bomanbridge Media

Sonia has worked in the television industry for 20 years, starting with theatrical film sales with indies such as Summit & Icon Films, before moving into TV content distribution. In 2007, she launched Bomanbridge Media, a content distribution & deficit finance group, based in Monaco. With the expansion of Asia’s media landscape, the company established its HQ in Singapore. The global distribution arm represents approx 5,000 hours of quality primetime programming, including originals & independent productions across all genres. Bomanbridge Media has equity investment from Hera Capital to further invest in content development.

Juan Foo
Independent Producer, Singapore

Juan produced Singapore features Return To Pontianak, Perth and more recently Circle Line. He is associated with Road Less Travelled, Talking Cock The Movie, Hainan Chicken Rice and Unarmed Combat. For broadcast, he produced anthology Recital of Being, Dirty Laundry and 1000 Cups to Midnight. Previous roles include distribution for a film finance company. He has also written country observations and commentary for industry journals, and is involved in training and mentorship. Juan trained and worked in Japanese 2D animation.

Mark Francis
Group Lead, Original Production – SE Asia/Hong Kong/Taiwan, Warner Bros. Discovery

Mark is an award-winning executive producer and commissioner, currently overseeing HBO’s scripted drama and unscripted entertainment local productions for SE Asia/ HK/Taiwan. Before joining Warner Bros. Discovery, he was head of content at Astro’s indie streamer sooka in Malaysia. Mark was previously Chief Content Officer at iflix. Before that he served as VP of commissioning and regional programming for Nat Geo Partners in London, and head of production for Fox Networks Group APAC & Middle East. He began his broadcasting career at Discovery Networks APAC.

Scott Freeman
Executive Producer

Scott is an Emmy-winning executive producer whose credits include The Challenge (MTV), Stars in Danger: The High Dive (Fox), Valerie’s Home Cooking (Food Network), Saddle Ranch (VH1), Motor City Masters (truTV), Disney’s TRYathlon (Disney XD), and the film, Pedro. Currently consulting with reality & format producers, Scott is a 25+ years veteran of Bunim/Murray Productions (BMP) with executive titles in original production, development and international. At BMP, he was involved with hits like The Real World, Road Rules, Starting Over and The Simple Life, in addition to the series he executive produced. He played a key role in format acquisitions and worked closely with the Banijay Group after BMP joined the group in 2010.  Scott currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Television Academy.

Shuning Fu
Director of Programming and Acquisition, KC Global Media

Shuning Fu heads the acquisition of Asian content for leading Korean and Japanese entertainment channels, ONE, and GEM. Prior to KC Global Media, Shuning managed the acquisition of Asian content for Sony Pictures Entertainment and was the business strategist for brand & segment marketing for Singapore telco, Singtel.

Danny Fung

Danny Fung began his career in the media-content business more than two decades ago writing for film directors John Woo and Tsui Hark, producing live radio shows for Hong Kong’s Metro Broadcast, and content production, acquisitions, programming, strategic development of short & long-form, as well as  brand management and digital transformation and migration, starting with TVB Hong Kong, followed by Indosiar (Jakarta), NBC Asia, Disney Studios, Turner Broadcasting/WarnerMedia), Viacom Int’l Media Networks – Paramount, and most recently as VP/Head of Content, Programming & Operations for KC Global Media’s AXN, One, Gem & Animax.

Benjamin Goh
Head of Post Production & Technology, Space Lion Studios

Benjamin’s 16 years in the television and media industry have helped him gain a diverse set of skills, from producing and editing, to lecturing and consulting. These have been applied across a wide variety of genres and formats – including documentaries, sports, drama, trailers and advertisements. Benjamin was BHP’s Post Manager for four years before his promotion to Head of Post & Technology, a role in which he is responsible for all aspects of post-production, camera equipment and IT; including managing and training BHP’s post-production and camera store staff, the quality control of programme deliverables, the maintenance and troubleshooting of all post-production and IT-related issues, as well as the expansion of the company’s post-production facility.

Gunawan Goony
Senior Manager, Acquisition & Distribution, ANTV (Indonesia)

Gunawan Goony joined Indonesian free-TV broadcaster ANTV in 2003 following almost a decade at TPI/MNCTV, during which he designed local content such as drama series, reality show, animated series concepts and acquired local and foreign content, including telenovelas, animated series & movies, Indian series & movies, Thai lakorn & movies, Turkish drama and Mandarin series & movies. In 2013, he became part of ANTV’s new programming team, which drove the station to the #1 TV channel in Indonesia with content collaborations and international titles including Indian series, sinetron and scripted formats along with global reality formats. He was promoted to Senior Manager Acquisition & Distribution for ANTV in 2018.

