Philanthropy Asia Summit 2026

Ajay Banga is the President of the World Bank Group, beginning his five-year term on June 2, 2023. He stepped into the role with a clear mandate: to transform the 80-year-old institution into a faster, more efficient, and more impactful partner in development.

Since taking office, Ajay has led the adoption of a new vision and mission for the World Bank: to create a world free of poverty—on a livable planet. Under his leadership, the Bank has undertaken a broad set of reforms to boost lending capacity, simplify operations, and deliver development solutions that are practical, scalable, and impactful. He has prioritized a more agile institution—one that is easier to work with and focused on getting results.

At the core of Ajay’s agenda is a belief that job creation is the most powerful driver of development—offering not just income, but dignity and purpose. That conviction has helped shape new efforts to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, expand access to quality and affordable healthcare for 1.5 billion people, and develop a modern approach to agribusiness that can drive growth, improve food security, and create economic opportunity.

Ajay has also brought renewed focus to harnessing the power of the private sector. He has strengthened collaboration with development partners, philanthropies, and investors, and launched the Private Sector Investment Lab—bringing together leading CEOs and asset managers to tackle the barriers holding back private capital in emerging markets. His approach reflects a fundamental shift: development progress at scale cannot be achieved without the innovation, financing, and execution capabilities of the private sector.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Ajay was Vice Chairman at General Atlantic and, before that, President and CEO of Mastercard. There, he led a global workforce of nearly 24,000 and made financial inclusion a core part of the company’s strategy. He also founded the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth to advance equitable and sustainable economic opportunity.

Ajay’s leadership extends beyond the private sector. He served as Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (2020–2022), and has held board roles with the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc. He is also a co-founder of the Cyber Readiness Institute. His contributions have earned wide recognition, including the Singapore Public Service Star award (2022),  the Padma Shri from the President of India (2016), the Foreign Policy Association Medal (2012), and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

As President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga is reshaping the institution to meet the defining challenges of our time—with urgency, ambition, and a relentless focus on delivering results.

Alasdair Harris leads the Ocean Resilience & Climate Alliance (ORCA), a philanthropic collaborative advancing high-impact solutions at the intersection of ocean protection and climate action. ORCA brings together global funders to accelerate ocean-based climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience strategies at scale. A marine biologist and social entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience, Alasdair has built his career at the interface of ocean conservation and social justice. He previously founded and served as CEO of Blue Ventures, which began as a small community-led marine conservation initiative on a remote beach in Madagascar and grew under his leadership into an internationally recognised organisation of more than 300 staff working across over a dozen countries in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. His work pioneered community-led approaches to fisheries management, coastal livelihoods and marine protection, demonstrating how locally led conservation can deliver environmental recovery alongside economic resilience. In addition to his executive roles, Alasdair has served as a founding chair and board member of environmental non-profits, and currently serves on the boards of several conservation and climate-focused organisations. Across these roles, he works to strengthen governance, strategy and capital mobilisation in support of practical, community-led climate solutions. Alasdair is a TED Fellow, Ashoka Fellow and National Geographic Explorer. He holds a PhD in marine ecology and an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Edinburgh. 

Aminath Shauna is a Maldivian leader in climate policy, sustainable development, and democratic governance, with over 15 years of senior experience in government and public policy. She served as Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology from 2021–2023, and earlier as Policy Secretary at the President’s Office, where she led national climate, energy, environment, and digital transformation agendas. As Minister, Shauna steered major reforms including tripling solar energy investments, introducing a comprehensive single-use plastics ban policy, and implementing a nationwide conservation program protecting ecologically significant areas. She also worked closely with development partners and international financial institutions to advance national priorities in renewable energy, waste management, conservation, and digitalization. Internationally, she co-led ministerial negotiations on the Global Goal on Adaptation at COP26 and COP27 and played a pivotal role in securing the Loss and Damage Fund. Shauna currently is an Advisor on sustainability at the Soneva Conservation & Sustainability Maldives. She also serves on the Board of the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance. She is also a member of the UN Ocean Decade Advisory Board for the 2026–2027 term. 

Dr. Brian Kennedy is a Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Physiology and also serves as the Programme Chair of the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme and Director of the Bia-Echo Asia Centre for Reproductive Longevity and Equality, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore. In addition, he is also the Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity, National University Health System. Collectively, NUS ageing research seeks to demonstrate that longevity interventions can be successfully employed in humans to extend healthspan, the disease-free and highly functional period of life. From 2010 to 2016, Dr. Kennedy was the President and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, USA and he maintained a professorship there through 2020. Dr. Kennedy is also actively involved with a number of Biotechnology companies and also served as a Co-Editor-In-Chief at Aging Cell from 2011-2021. Finally, Dr. Kennedy has a track record of interaction in China, where he was a Visiting Professor at the Aging Research Institute at Guangdong Medical College from 2009 to 2014. 

