2026 Asia Employee Benefits Summit
Transformative Leadership
May 20-21 | Singapore
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NOTE: All times noted are in Singapore Standard Time.
The agenda may be subject to change.
Asia Summit Sessions
Day 1 - May 20
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration and Networking Coffee
9:00 AM - 9:10 AM
2026 Asia Summit
Welcome!
Lisa Yee, President & CEO of Silicon Valley Employers Forum, opens the 2026 Asia Summit by introducing this year’s theme, Transformative Leadership, and setting the tone for a day focused on impact. Amid economic pressure, demographic change, and rising workforce expectations, benefits leaders must drive strategy with clarity and purpose.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Lisa Yee
Job Title
President and CEO
Company
Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Biography
Lisa Yee is the President and CEO of SVEF, based in Northern California, leads and engages with employers and partners to drive change in global benefits. She enjoys spending time with her family and two rescue dogs, Daisy & Gryffin, volunteering with animal rescue organizations, traveling, and baking.
9:15 AM - 9:45 AM
Rethinking Employee Wellbeing in 2026: From Programmes to Performance
Presented by Cigna International Health
Employee wellbeing is evolving from a set of programmes into a strategic lever for performance, resilience, and talent sustainability. Dr Yeoh Kai Tze will share the shifts shaping employee wellness in 2026, and how organizations can build a sustainabile, high-performing workforce.
Key takeaways:
- How employee wellbeing is shifting from standalone programmes to a core driver of business performance and resilience;
- Key trends shaping workforce wellbeing in 2026—and what they mean for employers
- Practical ways to embed wellbeing into organizational strategy, culture, and leadership priorities
Speaker Details
Full Name
Dr Yeoh Kai Tze
Job Title
Head of Product Strategy and Healthcare Propositions, Cigna Healthcare, Singapore and Australia
Company
Cigna International Health
Biography
Dr. Yeoh Kai Tze is the Head of Product Strategy and Healthcare Propositions, Singapore and Australia, Cigna Healthcare. He leads the development and execution of innovative health solutions and product strategies, with a focus on delivering high-value, customer-centric care.
With deep expertise spanning clinical practice, public health, and healthcare strategy, Dr Kai Tze has previously driven network transformation initiatives to enhance access to care, including chemotherapy day centres and day surgery facilities, as well as the introduction of alternative care models in Singapore. In his current role, he continues to leverage this experience to shape future‑ready healthcare propositions, strengthen provider collaboration, and optimise healthcare delivery across the Asia‑Pacific region.
Dr Kai Tze holds a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the National University of Singapore. His clinical grounding, combined with strategic foresight, enables him to bridge medical expertise and business innovation in advancing value‑based care for the community.
9:50 AM - 10:20AM
Scaling Global Benefits in APAC: Turning Strategy into Reality in High-Growth Markets
Presented by Cloudflare
This session explores how Cloudflare’s APAC Total Rewards team built and scaled a benefits programme across seven markets — Singapore, India, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, and Malaysia — while the company grew from a single APAC presence to multiple entities in under four years. The session covers practical lessons in consolidating regional vendors into a single-broker model, launching retirement programmes in new markets like Japan and Korea, managing annual renewals at scale with consistent governance, and rolling out wellbeing initiatives across diverse regulatory environments. Attendees will take away a framework for balancing global benefits philosophy with local market realities — covering plan design, cost management, vendor selection, and employee communication — that applies to any organisation navigating rapid APAC expansion.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Saurabh Duggal
Job Title
APAC Total Rewards Leader
Company
Cloudflare
Biography
Saurabh Duggal is the Total Rewards Manager, APAC at Cloudflare, based in Singapore. He leads compensation and benefits strategy across seven markets: Singapore, India (GTM and GCC), Australia, Japan, Korea, China, and Malaysia. Over four-plus years at Cloudflare, Saurabh has driven the end-to-end APAC annual compensation cycle, managed regional benefits renewals and plan design, consolidated vendors into a single-broker model, and launched retirement programs in Japan and Korea. Most recently, he led the PY2026 APJC benefits renewal cycle, designing cost-sharing improvements that reduced employee premiums across markets. He also partners on Cloudflare's transition to an annual compensation cycle, including merit matrix redesign and Workday configuration.
Prior to Cloudflare, Saurabh held Total Rewards and compensation roles at CaaStle Inc., State Street, Apttus, Siemens, and Aon Hewitt, building 18+ years of experience spanning APAC and US compensation consulting, benefits operations, and executive pay analytics. He holds an MBA in Operations, a BSc in Economics (Honours), and is a Certified Rewards Professional and Lean Six Sigma Professional.
10:20 AM - 10:40AM
Networking Break
10:45 AM - 11:15AM
Thrive at Work: Designing Benefits for Enabling Talent & Inclusion
Presented by Microsoft
This session will explore how thriving at work is a strategic choice in how organisations design Benefits for health, risk and wellbeing. It will examine how clarity, trust, and intentional systems enable sustained performance in complex environments, and how embedding care, accountability, and resilience into everyday work allows people to bring their best at work.
Takeaways:
- Thriving Is a Strategic Design Choice
- Clarity and Trust Enable Sustained Performance
- People and Performance Reinforce Each Other”
Speaker Details
Full Name
Saakshi Saxena
Job Title
International Health and Risk Benefits Leader
Company
Microsoft
Biography
Saakshi Saxena is an International Health & Risk Benefits leader at Microsoft, where she helps advance Microsoft’s commitment to equitable, sustainable, and globally consistent employee benefits. Her work supports the design and governance of benefit frameworks that enable Microsoft to operate responsibly across diverse markets, strengthen risk and compliance outcomes, and deliver meaningful employee experiences at scale.