Jon Griffin

Jon Griffin is an International award winning Creative Director, Designer and Brand Strategist with over 20 years experience across the Digital media & design industry. He brings his knowledge and hands on creative skills to the latest media strategy. Jon was Managing Director of Novocom Asia, one of the world’s leading digital branding and design companies based in Los Angeles. Jon regularly speaks, conducts workshops and consults in all areas of branding, design strategy and media convergence as it relates to the future of design and experiential branding, design and media. His work can currently be seen in over 20 countries worldwide. Jon’s skill set ranges from hands-on Design through to Client-servicing, Directorship and Management.

Apicha Honghirunruang
President, BEC Studio (Thailand)

Apicha was appointed President of BEC Studio in July 2021 following four years as CEO of the Bangkok-based True CJ Creations, a joint venture between Thailand’s True and Korea’s CJ ENM. Before joining True CJ Creations, he was Managing Director of Warner Music Group Bangkok, Thailand. He has also held senior roles with BlogMusik SAS (Deezer), RS Public Company Limited, GMM Grammy, Hutchison CAT Wireless Multimedia, TA-Orange and Advance Info Services (AIS). 

Haikal Jamari
Channel Director & Sales Manager, APAC/ME, Dori Media Group

Haikal Jamari leads Dori Media’s content syndication, format licensing and channel distribution business in APAC/Middle East. Based in Singapore, he oversees business development for the company’s 7,500+ hour catalogue of finished and format IP across scripted and unscripted genres, as well as FMN, a drama/telenovela channel in Indonesia. Dori Media’s recent key successes in the region include format sales of The Selfie Challenge, Win the Crowd and The Best of All, in addition to the sale of Argentina, Land of Passion and Revenge – the first-ever Argentinian telenovela to air in Japan.

Jessica Kam-Engle
VP, Content & Development, Asia Pacific, The Walt Disney Company

Jessica is responsible for developing, producing and acquiring content to expand direct-to-consumer offerings. She commissioned 50+ series for Disney+ APAC, including Big Bet, Connect, Snowdrop, Moving, Shadow Detective; Japanese live action Gannibal & anime; Chinese series Delicacies Destiny, Anita (Director’s cut), Taiwan Crime Stories; Bahasa series Wedding Agreement, Mendua, Call My Agent, Teluh Darah; Australian series The Clearing, The Artful Dodger. She also spearheaded a slate of exclusive music content starring K-Pop legends BTS, Black Pink, Super Junior and PSY. From 2017-2021, Kam-Engle was the Head of Original Production at HBO Asia. Before HBO, she was an indie film producer based in Beijing/Hong Kong. She produced 10 feature films, including The Piano in a Factory. She previously worked at Celestial Pictures, MTV/Viacom Asia, MGM Gold Network & Dow Jones Newswires.

Pimpaniorn Khemanuwongsuk
Assistant Manager, TV Series Production Dept, Bangkok Broadcasting & TV Co. Ltd (Ch7 HD), Thailand

Pimpaniorn Khemanuwongsuk has worked for Bangkok Broadcasting & TV Co Ltd in Thailand in a range of roles since 2003. She was appointed to her current position in 2018, where she is involved in supervising various aspects of drama for Channel 7. She was previously involved in the broadcaster’s pre-production department, including producing TV magazine and entertainment programmes, and producing and editing business and entertainment news. Prior to Channel 7, she worked for the W Network as co-producer for the TV magazine show i-dna. 

Daryl Kho
Author

Daryl is a broadcast media veteran who sold other people’s stories for a living, and who is now also creating his own. This includes the multi-award-winning, best-selling novel, Mist-Bound: How to Glue back Grandpa (Penguin Random House SEAsia) which has been adapted into a game, is being translated to multiple languages, and is in development for screen adaptation. He was most recently SVP of formats for Banijay Rights/EndemolShine Group in Asia, which he consistently led to the top of ContentAsia’s Formats Leaderboard with marquee unscripted entertainment shows (such as LEGO Masters in Korea andJapan, and numerous iterations of MasterChef in the region), as well as drama adaptations such as The Bridge Malaysia (Viu/HBO) and Younger Korea (JTBC). Prior to that, he was the head of content distribution for Viacom Int’l Media Networks Asia.

Eddy Kilmartin-Tan
SVP of Global Studio Partnerships, allrites

Eddy engages studios and independent production houses to develop strategies to place content that appeals to digital marketplace allrites’ global clients. He also develops programming plans and strategies for LGAds Solutions and a new American Asian channel. Eddy was previously VP, channels & original productions for Fox Networks Group and launched multiple Disney channels globally. He also launched the first VOD service for Disney in the U.K. He was the first Asian selected by Disney Int”l to relocate to London to lead the global branded programming team.

