Event information
Upon arrival at One Marina Boulevard, please proceed to the glass lift located outside the building and take the lift to Level 7.
If you are driving to One Marina Boulevard, you may access Level 7 via the car park lifts
The Green Summit Singapore 2023 marks our first Southeast Asia-based event focused on discussing new roads to sustainability. Since tackling climate change is an increasingly urgent commitment, this event will bring together leading practitioners and in-house counsel from across the region, to discuss the legal sector’s commitment to a much-needed green transition.
During the summit, attendees will hear about how GCs have evolved their role and adapted their approach, in accordance with the growing emphasis on ESG policies, as well as what companies should be aware of, given the rise of ESG risks and opportunities in Singapore and Southeast Asia.
The event promises not only high-profile speakers, but also plenty of time for discussion and debate on one the most important issues of our time, along with networking drinks to conclude the evening.
Agenda
2.30pm–3.00pm Arrival and Registration
3.00pm–3.15pm Welcome Address and Opening Remarks
- Jerry Koh, Managing Partner, Allen & Gledhill
- Francisco Castro, Research analyst, The Legal 500
3.15pm–4.15pm Evolving roles of General Counsels with the rise of ESG
- Veronica Lai, chief corporate & sustainability officer, Starhub
- Jeffrey Tan, group general counsel; Chief sustainability officer; Director, legal & corporate affairs and Company Secretary, Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited
- Maree Myerscough, COO & general counsel, Aquila Clean Energy Asia Pacific
- Moderated by Francisco Castro, Research analyst, The Legal 500
4.15pm–5.15pm ESG Risks and Opportunities in Singapore and South East Asia – What companies should be aware of
- John Gao, Regional legal director, ASEAN, Reckitt
- Gary Partington, Managing associate general counsel, ASP Legal Change Programme, HSBC
- Lorraine Lee, general counsel, assistance services worldwide | chief privacy officer, International SOS
- Moderated by Elsa Chen, Partner, Co-Head of ESG & public policy practice and regional Co-Head of competition & antitrust practice, Allen & Gledhill.
5.15pm–5.20pm Closing Remarks
- Elsa Chen, partner, co-head of ESG & public policy practice and regional Co-Head of competition & antitrust practice, Allen & Gledhill
5.20pm–6.30pm Networking Drinks
Speakers
Francisco Castro, Research analyst, The Legal 500
Francisco joined the Legal 500’s GC Powerlist series in August 2022. As part of its in-house legal research team, Francisco’s work focuses on researching, editing and interviewing some of the most prominent and exceptional in-house counsel of some of the largest companies in the world. He has also played a part in the hosting of the Legal 500 webinar series, which provides market-leading expertise on a distinctive digital platform. Additionally, Francisco has extensive research experience in other fields, such as Public Policy, Higher Education and International Law. Other scientific areas of interest include International Relations, Geopolitics and International Humanitarian Law. Francisco is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
Jerry Koh, Managing Partner, Allen & Gledhill
Veronica Lai, Chief corporate & sustainability officer, Starhub
Veronica is responsible for StarHub’s Legal, Corporate Secretariat, Regulatory, Corporate Communications and Sustainability functions. With over two decades of experience in the info-communications industry, Veronica was the Group’s General Counsel and Company Secretary prior to her current role. Before joining StarHub, she practised law at Rajah and Tann Singapore LLP. Veronica serves as the Honorary Treasurer of the Global Compact Network Singapore’s Management Committee and is appointed as a specialist mediator by the Singapore International Mediation Centre. She was conferred the Chief Legal Officer 2020 Award by the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association, and is listed in Legal 500’s GC Powerlist. She also received the Asian Company Secretary 2013 Award for Singapore by Corporate Governance Asia. Veronica holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the National University of Singapore.
