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PROJECT 01 / LEADERSHIP IN ASIA

breaking down the silos between singapore's business schools.

founder & organizer · cross-university series · 2025 to present

THE IDEA

Singapore has one of the densest concentrations of top business schools in the world, and almost no traffic between them. NUS, SMU, ESSEC, NTU, INSEAD, and SP Jain run in parallel and rarely in the same room. Leadership in Asia exists to change that.

“Your hard skills got you here. Your soft skills will get you ahead.”

I started the series with Paul Tan from SMU. The premise is simple: get postgraduates from every major school together around one honest question — what actually differentiates talent in Asia — and bring in leaders from finance, tech, and policy to answer it without the usual career talk polish.

Each event draws over 100 students across schools and is run with a small cross-university team rather than a single program. It is less an event series and more an attempt to make the ecosystem behave like one network instead of six.

EVENTS

EVENT 01

What differentiates talent in Asia?

Hosted at ESSEC Business School Singapore · February 2025 · 100+ students · 3 speakers

The first event put over 100 students from NUS, ESSEC, SMU, NTU, SP Jain, and INSEAD in one room. The thesis that emerged: in Asia, most graduate talent already has the technical credentials. What separates the people who break through is harder to quantify — the ability to build trust across cultures, read a room, and lead with empathy while still driving results.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • 01Humility wins — in how you treat people and how you approach problems
  • 02Linearity is dead — pivoting is no longer optional
  • 03Boldness matters — take opportunities even when they are imperfect

SPEAKERS

Amit Morya, Shankar T S, Gabriel Seow

CO-ORGANIZERS

Paul Tan (SMU MBA ELC), Louis Lupescu (ESSEC Connections), Nathan Glickman, Pareena Gupta

What differentiates talent in Asia? — photo 1
What differentiates talent in Asia? — photo 2
EVENT 02

Are you afraid AI will take your job?

Hosted at SMU Connexion · Part 2 · 110 postgraduate students

Part 2 confronted AI anxiety directly, moderated by Vered Konijnendijk, focused on what employers actually look for now and how to evaluate a company before accepting an offer. The throughline: a human plus AI beats either alone, and the job is shifting from being a doer to being a thinker who asks the right questions.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • 01Learn to do what AI does, so you can direct it rather than be replaced by it
  • 02Ask companies what success with AI looks like — vague answers are a red flag
  • 03Credentials like the CFA now signal perseverance more than knowledge

SPEAKERS

Olivier d'Assier, Tse Wen Leong, Ben Charoenwong

CO-ORGANIZERS

Paul Tan, Louis Lupescu, Jatin Gupta, Pranav R Nambiar, Pareena Gupta, Nathan Glickman

Are you afraid AI will take your job? — photo 1

WHAT'S NEXT

Part 3 in development. The series continues.