Judges

ContentAsia Awards judges are people who, through years of experience, have sharp instincts about what will work where, are able to feel their way around a production blindfolded, can sniff flaws from a mile away, and are able to value each entry fairly and equally on its own merits. Basically, people who live and breathe content, always have and always will. Plus, people who will have no issues with watching entries from start to finish, and can be honest and impartial about what they think.

Entries, judging, nominees and winners will be managed separately from ContentAsia’s publishing and events businesses.

Judges for the 2022 ContentAsia Awards are…

Jose Mari R. Abacan
First VP, Program Management, GMA Network, Inc (Philippines)

Jose Mari R. Abacan has been involved in the television and film industries for more than 28 years. Aside from heading Program Management – one of GMA’s content providers – he is also the current Project Director of GMA Network Films, Inc. Among other achievements, Abacan was instrumental in GMA’s introducing Koreanovelas to local audiences; it is also through his efforts that GMA airs Thai series (lakorn), Turkish and Indian dramas in the country. He also leads and oversees all programme acquisition initiatives of the Network, dealing with both local and foreign suppliers and producers. Early in his career, he was the supervising producer of award-winning GMA Telesine Specials (made-for-television movies). At present, he spearheads the overall operations and programming of all GMA Network, Inc’s DTT (digital terrestrial) channels (Heart of Asia, I Heart Movies, HallyPop & DepEd TV).

Myleeta Aga

Myleeta is a content creator, business leader & humanist with a recognised track record of having transformed content organisations in multiple countries and across functions. Currently based in Singapore, she runs a media consultancy that, among other projects, advises Indonesian conglomerate Emtek on content strategy as its scales up VOD service, Vidio. Myleeta previously worked for Netflix and BBC Studios in various roles, including P&L responsibility for operations across Asia. Before that, she worked at Discovery Networks in Washington DC for 8 years, where she executive produced Emmy-winning series “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations”.

Yeni Priana Anshar
Director of Programming, NET Mediatama Televisi (NET TV) Indonesia

Yeni Priana Anshar started her career as a broadcaster at Indonesian free-TV network RCTI in 1995, and for 14 years held a number of strategic positions in the Emtek group, both at SCTV (2001-2013) and Indosiar (2013-2014). As head of programming at Indosiar, she was involved in talent search programme, “D’Academy”, which took Indosiar to #1 position in 2014. She built a clear and strong programme positioning for Rajawali Televisi (RTV), where she worked from 2015 to 2020, enabling rapid performance growth in Indonesia’s fiercely competitive free-TV environment. Yeni was also head of programming for TV One, where she plays a role in creating flagship shows such as “One Pride”. She joined Net TV in March last year.

Roxanne Barcelona
Vice President, Worldwide Division, GMA Network, Philippines

Roxanne J. Barcelona is the vice president of GMA Network Inc’s Worldwide Division, the group tasked with the distribution of GMA’s content worldwide. She has nearly 40 years experience in the broadcast industry. In 1996, she joined GMA Worldwide Inc, a subsidiary of GMA Network Inc, to handle both foreign and local programme acquisitions and programme distribution. For the next 18 years with GMA Worldwide until 2014, she was the head of acquisitions, acquiring content for GMA Network Inc. From 2014 to the present, she heads the syndication and distribution business of GMA Network Inc under the network’s Worldwide Division.

Anthony Buncio
SVP, Streaming, Screenplay Films (Indonesia)

Anthony has 20 years of experience working in the U.S. and Asia as a creative executive, producer/showrunner and editor. He currently spearheads creative development & content strategy for one of Indonesia’s major film and TV studios, Screenplay Films, as SVP of Streaming.  His latest series, Mendua (an adaptation of BBC’s Doctor Foster) and Tiram are currently in production for Disney+ Hotstar.  Previously, he was the regional executive producer for streaming platform iflix. He made his first foray in the region launching global formats with Fox Networks Group, Sony Pictures and CBS Studios International (Asia’s Next Top ModelChina’s Next Top Model). He started his career in the U.S. as a line producer on feature films & lead editor, supervising producer on several hit shows.

Chang Yee-Yeo
Senior Manager, Script Development, The Walt Disney Company

Chang Yee Yeo works at The Walt Disney Company as a Senior Manager for Script Development, responsible for overseeing the development of scripted series from diverse cultures and markets including Korea, Japan, Greater China, Southeast Asia, Australia & New Zealand for audiences around the world. Prior to joining Disney, he was responsible for bringing the Oscar-winning Hacksaw Ridge and Oscar-nominated Jackie to theatres across Mainland China. He has also worked as an Executive Producer on Kings, starring Daniel Craig and Halle Berry, S.M.A.R.T. Chase starring Orlando Bloom, and Lullaby starring Rupert Friend, Clémence Poésy and Forest Whitaker. He was the associate producer on Katherine Dieckmann’s Motherhood, starring Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards and Minnie Driver. Chang started his career at Christine Vachon’s Killer Films and worked with directors such as Todd Haynes, Doug McGrath and Helen Hunt. He is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and a pioneer recipient of the Media Education Scheme Award from Singapore’s Media Development Authority.

