Santina Bonini brings over 30 years’ experience as a product designer, interior designer, teacher and lecturer to her current positions as educator at the School of Architecture – City University of Hong Kong, consultant at the Hong Kong Design Centre, and creative director of internationally recognised product and interior design consultancy, Design-bs.
As a design educator, Bonini co-initiated the start of what has grown into ESF Design Day at the Renaissance College. While at the School of Design – Hong Kong Polytechnic University, she co-supervised collaborative projects with the Italian Trade Commission and Hong Kong Design Centre, and brought influential leadership and networking skills to cultivating relationships and sponsorship opportunities with European institutions.
Bonini has organised and participated in numerous conferences and lectures on creative thinking and design development in Italy, Korea, Hong Kong and China. Her groundbreaking research and designs at Design-bs produced Trivet for Viceversa – the first domestic-use product made from silicone – and the innovative Arctic Collection for Gedy which was acquired by MoMA for its permanent collection.
Tobias Berger is the Head of Arts at Tai Kwun, the new art and heritage revitalisation project at the former Central Police Station compound.
After graduating in art history and economics from the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, and completing the De Appel Curatorial Training Programme in Amsterdam, Berger worked as a Curator at the Museum Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany, until the end of 2001. In 2002, Berger was the Artistic Director of the 8th Baltic Triennial of International Art in Vilnius, Lithuania. Between 2003 and 2005, he was the Director of ARTSPACE NZ in Auckland, New Zealand. From 2005 to 2008, he was the Executive Director of Para Site Art Space in Hong Kong. From 2008 to 2010, Berger served as the Chief Curator at the Nam June Paik Art Center in Seoul, South Korea, and from 2010 to 2015 he was Curator of Visual Arts at the M+ Museum in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong-born Kiri Sinclair founded her eponymous communications agency in 2009, and has since seen it become a regional leader in the industry. As Agency Leader, she oversees topline operations and client strategy across Sinclair offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, working with brands across industry and sector to drive business outcomes with forward-thinking ideas and fearless creative strategy. She has directed and implemented PR strategies for world-leading consumer and corporate brands, and government agencies, and has extensive experience in bringing both local and international brands to market. Across industry sector, Sinclair’s strategic mindset solves problems and finds solutions that create meaningful value for her clients. Sinclair’s extensive network of who’s who across a wide spectrum of industries makes her an invaluable resource to clients. A well-known and highly regarded industry figure, she is the incumbent Chairperson of the Council of Public Relations Firms of Hong Kong, and also serves as a judge for a number of high-profile, regional PR awards. She earned her MBA from Hong Kong University.
Born in Zambia and raised in South Africa she obtained a Master’s degree in urban planning, before moving to Asia 28 years ago. After completing a Masters degree in environmental science, she worked in London and Hong Kong for leading environmental specialists on several urban regeneration projects.
In 2000, Shaw relocated to Tokyo, Japan, where over a decade she wrote on Japanese architecture, art, and design. She returned to Hong Kong six years ago.
Shaw has authored the past five editions of the Wallpaper* Tokyo City Guide and recently edited the first book in English on design essays written by the Japanese product designer Sori Yanagi. This year she was responsible for a comprehensive update of the Louis Vuitton City Guide for Hong Kong, and is currently writing a book on Hong Kong artisans for Assouline. Shaw contributes to a wide range of leading magazines including Interior Design, Wallpaper*, Design Anthology, Vogue Italia, as well as news media including the Financial Times and the South China Morning Post. She is the Asia-Pacific contributing editor for the New York-based Metropolis magazine. Shaw is a regular speaker and moderator at design events.
Gianluca Cinquepalmi is currently Associate Chair of the school of communication Arts and Professor of Advertising & branding, Graphic Design at SCAD Hong Kong (Savannah College of Art and Design). Founder & Creative Director of 1.618 Limited, a Hong Kong based Business Design and Branding studio, Consulting companies such as Lee Kum Kee, Ducati, Fiat, Nespresso, Wynn, Infinitus & UN World Food Programme.
After 10 years working in the Design & Branding industry, He is now devoted to educate & train talented students; companies and institutions in the ways of attaining sustainable growth.
Graduated with a Master Degree in Management Engineering, most of his career has been dedicated to developing an expertise in the process of Innovation and Strategic Thinking; to provide sustainable, competitive advantages within most industries.
His approach involves utilising future-oriented design principles to increase an organisation’s innovative and competitive qualities. Creating Innovation teams and change-agents.
