If there is one lesson we have learnt through the recent economic crisis, it is that we are now truly a global economy. The impact of a downturn in one region is felt everywhere - markets have become interdependent in ways unprecedented in history. If we are to not only weather the storm, but also find the silver lining amongst the clouds, then we need to have a more complete understanding of how Asia relates, and doesn’t relate, to the rest of the world.

Our Opening Keynote Speaker, Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong,> has over 25 years of experience as an economist, business strategist, and writer. He advises on policy and strategy, emerging regional trends, and overall business opportunities and threats, and monitors and forecasts economic growth.

Dr. Hedrick-Wong is an Economic Advisor to MasterCard International Worldwide and chairs its Asia Knowledge Panel of leading economists, policy analysts and strategists. He is also Chief Economist for South Pacific Capital and an advisor to Global Demographics.

Nury Vittachi has informed and entertained millions of people on television, radio, and through his numerous columns in various periodicals. His encyclopedic knowledge of business in Asia, combined with his comedian style delivery, has made him a popular speaker.

Mr. Vittachi's book, The Kama Sutra of Business, is based on Indian history and literature, drawing lessons for business and life from the remarkable stories of great leaders and their adventures. Vittachi uses these sources to present valuable management lessons and to introduce the world’s first management guru who wrote a classic text on economics some 2,000 years ago. Peppered with fascinating facts and ageless business and management wisdom, The Kama Sutra of Business looks at good business practices from a fascinating, and often humorous, historical perspective.

Despite the emphasis of humour in his work, Vittachi has a heavyweight grounding in the real world. He spent many years as a financial journalist, working in senior editorial positions for the South China Morning Post and the Far Eastern Economic Review, sister publication of the Wall Street Journal.