Jeffrey Tan, Group general counsel; Chief sustainability officer; Director, legal & corporate affairs and Company Secretary, Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited
Elsa Chen, partner, co-head of ESG & public policy practice and regional Co-Head of competition & antitrust practice, Allen & Gledhill
Elsa is Co-Head of Allen & Gledhill’s ESG & Public Policy Practice and is Regional Co-Head of its Competition & Antitrust Practice. Her ESG and public policy experience ranges from assisting clients to map out ESG trends and implications, policy drafting, advocacy, and assisting on legislative changes. As Regional Co-Head of the Competition & Antitrust Practice, Elsa also advises clients on the antitrust, consumer protection and public policy aspects of ESG matters, including collaboration agreements, merger control, and greenwashing claims. In 2020, Global Competition Review named Elsa as one of the world’s top 40 antitrust practitioners under the age of 40, and the only economist named in Asia, in its quadrennial 40 under 40 survey. She is also regularly cited as a Thought Leader by Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders: Competition. She is cited by clients in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2023 as “very responsive, excellent in addressing client’s questions and good at handling complex issues with care and sensitivity”, offering “sound advice on complex issues”, and “[her] star continues to rise. She has her finger on the pulse of cases and manages to cut through the issues and zooms into what matters”.
Elsa joined the Firm in 2007, and was previously from the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore, and also a pioneer member of the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS), now known as the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS).
John Gao, Regional legal director, ASEAN, Reckitt
Gary Partington, Managing associate general counsel, ASP Legal Change Programme, HSBC
Gary is a Managing Associate General Counsel at HSBC, primarily supporting HSBC’s Commercial Banking business in Asia. An outsourcing and technology lawyer by background, before moving to Singapore he held roles as Head of Legal for HSBC Commercial Banking in the Middle East, and Head of Legal for HSBC Operations, Services and Technology in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. Over the last 10 years he has advised extensively on ESG risk and policy in both supply chain and client relationships, and is currently co-secretary of HSBC Legal’s global ESG practice group and a member of the Bank’s global human rights working group.
Lorraine Lee, general counsel, assistance services worldwide | chief privacy officer, International SOS
Lorraine is passionate about helping business stakeholders with practical, innovative solutions on legal and data privacy matters.
As General Counsel, Assistance Services Worldwide, she leads a global team of lawyers, supporting a dynamic business that helps employers support their employees’ health and security needs.
As Chief Privacy Officer, her role (together with a global team of data privacy professionals) is to ensure that data privacy is embedded in every aspect of the business by design.
A dual Singapore and UK-qualified lawyer with 28 years’ track record, she started her career in private practice at Wong Partnership and Rajah & Tann in real estate and corporate/ capital markets, before moving into an in-house counsel position at Keppel Corporation, Hilton Hotels Corporation and now, at International SOS, for the past 13 years.
A big champion of Inclusion & Diversity, Lorraine co-chaired the Global D&I Council at International SOS in 2019.
In her “spare time”, she founded a non-profit called Live on Purpose during Covid, and is close to launching a mobile app, that makes giving easier, one click at a time.
Maree Myerscough, COO & general counsel, Aquila Clean Energy Asia Pacific
Maree Myerscough is the COO & General Counsel of Aquila Clean Energy Asia Pacific, a clean energy platform that funds, develops, builds and operates clean energy assets across the region. Previously she worked with Conergy, SunEdison and with Latham & Watkins and Mallesons in private practice.
In 2018 Maree was honoured to win the “General Commercial” award at the Global Counsel Awards in New York and be included in ALB’s In-house Counsel “40 Under 40” List for Asia Pacific. Maree was included in The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Southeast Asia 2022 and was short-listed for an FT Innovative Lawyers Asia-Pacific 2021 award for her work on pro bono projects, community service initiatives, mentoring and service leadership within the legal community. That year she was also included in Transition Economist’s TE100 Women of the Energy Transition in the Renewables category.
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Allen & Gledhill is an award-winning full-service South-east Asian law firm providing legal services to a wide range of premier clients, including local and multinational corporations and financial institutions. The Firm is consistently ranked as a market leader in Singapore and South-east Asia, having been involved in a number of challenging, complex and significant deals, many of which are the first of its kind. The Firm’s reputation for high-quality advice is regularly affirmed by the strong rankings in leading publications, and by the various awards and accolades. With a growing network of associate firms and offices, it is well-placed to advise clients on their business interests in Singapore and beyond, on matters involving South-east Asia and the Asian region. With its offices in Singapore, Myanmar and Vietnam, as well as its associate firm in Malaysia (Rahmat Lim & Partners), and its network firm in Indonesia, Soemadipradja & Taher, Allen & Gledhill has over 650 lawyers in its network across the region, making it one of the largest law firms in South-east Asia.