[Virtual] V&P Policy Forum: Southeast Asia Political and Economic Update

Event Details

Join us for a morning briefing as we discuss the latest political and economic developments around the region, including the recent appointment of Mr. Võ Văn Thưởng as the President of Vietnam, discussions around Thailand's impending parliamentary dissolution, and budget announcements in Malaysia and Singapore.

* For any enquires please contact the AmCham Programming and Events Team at pe@amcham.com.sg.

Speakers

Elaine Collado

Country Director, Philippines of Vriens & Partners

Amb. William Heidt

Senior Director, Washington, DC of Vriens & Partners

Dr. Piseth Keo

Associate Director, Cambodia of Vriens & Partners

Donna Priadi

Country Director, Indonesia of Vriens & Partners

Samuel Pursch

Director, Vietnam of Vriens & Partners

Yuen Sin

Senior Associate, Singapore at Vriens & Partners

Isra Sunthornvut

Country Director, Thailand of Vriens & Partners

Tim Van Der Lee

Senior Associate, Myanmar at Vriens & Partners

Hans Vriens

Managing Partner at Vriens & Partners

Nazhif Yusoff

Country Director, Malaysia of Vriens & Partners

Elaine leads Vriens & Partners’ Philippines-focused work, providing insights on political dynamics in the Philippines and developing government affairs strategies to advance the market entry, operation, and expansion goals of Vriens & Partners’ clients. She has over 16 years of experience in the field, leading high-level consultations with senior government officials, business leaders, foreign business chambers, and NGOs on a broad range of public policy issues, including those related to internet technology and regulation, e-commerce and fast-moving consumer goods, investment liberalization, public-private partnerships, constitutional change, and governance reform.

Prior to working with Vriens & Partners, Elaine served as Executive Director for the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Absentee Voting, Director for Legislative Affairs to a Senator of the Philippines, and Chief of Staff to a Member of the House of Representatives. She helmed the development of landmark legislation that established an automated voting system in the Philippine elections and has advised principals during Congressional sessions and Legislative Executive
Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meetings at the Office of the President.

Elaine was also Senior Competition Policy Specialist and Team Leader for trade- and infrastructurerelated development projects under the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Before joining the public sector, Elaine practiced corporate law, specializing on mergers and acquisitions, project finance, and civil litigation in the law offices of SyCip Salazar Hernandez &
Gatmaitan.

She earned her undergraduate degree from Ateneo de Manila University and her law degree from the University of the Philippines. Her research on constitutional law has been published in the Philippine Law Journal, and she has been a member of the Philippine Bar since 2002.

Bill is Senior Director and lead of Vriens & Partners’ presence in Washington, DC. In this capacity, Bill manages the firm’s relationships with the U.S. Government, supports our clients in Washington and in Southeast Asia, and works alongside our partner firm The Scowcroft Group.

Bill is a recognized expert on international trade, investment, and development policy. He served multiple assignments ASEAN countries during his 35-year Foreign Service career and was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia from 2015 to 2018.  During his tenure, Bill launched initiatives to expand trade
and investment between the U.S. and Cambodia, strengthen respect for human rights and democracy, build Cambodia’s nascent technology sector, and empower Cambodia’s women entrepreneurs.

Prior to his service in Cambodia, Bill served as Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the Department of State. In that role, Bill helped shape U.S. global engagement on international economic, energy, and environmental issues, including Secretarial
initiatives on wildlife trafficking, ocean conservation, and economic diplomacy.

Bill’s other overseas Foreign Service tours include assignments in Jakarta, Indonesia; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Warsaw, Poland and Poznan, Poland.  In Jakarta, Bill served successive tours from 2000-07 as Finance and Development Officer and then as Economic Counselor.  Earlier in his career, Bill was awarded the joint Department of State-Department of Labor “Excellence in Labor Diplomacy” award in recognition of his outstanding work in support of workers’ rights and independent trade unions in
Cambodia. Bill also completed domestic economic policy assignments in Washington and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York.

After his completing his assignment as Ambassador, Bill served as Deputy Commandant and International Affairs Advisor at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, a component of the National Defense University. 

Billis holds a B.A. in Foreign Service and International Politics from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. in International Relations from George Washington University. He and his wife live in Arlington, Virginia and have one son.