Chen Kheng On
Assistant General Manager, Content, Unifi TV, TM Net/Unifi /TV (Malaysia)

Kheng On has been involved in the acquisition and implementation of content initiatives for Telekom Malaysia’s Interactive linear, non-linear, VOD)and OTT channels since 2007. His current role includes overseeing the group’s content strategy – acquisition, budget, promotion and performance – in order to increase consumer demand for high speed data usage. Prior to joining Telekom Malaysia, he worked for Malaysian media/production companies Juita Viden and Inspidea.

Angela Cheung
Managing Director, APV (Hong Kong)

Angela Cheung is Managing Director at APV, an award-winning video agency headquartered in Hong Kong. She has won plaudits as a media executive, coach and speaker who has worked with some of the biggest brands, including roles as Regional Director of Production at Walt Disney Television Asia Pacific, Head of Production for FremantleMedia Asia and Senior Producer at MTV. Cheung was named one of Hong Kong’s 50 Influencers at Hong Kong Living’s Influencer Awards 2020. In 2021, she took home 12 awards at the NYX Awards for a series of brand films for Prudential.   

Shigeko (Cindy) Chino
Co-founder, GM Japan, Empire of Arkadia

Cindy Chino is a leading international business development executive in Japan with 36 years of experience in both creative & commercial. Chino departed commercial broadcaster, Nippon TV, in March 2022 where, after experiencing production/news and global strategy & sales, she led the international sales team for more than seven years. She was behind the roll out of non-scripted titles such as Masquerade, Old Enough!Block Out and scripted titles such as MotherWoman and Your Home is My Business. Currently in close alignment with both local and global partners, her primary focus is to execute strategy for Japanese creatives to cross further borders.  

Art Kaneearch Dandumrongsuk
Channel 3, Thailand

Art has been a media activist since 1999. Starting out as a singer/songwriter, Art has released three studio albums with Sony Music and performed over two thousand shows in Asia, the E.U. and the U.S.  Art has hosted hundreds of television shows and still maintains his passion for talk radio. His role in programme acquisition for BEC World has now been transformed to digital content and marketing for 3Plus, BEC’s online platform. In his spare time, he is the owner of hotel-villa, Arttra Villa, along Bangkok’s Chaopraya river.

Sabrina Duguet
EVP, Asia Pacific, All3media International

Sabrina Duguet was appointed EVP for Asia Pacific in 2015, relocating the following year to Singapore to head up the regional operation. Prior to that, she worked in the U.K. for nearly 11 years, including stints at Indigo Film and Television. She joined all3Media in 2010, becoming SVP for international format sales and leading the sales team as well as covering formats sales for France, Germany, Netherlands, Asia and Russia. Duguet studied television and film production in Paris. Before moving to the U.K., she worked in production for entertainment programmes, feature documentaries and films in France.

Mark Erder
Founder, APV

Mark Erder founded APV with journalist Adrian Brown more than 30 years ago to produce news & feature packages for int’l broadcasters, going on to distribute pre-packaged stories to CNN, Sky, CNBC and TCN-9, among others. Erder has since grown APV through several iterations: from boutique news agency to documentary producer to corporate/commercial production studio as well as offering broadcast management and other services. Erder champions at least one pro bono film or PSA a year along with regularly commissioned films for National Geographic and BBC. Separately, he produces independent films and encourages APV staff to do the same. Highlights include The Last Governor (BBC) about the British handover of Hong Kong and Of All The Gin Joints, a BBC co-production about Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club to coincide with the club’s 50th anniversary. Among his many independent documentary awards, Mark has won the Grand Prix at Cinema du Reel in Paris for Silver Valley.

Jose Escalante
CEO-Director, Latin Media Corporation

Jose has been CEO-director of international acquisition, production and distribution company, Latin Media Corporation, since September 2009. The company maintains strong content links with Asia, acquiring series from, among other markets, Malaysia and Thailand, for distribution in Latin America. Jose’s previous roles include president and CEO at Dori Media and CEO and vice president at RCTV International.

Magdalene Ew
Head of Content – Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery,  Southeast Asia, Taiwan & Hong Kong 

Magdalene Ew defines and executes content curation and acquisition strategy for Warner Bros. Discovery’s general entertainment portfolio in the region, including pan-regional channels Warner TV and HBO (incl. HBO Family, HBO Hits, HBO Signature & Cinemax) as well as the streaming service HBO GO / HBO On Demand. She oversees original production, including HBO Asia Originals such as the recently launched horror series Folklore and documentary series Traffickers: Inside The Golden Triangle. She drives co-production projects such as On The Job and Trinity of Shadows. Prior to joining HBO/Warner Bros. Discovery, she was the Sales and Marketing Director at Singapore Grand Prix and played a key role in the world’s first and only F1 night race. A marketing and content veteran with over 20 years of regional experience, Ew also led the sponsorship marketing department at MTV Asia, and has held positions at Nike and Discovery Channel. 

