Simon Says

In episode 34, Simon talks to Girish Jhunjhnuwala. Girish is the entrepreneur, founder and visionary behind Ovolo Hotels in Hong Kong and Australia.

In 2002, he quite literally stumbled into his first service apartment, bringing a new, refreshed outlook on the definition of modern hospitality.

Since then, Girish has continued to challenge industry conventions, riding the wave of change by transitioning into a boutique hotel brand in October 2010. Under Girish’s leadership, Ovolo has grown into a diversified international brand with a collection of ten designer properties.

In episode 33, Simon talks to David Yeung. David has pioneered a one-of-a-kind integrated platform that engages and empowers millions of people, along with public and private sectors, towards green awareness, action and economy. His work earns him the award of “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” by the World Economic Forum and Schwab Foundation. Other honors and recognitions include “Roddenberry Prize” and “Ten Outstanding Young Persons Hong Kong”.

As an iconic environmentalist and entrepreneur, David has spoken at the World Economic Forum, Milken Institute Summit, TEDx, as well as financial and academic institutions such as Credit Suisse, UBS and UCLA. He is a graduate of Columbia University, an Ashoka Fellow and the author of a number of best-selling books on Zen wisdom and mindfulness.

In episode 32, Simon talks to Chris Kyme. Chris has spent over 25 years in Asia with multi-national agencies including Leo Burnett, Grey and FCB.

He was the Regional Creative Director and a member of the worldwide creative board at FCB. He has created some of Hong Kong's best loved ads, trained many of today's creative talents, and produced award-winning work from just about any agency he has worked at, including Kymechow!

In episode 31, Simon talks to Angie Lau. She is the CEO & founder of Forkast News. As an award-winning 20+ year veteran in broadcast journalism, Angie is most recognized for her role as Bloomberg Television’s Asia anchor of “First Up with Angie Lau” where she’s collected 10,000+ interviews in her career, including some of the top newsmakers and business leaders in the world.

In episode 30, Simon talks to Karena Belin. She co-founded W Hub out of passion for entrepreneurs and startups to make a difference to the growth of the ecosystem, believing in startups to drive innovation and improving the world we live in. In line with this passion, Karena also co-founded AngelHub, HK's first SFC-licensed startup investment platform for professional investors and global startups raising growth capital.

In episode 29, Simon talks to Lavine Hemlani. Founder and CEO of Xccelerate, a leading ed-tech and future of work company headquartered in HK with 5,000+ alumni across Asia. Xccelerate is founded on the vision that the greatest opportunity for improving lives is education and addresses the colossal talent and skills challenges in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics Process Automation (RPA), Software Engineering, Blockchain and Design.

Xccelerate drives outcomes for individuals, enterprises and governments fin

by leveraging expert instructors, proprietary curriculum and learning software. Prior to Xccelerate, Lavine co-founded FLYR and worked with deep learning start-up Thread Genius (acquired by Sotheby’s). Lavine began his career in investment banking in NYC at Lazard’s Mergers & Acquisitions division (M&A) and held investment roles at the following funds: Atlas Capital, Marwar Capital and Union Park Capital.

Lavine also serves as Vice President of the Artificial Intelligence Society of HK, Board of Directors of the 24 Hour Race, the largest global movement against modern slavery and President of Founders Circle, an eco-system of leading entrepreneurs scaling their impact.

In episode 28, Simons talks to Hernán Zanghellini. Hernan is the founder of Zanghellini & Holt (ZHA)which is an Architectural & Interior Design consultancy specialising in high quality hospitality and F&B projects.

Born in Chile in 1959, Hernan obtained his architectural degree from the Faculty of Architecture & Urban Design of the University of Chile in 1983, and immediately set up his own design studio working mainly in residential projects. In 1986 he emigrated to Australia where he developed concept designs for urban and resort projects in South East Asia. Prompting his move to Brunei in 1993 where he worked on large residential projects whilst started to design restaurants in Hong Kong as a hobby.

In 1996 Hernan settled in Hong Kong working originally for The Hong Kong Brewing and Restaurants Co. before establishing Zanghellini & Holt Associates in 1998. Since then, ZHA has participated in the design and opening of over 650 restaurants throughout Asia.

In Episode 27, Simon talks to Yat Siu. Yat Siu is a technology entrepreneur/investor based in Hong Kong. He is co-founder and chairman of Animoca Brands, a company focusing on leveraging popular brands, gamification, AI, blockchain, and mobile technology to make engaging apps ranging from games to fitness solutions.

Yat is a director for TurnOut Ventures, a partnership between Outblaze and Turner Entertainment that brought to prominence the hugely popular emoticon character Tuzki. In 2017 he set up the Dalton Learning Lab, a digital lab environment that supplements Hong Kong students with skills not emphasized by the local education system, including divergent thinking and design thinking.

Yat has earned numerous accolades including Global Leader of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum, and Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the DHL/SCMP Awards.

A classically trained musician, Yat is a member of the advisory board of BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and a director of the Asian Youth Orchestra.

In Episode 26, Simon talks to Douglas Young. Douglas Young was born in Hong Kong. He grew up in the UK and now he has the best of both worlds! He is the Co-Founder and designer of an iconic brand called G.O.D.

Douglas turns everyday subjects into truly extraordinary objects with humour and creativity. During the podcast, he shares his views on luck, business and his thoughts on living in Hong Kong. He found a partner that has different skills to him and together they have built a unique Hong Kong brand which has now been active for 24 years.

In Episode 25, Simon talks to Sojin Lee. Sojin is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and founder of Toshi. She believes today's consumer lifestyle is geared to the on-demand economy in all elements of their lives, with convenience at its core.

The evolution of retail is Home Services and for this reason she launched Toshi with the intention of providing the last mile to last metre solution for retail brands. Toshi brings in-store services directly to the customer, at home, on-demand. Toshi bridges the online and offline experience today by providing an additional channel for brands to physically reach their customers.