Kyo Kim
VP, Mays Entertainment, Korea

Kyo is responsible for managing and operating all lines of business, including development, production & marketing for original content to engage global audiences. Before joining entertainment and media company Mays Entertainment, which has been involved in projects such as “The Divine Move” starring Jung Woo Sung, “Missing” starring Go Soo, “Run On” starring Im Si Wan, and “Shooting Star” starring Kim Young Dae, he worked in the K-pop industry for more than a decade at Star Empire Entertainment and KakaoM company and drove the production, marketing for several successful K-pop artists.    

Vanita Kohli-Khandekar
Journalist and author (India)

Vanita has been tracking the Indian media and entertainment business for almost two decades. Currently she is a columnist and writer for one of India’s leading financial dailies, Business Standard. She also writes for Asia media trade platform, ContentAsia. Her earlier stints include Businessworld and EY. A Cambridge University press fellow (2000), Vanita has taught at some of the top media schools in India. The fifth edition of her book, The Indian Media Business: Pandemic and After (Sage) was released in October 2021. Her second book, The Making of Star India (Penguin-Random House), was released in 2019.    

Ben Lai Chung Kan
Executive Director, YAM Cultural Limited

In his 25 years in the media and entertainment industry, Ben has worked for Star TV, Television Broadcasts Ltd (TVB), and Tang Media Group in the U.S. and China. He founded YAM Cultural Limited in Hong Kong, focusing on production and syndication including distributing Fox TV’s Golden Bell Awards winner “Someday or One Day” to Tencent and iQiyi in China. He also produced two Thai dramas – “When A Snail Falls in Love” and “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” (Thai version) – for Tencent Holdings. His filmography includes associate producer for Vietnamese movie “100 Days of Sunshine”, which won Best Movie Award at the Golden Kite Awards in 2018.

Janice Lam
Executive Director, Programming & Acquisitions, Celestial Tiger Entertainment

Janice is a veteran executive with over 20 years of experience in Asia’s Pay TV and OTT industry, and currently heads and manages all pay linear channels, on demand and OTT services at Celestial Tiger Entertainment. Her responsibilities include overseeing all content acquisitions, curation, programming and promotional strategies across Celestial Tiger Entertainment’s multiple media services. She also leads long-form original productions. 

Stephane Lambert
Producer, Filmmaker & Founder of BKK DOC, Bangkok International Documentary Awards Festival

​Stephane established BKK DOC​, ​the f​irst ​i​nternational ​documentary ​award competition and film festival in Bangkok​, in 2020. The co-founder of documentary production specialist, TERO Documentary, part of TERO Entertainment PCL​, ​​his long involvement in the factual genre includes “The Journey” and “Bangkok Street Fight”. Stephane has also played a pivotal role in Bangkok-based production/production services house, Wishtrend Thailand, and co-founded the ​Thai Documentary Filmmakers Association, which, among other initiatives, supports diversity and gender equality within the industry.  

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Vitto Lazatin

Vitto is a media executive with 20+ years experience in broadcast media, content, communication and partner management in the Philippines. His work experience includes stints at some of the Philippines’ biggest media companies, including key roles at Cignal TV, TV5 and Solar Entertainment.  

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Leslie Lee

Leslie Lee was most recently WarnerMedia’s Head of Kids, overseeing Cartoon Network, Boomerang & POGO networks and content in Asia Pacific, as well as Cartoonito, the preschool block on Cartoon Network. Lee also oversaw the original production & development team, and digital and games units. Leslie has over two decades’ experience in Asia’s entertainment industry. He has worked at MediaCorp, Viacom and prior to WarnerMedia, he was Executive Director of Media Networks at The Walt Disney Company (SE Asia). He presently volunteers his time mentoring media students in various Singapore-based institutes of higher learning, sits on the programming committee at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content and is a board member of Centre 42, a non-profit arts organisation that supports playwriting in Singapore.

Marianne Lee
Chief of Content Acquisition & Licensing, Viu

Marianne Lee is a content professional with a career built around fan generation. She has held leadership positions in content acquisition, curation, production, marketing, social media and research. Before her appointment as Chief of Content Acquisition and Development at regional streamer Viu, she worked for WarnerMedia leading Marketing & Brand Services. Prior to this role, she built a from-the-ground-up general entertainment department at Turner where she defined content and channel strategy and set new industry standards.

Mee Fung Lee
Chief of PIK Film, Malaysia

Mee Fung has a career in media that spans over 30 years across Asia. She worked for leading broadcasters and pay-TV operators in the region, where she played strategic roles in content & promotions. In 2005, she moved into independent production, where she served as co-executive producer and marketing strategist for various film and TV projects that garnered multiple awards and achieved commercial success in Malaysia. In 2007, she became the owner of PIK Film, a Malaysia-based Distribution and Content Agency with a solid portfolio of content brands with interests in Asia Pacific. Recently, PIK film expanded its service into production for its client base with the intention to produce purposeful and meaningful factual content.

