2019 SPEAKERS
Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu has been with the UN Climate Change since 2010, involved in coordinating projects promoting multi-stakeholder engagement in climate action. Currently she manages relationships with a few sectors as part of the UN Climate Change work to catalyze climate ambition and action. She also leads engagement with the fashion sector. Lindita has a degree in Information Science, Electrical Engineering and a postgraduate degree in International Relations.
Basia Szkutnicka is Professor of Practice and Programme Director of the MA in Fashion & Textile Design.
Once described as ‘A breath of fresh air’ by Susie Menkes in the International Herald Tribune, Basia specializes in design thinking, idea generation, creative design process, curriculum development and innovation, forecasting and nurturing young talent.
She is a visionary thinker and influencer, well respected in the global fashion community for her ability to move fashion forward by inspiring and motivating students and designers worldwide. Her reputation as an innovator has resulted in invitations to jury fashion shows and competitions across the globe.
Over the last 25 years she has worked as Programme Director, design educator, author, writer, freelance designer and creative consultant.
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/itc/en/people/academic-staff?itcsid=64
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Divia Harilela has worked in the lifestyle and fashion media for over 18 years. Most recently she served as the fashion editor for Hong Kong’s leading English language newspaper, The South China Morning Post, where she remains a contributing editor. She also writes for a range of high-profile publications and websites including Business of Fashion, Vogue China, Howtospendit.com and Departures, among many others. A leading authority on fashion in Asia, she has been quoted in The Times of London and The International Herald Tribune, and has appeared on CNN International. In 2011 she founded her own consultancy, The D’Vine Ltd, offering services such as moderating, public speaking, content creation and strategy.
Speaking engagements:
Facebook Live – Victoria Beckham
Value Retail Ltd.
The Landmark – Iris Apfel
SCAD – moderator
Fashion Asia Hong Kong 2017 – moderator
French Chamber Luxury Symposium – MC & Host
Up Close Series at Upper House –interviews with the likes of Phillip Lim, Tom Parker Bowles, Fortnum & Mason CEO Ewan Venters, Barbara Sturm etc
JOYCE boutique -moderator/interviewer for the likes of Chitose Abe (Sacai), Huishan Zhang, Esteban Cortazar
Consultancy clients:
Lane Crawford, Joyce, ASH, Audemars Piguet, Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Rosewood Hotels, Fashion Asia Hong Kong 2018
Being a proactive leader and team player, Brenda actively participate in routine operations. Experienced in multipleleading roles in merchandising and quality. Strategic sourcing and direct working with suppliers in BD, CAM,China, IND, INDO, Myanmar, PAK, Thai and Viet. Independent, analytical based.
Shevanthi heads the Sustainability and Diversity & Inclusion Function for MAS Intimates which is the largest Division of MAS Holdings. She is a member of the MAS Holdings’ Leadership teams for Environmental Sustainability, Social Sustainability & Community Outreach and Women’s Advocacy. Shevanthi was part of the core working committee formulating the MAS Holdings integrated sustainability strategy launched in 2016, with ambitious 2025 goals for both environmental and social sustainability; and she is responsible to drive this across the MAS Intimates Division.
MAS is a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and Shevanthi represents the organization in a key working group. She also represents MAS (one of two private-sector companies in a multi-stakeholder platform) at the Sri Lanka Preparedness Partnership (SLPP) which is the local chapter of the Asian Preparedness Partnership (APP), established through partnership between Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for improving the preparedness and emergency response to disasters in Asia.
An HR professional with a passion for people development, diversity and inclusion, and managing change to mitigate climate urgencies through creating awareness and activation of people; Shevanthi has an LLB (Hons) from the University of London and a MA in Labor Studies from the University of Colombo. She possesses a Diploma in Psychology and an Advance Diploma in Psychological Counseling; and is a trained Executive Coach, Counselor and Assessor. She is a Professionally Certified Manuscript Editor through the University of Chicago – Graham School and a Certified Rewards Professional through AON-Hewitt. She is currently reading for a MSc. in Sustainable Management through the University of Bedfordshire. Shevanthi had her executive education at the National University of Singapore and the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology in Lausanne Switzerland. She has several technical qualifications in Sustainability Reporting, Community Investment Impact Measurement, GRI and Stakeholder Engagement through CSR Asia.
Shevanthi has over 14 years of senior management experience in HR and Sustainability. Her career with MAS started at Slimline-Pannala in January 2006 and she has held increasingly progressive job roles in HRM and HRD, being appointed as Divisional HRD Manager in 2007. In 2012 she took on a new role as Manager – Corporate Communications & Branding, CSR and Women’s Advocacy and in 2014 she was promoted to General Manager – Corporate Communications & Branding, CSR and Women’s Advocacy. She took over her current role in January 2019.
In her currently role is responsible for articulating divisional environmental and social sustainability strategies aligned to the MAS Integrated Sustainability Strategy and driving diversity and inclusion philosophy to support group objectives. She leads a team of sustainability professionals who implement the MAS Intimates’ sustainability objectives across 16 sites in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia with over 41,000 associates; and drive a culture of social impact and environmental stewardship across the Division.
Recognized for his vision and innovation, Stanley won the EY (Ernst & Young) Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2018. Earlier in his career, he received the Young Industrialist Award of Hong Kong from the Federation of Hong Kong Industries in 2009. Stanley is a frequent guest speaker on CNBC and other business news channels.
As Chairman of Hong Kong Textile Council, the trade group representing almost all major apparel and textile trade associations, Stanley acts as the voice for the industry in Hong Kong. He represented the Textile and Apparel sector as an Election Committee member to select the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2017.
Keenly involved in the industry, Stanley serves as Board Member of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center, an interdisciplinary research center and innovation think tank at the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Garment Manufacturers Association, Director of the Federation of Hong Kong Garments Manufacturers, Director of the Hong Kong Shippers’ Council, past Member of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Advisory Committee on Textile and Clothing Industries, and past Member of Hong Kong Government’s Textiles Advisory Board.