Dr. Keo is Associate Director of Vriens & Partners’ Cambodia Office, where he leads the country team for government affairs and public policy project management, business development, client management, and multistakeholder engagement.

Before joining Vriens and Partners, Dr. Keo worked as Vice President and Director of the Centre of Sustainable Development Studies of Asian Vision Institute, a Phnom Penh based Think Tank. Dr. Keo has more than 15 years of working experience in academic policy research, project management, consulting services, and lecturing in Cambodia, the Mekong region, and ASEAN. Dr Keo has extensive experience working with government agencies, world-class universities,
international financial institutions, international Non-Government Organisations, private sectors, and rural communities.

Dr. Keo received his doctoral degree from the Joint-Doctoral Programme between the National University of Singapore and Harvard-Yenching Institute in 2018 with the dissertation on “Discourse, Power, and Institution: Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Cambodia”. Dr. Keo received his master’s degree in environmental management and development from the Australian National University in 2010.

Donna is Country Director at Vriens & Partners’ Jakarta office, where she leads and manages the firm’s Indonesia-focused advisory work and designs Government Affairs strategies for multinational clients across various sectors.

With over 25 years of experience working in foreign, Indonesian, and state owned companies, Donna has built an extensive network within the Indonesian government. She possesses a depth and breadth of knowledge on Indonesia’s policy and regulatory landscape, with a focus on the energy (renewables, power generation & distribution, oil & gas), healthcare and aviation industries.

Before joining Vriens & Partners, Donna was Director of Government and Corporate Affairs at General Electric (GE) Indonesia for close to four years, where she led advocacy efforts and sought alignment between the government’s regulations and policies with GE’s business objectives.

Prior to this, Donna worked for Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE), a subsidiary of the state oil and gas company PT Pertamina and earlier, BP Indonesia. In these roles she covered various positions including Corporate & Government Affairs, Communication & Public Relations, CSR, Commercial & Business Development, and Engineering.

She currently serves on the Board of Governors for AmCham Indonesia, and has previously served as a Vice Chair of AmCham Indonesia Board of Governor (2017-2020). She has also been a company representative on US-ASEAN Business Council, USINDO, and SwissCham.

She has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) Degree from University of San Francisco, USA, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture Engineering from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Samuel Pursch is Associate Director in Vriens & Partners’ Hanoi office where he advises international blue-chip firms on Vietnam’s regulatory and commercial context.

Prior to joining Vriens’ & Partners in 2018, Samuel was co-founder and director of Andaman Research & Advisory, a socio-economic research and political risk advisory firm based in Yangon, Myanmar. From Andaman’s founding in 2015, Samuel managed projects for clients including international hydropower and mobile finance investors, The World Bank, and a range of international NGOs. Andaman’s work ranged from detailed stakeholder assessments to field research activities, including large-scale surveys, to policy recommendations for international actors working to address Myanmar’s myriad development challenges.

While in Myanmar, Samuel co-authored for several World Bank reports, including a Policy Research Paper on Myanmar’s Social Transformation. He was also a contributing author to several subscription-based analysis services. Earlier, Samuel was based in London where he worked in political risk for boutique consultancies focused on West Africa and Southeast Asia.

Samuel holds a master’s degree in War Studies: Conflict, Security and Development from King’s College London, and a BA in International Politics from The George Washington University. He was a visiting student at Pembroke College, Oxford University.

Yuen Sin is a Senior Associate at Vriens & Partners’ head office in Singapore, where she mainly supports the firm’s Singapore-focused technology and healthcare clients.

Before joining Vriens & Partners, Yuen Sin was a Political Correspondent at The Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), reporting on policy and political developments in Singapore and the region as well as covering high-profile news events. Prior to that, she was a reporter at the Enterprise and Education desks.

Yuen Sin graduated from the University of York with a bachelor’s degree in English and Related Literature (First Class Honours) and holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She was a recipient of the SPH Journalism Scholarship (Overseas Undergraduate).

Isra Sunthornvut is the Country Director for Thailand starting in April 2020. He recently completed his term as Secretary-General of the ASEAN Inter Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) located in Jakarta, Indonesia in September 2019.