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Sandie Lee
EVP & Channel Head, Rewind Networks

A television veteran with more than three decades experience, Sandie heads up the channel content, acquisitions and communications for regional channels operator, Rewind Networks, which operates three channels – HITS, HITS Now and HITS Movies. Before joining Rewind Networks as part of the founding team, she was VP, content at Singapore platform StarHub, where, among other things, she initiated and launched locally packaged channels. Sandie was also involved in the launch of international channels that debuted in Singapore before rolling out to the rest of Asia. Sandie previously worked for the Television Corporation of Singapore (now Mediacorp).

Mamie Leung
PCCW / Now TV, Hong Kong

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Virginia Lim
Chief Content Officer, Mediacorp (Singapore)

Virginia joined Mediacorp in Singapore in July 2021. She was previously chief content officer for PCCW Media’s Viu streaming platform, which she joined in 2019 after more than a decade at Sony Pictures Television Networks Asia in various roles, including SVP and GM responsible for distribution, advertising revenue and overall content strategy for five regional channels – AXN, ONE, GEM, Animax and Sony Channel – as well as VP for Asian content. Before joining Sony’s Asia networks division in 2008 as programming director for Animax Asia, Virginia worked for Singapore-based pay-TV platform StarHub for about 10 years. Prior to StarHub, she was a current affairs producer for Mediacorp.

Jay Lin
Chief Executive Officer, Portico Media (Taiwan)

Jay is the founder of Portico Media, a Taiwanese media hub involved in content development, production, distribution, and marketing. Jay has aggregated and introduced over 20 foreign TV channels into Taiwan, working with some of the world’s largest media companies such as NBCU Comcast, Viacom, and A&E. In 2017, he launched GagaOOLala, Asia’s first and the world’s largest LGBTQ+ BL streaming service, currently hosting over 1,200 titles and with a global membership base of 2.8 million. Portico has produced thousands of online viral videos via one of Taiwan’s most popular digital content channels, HahaTai, and overseen the production of over 60+ GagaOOLala Original titles.

Geoffrey Low
Senior Content Relations Manager, Dolby Singapore Pte Ltd

Geoffrey is instrumental in driving the adoption of Dolby technologies with content creators by developing a robust content production ecosystem in SEA/ANZ with the ultimate aim of delivering spectacular consumer experiences. From as early as the design stage to the commissioning stage, Geoffrey enables production studios equipped with Dolby technologies while fostering close relationships with existing content studios, growing the number of content titles showcased in Dolby. With over 20 years of experience, Geoffrey comes from a production background in audio where he had worked passionately on numerous television shows, music releases and live concerts. Geoffrey has also been an educator in the audio technology industry.

May Wah Lwin
Channels Editorial Manager, Canal+ Myanmar

May Wah is channels editorial manager for CANAL+ Myanmar, responsible for managing nine in-house channels across a range of genres. She was responsible for launching the highest-rated original TV series on the platform as well as a local sports channel. May Wah has been involved in the broadcast media industry for the past 11 years.

Edgar Joseph Mallari
Supervising Producer, ABS-CBN International Production

EJ is a homegrown producer in the largest media conglomerate in the Philippines – ABS-CBN Corporation. In the past decade, he has produced numerous top-rating shows such as Bagong Umaga (New Beginnings), Nang Ngumiti ang Langit (Mikaela), and Wildflower, to name a few, some of which received notable recognitions within and outside of the country. In 2021, he participated in the Full Circle Lab (Philippines) as the producer of Cattleya Killer, the first Filipino premium drama to launch at MIPCOM Cannes. Cattleya Killer is currently streaming on Prime Video in Southeast Asia, Hongkong, Taiwan and Subsaharan Africa.

Syahrizan Mansor
VP, Kids and Family & MTV Entertainment, Asia, Paramount

Syahrizan oversees all aspects of Paramount’s brands in Asia, including content, products and creative partnerships, programming and marketing on all platforms. She was previously brand head for Paramount’s Kids and Family in Asia, including Nickelodeon, and, among other projects, led the collaboration for Deer Squad with iQiyi. She also spearheaded the launch of new products, such as Nickelodeon Play in Singapore & Indonesia, the linear Nickelodeon channel in Japan, and streaming service Nick+ in Japan. Her remit was recently expanded to include Paramount’s MTV Entertainment (MTV, Paramount Network, Comedy Central). Syahrizan previously worked at Mediacorp in Singapore.

Bill McQueen
Founder/MD/Chief Content Officer, Lime* Content Studios

With over three decades of production experience at some of the world’s biggest networks, including Disney, Cartoon Network, MTV and SKY UK, Bill has worked in every facet of broadcast TV. For close to a decade, he was also the Creative Director at Fox International Channels/National Geographic Channels Asia, where he created a powerhouse creative department winning over 35 Promax Awards. As the Managing Director and Chief Content Officer at Lime* Content Studios Hong Kong, he is responsible for guiding his team through a steady stream of global short- & long-form media projects.