Outside of the industry, Stanley serves on the Trade and Industry Department’s Small and Medium Enterprises Committee to advise the Hong Kong Government on issues affecting small businesses. He is also past Council Member of the Hong Kong Consumer Council, past Chairman of the Hong Kong chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), past Chairman of the Hong Kong chapter of Mensa, and past President of the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Club of Hong Kong.
Prior to joining Lever Style in 2000, Stanley worked at J.P. Morgan’s investment banking department, and later at PAMA, an Asian buyout firm with over US$1 billion under management. Stanley served on the boards of companies in PAMA’s portfolio, focusing on strategy and management issues.
Stanley graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, triple-majoring in Finance, Entrepreneurial Management, and Legal Studies.
Mr Yau assumed the post of the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development on July 1, 2017. His portfolio covers policy areas from trade, commerce to telecommunications and broadcasting, and from promotion of creative industries, intellectual property and consumer protection to boosting inward investment and tourism development.
Mr Yau has his full career in the public service. Before taking up the current post, Mr Yau was the Director of the Chief Executive’s Office from 2012 to 2017, assisting the Chief Executive in formulating policies and setting policy goals and priorities. He was the Secretary for the Environment from 2007 to 2012, overseeing policies on environmental protection, energy, nature conservation and sustainable development.
Mr Yau started his civil service career as an Administrative Officer in 1981. During his long service as a civil servant, he held various positions, including Director of Information Services, Deputy Secretary for Education and Manpower, Deputy Director-General of Trade and Industry as well as Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington, DC, USA.
Mr Yau graduated from the University of Hong Kong. He received further education at Oxford University and at Harvard University.
https://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/po/sced.htm
Dr Alison Gwilt is a fashion design researcher, author and consultant. She explores and promotes a range of innovative design methods and approaches that enable the fashion and textiles community, from educators, to producers, and consumers, to adopt more sustainable and ethical practices. Her work focuses on the use of positive/sustainable design interventions that challenge the current production and consumption paradigm. Alison’s books include ‘Shaping Sustainable Fashion’ (2011), ‘A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion’ (2014), ‘Fashion Design for Living’ (2015) and forthcoming, ‘Global Perspectives on Sustainable Fashion’ (2019 Bloomsbury).
Following her role as Reader in Fashion and Sustainability at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, Alison relocated to Australia in 2017.She currently Associate Professor in Design at University of New South Wales (UNSW), and Adjunct Associate Research Professor at University of South Australia (UniSA).
https://au.linkedin.com/in/alison-gwilt-16337a43
Manuel Baigorri is Senior Director of Sustainability Value Chain based in Hong Kong. He is part of the LS&CO sustainability strategies, programs development, and the execution of the different Labor, Environmental, Health & Safety policies and programs across the value chain.
Manuel has more than 20 years of experience in the field of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, with a primary focus on footprint reduction, integration, and implementation and represent LS&CO externally on external engagement, as well as serving in not-for-profit organizations, current role of Treasurer at the Road Map for Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Board of Directors.
Before joining Levi Strauss & Co., Manuel served in various Environmental and Health and Safety roles in the Textile Chemical and Food industries.
Prior to joining the SAC, Amina was a Senior Manager on the Global Sustainability team at Gap Inc. where she led environmental initiatives across owned and operated facilities as well as in their supply chain. She led the development of their Environmental Sustainability strategy and the creation, execution and achievement of ambitious enterprise goals on energy and waste at owned and operated facilities.
Trained as an architect, Amina has designed and managed construction of retail stores, skyscrapers, houses, hotels, and museums. She has a B.S. in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois and a Masters of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Harold Weghorst is Vice President of Global Brand Management at Lenzing AG, heading the company’s international marketing efforts. A veteran in the global branding and marketing sector, Weghorst has been driving the leading cellulose fibers company’s transformation from a B2B company to a B2B2C company since June 2016.
Weghorst brings with him over 25 years of experience in managing global retail businesses and brands. A leader and visionary in brand marketing and strategic brand management, Weghorst has a long history of leading successful brand launches, and brand positioning globally. Prior to his current role, he has held various regional and global brand management and marketing positions with Arc International, FrieslandCampina and Georgia-Pacific, where he led multiple leadership roles in business marketing programs across Retail, Food Service and B2B sectors.
An advocate for the adoption of innovative branding and marketing initiatives, Weghorst is experienced in complementing organizational growth and global brand development through the integration of innovative marketing and distribution initiatives with latest technologies and other business functions.
Weghorst holds a Bachelor in International Marketing from Saxion University and a Master Degree in Strategic Marketing from Nima at EQF7 level.
Fashion Clinic, is a response to the global explosive accelerated growth in production and consumption of clothing, we hope to create a new system through providing service over products.
Through REPAIR, RESHAPE and REDESIGN of preloved garments for our clients, Fashion Clinic hopes to encourage the modern day consumer to take better care of their clothing.
Fashion Clinic advocates CHOOSING WELL and BUYING SMART, to close the loop of the consumption cycle.
Mr. Gautam is the CEO & Founder of TextileGenesis – a pioneering fiber-to-retail digital transparency platform, enabled by blockchain, for the textile supply chain. The technology is being rolled-out with leading textile industry players from fiber producers to apparel brands. TextileGenesisTM technology is built on a fiber-forwards approach to create real-time transparency across all five-tiers of textile supply chain for sustainable & premium fibers. Mr. Gautam is a thought-leader in the field of transparency & traceability, and a regular speaker at global conferences.