Brishan Rowjee brings over a decade of experience deploying equity and debt capital across growth-oriented and impact-driven sectors. He currently works at Grand Challenges Canada, where he focuses on leading risk capital investments that support innovative companies and solutions aimed at improving health outcomes in communities globally. He brings deep expertise in investment sourcing, due diligence, transaction structuring, and portfolio value creation across equity, debt, and hybrid financing instruments. His work is centered on catalytic capital strategies that help early and growth stage companies achieve financial sustainability while delivering measurable social impact. Brishan also holds multiple board positions across portfolio companies, where he supports governance, strategic growth, and capital planning. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, he held roles in private equity, leveraged finance, and private credit, working on complex transactions and restructurings across emerging and developed markets. He brings a global perspective and collaborative leadership style, with a strong commitment to scaling locally led businesses that create lasting impact. 

Dominic is Chair of Rio Tinto; Chair of LeapFrog Investments, an impact-investment firm focused on emerging markets; and the Chair of Asia House, a leading think tank and advisory firm in London. He is also a senior advisor and partner at Radical Ventures, a leading AI investment firm; and a senior counselor at Eurasia Group, a global political risk consultancy.

Previously, Dominic was a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and served as Global Managing Partner for three terms from 2009 to 2018. Dominic completed his role as the Ambassador of Canada to the People’s Republic of China from 2019 to 2021.He served as Chairman of Teck Resources and Non-Executive Director at the Singtel Group (Singapore) and Investor AB (Sweden). He brings a wealth of global business experience, as well as a deep insight of geopolitics, corporate sustainability, and governance.

Mr Edmund Koh is a career banker with more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region during which time he garnered a deep understanding of Asian markets and developed a strong track record in leading and building successful businesses in Asia.

A strong advocate of talent development and community involvement; he is always in the front line of providing mentoring to juniors, knowledge sharing and nurturing the next generation of leaders.

Mr Koh is a board/council member of various committees including the MAS Financial Centre Advisory Panel, the Wealth Management Institute, the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research, and the University of Toronto International Leadership Council. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Toronto, Canada.

Fan Gu is Chief Investment Officer at 100x Impact, where she leads venture acceleration to identify & back potential “social unicorns” scaling solutions to positively impact billions of lives. She previously managed a financial inclusion investment portfolio within a £130m government initiative and has held senior roles across social and commercial investment, including at Charities Aid Foundation, one of the UK’s largest foundations with £1.1bn under management, and at Deutsche Bank, where she executed over £5bn in public market transactions. Fan holds an Economics degree from the London School of Economics. 

Hemant Mandal, Director, Department of the Asia and Pacific Region Hemant brings over 25 years of experience creating markets across climate and sustainability. This has involved running P&Ls, developing, structuring, and investing in projects and companies, and providing strategic advice on regulations, bankable commercial contracts, and PPP transactions to governments. His specialties span energy generation, transition, transmission, and distribution sectors, having successfully created portfolios of more than USD 10 billion globally. He has worked for multilaterals and the private sector, including the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group), the Asian Development Bank, Shell Wind, GE Wind, one of the largest global single-family offices and IPP’s. He has also run his own companies at operational and C-suite levels. He is an engineer by training and has an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. 

Joseph Curtin is the Vice President, Energy Transitions, at The Rockefeller Foundation. Joe joined the Foundation in 2019. In this role, he is responsible for leading the Coal to Clean and Africa Energy Futures portfolios, and advancing research and thought leadership projects that shape global energy transition debates. 

Karen is the co-founder, President and Executive Director of the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA), a unique multi-sector collaboration between the private sector, governments and civil society designed to build resilience in the regions and communities most vulnerable to ocean risk, by pioneering finance and insurance products that incentivise investment into nature-based solutions. She has spent her career working on ocean conservation, advocacy and policy and has spoken and written extensively on ocean conservation, climate and sustainable finance. She previously served as CEO of Ocean Unite, a non-profit co-founded in 2015 by Karen, Sir Richard Branson and former Costa Rican President José María Figueres which focused on achieving the 30x30 biodiversity target. Before that, she was Senior Director for International Oceans at The Pew Charitable Trusts where she initiated the Global Ocean Commission. She has also been head of Greenpeace International’s Political & Business Unit and of their international oceans campaign. She has spearheaded global campaigns to secure a new high seas biodiversity treaty, establish large marine reserves and sanctuaries, reform the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, end illegal fishing and high seas bottom trawling, and drive political and policy action to protect marine species. Karen has a M.Phil in International Environmental Law from the University of Cape Town, and a M.A. in International Political Economy from the American University in Washington, D.C.. She is originally from South Africa and currently lives in the United States. In 2024, she was a Rockefeller Bellagio Resident Fellow. 