Isra was first elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bangkok under the Democrat Party in 2001 and has been involved in Thai politics in various capacities since, such as; Spokesman and Advisor to the Bangkok Governor, Secretary to the Opposition Leader of the House of Representatives (2 terms), Deputy Secretary General to the Prime Minister (Abhisit Vejjajiva),Vice Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office (attached to the Prime Minister), and Party List MP.

From 2001 to present, he has been a columnist for Thai Post and has contributed numerous articles for numerous publications; he has also produced, and hosted, numerous television programs since 1997. He holds a Master of Arts in European Studies from Chulalongkorn University and has been bestowed the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant Royal Decoration since 2013. He is married with two children.

Tim is a Senior Associate of Vriens & Partners’ Yangon Office, where he manages government affairs and political risk projects. Tim has been living and working in Myanmar off and on since 2016.

Before joining Vriens & Partners, Tim worked as a lawyer, initially with a major international Dutch law firm, and subsequently with a regional firm in Myanmar. He formed part of the legal team that successfully acted for the Urgenda foundation in the landmark Dutch climate change case in 2019. Tim has also spent six months as a Research Associate with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Yangon in 2016.

Tim holds a bachelor’s degree and a 2-year research master’s degree in Law from Utrecht University, as well as degrees from King’s College, Cambridge (Examination in Law for European Students) and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (LL.M.).

Hans is the founder and Managing Partner of Vriens & Partners, the leading government affairs, public policy and political risk analysis firm around Southeast Asia. It is headquartered in Singapore and has more than 90 staff and 30 senior counselors around the region. The firm has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines, and Cambodia.

Hans has lived and worked in Asia since 1990. He is a regular commentator on regional issues. Prior to establishing V&P, Hans was Vice Chairman, Asia at APCO Worldwide. He set up and served as Managing Director of the Indonesia practice for six years.

Prior to this he worked as a political economist at the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy in Hong Kong. Earlier he practiced law in the M&A practice at Clifford Chance and was the Asia correspondent for a leading Dutch financial and economic daily. In 1995, he was elected president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, then the largest in the world.

Hans serves on the Board of Trustees of the Foundation of UWCSEA. He was a founding member of the Europe ASEAN Business Alliance, Chairman of the Foundation Dutch Education at UWCSEA, board member of Eurocham, and founding chairman of DutchCham in SG.

Hans graduated from law school in civil and public law at Groningen University in the Netherlands. During his studies, he was a research assistant in European parliamentary history and public law. In 1982 he took a year off from his studies when he was elected Senatus Rector of the Student Union (VAP).

Hans studied at the Bologna Center of the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University. He also did stints at the Universities of Grenoble in France, and Krakow in Poland.

His family lived in Batavia, Semarang and on Biak off Papua in the Dutch East Indies for several generations until the handover of Papua in 1962. He is married to Katy le Blanc. They have two sons.

Nazhif Yusoff is Country Director at Vriens & Partners’ Kuala Lumpur office. With the team, he consults for clients from various verticals such as technology, healthcare, transportation and tourism, helping them develop their government relations strategy.

Previously, Nazhif was with the trade and investment team at Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation, an agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. At MPRC, he developed the agency’s database of export opportunities for Malaysian oil and gas services and equipment manufacturing companies. He also connected Malaysian oil and gas companies with opportunities in Southeast Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East through the organization of trade and specialized marketing missions.

Nazhif was also a fellow under the two-year Teach for Malaysia program, which places young leaders as teachers in high-need schools throughout the country. He taught English and Malaysian History at Alor Pongsu, Perak. There, he also initiated partnerships with corporate partners, constituency leaders and NGOs to run specialized academic performance improvement programs.

Nazhif earned a Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington D.C., majoring in Regional and Comparative Studies (Middle East and Asia). He was a recipient of the Malaysian Public Service Department’s Overseas Degree Program scholarship. He also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (History) from the Northern University of Malaysia (UUM). In his spare time, he indulges in cooking and Arabic calligraphy.

Organizers

AmCham Member

Employees in member company and part of the membership roster

Member PriceComplimentary

Member Company

Employees in member company but not in the membership roster

Public PriceComplimentary

Non-Member

Attendees that are not part of a member company and/or the membership roster