Previously, Mr. Gautam was executive vice president for the global textile business at Lenzing, and board director of Lenzing China. He led global sales, marketing, and commercialization of new innovations for the textile business (1.5 bn euros). Prior to Lenzing, Mr. Gautam was Associate Partner at McKinsey and Principal at Booz & Company, with international management experience spanning US, Europe and Asia. He holds MBA from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) USA, and Bachelor of Technology from IIT Bombay. Mr. Gautam is passionate about creative uses of technology, enjoys hiking, and a regular practitioner of yoga and meditation.
Janice has over 20 years of all rounded management experience in apparel industry. From design development, product merchandising, line planning to buying and lately, with key focus on material sourcing and vendor management.
Cristina Kountiou , B.A., European Fashion Design, Kent Institute of Art and Design (University for the Creative Arts); M.A., Fashion Design and Enterprise, Westminster University; Has worked as Senior Designer and Brand Manager for sustainable start-up label Puer, developing the branding, design, marketing of the label as well as showcasing at Berlin Fashion week and Pure London. Managed design teams for a Hong Kong based design house, developing trend reports and forecasting, design concepts and product development for womenswear collections. Brands she has worked for include: DKNY jeans, Esprit, House of Fraser, French Connection, Nicole Farhi, as well as design and brand consulting for independent labels. Publications and presentations include “Thinking Out of the Box for Sustainable Fashion Design” at the 8ISS Symposium-Panel on Environment and Sustainability, at the 8th International Intimate Apparel Symposium for Sustainable Design and in Shanghai at Chinaplas for BASF conference on Innovation and Design. Advocating innovation, design and sustainability, she has facilitated and participated at roundtables with a focus on the future of sustainable fashion design education in Hong Kong.
As Executive Director of the ZDHC Foundation headquartered in Amsterdam/Netherlands, Frank is leading the strategic and operational development of ZDHC since taking the position in August 2015. Under his leadership the organisation has grown into a Multistakeholder initiative of more than 130 contributors. ZDHC has expanded its geographical reach to the relevant regions of apparel, footwear and leather manufacturing with own offices in Shanghai/China, Mumbai/India, Portland/U.S. and Milan/Italy.
Frank’s earlier career years include managing start-ups, industry associations and multi-stakeholder initiatives in the sector of fast-moving consumer goods at a global level.
Felix K P Chung is at present the Member of the sixth Legislative Council of HKSAR, 2016-2020 (Textiles and Garment Sector) and Life Hon. Chairman of Hong Kong Apparel Society. He is also the Party leader of Liberal Party.
He graduated from BSC in Quantity Surveying in 1986 in the Robert Gorden University Aberdeen, UK and followed with his MBA degree in Stirling University, Stirling, UK in 1987. He joined his family business in a knitwear factory in late 1988.
Felix Chung also has a good linkage with the Textiles & Garment trade and education organizations. In year 2001, with the support from many garment manufacturers, a non-profit making association was formed in the name of the Hong Kong Apparel Society Ltd (HKAS), Felix Chung was the founder of HKAS and nominated to be Chairman until 2012. The aim of HKAS is to link up the Hong Kong SMEs in Textile and Garment industry, to power up the strength, trust and relationship of the industry in order to gain the awareness and reflect the needs to the HKSAR.
In 2013, he initiated the Fashion Industry Development Council (FIDC) aims to gather elites of different specialties to share, plan and promote the development of the fashion industry in Hong Kong.
RemakeHUB is a social enterprise; it provides a unique service of redesigning and repurposing your unwanted garment into new and useful items.
Sissi has been living in UK, US and Australia for more than 15 years, she has achieved a joint master degree in Economies and Business in St Andrews University (UK), a Master degree in International Business in London school of economics and political science (UK), and an MBA degree in Duke University Fuqua Business School (USA).
Sissi started her career in management consulting in Accenture (Beijing) and then became the chief representative of Mouzenidis Group, which is the largest tourism company in Greece.
Now, Sissi has returned to China and started her own environmental-friendly garment remaking company. Sissi is a true fashion lover and she believes that fashion is too far precious to end up in the landfill. Her dream is to save the natural resources, reduce the negative impact of environment, and help the unemployed and disabled in the society.
Sissi is a very sustainable and energetic person. She has travelled more than 48 countries, and loves scuba diving, sky diving and horse riding. She is a vegetarian and loves low-carbon lifestyle. Her favourite books are related to psychology and quantum theory.
Key words: Environmental-friendly | Green fashion | Social entrepreneur | Traveller | Thinker | Creator | Adventurer
Heralded for his sustainable approach to fashion, 2018 marks the debut of Central Saint Martins graduate Kevin Germanier’s eponymous label. The focus is on luxury up-cycled fabrics with arresting details, such as discarded beads that the designer found during a work placement in Hong Kong, a prize for winning the EcoChic Design Award in 2015. Germanier eschews the homespun connotations for which eco-friendly fashion is known and instead draws inspiration from a futuristic vision of utopia. Look out for sculptural jackets, glitter-strewn dresses and sharply spliced skirts.
Born and raised in France, Arnault founded kapok in 2006 as an antidote to the perceived blandness of Hong Kong retail scene. kapok focuses on designers and brands whose work reflects his attitude towards quality craftsmanship and creativity in design. kapok has grown to a network of 7 stores in 2 countries : Hong Kong and Singapore.
Arnault has developed an extensive knowledge and understanding of the Asian consumer goods and retail environment since 1996, when he moved to Hong Kong. In 2001, he joined the team in charge of the development of the Lomography brand in Asia as the head of Southeast Asian operations. Arnault was also the co-owner and director of Working Unit Limited founded in 2005, the exclusive distributor for the Moleskine brand in Southeast Asia. He also brought to Hong Kong the first retail stores for Maison Kitsuné and l’Officine Universelle Buly.
Mr. Alex W.H. Young is the Group CEO of TexRay Industrial Co., Ltd., a globalized vertical integrated textile group, publicly listed in Taiwan.
Young has over 30 years of extensive technical management, academic and consultancy experience with various publicly listed textiles and apparel companies, and also universities.