Sara Merican
Writer, Film Critic

Sara is an entertainment journalist and critic from Singapore. She has written features and reviews for ContentAsia, Forbes.com, The Hollywood Reporter, Sight and Sound and The Telegraph, among others. She is a member of FIPRESCI and served on the critics’ jury at the Venice Film Festival in 2022. She has also worked as a programmer for the Singapore International Film Festival and was a member of the selection committee for the National Youth Film Awards 2023. 

Kyle Murdoch
Managing Director, Nature Film NZ / Commercial Strategy Lead, IFA Group

Kyle is a chief executive, company director and multi-Emmy nominated producer with 25 years of experience working in the media industry in the U.K., the U.S., Asia and New Zealand. He worked for Star TV and News Corp in Beijing before establishing NHNZ Ltd.’s Beijing Office in 2010. Murdoch returned to NZ in 2012 and was MD/CEO of NHNZ Ltd from 2013-2020. In 2021 Murdoch founded Nature Film and continues to produce impact content for the Asia Pacific region, working closely with platforms such as CCTV, NHK, Tencent & Discovery. In 2022 Murdoch joined forces with Singapore-based IFA Media Group. Murdoch’s other governance roles include Honorary New Zealand adviser to the Asia New Zealand Foundation, and Chair of Film Otago Southland.

Attaphon Na Bangxang
Chief Digital Content Officer, True Corporation (Thailand)

With more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment and sports industry, Attaphon looks after content acquisition and partnership for digital media platform and content & programming for True Visions. He has played instrumental roles in securing licences for big branded formats, including True Academy Fantasia and the local version of Mexican musical talent show La Academia, as well as producing TV movies and drama series.  

Fotini Paraskakis
Founder and Director, Empire of Arkadia 

Fotini is a leading member of the Asian and International media industries, with 30 years of experience in the global content space specialising in both creative & commercial. Fotini has been instrumental in building the formats industry across Asia and has been involved in 400+ content deals throughout the region. In her role as Managing Director of Endemol Shine Group, she created local superbrands such as Masterchef, Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, Fear Factor, The Bridge and Humans, built properties such as Idols, Got Talent and X Factor as Head of Content for Fremantlemedia Asia and, more recently, ran a content fund as Global Managing Director for The Story Lab (Dentsu Inc). She moved to Asia in 1995, and is currently based in London and Singapore.

Quill Potter
Creative Director, ComedyFlix Asia

Quill has been involved in ComedyFlix, a global production house specialising in comedy, since January 2018. His long association with comedy in Asia includes stints as live show and festival producer for The Comedy Store in Singapore and the Singapore International Comedy Festival. In 2014/5, he created Singapore Stripped – A Comedy Roast of The Lion City, a hit comedy show aimed at tourists in Singapore. He also spent a year organising tours of international stand-up comedians in India and worked on top-rated Indian series such as The Big Switch, SuperStud/Superdude and Emotional Atyaachar. Before that he worked for Star TV, CNBC, Siren Film, and Asia Sports Television.

Haryaty Rahman
EVP Distribution Asia, International, Fremantle

With over 20 years of experience in TV content sales, acquisitions and programming, Haryaty spearheads Fremantle’s finished content sales, format and brand licensing, FAST, and social media distribution in the pan-Asia region – working to bring some of the world’s most iconic TV franchises (Got Talent, Family Feud) and award-winning entertainment to screens and platforms all around the continent. 

Paul Robinson
Head, International Sales, Genius Brands; President, Kartoon Channel! Worldwide

Paul  is an accomplished and seasoned media executive with significant experience developing media brands around the globe. Previously, he served as MD of Disney Channel Worldwide. Paul also founded the Toon Disney and Playhouse Disney television channels internationally. Before his tenure at The Walt Disney Company, Paul was Head of Strategy for the BBC Network Radio, overseeing the strategy development for BBC Radios 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 Live. Additionally, he has served as MD of talkSPORT; Co-Founder and CEO of KidsCO, NBCUniversal’s international children’s channel; and EVP of Your Family Entertainment AG, in which Genius Brands recently acquired a controlling stake.

Agnes Rozario
Director of Content, Astro (Malaysia)

A pioneer at Astro, Agnes heads the Group’s content team, covering all language and genres across TV, film and digital. She was instrumental in bringing early access to local and global blockbuster movies from cinema to home and spearheads the first-run film initiative enabling local producers to provide a cinematic experience to viewers at home via Astro First. She continues to drive the connected customer experience with over 90,000 titles available, over 11.2b minutes streamed on set-top box and 3.5b minutes streamed on AstroGo in FY22. She also spearheads strategic partnerships with regional & int’l players. A strong advocate of local original content, she continues to champion Astro Signatures, Astro Originals and development of new IP and talent.