Kate Epstein is a Partner at Delivery Associates and Head of its global Government Practice. She is an experienced and creative public sector leader with a strong track record in driving government innovation, data-driven decision-making, and cross-sector collaboration across international contexts. Prior to joining Delivery Associates, Kate held senior leadership roles across several government agencies in Australia, including playing a key role in establishing the world’s first Department of Customer Service in New South Wales. Kate has led major transformation initiatives to improve how governments design and deliver services. This includes advancing the use of data and analytics to inform policy and operational decisions, leading whole-of-government data modelling efforts during the COVID-19 response, and designing and delivering large-scale linked data assets to enable more integrated, citizen-centred services to some of the state's most vulnerable citizens. She has worked at the centre of government in Australia and globally, partnering with senior leaders across the public, philanthropic, and private sectors to drive large-scale reform and measurable social impact in areas such as children’s health, education, sustainability, and economic empowerment. Kate is a recognised leader in embedding customer experience and evidence at the heart of government. Known for translating strategy into action, she brings a practical, delivery-focused approach to reform—helping governments achieve better outcomes for citizens through innovation, partnerships, and the smarter use of data. 

Max Nelen is a mission-driven entrepreneur passionate about accelerating climate-smart solutions for smallholder farmers across Southeast Asia. As Founder and CEO of Agros, Max leads the company’s strategy, partnerships, and market development to make irrigation more sustainable, affordable, and scalable. Before founding Agros, he served as a Venture Builder at Rainmaking, where he helped launch and scale impact-driven ventures such as Solar AI and Table Pointer, advancing renewable energy and operational efficiency in urban and agricultural sectors. Earlier in his career, he worked as a Strategy Consultant at Roland Berger, advising Fortune 500 clients on growth and transformation. Fluent in English, Dutch, and French, he brings a global perspective to Agros’s mission of building a climate-resilient future for farmers. 

Ryan is the founding Head of Temasek Trust's Catalytic Capital for Climate & Health (C3H), which funds early-stage companies in Climate, and the intersection of Climate and Health. He is also the head of the Planet Collaborative, which looks at synergising climate-related initiatives within Temasek Trust. Ryan is a seasoned executive with extensive international experience across industries, company stages, and working with diverse stakeholders. He previously held Chief Operating Officer (COO) roles at various start-ups both locally and internationally, and was also the COO at D’Crypt, a cryptographic technology firm. These operational experiences are complemented with earlier corporate roles, such as include heading Mergers & Acquisitions at StarHub, and consulting at Bain & Company. He started his career in the military, and completed a deployment to Afghanistan with the International Security Assistance Force. He serves as a board member on Equatic, a US-based early stage tech company. He also previously served as a member of Singapore’s Dover Park Hospice's Audit Committee. Academically, Ryan was valedictorian of his University of California Los Angeles Anderson and National University of Singapore Executive MBA class, where he was named a John Wooden Global Leadership Fellow. He also holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College (summa cum laude with High Honours), and an M.A. from Columbia University. He remains active in Singapore’s reserve as a Senior Lieutenant-Colonel and Chief of Staff of an Armoured Brigade. He was awarded the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation medal, and Singapore’s National Day Commendation Medal (Military) [Pingat Penghargaan (Tentera)]. In his personal life, he brings his persistence to outdoor activities, cycling and long-course triathlons, and has completed several IRONMAN 70.3 races and IRONMAN Cairns in 2024. 

Shamina Singh is the founder and president of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and executive vice president of sustainability at Mastercard, where she leads the company’s global social and environmental impact strategy. A member of Mastercard’s Management Committee, she draws on more than two decades of public and private sector experience to unite investors, policymakers, government and impact leaders to advance private sector-led social and business outcomes that shape inclusive and impactful economies. Her cross-functional leadership style has been recognized by American Banker and the Financial Times. Since launching the Center in 2014, Shamina has leveraged the power of Mastercard’s data, technology, capital, and expertise to advance inclusive and sustainable economic growth around the world. Mastercard and the Center demonstrate how the private sector can lead on business and impact outcomes alongside governments, nonprofits and researchers. This “doing well by doing good” strategy has earned recognition from Fast Company, Fortune, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. With a career spanning four U.S. presidential administrations and three Fortune 500 companies, Shamina has held senior roles in the White House and the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and an alumna of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leadership Fellows Program. Currently, Shamina serve on the board of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), and on the advisory boards of data.org, Okta for Good, the Aspen Institute’s Civil Society Fellowship and the CGAP Financial Inclusion Initiative. She is also a contributor to MIT Sloan Management Review on the topic of responsible AI. Shamina holds a Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University and a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School at the University of Texas at Austin. She has received Alumni of Distinction honors from both institutions. 