Young graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Textile Technology. He also holds a MSc from the University of Stirling, the UK and a Master of Advanced Business Practice from the University of South Australia.
Being an advisor of the Taiwan Garment Industry Association, an advisor of the Taiwan Textile Industry Promotion office, IDB, MOEA, a Deputy Convenor of the Taiwan Smart Textiles Alliance (TSTA).Young has published over 60 referred journal papers, conference papers, chapters, and over 103 trade journals and newspaper articles. He is a Licentiate of the Textile Institute (UK), a Member of the Hong Kong Institution of Textile and Apparel (HK) and qualified as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators(UK).
Young has served as the Honorary Secretary of the Hong Kong Institution of Textile and Apparel (HK), and also the Hong Kong Chapter of the Textile Institute (HK).
Catherine Cole is the Chief Executive Officer of MOTIF, the apparel knowledge hub that connect professionals around the world with the skills and industry expertise they need to transform their business, lives and careers. Based in Hong Kong, Catherine has over 25 years of experience working with multinationals and start-ups across Asia in business development, marketing and strategy roles for companies such as Samsung, Evergreen International Airlines and Typhoon Consulting. Her passion is at the intersection of technology and education, especially as it relates to lifelong learning and upskilling in industries as dynamic as fashion.
Albert Brenninkmeijer is employed with Cofra Holding AG, the holding company for a privately owned group of companies located in Europe, North and South America and Asia, whose main interests include retail and real estate, as well as corporate and private equity investment management.
Albert’s twenty-five year operational career has so far been with C&A, a leading fashion retailer with stores across Europe, Brazil, Mexico and China. Throughout this period, Albert has held various positions across the business, with his last assignment being in the role of Chief Operating Officer, Global Sourcing with base in Hong Kong, SAR China.
Albert serves on the board of the C&A Foundation, is a Supervisory Board member of the Anthos Family Office and has served on the C&A Global Sustainability Board. Additionally, Albert is active in private philanthropy.
He is a fifth generation, family member owner-operator.
Mr. George Yeung is the Director of Operations at Jeanswest Corporation, a division of Hong Kong based Glorious Sun Group that operates over 200 stores under the brand “Jeanswest” in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
Mr. Yeung was born in Hong Kong and educated in Australia at Melbourne Grammar School, The University of Melbourne and Monash University respectively. He joined Glorious Sun Group in 2008 and relocated back to Melbourne in 2015. He currently heads up the e-Commerce, IT, Supply Chain and Business Development functions at Jeanswest Corporation.
Since relocating back to Australia, George has been an Executive Committee Member of Australia China Business Council (Victoria) since 2018, Director of Hong Kong Australia Business Association (Victoria) Inc. since 2017 and member of the Asian Advisory Board of the University of Melbourne since 2016.
George was elected Committee Member of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) of Hebei Province, China in February 2018 and has been a Standing Member of Federation of Industry and Commerce of Hebei Province, China since 2017, General Committee Member of The Textile Council of Hong Kong since 2018, Executive Committee of Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium (Hong Kong) since 2014, Vice President of Guangdong Association of Garment and Garment Article Industry (China) since 2014.
Sandy Liu, Lenzing Sustainability Manager North Asia, focus on sustainability development in North Asia, covers full elements including product, environment and people. Sandy has 8 years’ working experience in sustainability field in office furniture, retail and food industry, worked for Haworth, IKEA and Pepsico Food. Her sustainability career starts from product sustainability extends to community involvement, supplier sustainability performance and operation site sustainability management. Before working in sustainability field, Sandy has worked on equipment management and environment, safety and occupational health function in Nanjing Iveco, an automotive company. Sandy graduated from Nanjing University of Science and Technology.
Dr. Yao has considerable research experience of textile and clothing. She played a key role in a number of research projects on the textiles and clothing area. Her research specialises in textile/clothing-human body interactions with focus areas on textiles material and skin, textiles functions and its health impaction, sportswear design and human physiology evaluation.
Dr. Yao has published over a dozen papers in refereed journal and 30 papers in refereed conference proceedings. She has written several books/chapters on Technology Roadmap of Textile and Clothing Industry and Denim Industry of Mainland China and Hong Kong. She is a reviewer to Textile Research Journal, Journal of American Academy of Dermatology, International Journal of Dermatology and editor to Journal of Fiber Bioengineering and Informatics. She held post-doctoral fellowship of the New Zealand Wool Research Institute in the University of Otago. She is the director of Textile Bioengineering Informatics Society.
Pat is a Partner of Business Reporting and Sustainability at KPMG who oversees Corporate Social Responsibility as well as being a core member of the KPMG China Steering Committee on Climate Change & Sustainability (“CC&S”). He is also a member of the KPMG Global CC&S network.
He has been active for over 10 years in the field of sustainable development. In his previous capacity as a director at Central Textiles, through his leadership Central Textiles was the first textile company in Asia to issue a Sustainability Report under the Global Reporting Initiatives (“GRI”) Guidelines in 2008. The report subsequently received an award from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (“ACCA”).
Through his initiatives Central Textiles subsequently won the Gold Award for the Hang Seng Pearl River Delta Environmental Award in 2012 and the Hong Kong Award for Environmental Excellence (“HKAEE”) – Manufacturing Sector in 2013. He also helped KPMG win the HKAEE Silver Award – Service and Trading Sector in 2017.
For his contribution to the textile industry with regards to sustainability, Pat received the Young Industrialist of the Year award from the Federation of Hong Kong Industries in 2009.
With 25 years of experience in the high fashion industry, Dawn has held various positions in this highly competitive sector, including being a general manager, an executive in sourcing, buying, merchandising and a marketing head. She has worked for labels and fashion houses of diverse styles and business models, amongst which are J.Crew, Stefanel, Donna Karan, Luella, Club 21, Juicy Couture and fashion conglomerate Li and Fung. Twenty-five years on, Dawn is founder of D line: a high fashion sourcing company, and creator of her own fashion label: RURI.