Sonia Fleck
CEO, Bomanbridge Media

Sonia has worked in the television industry for 20 years, starting with theatrical film sales with indies such as Summit & Icon Films, before moving into TV content distribution. In 2007, she launched Bomanbridge Media, a content distribution & deficit finance group, based in Monaco. With the expansion of Asia’s media landscape, the company established its HQ in Singapore. The global distribution arm represents approx 5,000 hours of quality primetime programming, including originals & independent productions across all genres. Bomanbridge Media has equity investment from Hera Capital to further invest in content development.

Mark Francis
Group Lead, Original Production – Southeast Asia/Hong Kong/Taiwan, Warner Bros. Discovery

Mark Francis is an award-winning executive producer and commissioner, who currently oversees HBO’s scripted drama and unscripted entertainment local productions for the southeast Asia region. Before joining Warner Bros. Discovery, he was head of content at Astro’s indie streamer sooka in Malaysia. Francis was previously chief content officer at indie streaming service iflix. Before that he served as vice president of commissioning and regional programming for Nat Geo Partners in London, and head of production for Fox Networks Group APAC & Middle East. He began his broadcasting career at Discovery Networks Asia Pacific.

Scott Freeman
Executive Producer

Scott is an Emmy-winning executive producer whose credits include The Challenge (MTV), Stars in Danger: The High Dive (Fox), Valerie’s Home Cooking (Food Network), Saddle Ranch (VH1), Motor City Masters (truTV), Disney’s TRYathlon (Disney XD), Wealth Hunters (TLC), and the film, Pedro. Currently consulting with various reality and format producers, Scott is a 25+ years veteran of Bunim/Murray Productions (BMP) with executive titles in original production, development and international. While at BMP, he was also involved with hit shows such as The Real WorldRoad RulesStarting Over and The Simple Life in addition to the series he executive produced, and played a key role in format acquisitions and worked closely with the Banijay Group after BMP joined the group in 2010.  Scott currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Television Academy.

Danny Fung


Danny Fung began his career in the media-content business more than two decades ago writing for film directors John Woo and Tsui Hark, producing live radio shows for Hong Kong’s Metro Broadcast, and content production, acquisitions, programming, strategic development of short & long-form, as well as  brand management and digital transformation and migration, starting with TVB Hong Kong, followed by Indosiar (Jakarta), NBC Asia, Disney Studios, Turner Broadcasting/WarnerMedia), Viacom Int’l Media Networks – Paramount, and most recently as VP/Head of Content, Programming & Operations for KC Global Media’s AXN, One, Gem & Animax.

Gunawan Goony
Senior Manager, Acquisition & Distribution, ANTV (Indonesia)

Gunawan Goony joined Indonesian free-TV broadcaster ANTV in 2003 following almost a decade at TPI/MNCTV, during which he designed some local content such as drama series, reality show, animated series concepts and acquired local and foreign content, including telenovelas, animated series & movies, Indian series & movies, Thai lakorn & movies, Turkish drama and Mandarin series & movies. In 2013, he became part of ANTV’s new programming team, which drove the station to the #1 TV channel in Indonesia with content collaborations and international titles including Indian series, sinetron and scripted formats along with global reality formats. He was promoted to Senior Manager Acquisition & Distribution for ANTV in 2018.

Kimberly James
Director of Production Management, The Walt Disney Company

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Jessica Kam-Engle
VP, Content & Development, Asia Pacific, The Walt Disney Company

Jessica Kam-Engle is the Head of Content & Development, The Walt Disney Company, Asia Pacific. She is responsible for developing, producing and acquiring content to expand direct-to-consumer offerings. From 2017-2021, Kam-Engle was the Head of Original Production at HBO Asia/WarnerMedia, where she oversaw original productions spanning 10+ markets and local languages, including Adventure of the Ring, Dream Raider, Workers, Invisible Stories, Food Lore, The Talwars: Behind Closed Doors, Folklore, The Teenage Psychic 2 and feature film The Garden of Evening Mists. Prior to HBO, from 2008-2016, she was an independent film producer based in Beijing and Hong Kong. She produced 10 feature films, including The Piano in a Factory and blockbuster Just Another Pandora’s Box. She previously worked in marketing and sales roles at Celestial Pictures, MTV Asia, MGM Gold Network, Dow Jones Newswires.

Haikal Jamari
Channel Director & Sales Manager, Asia Pacific & Middle East, Dori Media Group

Haikal Jamari leads Dori Media’s content syndication, format licensing and channel distribution business in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Based in Singapore, he oversees business development for the company’s 7,500+ hour catalogue of finished and format IP across scripted and unscripted genres, as well as FMN, a daily drama/telenovela channel in Indonesia. Dori Media’s recent key successes in Asia Pacific and the Middle East include format sales of The Selfie Challenge, Win the Crowd and The Best of All, in addition to the sale of Argentina, Land of Passion and Revenge – the first-ever Argentinian telenovela to air in Japan.

Pimpaniorn Khemanuwongsuk
Assistant Manager, TV Series Production Dept, Bangkok Broadcasting & TV Co. Ltd (Ch7 HD), Thailand

Pimpaniorn Khemanuwongsuk has worked for Bangkok Broadcasting & TV Co Ltd in Thailand in a range of roles since 2003. She was appointed to her current position in 2018, where she is involved in supervising various aspects of drama for Channel 7. She was previously involved in the broadcaster’s pre-production department, including producing TV magazine and entertainment programmes, and producing and editing business and entertainment news. Prior to Channel 7, she worked for the W Network as co-producer for the TV magazine show i-dna.