Sabanitha Shanmugasundram
Head, Content Commissioning and Commercial & Community Engagement, Mediacorp Singapore

Sabanitha leads the Customer Group’s efforts in developing effective programming and content integration strategies across its multiple platforms. She brings with her 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry across brand and content strategy, and formats & content distribution. Prior to joining Mediacorp, Sabanitha was a media consultant, providing services on business transformation, product development and strategic value creation for media & broadcast networks in Asia. She began her career as a journalist in the U.K. and progressed to take on media and brand management roles, content creation and programming for several networks in the U.K. before moving to Asia.

Rob Sixsmith
Head of Factual, Beach House Pictures

Rob is a Bafta Award-winning filmmaker currently serving as head of factual for Beach House Pictures in Singapore. He oversees the development and production of premium documentaries, including “Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case” and “The Raincoat Killer”, both for Netflix, the award-winning natural history series “Evolve” (Curiosity, Amazon Prime), the new environmental series “Lift the Ice” (Curiosity) and is currently show running and directing a slate of new projects for international broadcasters across multiple genres.  

Frank Smith
Showrunner, Founder, IFA

Vietnamese-English filmmaker Frank started as a BBC director & producer specialising in documentaries from conflict zones across the world before setting up IFA in Singapore. His filmography includes The Killer Wave, Dowry Cops, License to Kill, A Year In The Clouds and a A Town Called Success. Frank was Executive Producer on the Golden Bell winner, The Teenage Psychic, for HBO Asia and 2019’s Nowhere Man, Netflix’s first Original Chinese language series. Frank is the creator of HBO Asia’s Thai drama series, Forbidden, which premiered at Busan’s 2021 On-Screen selection.  

Indra Suharjono
Co-founder, I.E. Entertainment Pte Ltd

Indra is a co-founder of I.E. Entertainment, exclusive worldwide distributor except for China and CLMV (non-exclusive). She has been advising BEC World on their global content strategy since early 2023. Indra is also the executive producer of Project Runway Thailand S1. Prior to setting up I.E. Entertainment, she was the CEO of Taiwan’s Next Animation Studio for three years. With over 32 years of experience in Asia’s media and entertainment industry, Indra spent a decade with Viacom International Media Networks Asia, including a role as EVP and MD of Asia. She also held senior positions with Warner Bros. Pictures Int’l, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and Turner Entertainment Networks Asia during her 12 years at TimeWarner in Asia. Additionally, Indra serves on the board of Cathay Organisation Holdings.

Andrew Tan
Head of Content, StarHub

Andrew Tan is a content professional with a particular focus on creating partnerships around both linear and OTT content, bringing value to consumers in the entertainment space. Before his appointment at StarHub as Head of Content, where he is responsible for overall content strategy, he also had extensive experience in business development in the areas of Cybersecurity and Data Analytics, with the primary aim of driving awareness for new capabilities and developments and bringing those solutions to enterprise customers. He has also worked for Maybank and for Cap Gemini.

Lina Tan
Founder, RED Communications/RED Films (Malaysia)

Lina Tan founded production company Red Communications in 1999, going on to create award-winning shows like 3R (Respect, Relax, Respond), Impian Illyana, Oh My English! SMK. She has worked with Disney Channel, Discovery Channel, National Geographic and AETN producing original content as well as localising international formats. In 2004 she started Red Films and was instrumental in supporting the new wave of Malaysian filmmakers. She has since produced 12 films. In 2009 she started 3R Media to recognise women’s role in society and their ability to challenge and change their lives and communities through the use of media.

William Tan
CEO & Founder, The Content Connected Company (China)

William has over 20 years of experience in the Chinese market. He played a central role in shaping the direction of Endemol Shine Group & Viacom International Media Networks in China for more than a decade. Among other brands, he brought Big Brother, The Brain, MasterChef, Mr. Bean, Humans, MTV and Nickelodeon to multiple platforms. He started The Content Connected Company to drive the development of non-scripted shows, documentaries, scripted shows and ancillary licensing. Most recently, the company commissioned LEGO Masters, Puzzle Masters, The Wall and All Together Now into key broadcast platforms in China. Documentary co-developments include A Taste of Hong Kong aired on YouTube and Reuters while Human Playground premiered on Netflix and Youku.

Matthew Teng
Principal Sound Designer, Mediacorp Audio Post

Matthew joined Mediacorp, Singapore’s national media network, in 2011. His repertoire includes creating captivating theme and sub-theme songs, having scored for a diverse array of dramas and films over the past decade. With his extensive knowhow, Matthew has participated in the audio post-production process for numerous local and international projects.