Dawn is committed to using the best eco-friendly materials for RURI, she firmly believes that there are FOUR basic principles in fashion design: wearability, timelessness, comfort and chic, and this is reflected in her designs for RURI.
Dorothy Pun’s experience in fashion industry spans across product development, manufacturing, logistics, brand management, retailing and digital transformation. An advocate of impact businesses, she constantly looks for ways to innovate the industry and drive positive environmental and social changes. Dorothy founded the sustainable knitwear brand 22 Factor in 2018 as an intrapreneurial venture under Cobalt Fashion, the largest specialist in the knitwear industry.
22 Factor focuses on using upcycled virgin yarns from luxury fashion world, to create premium quality knitwear for consumers at a fraction of the price. We choose quality over quantity, timeless over trendy, true love over flings.
Christina Dean’s expertise spans sustainable fashion, journalism and NGO management. She founded Redress in 2007 following a career in journalism with a specialist interest in environmental pollution and waste. Over the past 10 years she has successfully grown Redress from its inception in Hong Kong to now being a globally recognised leader in this field. Christina is presenter in Redress’ Frontline Fashion documentary I and II and she co-authored the Redress consumer guide entitled Dress [with] Sense. Additionally she continues to author opinion-leadership pieces around the world. Christina has received various accolades for her work, including being considered by UK Vogue as one of the UK’s ‘Top 30 Inspirational Women’. Christina is passionate about driving positive environmental and social change through business, with her more recently Founding The R Collective, the award-winning upcycled fashion brand and social impact business that rescues luxury brands’ materials and which debuted in Barneys New York and in Lane Crawford.
Ajay Sharma is the Regional Head of Global Trade & Receivables Finance for HSBC in Asia Pacific. In his role, he is responsible for managing and growing the Bank’s trade and supply chain franchise across Asia Pacific, as well as driving HSBC’s Regional Receivables Finance & Commodity and Structured Trade Finance (“CSTF”) businesses.
Prior to this role, Ajay was Global Co-Head of International Subsidiary Banking (ISB), based in Hong Kong with responsibility for the Asia-Pacific.
Ajay joined HSBC in October 2014, after working for 26 years with Citigroup in India, London, Singapore and Tokyo. Ajay started working with Citigroup in 1989 in India and held various roles in the Transaction Banking Group and Corporate Bank. Ajay has also worked in London (Audit), Tokyo (Loan Syndications) and Singapore (Corporate Bank, and Global Subsidiaries Coverage).
Ajay earned a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1985. He also completed his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 1988.
Mr Philip Mok is the president of Hong Kong Tennis Association and the co-founder and Vice-Chairman of Verde Holdings Limited, an apparel design and manufacturing company based in Hong Kong and China. Since its conception in 2001 the company has expanded rapidly, serving major international brands.
Mr Mok also holds a special interest in internet ventures and was a co-founder of Campusall.com, an education-related portal in China, and Funshare.com, an e-commerce platform in Hong Kong.
He believes strongly in giving back to society and serves as a Trustee and Executive Council Member of the World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong and a member of the Board of Governors of the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital Foundation.
Mr Mok received his BSc degree from Johns Hopkins University and MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also well known in Hong Kong tennis circles, having won several championships in local open veterans’ tournaments and served on the council of the Hong Kong Tennis Association since 2011. He is the Association’s current President, and was also elected to the board of the Asian Tennis Federation in 2017.
Robert Meeder: B.A., Fashion Design (Womenswear) Designskolen Kolding (Denmark), M.A., Fashion Design, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation (Denmark).
He has always been actively involved in academia through out his career; having written and developed a MA program in Fashion Management, lecturing for the past 8 years and undertaken the first stages of his Ph.D in Luxury Management and communications with the Swedish University of Borås.
Having an international perspective and approach Robert has lived in Denmark, Sweden, Dubai, Hong Kong and currently resides in Sri Lanka where he is the CEO of AOD – Sri Lanka and South Asia’s leading design school.
Whilst living in Hong Kong he was Associate Chair of Fashion, Building Arts and Digital Fashion at SCAD (HK campus) and saw the department and school grow from strength to strength under he’s leadership.
In Dubai he established a successful creative marketing consultancy with key clients in Singapore, USA, Europe and the Middle East. Offering services from concept, brand and strategy development through to creative direction and production on campaigns for TV, print and digital.
He has a grounded corporate marketing background; having worked with leading French, Italian and British luxury brands such as Burberry, Mulberry, Baccarat, Gucci, Bottega Venetta and Dolce Gabbana in Scandinavia and the Middle East.
Career highlights include having founded, published and launched 2 international fashion magazines, consulting in development and establishing Dubai Design week as part of Dubai Design District and establishing the Communications division for Gucci Group within the Nordic Market.
Specialities include Strategy & Communications within Luxury Fashion segment, Creative concept and product development, client liaison and project management, international brand/product launches
An active contributor to media titles, he firmly believes in the importance of linking industry to university.
Currently undertaking he’s Doctorate within the field of Sustainability and Design Education, he is exploring new models and approaches to integrate sustainability within the curriculum that goes beyond just the topic of sustainability but becomes a new standard and classroom practice.
Achievements in Public, Government and Professional Services
• Advisory member of the Hong Kong Institute of Design Incubation program (2017-2019)
• Advisory member Arab Luxury Summit (since 2016)
• Board member of Road to Rights (Sri Lanka) 2016 til present
Equipped with a B.A and M.A from Central St. Martins Fashion and Textile Design departments, Jane started her career at the BBC’s costume department. She quickly moved on to co-found fashion knitwear brand ‘Artwork’ with her partner Patrick Gottelier.