Eddy Kilmartin-Tan
SVP of Global Studio Partnerships, allrites

Eddy Tan is the SVP of Global Studio Partnerships for digital marketplace, allrites. He engages studios and independent production houses to develop strategies to place content that appeals to allrites’ global clients. Tan also develops programming plans and strategies for LGAds Solutions and a new American Asian channel to launch in November 2022. Tan was previously VP, Channels and Original Productions for Fox Network Group and launched multiple Disney channels globally. He also launched the first VOD service for Disney in the U.K. He was also the first Asian selected by Disney International to relocate to London to lead the global branded programming team. In that role, he spearheaded numerous original productions and worked closely with Burbank in rolling out international Disney movies and series with the strategic launch and marketing plans.

Hana Kim
General Manager, Netopia (Korea)

Hana Kim started her career as a TV News reporter and producer at LA 18 KSCI TV in Los Angeles, U.S.. Returning to Korea, she joined Netopia as a key member of the team that operated Discovery Korea, TLC Korea and TVB Korea channels. As a global content distributor, she has introduced Thai series from CH3, including Love Destiny, into the Korean market for the first time, followed by Ukrainian series, Love in Chains and Sniffer. She has also distributed series from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, U.S, Russia, France, Germany, Spain and Colombia to TV channels & VOD platforms in Korea. Recently, she has been expanding the business of Korean film distribution to foreign markets. 

Vanita Kohli-Khandekar
Journalist and author (India)

Vanita Kohli-Khandekar has been tracking the Indian media and entertainment business for two decades.  Currently she is a columnist and writer for one of India’s leading financial dailies, Business Standard. She also writes for Singapore-based media trade platform, ContentAsia. Her earlier stints include one at Businessworld and EY. A Cambridge University press fellow (2000), Kohli has taught at some of the top media schools in India. The fifth edition of her book, The Indian Media Business: Pandemic and After (Sage) was released in October 2021. Her second book, The Making of Star India (Penguin-Random House), was released in 2019.    

Benjamin Lai
Executive Director, YAM Cultural Limited

In his 25 years in the media and entertainment industry, Benjamin has worked for Star TV, Television Broadcasts Ltd (TVB), Tang Media Group in the U.”S. and China. He founded YAM Cultural Limited in Hong Kong, focusing on production and syndication including distributing Fox TV’s Golden Bell Awards winner “Someday or One Day” to Tencent and iQiyi in China. He also produced two Thai dramas for Tencent Holdings in 2020 and 2021. His filmography includes associate producer for Vietnamese movie “100 Days of Sunshine”, which won Best Movie Award at the Golden Kite Awards in 2018.

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Vitto Lazatin

Media executive with 20+ years experience in broadcast media, content, communication and partner management in the Philippines. Work experience includes stints at some of the Philippines’s biggest media companies including key roles at Cignal TV, TV5 and Solar Entertainment. 

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Leslie Lee
Head of Kids – Asia Pacific, WarnerMedia

Leslie Lee is WarnerMedia’s Head of Kids, overseeing Cartoon Network, Boomerang & POGO networks and content in Asia Pacific, as well as Cartoonito, the preschool block on Cartoon Network. Lee also oversees the original production & development team, and digital and games units. Leslie has over two decades’ experience in Asia’s entertainment industry. He has worked at MediaCorp, Viacom and prior to WarnerMedia, he was Executive Director of Media Networks at The Walt Disney Company (SE Asia). He presently volunteers his time mentoring media students in various Singapore-based institutes of higher learning, sits on the programming committee at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content and is a board member of Centre 42, a non-profit arts organisation that supports playwriting in Singapore.

Marianne Lee
Chief of Content Acquisition & Licensing, Viu

Marianne Lee is a content professional with a career built around fan generation. She has held leadership positions in content acquisition, curation, production, marketing, social media and research. Before her appointment as Chief of Content Acquisition and Development at regional streamer Viu, she worked for WarnerMedia leading Marketing & Brand Services. Prior to this role, she built a from-the-ground-up general entertainment department at Turner where she defined content and channel strategy and set new industry standards.

Mee Fung Lee
Managing Director, PIK Film (Malaysia)

Mee Fung Lee’s media career spans over three decades across Asia. She has worked with leading broadcasters and pay-TV operators, where she played strategic roles in content and promotions. Thereafter, she entered into producing and distributing independent feature films and TV content that garnered multiple awards and achieved commercial success. Today, Lee is the owner of PIK Film, a content distribution, production and marketing agency representing media companies such as DW,  JIB,  ORF-enterprises and Studio Hamburg in the Asia Pacific region. . 

Sandie Lee
EVP & Channel Head, Rewind Networks

A television veteran with more than three decades experience, Sandie heads up the channel content, acquisitions and communications for regional channels operator, Rewind Networks, which operates two channels – HITS and HITS Movies. Before joining Rewind Networks as part of the founding team, she was VP, content at Singapore platform StarHub, where, among other things, she initiated and launched locally packaged channels. Sandie was also involved in the launch of international channels that debuted in Singapore before rolling out to the rest of Asia. Sandie previously worked for the Television Corporation of Singapore (now Mediacorp).