Lorna Tee
Producer/Partner, Paperheart (Malaysia), An Original Picture (The Netherlands)

Lorna is a film producer, programmer and curator, dividing her time between Asia & Europe. She has worked with Focus Films (HK), Variety (U.S.), Irresistible Films (HK/Japan), and festivals such as Berlinale, CinemAsia Film Festival & IFFA Macao. Selected filmography includes The Beautiful Washing Machine, My Mother is a Bellydancer, The Shoe Fairy, At the End of Daybreak, Come Rain, Come Shine, Postcards from the Zoo & Toyol (HBO/Folklore). Lorna produces with Paperheart in Malaysia and with An Original Picture in Amsterdam, focusing on film/TV productions for international audiences. She is currently year-round programmer for Cinematheque Passion in Macao, the curator of mylab for Malaysian/regional filmmakers, and int”l acquisition advisor for Barunson, the company behind Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite.  

Duangnapa (Hong) Termkraisri
AVP, IP & Contract Management, BEC World (Thailand)

Duangnapa (“Hong”) is responsible for all licensing contracts for BEC drama distribution. She was previously involved in content acquisition for 25 years, covering multiple genres including U.S. television series, theatrical movies, formats, animated series and documentary as well as sports and events for Thai free-TV network Channel 3. From 2011 to 2017, she was charged with distributing Channel 3 dramas to China and Southeast Asia.

Xander Toh
Audio Director, Mocha Chai Laboratories, Singapore

Xander has been in the music, television and film industries for 13 years.
He was shortlisted for the 59th Golden Horse Awards for his sound design for Singapore crime thriller, Geylang, directed by Boi Kwong. He also mixed Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, which won the Camera d’Or award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Henry Tran
General Manager, Warner Bros. (F.E.) Inc. (Thailand Theatrical Office)

Henry handle sales and marketing for all Warner Bros. Pictures releases in Thailand. He is a veteran in the Thailand theatrical market for over 3.5 decades with deep exposure in all areas of Sales, Distribution and Marketing for theatrical products as well as industry eco-system.

Krissada Trishnananda
Content & Programming Director, PPTV HD36 (Thailand)

Krissada has over 30 years of TV experience in Entertainment and Sports. he is responsible for both local and international content for PPTV, Bangkok Media and Broadcasting Company’s digital terrestrial station. He has been involved in international formats franchises, such as The Voice Thailand. Prior to this, Krissada worked for Thailand’s free-TV station BBTV Channel 7, TV 3 and IBC Cable TV.

Nitipat “Earn” Uahwatanasakul
Executive Producer, Master One VDO Production

Nitipat (aka “Earn”) has produced successful Thai drama series, including Mae Yay Kongkapan, Sapai Payayom, Pan Rai Pai Rak (The Cunning Love), Goun Karn Thong Gub Gang Por Pla Rai (Spinsters VS Casanovas), Nang Rai Summer, Nang Sao Thongsoi (Miss Thongsoi), Wai Sab Saleark Kad, Khun Mae Learg Deaw Hua Jai Flung Flink (The Single Mom), Series Look Pu Chai – Pat and Wai Sab Saleark Kad (Broken) 2.

Sunita Uchil
Chief Business Officer, Zee Plus

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Artine Utomo
Chief Executive Officer, RTV – Rajawali Televisi Indonesia

Artine Utomo is responsible for managing nationwide terrestrial TV station RTV’s overall portfolio, including curating compelling content for Indonesian viewers. Her mandate is to develop and expand RTV’s viewership and relevance, and deliver creative excellence. With almost two decades of experience in Indonesia’s broadcasting industry, her roles have included CEO of free-TV station PT Cipta TPI (2003-2009) and CEO of content development company PT Festival Citra (2011-2016).

Roshan Vaswani
Vice President, News & Programming APAC & International Digital, CNBC

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Lily Wang
SVP, Production, Asia, 9 Story/Brown Bag Films

Lily co-founded animation studio, Bali Animasi Solusi Ekakarsa (BASE), in 2015 in Indonesia with Daniel Harjanto. Prior to that, Lily worked globally throughout the animation industry, including Nickelodeon Burbank and Infinite Studios Batam. Lily’s production credits include TV series Franklin & Friends, Garfield, Peter Rabbit, Octonauts, Sonic Boom, Luna Petunia, Vampirina and Angele’s Christmas Wish. BASE was acquired by 9 Story Media Group in 2019, and Lily was appointed as SVP Production Asia to continue managing the operation and production for 9 Story/Brown Bag Films in Asia.