Jane has worked as a consultant with notable brands, such as Marks and Spencer U.K., Shanghai Tang, H.K. and The Limited, U.S.
In 2006 – 2013 Jane shifted gears to education where she conceptualised, developed and wrote the B.A. (Hons) Fashion & B.A. (Hons) Performance Sportswear courses for Falmouth University in Cornwall, later adding Fashion Photography.
This success led to Jane joining the DeTao Masters Academy as DeTao Knitting and Fashion Design Master in 2013, and in the following year she co-founded the Advanced Fashion Design Program at DeTao, in partnership with Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts.
In addition, Jane has also been an external member of the revalidation board for the renowned Fashion programs at Central St. Martins in 2014 and is currently an external examiner at London College of Fashion and the University of the Arts London. Furthermore, in 2016 the Gotteliers founded B.A. Fashion Promotion at Wuhan Institute of Design and Technology. Wuhan. China.
In 2017 Jane was one of the 400 women to be nominated for the ‘Women of the Year Award ‘, London. U.K.
Lorenzo was born in London on November 1987 by an Italian/American father and an English mother, growing up between Florence and Milan, grew a deep passion for the Italian fashion scene, which brought him to start sewing as an apprentice tailor at 20 years old in the historical sartoria A. Caraceni in Milan, serving clients from Karl Lagerfeld, Gianfranco Ferrè, Calvin Klein and many other high profile individuals.
After two years of learning the basics of traditional Italian bespoke tailoring he moved to Florence to learn the basics of cutting suits from Neapolitan cutter and master Mario Sciales at Sartoria M. Marinaro, serving the Florentine aristocracy as the Pucci family and other historical families.
After two years of cutting and sewing suits he set up his own tailoring house, featured in the Louis Vuitton Milan City Guide as one of the best ateliers in town, with clients ranging from members of the Arab Royal family, fashion photographer Giovanni Gastel, to the Co-Founder of Net-A-Porter, Arnaud Massenet, who then became the first investor in Lablaco.
Having worked for almost ten years in the fashion industry and launching his ready to wear line, he met ShihYun Kuo, working at Giorgio Armani as Buying and Merchandising Manager for Asia Pacific and realized the current fashion system is broken as it is now one of the largest polluting industries in the world.
So they Founded Lablaco in 2016, the first Circular Fashion platform with mission to tackle fashion’s biggest challenge of redesigning a new digital and circular fashion system for a transparent and sustainable future for brands and consumers worldwide.
Present:
To make change happen at scale, Lablaco is now partnering with the Lane Crawford Joyce Group, largest luxury retailer in Asia, to launch the Circular Fashion Summit on September 2019 at Station F during Paris Fashion Week.
A collective action summit to discuss the issues in Fashion, Tech and Sustainability with industry leaders from Kering, IBM, Adidas, Eco Age and many other great companies, starting also to act immediately on 3 measurable goals supporting the United Nations SDG to be achieved collectively in 12 months, powered by the Lablaco system, using Blockchain for a transparent supply chain, enabling companies and individuals to start making fashion circular together.
Joyce is the Senior Manager, Supply Chain Sustainability in VF Global Responsible Sourcing. Joyce has over 15 years of industry experience, currently leads our existing efforts on Environmental Management, Energy Efficiency, and Environmental Impact Measurement through the Higg Index. In addition, she conduct strategic review of VF’s Supply Chain Sustainability strategy and develop a new go-forward plan together with key internal and external stakeholders. Joyce graduated from University College London, U.K. with a B.Eng. (Hons) degree in Chemical Engineering. She holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Environmental Engineering from Imperial College London, U.K. and a PhD. in Environmental Management and Sustainability from the University of Hong Kong. In addition to her academic credentials, Joyce is a certified carbon auditor, ISO 14001 lead auditor and a fellow member of the Institution of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM) U.K. She is a Honorary Senior Lecturer on environmental management at University of Hong Kong.
Alexander Chan is currently the Co-Director of The Mills Fabrica- a leading Hong Kong based incubator, fund and space/lab/store dedicated towards promoting innovations and sustainable businesses at the intersection of technology and style (“techstyle”). Alexander currently leads investments (Fabrica Fund) and also helps with incubation support and government/ policy related affairs at Fabrica.
Alexander is also an occasional contributor to SCMP, HKFP and Stand News in Hong Kong where he writes on issues related to innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability.
Michelle has over 10 years fashion retail and e-commerce experience, ranging from buying, product development, marketing, e-commerce to operations. Starting off with global e-commerce business ASOS.com and then Forever 21, Michelle then went on to establish a UK based, ethically made and locally produced women’s and maternity wear label which retailed online and distributed through independent boutiques around the World.
Four years ago, Michelle moved to Hong Kong leading strategy and execution of multi-channel fashion in Asia and continues to consult lifestyle and tech brands. Since joining The R Collective in 2019, Michelle has relaunched the brand’s website, leads brand communications, digital strategy and execution of global marketing campaigns including content creation, social media, influencer marketing, brand partnerships and e-commerce operations, ushering circular fashion into the spotlight of sustainable fashion retailing in Asia.
Designer, innovator and public speaker Neliana Fuenmayor specialises in Sustainable Fashion Innovation — focused on transparency as a social and environmental accelerator, to elevate positive impact within the apparel and footwear industry. Neliana is a Fashion Innovator whose mission is to redesign supply chains to increase traceability and transparency in fashion.
Neliana is the founding Director of ‘A Transparent Company’ a consultancy working as a collective intelligence network that collaborates with key industry partners to deliver solutions for sustainability, innovation & communication strategy to increase trust in the fashion sector.