Mamie Leung
Senior Vice President and Head of Content, HKT Limited

Mamie Leung is a seasoned media professional in Hong Kong. She has been leading Now TV’s content strategies, development and partnerships, including launching premium VOD services like Now True and Now Studio, to help build Now TV and Now E into Hong Kong’s most successful Pay TV business and Now E as an innovative standalone OTT service. Mamie also heads up Sports production and has helped the team to develop new customer viewing experiences such as 4K, VR, multi-angle and watch party. Mamie also led the content curation for HKT Home’s new “Now H1” Android TV box – the all-in-one entertainment hub and home companion for families in Hong Kong.

 

Virginia Lim
Chief Content Officer, Mediacorp (Singapore)

Virginia joined Mediacorp in Singapore in July 2021. She was previously chief content officer for PCCW Media’s Viu streaming platform, which she joined in 2019 after more than a decade at Sony Pictures Television Networks Asia in various roles, including senior vice president and general manager responsible for distribution, advertising revenue and overall content strategy for five regional channels – AXN, ONE, GEM, Animax and Sony Channel – as well as vice president for Asian content. Before joining Sony’s Asia networks division in 2008 as programming director for Animax Asia, Virginia worked for Singapore-based pay-TV platform StarHub for about 10 years. Prior to StarHub, she was a current affairs producer for Mediacorp.

Jay Lin
Chief Executive Officer, Portico Media (Taiwan)

Jay Lin is the founder of Portico Media, a Taiwanese media hub involved in content development, production, distribution and marketing. Over the years, Lin has aggregated and introduced over 20 foreign TV channels into the Taiwan, working with some of the world’s largest media companies such as NBCU Comcast, Viacom or A&E. In 2017, he launched GagaOOLala, Asia’s first and largest LGBTQ+ streaming service, currently hosting over 1,500 titles and with a rapidly growing membership base of 1.5 million members around the world. Portico has produced thousands of online viral videos via one of Taiwan’s most popular digital content channels, HahaTai, as well as overseen the production of over 50+ GagaOOLala Original titles.

Andrew Xiaoyu Lo

Andrew Lo began his career directing and producing music videos and youth related TV shows in Taiwan. His work quickly garnered him opportunities to head up creative teams in Beijing, London, and Singapore for MTV/Viacom, where he strived to entertain and inspire international audiences through design, promotion, digital/social media, short form content, and brand management. Back in Taiwan, Lo recently worked as executive producer for a long-form lifestyle show, Like That Also Can, which added a Golden Bell to his over 100 industry awards. Currently enjoying a well-earned sabbatical, Andrew can be found traveling the world, exploring, being inspired and looking for his next adventure.


May Wah Lwin
Channels Editorial Manager, Canal+ Myanmar

May Wah is channels editorial manager for CANAL+ Myanmar, responsible for managing nine in-house channels across a range of genres. She was responsible for launching the highest-rated original TV series on the platform as well as a local sports channel. May Wah has been involved in the broadcast media industry for the past 11 years.

Natasha Malhotra
Chief Content and Commercial Officer, Vuulr

Natasha joined Vuulr’s founding team in 2018 from Disney SEA, where she was VP/GM of Disney Channels and Branded Media and Content, working across the various business verticals on localisation of content, music and events. Prior to this she oversaw the Disney Channel business in India. Previous to Disney she spent over 11 years with Viacom, in India and MTVN APAC and later with the Arab Media Group as COO for MTV and Nick Arabia.

Nuttapong “X” Mongkolsawas
Senior Content Production Director, GMMTV Co, Ltd

Nuttapong Mongkolsawas (aka X) started his career at GMMTV as a TV programme creative and has been directing TV series since 2014. He is one of the key people behind GMMTV’s best-known shows, including Vice Versa GMM25 Channel and GMMTV’s YouTube channel. He has directed series such as I‘m Tee, Me Too, Theory of Love and Wolf, and produced series such as F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers, Star and Sky: Sky in Your Heart and The War of Flowers, among many others.

Attaphon Na Bangxang
Chief Digital Content Officer, True Corporation (Thailand)

With more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment and sports industry, Attaphon Na Bangxang looks after content acquisition and partnership for digital media platform and content & programming for True Visions. He has played instrumental roles in securing licences for big branded formats, including True Academy Fantasia and the local version of Mexican musical talent show La Academia, as well as producing TV movies and drama series. 

Ahmad Izham Omar
Executive Director, Content and Creative, Disney+, The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia

Ahmad Izham Omar is the Executive Director, Content & Creative, Disney+, at The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia. He oversees original content production for Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar in Southeast Asia. Izham has over 28 years of experience in the media and entertainment industries and previously served as CEO, Primeworks Studios, Malaysia’s largest production company, and CEO of Media Prima TV Networks, which included Malaysia’s largest TV stations. Omar also oversaw Media Prima’s radio networks, and launched tonton, the region’s first OTT service. Izham is a multi-award-winning music producer, arranger, songwriter & musician, with an MBA from Suffolk University, U.S. and a BA in Music Production and Engineering from Berklee College of Music, U.S.