Siti Kamariah Ahmad Subki is a Chartered Accountant with qualifications from the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales. She has over 20 years of professional experience across Malaysia, Australia, and the United States. Her career includes leadership roles such as the Chief Executive Officer of Wanita Berdaya Selangor, an organization dedicated to celebrating talent and empowering women in Selangor in leadership, economic, and social fields. She has also served at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and the United Nations (UN). From 2015 to 2016, Siti served as an Economic, Financial, and Private Sector Advisor to the United Nations Humanitarian Financing High-Level Panel Secretariat in New York. During this time, she led the Islamic Social Finance for Humanitarian Action initiative, which was officially launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Her extensive background in both the commercial sector and social development has played a key role in fostering entrepreneurship, social progress, and sustainable development. In addition to her professional achievements, Siti is also a self-taught visual artist, blending creativity with financial expertise to drive innovation, promote Malaysia's cultural heritage, and advance the country's economic, social, and sustainability growth. She currently serves as the Trustee and Managing Director of the Hasanah Foundation, a leading impact-driven foundation in Malaysia. At the same time, Puan Siti is a board member of Yayasan Khazanah, INCEIF University, and Think City Sdn Bhd. Puan Siti has completed the Art and Practice of Leadership Development program in June 2025 and the Leading Economic Growth program in December 2025, both at the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education. Additionally, she has been appointed as a member of the National Unity Advisory Council (MPPN) for the 2025-2027 term, under the Ministry of National Unity (KPN). 

Soumya Swaminathan is a pediatrician and global expert in tuberculosis and HIV research.

She recently served as the World Health Organization’s first Chief Scientist, and previously as Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (2015–2017). She became Chairperson of the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in February 2023.

She is also Principal Advisor to the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) and National Science Chair of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, Government of India.

Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy (Krishna) is the Co-founder and CEO of Sattva Consulting, one of India’s leading impact consulting firms. Krishna is known for championing Denominator Thinking in India’s social impact landscape. This approach focuses on driving systemic change at scale by fostering collaboration and innovation at the intersection of businesses, civil society, governments, and the broader impact ecosystem. His work emphasises the inclusion of underserved communities and geographies in these efforts. With over 15 years of experience in social impact, Krishna has served as an advisor to prominent national and international corporations, non-profits, foundations, and government agencies. Over the past five years, Krishna has helped 50+ leading corporations design CSR strategies that drive greater impact for communities and key industry stakeholders. He has also been a strong advocate for funding and supporting research, deep-tech innovations, and entrepreneurship through corporate CSR initiatives. His work involves close collaboration with institutions such as IITs, IIMs, AIM, IISc, C-CAMP, Social Alpha, and others. A regular speaker at government and industry forums, Krishna emphasises the importance of strategic CSR backed by a data-driven approach to maximise impact. Krishna has also supported the creation of public good platforms in knowledge and data like India Data Insights and the India Partner Network, which have added value to the impact ecosystem. Krishna holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Hons) from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from INSEAD. 

Stigmata is the Executive Director of the Africa Philanthropy Network (APN), the only continent-wide network of organizations focused on building a multi-stakeholder infrastructure of African philanthropy ecosystem actors.  Previously, Stigmata worked as a process consultant and development facilitator, bridging civil society with government, private and international development partners. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and over twenty years’ worth of experience, building bridges to advance equitable and inclusive development engaging stakeholders in the system to gain trust and genuine representation. Stigmata is a co-founder and a president of the Tanzania Foundation for Civil Society and she serves on several civil society and corporate governance boards. 

Wilson L. White is Vice President, Government Affairs & Public Policy at Google, where he is the global head of government affairs and public policy for Google’s Platforms & Devices business unit as well as Google’s government affairs operations across the Asia Pacific region.

With 20+ years of experience as an engineer and technology attorney, Wilson has used his multidisciplinary background and expertise to provide a lawmakers, regulators and other key opinion formers across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia with thought leadership on the rapidly growing and changing technology landscape and the societal implications of emerging technologies.

Wilson earned his Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, in Computer Engineering from NC State University. He earned a Juris Doctor degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, where he served on the Editorial Board of the North Carolina Law Review.