Insights With Experts

Caryn Sowa is the current program manager at the freedom project at Wellesley college. She got her start in events management which eventually led to her working in companies such as the New England Patriots, Disney and the Boston theatre. Wanting a change of pace, Caryn switched to Academia where she is currently the program manager at the Freedom Project, a program which aims to promote conversations and boundary-breaking on campus for a plethora of issues related to freedom in all of its manifestations. This program can be viewed here. 

Deeya Bajaj is an internationally-recognized adventurer, speaker, business leader and founder of the non-profit, “Ganga Vatika Home for Girls”. She has summitted the highest mountains in 6 of the 7 continents of the world: including Mt Everest and Mt Kilimanjaro. She holds the distinction of being the first Indian father-daughter duo to submit Mt Everest. Additionally, she holds the record alongside her father as the first Indians to ski across the Greenland ice caps among numerous other amazing accomplishments. In this interview, we will learn about her journey and what the youth can take away from it.

Mr Jack Sim, or globally known as ‘Mr Toilet’, is the founder of the World Toilet Organisation (WTO). By the age of 40, he had set up 16 profitable businesses and chose to retire, switching his focus to pursuing more social work. In this time, he had Founded the Restroom Association of Singapore in 1998. World Toilet Organisation in 2001 and created the UN World Toilet Day (19 November) which is recognized by all 193 UN member states.

Dan Swift is CEO of Empire Selling, a digital sales training and transformation company. Dan has over 20 years of leadership experience spanning sales, marketing, and business development, having successfully launched LinkedIn’s flagship product Sales Navigator and catapulted social media management technology Sprinklr to a $2bn valuation. With an emphasis on ‘bringing the human back’ to business, he believes that business leaders can be successful without sacrificing empathy.

Mr Foakes is an explorer, environmentalist and outdoor education coordinator. Currently acting as head of outdoor education for Tanglin Trust School, Foakes has a long history of developing and delivering outdoor and adventure experiences for students of all ages. These of which involve activities such as Rocking Climbing, Caving, Trekking and Wild Camping. Through embarking on expeditions in places such as Antarctica and Myanmar, Mr Foakes advocates what he learns along these trips to build a more informed youth community through various platforms. In this interview we will be learning about Mr Foakes’s journey as well as what the youth can take away from it.

Khayla black is a 3rd year student at NYU Shanghai studying Biology. Picking up on her childhood interest in science and biology, Khalya went on to join the International Youth Neuroscience Association( IYNA). Over the years, she has risen through the ranks to her current position where she is CEO of the IYNA. Through this interview, we will learn about her journey and how the youth can leverage her lessons for their future.

Michael Skok currently acts as a Founding Partner at Underscore VC. A serial entrepreneur turned investor, he also engages in mentoring, coaching and learning through numerous channels, specifically  as an ‘Entrepreneur in Residence’ at Harvard Business School and through his Startup Secrets work. Throughout Michael’s life, he has engaged in numerous experiences and worked with a variety of startups. Michael's main field of focus lies on breakthrough technologies and disruptive business models such as Saas, Cloud, Open Source and Blockchain. Throughout this interview, we will explore these amazing experiences and see what the youth can take away from them.

Thomas Chu is an accomplished leader with more than 30 years of solid experience in sales, business strategy and management in Asia Pacific. Mr Chu has Proven track records in building highly motivated teams and sustainable business models to deliver consistent and extraordinary business outcomes as well as extensive customer and partner networks to support rapid business growth. Currently leading the Asia Pacific revenue operations with full P&L responsibility covering 13 offices in 10 countries, Chu focuses to grow market share, revenue and profit, build and nurture strong lasting relationships with senior business leaders.