Fotini Paraskakis
Founder and Director, Empire of Arkadia 

Fotini Paraskakis is a leading and respected member of the Asian and International media industries, with 30 years of experience in the global content space Specialising in both creative & commercial, she has a unique ability to spot a strong idea and make it travel. Paraskakis has been instrumental in building the formats industry across Asia and has been involved in 400+ content deals throughout the region. In her role as Managing Director of Endemol Shine Group, she created local super brands such as Masterchef, Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, Fear Factor, The Bridge and Humans, built properties such as Idols, Got Talent and X Factor as Head of Content for Fremantlemedia Asia and, more recently, ran an innovative content fund as Global Managing Director for The Story Lab (Dentsu Inc). She moved to Asia in 1995, and is currently based in both London and Singapore.

Byron Perry
Founder, CEO, Coconuts Media

Byron Perry is the founder and CEO of Coconuts Media and Chair of the Society of Publishers in Asia. He has grown Coconuts Media into Asia’s leading alternative media company, reaching an audience of millions per month across digital, print, video and audio formats. Perry has also acted as executive producer on Coconuts TV documentary productions for Netflix, Mediacorp, iflix, Discovery Asia and MTV Asia. Before founding Coconuts, Byron worked as an editor for Hollywood trade magazine Variety, Cambodia’s English language newspaper The Phnom Penh Post, and local city magazine San Francisco.

Phattarapon Poonpiphat
Content Production Director, GMMTV

Phattarapon Poonpiphat was appointed GMMTV’s Content Director in June 2020, following a role as executive producer for One Championship Thailand and eight years with Thai production house, Memiti Company Limited, where he was Executive Producer for, among other series, Hollywood Game Night Thailand, The Wall Thailand and Top Chef Thailand season one. His first stint with GMM TV Company was from 2005 to 2011, when we was involved in Game Wad Duang, Core Song Game and The Hunt.

Quill Potter
Creative Director, ComedyFlix Asia

Quill has been involved in ComedyFlix, a global production house specialising in comedy, since January 2018. His long association with comedy in Asia includes stints as live show and festival producer for The Comedy Store in Singapore and the Singapore International Comedy Festival. In 2014/5, he created “Singapore Stripped – A Comedy Roast of The Lion City”, a hit comedy show aimed at tourists in Singapore. He also spent a year organising tours of international stand-up comedians in India and worked on top-rated Indian series such as “The Big Switch”, “SuperStud/Superdude” and “Emotional Atyaachar”. Before that he worked for Star TV, CNBC, Siren Film, and Asia Sports Television.

Agnes Rozario
Director of Content, Astro (Malaysia)

A pioneer at Astro, Agnes Rozario heads the Group’s content team, covering all language and genres across TV, film and digital. She was instrumental in bringing early access to local and global blockbuster movies from cinema to home and spearheads the first-run film initiative enabling local producers to provide a cinematic experience to viewers at home via Astro First. She continues to drive the connected customer experience via key content campaigns, sports and VOD services with over 90,000 titles available, over 11.2b minutes streamed on set-top box and 3.5b minutes streamed on AstroGo in FY22 in addition to the Astro-Disney+ Hotstar launch in Malaysia. She also spearheads strategic partnerships with regional & int’l players, which contributes to Astro’s diverse content line-up and streaming reach from Hollywood, HK, India, Indonesia and Korea to global sports franchises. A strong advocate of local original content, she continues to champion Astro Signatures, Astro Originals and development of new IP and talent resulting in home-grown content continuing to drive viewer engagement. Astro Shaw is behind the highest grossing local movies of all time and Astro’s digital platforms have maintained their top positions as local digital brands.

Sorayuth (Nam) Sagrikananda
Zense Entertainment Co. Ltd (Thailand)

Sorayuth “Nam” Sagrikananda was accidentally drawn into an entertainment career in 2002, first as a freelancer on crews for several Hollywood, Koreans and international films, reality shows, documentaries and TV series that were shot in Thailand.  Over the years, his position became more diverse, from a production runner to manager, arts department runner to coordinator, make-up department translator, set dressing buyer and even greens supervisor responsible for greenery landscaping on film sets.  His last position in international filming was a line producer for Russian and Korean movies.  In 2011, another happy accident resulted in a Thai TV content career. For the last 11 years, he has been involved in format licensing and selling as well as sports live broadcast and online content production. And that’s where he plans to stay; “no more accidents,” he says.

Michele Schofield

Michele Schofield has worked in the film and television industry for over 20 years, having held department head positions across factual, lifestyle, and kids’ animation, overseeing linear network programming, VOD programming across 20 YouTube channels, acquisitions, original production commissioning, development and executive producing, content sales, and marketing. She recently left One Animation after four years as SVP, Content Distribution, which followed head of content and marketing roles for 10-years at A+E Networks and five years at Turner Entertainment Networks Asia-Pacific. After graduating with her Bachelor of Arts majoring in Film & Television from Australia, Michele first moved to Los Angeles and kick-started her career in Hollywood. She has lived in Asia since 2004.