Neliana’s journey from design, entrepreneurship and innovation has been weaved by sustainability and transparency in fashion – with more than ten years experience since graduating from London College of Fashion and in 2015 compleating her Master’s in Fashion Entrepreneurship and Innovation — Neliana has embedded sustainability as part of her mission, from receiving the coveted Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion by the French Luxury Group and British brand Stella McCartney to debuting the world’s first garment tracked on blockchain from farm to end product enabling the collaboration between designer Martine Jarlgaard and Provenance launched at Copenhagen Fashion Summit 2017.
Currently working with MSI’s (Multi Holder Initiatives) such as SAC (Sustainable Apparel Coalition and ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazard Chemicals) to create new industry guidelines to increase traceability and transparency at the level of product compliance and governance by enhancing supply chain communication processes.
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My mission is to place transparency at the core of fashion businesses value proposition with the adoption of new technologies that can accelerate positive impact — connecting social, environmental, governance and investment key leaders in the forefront of fashion sustainable innovation.
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Portrait Image (Attached to email also)
Link to high resolution image HERE. Photography credits: Bella Fenning.
In case you need logos please find them HERE.
Contact and Social Media Handles.
Website: www.atransparentcompany.com
Email: info@atransparentcompany.com
IG: @atransparentcompany
Twitter: @atransparentco
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/transparencyinfashion/
In case of an emergency please contact me to:
+44 7921263444
Tracy is Senior Director of the Global Environmental Program for the adidas Group; a position she has held since October 2015. She manages a team of 14 staff, comprising chemical and energy specialists, engineers and environmental experts, located in 9 countries across Asia, EMEA, North and South America.
Tracy has over 20 years’ global experience in leading environmental and social issues within the supply chain for global multinational companies. Recognised for her expertise in developing and implementing global sustainability strategies, coupled with the ability to utilize sustainability concepts to drive business performance.
Tracy is currently serving as a member of the following expert committees:
• Steering committee for the UNFCCC (United Nation Fashion Industry Charter for Climate). The UNFCCC goes beyond previous industry-wide commitments. It includes a target of 30% GHG emission reductions by 2030 and a commitment to analyze and set a decarbonization pathway for the fashion industry drawing on methodologies from the Science-Based Targets Initiative. The Steering Co. of the Charter will work collaboratively to deliver on the principles, amplify best practices, strengthen existing efforts, identify and address gaps, facilitate and strengthen collaboration among relevant stakeholders, and join resources and share tools to enable the sector to achieve its climate targets. This will be done through Working Groups, which will bring together relevant stakeholders, experts and initiatives in the fashion and broader textile sector, in which Tracy also co-chairs the Manufacturing and Energy working group.
• Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) task group whose goal is to eliminate the use of priority chemicals by focussing on the following areas: Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) & Conformity Guidance, Wastewater Quality, Audit Protocol, Research, Data and Disclosure etc.
• Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) working groups: HIGG FEM 3.0 who’s focus is on building the Higg Index, a standardized supply chain measurement tool for all industry participants to understand the environmental and social and labour impacts of making and selling their products and services.
Tracy holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science from Lund University (LUMES), Sweden; a Bachelor in Environmental Studies and Economic Development from the University of Western Ontario, London Canada.
Dr. Law teaches sustainable development, community planning and environmental management at The University of Hong Kong. She also works with a team of researchers and conducts policy research, action research and knowledge exchange projects on rural revitalization, social innovation, community engagement and corporate sustainability. Dr Law has been a director of the Conservancy Association since 2005 and she currently sits on a number of HKSAR Government’s advisory committees including Advisory Council for the Environment, Environment and Conservation Fund Committee, Steering Committee for Restored Landfill Revitalisation Funding Scheme, Advisory Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries and Agricultural Products Scholarship Fund Advisory Committee. She was also engaged by the UNEP and EU as social monitoring expert and planning consultant for environmental management projects in Vietnam.
Cédric Vanhoeck is the founder of Resortecs, a company that helps fashion and textile companies with implementing circular economy. It does so by offering products and services that tackle both the economic as well as technical challenges encountered.
For brands that advocate circular economy, Resortecs hot-fusing stitching threads make disassembly, repair and recycling of textile products a breeze. This technology has been awarded by the Global Change Award in 2018 – an innovation challenge initiated by the H&M foundation to accelerate the shift from a linear to circular fashion industry.
Cédric is trained as an industrial design engineer at the Tu Delft and marketeer at Domus Academy Milan. When he later arrived at the Antwerp Fashion Academy, he realised the dream of Fashion does not extends beyond the curtain. He then decided to dedicate his time and design-engineering expertise to tackle the environmental challenges of the fashion and textile industry.
Together with the help of Vanessa Counaert Resortecs was launched in 2017.
Resortecs’ mission accelerates the implementation of the circular economy in the textile industry. The faster it can be implemented; the more harmful environmental impact can be reduced. Challenge accepted!
Jennifer Tam, an experienced brand strategist who worked with diverse clientele from SMEs to listed companies in both local and international market. She is now at Chicks – a Hong Kong apparel brand that has been around for 64 years specializes in quality innerwear for the whole family. As the 4th generation, she is continuing the brand’s legacy as well as enhancing all touch points from supply chain to brand experience taking the brand out of Hong Kong.
Mr Keh is the CEO of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. He is also on Faculty at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology where he teaches supply chain operations.
Until April 2010 Edwin was the SVP COO of Wal-Mart Global Procurement. Prior to Wal-Mart Edwin managed a consulting group that has done work for companies on supply chain, manufacturing, and product design. Edwin had a career as senior executive with several US consumer goods and retail companies. He was the Managing Director of Payless Shoesource International, Donna Karan International, and Country Road Australia.
Edwin is the 2011 recipient of the Production and Operations Management Society’s Martin K. Starr Excellence in Production and Operations Management Practice Award, and is on the Debrett’s Hong Kong 100 as one of the most influential people in Technology and Digital sector.
Malin Lundahl works at H&M as the Sustainability Manager for Greater China region, including Taiwan sales market, since summer 2019.