Derek Wong
Head, Viu Originals, Southeast Asia, Middle East & Africa

Derek oversees the overall strategic planning and content creation for Viu across Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa, including Viu Original titles for these markets. Derek has over 25 years of television content production experience in both long and short forms and is responsible for some of Asia’s most successful television formats ever produced. Derek started his production career in the Hong Kong film industry and subsequently moved to the television sector with Hong Kong TVB and STAR TV.  He has worked at Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia and was previously the Vice President & Head of Production and Creative Services for KC Global Media, overseeing all production and creative aspects for the organisation, including original production, on-air promotion, post-production and commercial production services.

Stevie Wong
Writer, Critic

Stevie is an award-winning journalist who has spent two decades covering film for various global outlets. He currently is the co-host of the Sky News Backstage podcast and writes for Deadline’s Awardsline and also Asian A.V. Club. Stevie is also a voting member of Critics Choice and GALECA.  

Dennis Yang
Founder & CEO, Studio76 (Taiwan)

Dennis is the Founder/CEO of Studio76, a Taipei-based production house, story IP developer and content distribution firm with JV investment from Taiwan’s KKCompany, Taiwan’s National Development Fund & Asahi Broadcast Group’s Dream Ventures from Japan. With more than 20 years of experience in the digital entertainment business and creative operations across Asia, Yang is driving a concept centred around raising & managing a regional content fund to develop “digital-first” Chinese original IP from Taiwan for streaming-oriented, genre-focused TV movies in mini-series. Studio76 won ContentAsia Awards’ the Best Asian TV Male Lead Award in 2022 with You Have To Kill Me, the Best Asian TeleMovie Award in 2021 with Kill For Love, as well as the Best Asian Horror Series award with 76 Horror Bookstore – Tin Can of Fear.

Cora Yim
Chief Content Officer & Co-founder, Sixty Percent Productions

Cora is front and centre of a streaming-driven content gold rush, with decades of credentials, a broad network, and access to funding. Her Sixty Percent Productions with partner Kit Low was formally set up at the end of 2020, based in Hong Kong with a North Asia focus but with eyes on good stories from anywhere in the region. Their first project is premium Chinese anthology series Taiwan Crime Stories, co-financed and co-produced with Imagine Entertainment and Benjamin Lin’s Taiwan-based CalFilms Asia, and with a production grant from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture. In 2022, Cora launched the EMERGE Chinese-language creative development programme alongside Imagine Entertainment and Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) to support Taiwanese writer fellows to develop original TV projects for local and international markets.

Kit Yow
VP Distribution Asia, International, Fremantle

Kit brings over 20 years of experience in the broadcast industry to Fremantle as VP Distribution, Asia. She started her career at Media Prima Berhad and was most recently VP Sales of Asia at All3media International. Kit is responsible for driving the distribution of formats, finished content, as well as Fremantle’s scripted formats in Southeast Asia.

Ziraviss Vindhanapisuth
VP, International Business, BEC World PCL (Thailand)

Ziraviss (aka Tum) is responsible for licensing and distributing Channel 3 and BEC Studio’s Thai Lakorn globally. He has licensed Love Destiny 2, Royal Doctor, and Matalada: To the moon and back to Netflix Thailand and CLMV and The Betrayal, the Thai version of BBC’s Doctor Foster, to Viu Thailand in Southeast Asian and GMA in the Philippines. Tum has been in the entertainment industry for 19 years, including stints at GMM/GMM25 and Disney. Among other projects, he managed the co-production of Korean format My Lovely Sam Soon into Thai romcom Busaba.

June Yeoh
Senior Director, Commercial Development, APAC, GroupM Motion Entertainment

June has worked across almost all commercial roles of a broadcast network in the last 19 years of her career – ad sales, consumer products, content and format sales.  Coincidentally, she’s also worked in all genres of content except sports. Currently, she’s leading the GroupM Motion Entertainment APAC business as Senior Director of Commercial Development.  Prior to being with Motion, she’d spent another four years with Viacom (now Paramount), heading up the content and formats sales business for Asia. 

Shamin Yusof
Managing Director/Producer, Skop Productions (Malaysia)

A proficient film producer with hands-on experience and knowledge in film making and its techniques. Shamin has extensive knowledge of fiction and non-fiction productions. She has deep passion in making and knowledge in all stages of the filmmaking process. Shamin is a skilled negotiator, good at networking, generating leads and developing business channels. Proven track record of fostering ideas to life.

Narit “Pap” Yuvaboon
CEO, Minds@Work, Thailand

Narit, also known as “Pap”, established his own production company, Minds@Work, and entered the industry as a producer for BEC World PLC (Channel 3).  His productions include a range of unscripted shows such as the game show, variety talk show and the singing contest.  He expanded his production to TV drama series for Channel3 prime time, including “The Legend of Nang Nak”, “My Sweet Assassin” and “World of Himmapan”, “The Blaze of Naga”.  He is now working on feature film project, “Tee Yod”.