Linda Shayne
Writer/Director

Linda Shayne Linda Shayne graduated from UC Berkeley, worked in mental hospitals and wrote articles about San Quentin State Prison ex-offenders, preparing her to become a film and TV writer and director. Shayne has written films for Imagine, Showtime, and Disney. She directed a movie in Europe for Paramount,  a film in the U.S. for Warner Bros. and episodic TV for Nickelodeon, and created a dramedy TV series for Quincy Jones’ QDE, two animated TV series for Warner Bros. and recently created a TV series to film in Thailand.  Shayne won a Directing Award at the Freedom Festival Intl. and Best Screenplay at the 2020 London Renaissance Film Festival.

Ryan Shiotani
SVP, Content, Asia & Greater China, BBC Studios

Ryan Shiotani is SVP, Content, Asia and Greater China and leads the region’s content direction as it explores new partnerships and platforms. He is the regional editorial lead across existing and new branded services, as well as advising on brand and content strategy. Shiotani joined BBC Studios (then BBC Worldwide) in 2007 and has led the editorial strategy for brands including BBC Earth, BBC Kids,and BBC Player across linear and digital platforms in the region. He works closely with Sony BBC Earth, BBC Studios’ joint venture with Sony Pictures Networks India. Shiotani is also the business lead for diversity & inclusion for the Global Markets division. Prior to joining BBC Studios, he worked across programming, acquisitions, content sales and production in Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America for Discovery Networks Latin America/Iberia, Sesame Workshop, and MTM Entertainment.

Erlina Suharjono
Co-founder, I.E. Entertainment Pte Ltd

A senior entertainment executive with over 30 years’ experience in the motion picture Industry, Erlina co-founded distribution and production house, I.E. Entertainment, in 2021. She previously spent 24 years with Warner Bros. Pictures International in various roles, including EVP Asia Distribution and Managing Director of China and Hong Kong, helping to lead the continued growth, strategic direction and management of WBPI’s marketing and distribution operations throughout Asia during a period of intense growth and competition specifically in China, a tough market to crack in both censorship and limited film quota. She has also held multiple roles with Cathay Organisation (exhibitor & distributor).

Indra Suharjono
Co-founder, i.e. entertainment / Senior Media Advisor, JKN Global Media (Thailand)

Indra is the co-founder of i.e. entertainment pte. ltd. and senior media adviser to Thailand’s JKN Global Media PLC since 2019, with a remit to drive and distribute Thai dramas from BEC World globally and strike partnerships for JKN Originals. She is the executive producer of Project Runway Thailand. Prior to JKN, she led Taiwan’s Next Animation Studio as CEO for three years. In her 32 years in Asia’s media & entertainment industry, she spent a decade with Viacom International Media Networks Asia, including a role as EVP and MD, Asia. Indra also spent 12 years at TimeWarner in Asia, holding senior positions with Warner Bros. Pictures Int’l., Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and Turner Entertainment Networks Asia. Indra also sits on the board of Cathay Organisation Holdings..

Andrew Tan
Head of Content, StarHub

Andrew Tan is a content professional with a particular focus on creating partnerships around both linear and OTT content, bringing value to consumers in the entertainment space. Before his appointment at StarHub as Head of Content, where he is responsible for overall content strategy, he also had extensive experience in business development in the areas of Cybersecurity and Data Analytics, with the primary aim of driving awareness for new capabilities and developments and bringing those solutions to enterprise customers. He has also worked for Maybank and for Cap Gemini.

Lina Tan
Founder, RED Communications/RED Films (Malaysia)

Lina founded production house RED Communications Sdn Bhd in 1999, followed by RED Films in 2004. She has created a variety of television programmes and commercials focusing on women and youth issues as well as educational content for kids; created original content and adapted international formats such as Project Runway and Club Mickey Mouse; and produced 12 Malaysian feature films, including  Kami, Pisau Cukur, Songlap, Istanbul Aku Datang, Kami Histeria, Huat, Manisnya Cinta, Rembat , Mrs K and Gol & Gincu 1 and Vol. 2. She is currently on the Board of Malaysia’s FINAS and also an adjunct Professor in the School of Media and Communications, Taylor’s University.

William Tan
Senior Advisor, The Content Connected Company (China)

William has 20 years of experience in the Chinese market. He has played a central role in shaping the strategic direction of Endemol Shine Group and Viacom International Media Networks in China for more than a decade. Among other brands, he brought Big Brother, The Brain, MasterChef, Mr. Bean, Humans, MTV and Nickelodeon to multiple platforms. William recently joined startup, The Content Connected Company, as senior adviser to drive the development of non-scripted shows, documentaries, scripted shows and ancillary licensing. Most recently, the company successfully commissioned LEGO Masters, The Wall and All Together Now into key broadcast platforms in China. Several co-development of documentaries are in the pipeline of which A Taste of Hong Kong was aired on YouTube and Reuters last year.

