Michael Waitze worked in Global Finance for more than 20 years, employed by firms like Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, primarily in Tokyo. Michael lived and worked in Tokyo from February 1990 until December 2011. Michael always maintained a particular focus on how technology could be used to make businesses more efficient and to drive P/L growth.
Michael is a leader in the digital media space, building one of the biggest and fastest-growing podcast listener bases in the region. His AsiaTechPodcast.com show has listeners in more than 170 countries and his company, Michael Waitze Media produces some of Asia’s most popular podcasts.
Theresa is the founder of the Asia InsurTech Podcast and a Thought Leader on innovation in insurance in Asia. She has worked for ten years for leading multinational insurers in Europe and Asia before turning to management consulting and venture building with the goal of transforming the insurance industry and helping shape its future in the region.
Alvin Kwock is the co-founder & CEO of OneDegree. He is a member of United Nations ESCAP’s Banking and Finance Task Force, Hong Kong Insurance Authority’s Future Task Force, CUHK Business School’s Advisory Committee in the Department of Finance, and a founding member of Innovate for Future.
Alvin started his career in J.P. Morgan and spent 11 years there, prior to founding OneDegree. Alvin was JPM’s Asia-Pacific Head of Emerging Technology and Taiwan Head of Research. Under Alvin’s leadership, JPM’s Asia Tech Hardware team has been consistently rated in the Institutional Investors Poll, Financial Times/ Starmine and Asiamoney. He advised a number of global technology powerhouse and venture capitals and served as a guest lecturer at universities.
Cindy holds an LLB (Hons) from King’s College, London and a Distinction in M.Sc in Insurance and Risk Management from Cass Business School, London. Cindy led transformation projects of core operational functions within non-life insurance companies in Thailand and Indonesia. Cindy was an associate in the Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions practice of law firm, Rahmat Lim & Partners in association with Allen & Gledhill, Singapore where she was involved in several significant transactions relating to the financial services sector in Southeast Asia.
Harshet Lunani is the Founder and CEO of Qoala, the fast-growing Southeast Asian Multi-Channel Insurtech company that aims to revolutionize insurance through a combination of underwriting risk for high frequency events in daily lives and photo-based claims, assisted by machine learning.
Before successfully building Qoala, Harshet founded and ran Bima Mobile’s Indonesia setup as part of the their first foray into SE Asia. Prior to this, he worked at the Boston Consulting Group and Merrill Lynch.
After spending several years at American actuarial consulting firm Milliman, Kazy has worked at global investment banks, including JPMorgan and Nomura, where he provided risk management and product development service to insurers. Solutions he was engaged included derivative, reinsurance, product development and M&A advisory for insurers in Japan.
Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries Japan, Associate of Society of Actuaries. Wine Expert. Commissioner of Fintech Association of Japan. Bachelor of Science(Kyoto University).
Rob Schimek is the Group Chief Executive Officer of bolttech. He leads the bolttech team across our operations globally, overseeing our growth and partnership opportunities.
With more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry, Rob has previously held senior leadership roles in insurance, including Managing Director & Group Chief Operating Officer for FWD Group, President and CEO of AIG’s commercial insurance businesses worldwide and Chief Executive Officer of the Americas for AIG. Prior to that, Rob served as President and Chief Executive Officer of EMEA for AIG and was the Chief Financial Officer of AIG’s global property and casualty insurance business.
Before joining AIG, Rob was a partner at Deloitte & Touche L.L.P. where, for 18 years, he used his public accounting experience to serve global financial institution clients, including MetLife, The Prudential Insurance Company of America, and Merrill Lynch.
Rob is a C.P.A. He earned his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Rider University in New Jersey and a member of the Rider University Board of Trustees.
Outside of work, Rob can be found in the gym or competing in some of the world’s toughest endurance competitions such as the FWD 78° North Marathon, one of the most northern marathons in the world, and the Ironman World Championships.
Skye is Cofounder & CEO of upcover. Skye is passionate about helping small business' manage their own risk. She has worked with hundreds of SMEs at Zurich Insurance, across multiple functions. As a certified lawyer, she has also worked to help SMEs in regulatory reform at the state Government in Australia.
Roopa Malhotra was appointed the Head of Customer & Digital, APAC for Zurich Insurance Group, and became a member of the regional leadership in March 2022. Before joining Zurich Group, Roopa was
Head of Digital for Chubb in the Asia Pacific, leading the organisation’s digital distribution strategy across the region. In her last 12 years in the insurance industry, she has explored different opportunities across
various aspects of the business, including risk management, digital product development, and partnership management.
Roopa started her career in India as a financial analyst in the hedge fund industry with D.E. Shaw Group before entering the insurance industry and holding positions with AIG, MSIG, and Chubb.
A passionate Diversity and Inclusion champion, Roopa was also recognised as one of the rising female leaders in the region by Insurance Business Asia in 2021.
Roopa holds an MBA in Finance with certifications in design thinking for innovation. She is also pursuing a Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business (PCSB) from the University of Cambridge.
Roopa actively pursues volunteering at organisations like ‘All Hands and Hearts for disaster relief and Singapore’s ‘Alzheimer's Disease Association. She enjoys spending time on fitness and dance as a way
to de-stress and get the creative juices flowing.