Malin joined the H&M Group in 2013 to focus on the development and production of the H&M brand’s new Beauty cosmetic line. The last years Malin has worked with managing several different topics in sustainability and cosmetics for the global production organization.
Malin Lundahl holds a Master of Science in biotechnology from Lund University in Sweden and University of California in the USA. She has a diverse background in bioengineering, skin care research, new product development, sustainable materials and is a published researcher.
Prof. Philip Yeung Kwok-wing is currently the Executive Director of Clothing Industry Training Authority in Hong Kong and an Adjunct Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). Prof. Yeung holds a PhD degree from the Queen’s University of Belfast and has been awarded Fellowship from the Society of Dyers and Colourists and the Textile Institute in the United Kingdom, the Hong Kong Institution of Textiles and Apparel, and Textile Association in India.
Prof. Yeung embarked on his teacher career at the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) of the Hong Kong Polytechnic since 1973. He became Professor and Head of Department in 1995 and was appointed by PolyU as the Vice President in 2000 responsible for the academic planning and development of the University. Prof. Yeung owned a number of patents and published over 130 papers in journal publications and presented at international conferences over the years.
Currently, his research interest is in sustainable textile product development, and he is also actively conducting consultancy projects in the application of quality management for the industry.
Mattias Jonsson is CEO of re:newcell, a Swedish company that recycles cellulosic textile waste into high quality raw materials for the fashion industry. Mr. Jonsson has supervised the construction and opening of the world’s first industrial scale chemical recycling plant for textiles in Kristinehamn in Sweden.
Mr. Jonsson has an entrepreneurial and management background from the cleantech, IT, professional services and FMCG sectors. Before assuming CEO positions at Medley and Visma Proceedo, Mattias was CFO at Unilever. Mattias holds an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Carol Hanlon has been acknowledged for her small business achievements with local, state & national awards since 1970’s as owner/designer of her own fashion manufacturing, wholesale, retail, & export business for 20yrs. Since 1994, Carol established not-for-profit community organisations in WA, Belmont Business Enterprise Centre Inc. (BBEC & BEC Global) & Textile Clothing Footwear Resource Centre Western Australia Inc. (TCFWA, TCF Australia & TCF Global) in 1998. Carol’s NFP projects have assisted over 32,000 small businesses across Australia and globally; TCF is a specialist in fashion business training & mentoring projects and provides women in business training & mentoring projects across Australia & globally with a focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Carol has been leading TCF Buyer Missions and designer to exhibit at Hong Kong Trade fashion events for 20yrs.
Awards & Recognition
Awarded Best Metropolitan BEC in Australia; twice awarded Best National BEC Manager; past Local Government councillor; Accredited Business Facilitator; Graduate Australian Institute Company Directors; City of Perth ‘100 Champions of WA’; inducted WA Women’s Hall of Fame; named ‘50 WA Women of Success’; Awarded ‘Empowering Women in Community or Organisation in Australia’; Presents NGO forums annually during United Nations CSW, New York on ‘Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs; Awarded APEC Philippines ‘Women Icons of APEC’; Women Economic Forums, Awarded – Woman of the Decade in Innovation & Entrepreneurship; Iconic Women Creating a Better World for All Award & The Hague Netherlands ‘Exceptional Women of Excellence’ Award; State President Business & Professional Women WA; Convenor, Women Economic Forum, 2019, Curtin University, Perth, WA
Brooke is product lead at unspun focused on product and sustainability. unspun’s mission is to reduce global carbon emissions through a new fashion paradigm that is: regenerative, localized, and intentional, starting with jeans. She previously started and grew the sustainability department in Bangladesh’s largest export factory, and co-founded a social business dedicated to creating transparent supply chains working with Rana Plaza collapse survivors. She received a Masters in Design Impact from Stanford University.
Susanna Wilson is global head of sustainable networks and entrepreneurship at HSBC. One of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations, HSBC serves around 38 million customers worldwide and has a unique role to play in supporting a shift to sustainability in global supply chains. With an estimated 80% of global trade passing through supply chains, finance has a key role to play in this shift.
Wilson was appointed global head of sustainable networks and entrepreneurship to lead this work following the establishment of HSBC’s refreshed sustainability strategy and commitments, announced in 2017. She partners with HSBC’s commercial banking teams to develop client solutions to support sustainable supply chains. She also oversees charitable partnerships on this theme globally.
Wilson holds an MA from the University of Cambridge and an MSc from the University of Edinburgh.
Karen Ho joined WWF in May of 2008 as Business Engagement Leader for Climate programme. She works on climate and energy issues in Hong Kong and China, engaging with businesses and industries across the spectrum to initiate, lead and oversee the development of climate programmes.
Karen assumed a new position as Head of Corporate and Community Sustainability in August 2017. As the Low Carbon Manufacturing Programme (LCMP) and Low-carbon Office Operation Programme (LOOP) continue to grow, Karen will also foster collaboration initiatives that are making the community and corporations more sustainable.
An accomplished senior executive, Karen held senior management positions in several Fortune 500 companies prior to joining WWF. Karen holds a Master degree of Business Administration from University of Surrey, UK and is accredited as Chartered Marketer by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK since 2001.
A graduate of Southern California University, Marshall School of Business. After plenty years of working in the apparel industry, Ellen decided to take a different path & created her own business Prêt-à-Dress (French: ready-to-dress). An ex- international apparel corporation manager, now a mother & female entrepreneur, who has always been passionate in fashion & appreciates the transformation of getting dressed. A believer of sustainable lifestyle and advocate of sharing economy, she believes that “living a fashion high life, doesn’t need to break your bank” and “experience is the new ownership”.
Operating since 2018, PRET-A-DRESS.COM is an online service that provides designer dress & accessory rentals, with a fitting showroom located in Central, Hong Kong. We focus on curating the best selection from top designers; providing designer fashion rental for every day & every occasion.