Lorna Tee
Producer/ Partner, Paperheart (Malaysia) & An Original Picture (The Netherlands)

Lorna Tee is a film producer, programmer and curator, dividing her time between Asia & Europe. She has worked with Focus Films (HK), Variety (U.S.), Irresistible Films (HK/ Japan), and also film festivals such as Berlinale, CinemAsia Film Festival and IFFA Macao. Selected filmography includes The Beautiful Washing Machine, Rain Dogs, Crazy Stone, My Mother is a Bellydancer, The Shoe Fairy, At the End of Daybreak, Lover’s Discourse, Come Rain, Come Shine, Postcards from the Zoo, Mrs K and Toyol (an episode from HBO’s Folklore). She is producing with her Malaysian production company, Paperheart, and with Amsterdam-based company, An Original Picture, focusing on film and TV productions for an international audience. She is currently the year-round programmer for Cinematheque Passion in Macao and the curator of an incubation development lab for Malaysian/regional filmmakers, mylab. 

Duangnapa (Hong) Termkraisri
IP & Contract Management Manager, BEC World (Thailand)

Duangnapa “Hong” has been involved in content acquisition for the past 25 years, covering multiple genres including U.S. television series, theatrical movies, formats, animated series and documentary as well as sports and events for Thai free-TV network Channel 3. From 2011 to 2017, she was charged with distributing Channel 3 dramas to China and Southeast Asia.

Krissada Trishnananda
Content & Programming Director, PPTV HD36 (Thailand)

Krissada Trishnananda is Content & Programming Director of Thailand Bangkok Media and Broadcasting Company’s digital terrestrial station PPTV HD36. With over 30 years of TV experience in Entertainment and Sports. he is responsible for both local and international content for PPTV, including his involvement in international formats franchises such as The Voice Thailand. Prior to this, Trishnananda worked for Thailand’s free-TV station BBTV Channel 7, TV 3 and IBC Cable TV.

Artine Utomo
Chief Executive Officer, RTV – Rajawali Televisi Indonesia

Artine Utomo is responsible for managing nationwide terrestrial TV station RTV’s overall portfolio, including curating compelling content for Indonesian viewers. Her mandate is to develop and expand RTV’s viewership and relevance, and deliver creative excellence. With almost two decades of experience in Indonesia’s broadcasting industry, her roles have included CEO of free-TV station PT Cipta TPI (2003-2009) and CEO of content development company PT Festival Citra (2011-2016).

Lily Wang
SVP, Production, Asia, 9 Story/Brown Bag Films

Lily Wang holds a graduate certificates in both Business (Auckland University of Technology New Zealand) and Film, TV and Multimedia Entertainment (UCLA USA). She co-founded animation studio, Bali Animasi Solusi Ekakarsa (BASE), in 2015 in Indonesia, with Daniel Harjanto. Prior to that, Lily worked globally throughout the animation industry, including Nickelodeon Burbank and Infinite Studios Batam. Lily’s production credits include TV series “Franklin & Friends”, “Garfield”, “Peter Rabbit”, “Octonauts”, “Sonic Boom”, “Luna Petunia”, “Vampirina” and “Angele’s Christmas Wish”, among others. BASE was acquired by 9 Story Media Group in 2019, and Lily was appointed as SVP Production Asia to continue managing the operation and production for 9 Story/Brown Bag Films in Asia.

Derek Wong
Vice President & Head, Production and Creative, KC Global Media

Derek oversees all production & creative activities for KC Global Media Asia Pacific. With more than 25 years of TV content production experience in both long- and short-form, Derek is responsible for some of the most successful television formats produced in Asia, including “The Amazing Race Asia” series, “Apprentice Asia” and “Asia’s Got Talent”. Derek started his production career in the Hong Kong film industry and subsequently moved to the TV sector with TVB and Star. He relocated to Singapore in 2002 to join Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia.

Dennis Yang
Founder & CEO, Studio76 (Taiwan)

Dennis Yang is the Founder/CEO of Studio76, a Taipei-based production house, story IP developer and content distribution firm with JV investment from Taiwan’s KKCompany, Taiwan’s National Development Fund & Asahi Broadcast Group’s Dream Ventures from Japan. With more than 20 years of experience in the digital entertainment business and creative operations across Asia, Yang is driving a concept centred around raising & managing a regional content fund to develop “digital-first” Chinese original IP from Taiwan for streaming-oriented, genre-focused TV movies in mini-series. Studio76 won ContentAsia Awards’ the Best Asian TV Movie award in 2021 with Kill For Love and the Best Asian Horror Series award with 76 Horror Bookstore – Tin Can of Fear.

Cora Yim
Chief Content Officer & Co-founder, Sixty Percent Productions

Cora Yim is front and centre of a streaming-driven content gold rush the likes of which has never before been experienced, with decades of credentials, a broad network, and access to funding. Her Sixty Percent Productions with partner Kit Low was formally set up at the end of 2020, based in Hong Kong with a North Asia focus but with eyes on good stories from anywhere in the region. Their first project is premium Chinese anthology series “Taiwan Crime Stories”, co-financed and co-produced with Imagine Entertainment and Benjamin Lin’s Taiwan-based CalFilms Asia, and with a production grant from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture. 

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