Marisa Yiu is an architect and Founding Partner of ESKYIU, a multi-disciplinary architecture studio based in Hong Kong. She was the Chief Curator of the 2009 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture; curated POP-UP Studio-X Shenzhen at the Value Factory; and the Design Trust Futures Studio flagship programme.
Yiu is also co-founder and Executive Director of Design Trust, an initiative of the registered charity Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design. Yiu is responsible for spearheading the creation of long-term, intelligent and meaningful platforms to fund innovative and thought-provoking investigations in various design disciplines, from graphics, media, wearable technologies, architecture to the environment, focused on Hong Kong and the Greater Pearl River Delta Region.
Eric Schuldenfrei is the Associate Dean for Special Projects and Communications at the University of Hong Kong Architecture Faculty. His most recent book The Films of Charles and Ray Eames: A Universal Sense of Expectation was published in 2015 and focuses on architecture, politics, cinema and education. Together with Marisa Yiu, he founded ESKYIU – a multi-disciplinary architecture studio integrating culture, art, community and technology. He has previously taught at Princeton University, Columbia University, and the Architectural Association in London and has recently presented at DLD in Moscow on the topic of Future Cities, at the V&A museum, Harvard University AsiaGSD series, the University of Cambridge, and the Royal College of Art in London.
Aric Chen is Lead Curator for Design and Architecture at M+. Previously, he served as Creative Director of Beijing Design Week, helping to oversee the successful launch of that event in 2011 and 2012. Prior to moving to Beijing, Chen was an independent curator, critic, and journalist based in New York, organising exhibitions and projects at the Design Museum Holon, Design Miami/Basel, the Saint-Etienne International Design Biennale, Center for Architecture (New York), and ExperimentaDesign Amsterdam. He is the author of Brazil Modern (Monacelli, 2016), and has been a frequent contributor to publications including The New York Times, Metropolis, Architectural Record, and PIN–UP.
Cees de Bont is the Dean of the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Swire Chair Professor of Design and Alex Wong Siu Wah Gigi Wong Fook Chi Professor in Product Design Engineering. Prior to his appointment at PolyU, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. In the PolyU School of Design, he introduced the master program: International Design and Business Management and the executive master program: Innovation Leadership. His research interests include: design education, consumer behavior, innovation adoption, design methods and networked innovation. He published papers in the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Design Studies, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Economic Psychology, International Journal of Cultural and Creative Industries and Journal of Design, Business & Society. Professor de Bont founded the Creative Industry Scientific Program on product-service systems (CRISP) and chaired the Dutch Innovation Centre for Electric Road Transport (D-incert). He was the Chairman of the Management Committee of the Design Institute for Social Innovation (DISI) at PolyU and a member of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Design Center and of PMQ, a creative design hub for design talents.
Guy Parsonage is Partner & Leader of the PwC Experience Centre where he is responsible for driving digital transformation and innovation for global brands in and out of Greater China. With a remarkable record in agency leadership, strategic marketing and iconic experience design, he is an industry pioneer. Guy is a highly experienced marketer and passionate culture-builder, who brings the best out of all of those around him.
Hospitality
Led a major rebranding and digital re-engineering of a global chain of hotels
Education
Led an external marketing and communications audit, strategic planning and brand architecture
Banking
A wealth of experience in internal and external engagements through brand experience and change program
Insurance
Lead of multiple on-going projects including internal engagement, brand campaigns, digital and social media strategies and executions
The Marketing Society Asia
January 2015 – Present
Chair of the Marketing Society
Jack Morton Worldwide
June 2003 – May 2013
SVP, Managing Director in Hong Kong and Sydney, Australia
Dr. Li WAN is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Architecture of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She specializes in sustainable building design and assessment system in poor rural areas of China. She is also the co-founder and project convener of “One University One Village” initiative that aims to bring together the expertise, knowledge, and human resources of “a university” to improve the livelihood of “a village” and its needy villagers in a strategic, systematic, and sustainable manner. Their team has more than ten years’ experience of rural research and practice. Their rural projects have been honored by numerous international awards such as the UNESCO Asia Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, the Terra Award, and the AR House Award.
A Swiss national, Roger Staeheli was appointed as Hong Kong and Macau Country Manager for Nespresso in March 2014. In charge of the business and brand development of Nespresso in these markets, Staeheli leads the drive in sales and sustainable business success to continue the brand’s remarkable growth story through delivering the highest quality coffees and design innovations that deliver the ultimate gourmet coffee experience. Staeheli’s career with Nespresso started in 2005, having worked as International Partnership Manager at the Nespresso headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. In this position he wasresponsible for the performance and relationships of strategic partners and in charge of machine distribution across all markets. When Staeheli first moved to Hong Kong over three years ago, it didn’t take long before he saw that Hong Kong – predominantly a tea drinking culture – not only is a white coffee market, but sees a clear trend in consumers showing great interest in gourmet coffee, regarding it as much a lifestyle beverage as it is a functional one. Hong Kong consumers continuously seek out the highest quality in design and taste, which is what Nespresso is about, and Staeheli continues to lead the brand at the forefront of the gourmet coffee market, driving in-home and out-of-home coffee consumption with Nespresso.
Dr. Simon Leung, a seasoned technocrat and devout educator.
Leung is currently the Vice Chairman and Executive Director of NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited and the Chairman of Elernity Limited. Since joining NetDragon in 2015, he has been focusing on developing NetDragon’s learning business – both in China and internationally. The Company has been steadily ramping up the learning business development, and he is also contributing his effort to expand the business in the emerging markets.
Dr. Leung has over 30 years of experience in both information technology and telecommunications industries. He was appointed as the President of Motorola Asia-Pacific in 2005, and was responsible for the overall strategic planning and implementation. In 2008, he served as the Chairman and CEO at Microsoft Greater China region. He also worked as the CEO of Harrow International Management Services Limited.
Dr. Leung’s prevalence in education sees him as advisor to the Richard Ivey School of Business at the Western University, Canada; Treasurer and Council Member and Chairman of Finance Committee of Tung Wah College, Hong Kong; and International Advisory Committee Member to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He was also a governor of Upper Canada College in 2009.
Dr. Leung holds an Honorary Doctorate in Law and Bachelor of Arts under Faculty of Science from Western University, Canada, and a Business Administration Doctorate from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Mr Pescod joined the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority in October 2014. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in August 2015. He has over 32 years of service with the Hong Kong Government during which he served in various bureaux and departments, including the former Home Affairs Branch, the former Security Branch, the Lands Department, the former Urban Services Department, the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Civil Service Branch, the Tourism Commission, and the Efficiency Unit. He was Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Communities from 2006 to 2008, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology) from 2008 to 2010, and Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Housing) and Director of Housing from 2010 to 2014.
Lim + Lu is an award-winning inter-disciplinary design practice initiated in New York, currently based in Hong Kong. Lim + Lu works internationally provides architecture, interior, furniture, and product design services. Co-founders Vincent Lim and Elaine Lu met at Cornell University during their architectural studies. When the duo initiated Lim + Lu as a side project in 2013, Lim was an architect at Kohn Pederson Fox New York while Lu focused on retail interiors at Tiffany & Co. After trying their hands at ICFF 2014 with several furniture prototypes and receiving much acclaim, the duo decided to move to Hong Kong to pursue Lim + Lu full time in 2015. Since both Lim and Lu were born and raised in the East, educated and practiced in the West, a balance of both cultures is essential to the duo and always translated through their design.
Lim + Lu aims to initiate a constant dialogue between the user and the object through the user’s continual interaction with their designs. These designs are fully completed only through the actions of the audience. Currently, Lim+ Lu is working on projects in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, New York, Copenhagen, and other cities.
Rocco Yim was born and educated in Hong Kong, and is currently Executive Director of Rocco Design Architects.
Since winning a First Prize Award for the L’Opéra de la Bastille international competition in 1983, his works have consistently been awarded both in Hong Kong and overseas. Recent accolades include ARCASIA Gold Medals in 1994 & 2003, World Architecture Festival category winner in 2010, Chicago Athenaeum Architectural Awards in 2006, 2011 and 2013, ULI Global Award in 2014, and German Design Council Iconic Awards in 2014 & 2016.
Yim is a regular invited speaker in local and international symposia. His works have been published in various regional and global journals, and have been exhibited four times in the Venice Biennale over the last decade.
He is currently Honorary Professor at CUHK in the Faculty of Social Science, Honorary Professor at HKU Department of Architecture, Adjunct Professor at HKU SPACE, Museum Adviser to LCSD and a member of the IAF Council of International Advisors for the University of Southern California. He was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Social Sciences by the University of Hong Kong in 2013.
Yim’s work was published in The City in Architecture in 2003, Being Chinese in Architecture in 2004 and Presence 2012. A new monograph Reconnecting Cultures was released in mid-2013.
Marco Tarquini is an experienced leisure business developer and consultant, a former hotelier and club operator with a passion for design and wellness. He has consulted for some of the world’s leading hotels, private clubs and sport associations. Now, with over 15 years of experience in Asia, he is responsible for the Hospitality and Residential segment for Technogym in APAC, and is the Managing Director of the Hong Kong and Macau subsidiary.