11:20 AM - 11:50AM
Future -Ready Benefits: Moving Beyond Cost to Workforce Resilience
Presented by WTW
Across Asia Pacific, leaders are being asked to deliver more from benefits while budgets tighten. Following a period of organizational recalibrations, rapidly rising benefits costs are colliding with a new set of employee expectations around mental health and cost-of-living pressures. This session explores what transformative leadership looks like when benefits decisions are constrained by cost, complexity, and competing workforce expectations. Drawing on regional market insights and practical employer lessons, we will focus on how to re-engineer spend to maximize value, strengthen governance, and elevate the employee experience through clearer choices, better navigation and sharper analytics of cost and risk. Attendees will leave with a pragmatic decision framework and actions to apply immediately in their 2026 strategic planning.
Key takeaways:
- Key trends that reflect how employee expectations have shifted across Asia Pacific;
- Practical approaches to re‑assess benefits programs that reinforce the right behaviours and align more closely to business priorities in a leaner environment
- Proven levers and data-driven insights that leaders use to make faster and more confident benefits decisions
Speaker Details
Full Name
Yeong Sheng Teoh
Job Title
Director – Health & Benefits, Asia Pacific
Company
WTW
Biography
Yeong Sheng Teoh is a senior Health & Benefits advisor supporting organisations across Asia Pacific. As Director at WTW, he leads strategic advisory engagements that help HR leaders design sustainable, competitive health and benefits frameworks aligned to talent attraction, retention, and cost effectiveness.
Yeong Sheng began his career with a global HR consulting firm, advising multinational clients on Total Rewards design and benefits optimisation, before moving into an in‑house leadership role with a multinational FMCG organisation as Country HR Leader in Malaysia. This combined consulting and client‑side experience enables him to bring a commercially grounded, practical perspective to benefits strategy, benchmarking, implementation, and harmonisation across complex, multi‑market environments.
11:55 AM - 1:00 PM
Networking Lunch
1:05 PM - 1:35PM
One Workforce, Many Realities: Designing Benefits Across Deskless and Corporate Employees, Generations and Cultures in Asia
Presented by Western Digital Corporation
Designing benefits across Asia means navigating more than just geography. This session explores how Western Digital balances the needs of deskless and desk-based employees, supports an ageing workforce alongside younger talent, and adapts to diverse cultural expectations—while maintaining equity, cost discipline, and a consistent employee experience at scale.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Prakash Satagopan
Job Title
Total Rewards Leader
Company
Western Digital Corporation
Biography
With over 25 years of experience, Prakash Satagopan is a seasoned HR leader with an extensive experience in design and delivery of performance, rewards, and benefits frameworks in a global/ regional environment across industries. Â He plays a key role in designing and implementing strategic reward programs that align with business objectives. His expertise in developing competitive, employee-centric compensation structures ensures enhanced engagement, retention, and long-term organizational success.
1:40 PM - 2:25 PM
Transformative Leadership in Action
Presented by Sompo
Transformative Leadership in Action: Shaping Organisational Effectiveness and Total Rewards at Sompo: Session Description: In this session, Lee Murphy will reflect on Sompo’s HR transformation journey and its real-world impact on Organisational Effectiveness at Sompo. From redefining priorities to redesigning operating models, discover how transformation at the organisational level. Driving meaningful change in how companies support and engage their teams with meaningful and impactful programs.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Lee Murphy
Job Title
Chief Human Resources Officer
Company
Sompo
Biography
Lee Murphy is the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for Sompo Asia Pacific, leading
people and organizational initiatives across 11 markets. A seasoned HR executive, Lee has
extensive global experience advising C-suite Leaders and Boards, as well as leading teams
to design and implement Strategic HR initiatives.
With a career spanning over 25 years, Lee has held senior roles at global technology
companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Nokia, as well as at pan-Asian insurer FWD prior
to Sompo. His expertise spans the full spectrum of HR, including people and organizational
strategy, transformational change, leadership coaching, talent management, inclusion and
diversity, HR technology, employee experience, and organizational development initiatives.Â
Lee holds a Master of Business Employment Relations from the University of Technology
Sydney, Australia and is a mentor for the HCLI Singapore Leaders Network.
2:25 PM - 2:30PM
Closing Remarks
Presented by Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Speaker Details
Full Name
Alison Main
Job Title
Senior Director
Company
Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Biography
Alison Main, Director, based in France, leads the international practice, consulting, and learning academy. She has held various roles in International Benefits and Rewards and has a particular passion for well-being. In her spare time she enjoys the Great Outdoors and entertaining friends with French and Asian cuisine.
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Networking Refreshments
Day 2 - May 21
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration and Networking Coffee
9:00 AM - 9:10 AM
Welcome!
Presented by Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Kick off Day 2 with Alison Main as she sets the tone for another dynamic day at the Asia Employee Benefits Summit. Alison will reflect on key highlights from Day 1 and an overview of day 2 agenda.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Alison Main
Job Title
Senior Director
Company
Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Biography
Alison Main, Director, based in France, leads the international practice, consulting, and learning academy. She has held various roles in International Benefits and Rewards and has a particular passion for well-being. In her spare time she enjoys the Great Outdoors and entertaining friends with French and Asian cuisine.
9:15 AM - 9:45 AM
Leading the Shift: Why Asia’s Boldest Benefits Leaders Are Reimagining the EAP
Presented by Intellect
Across Asia, traditional EAPs consistently see single-digit utilisation, yet most organisations keep renewing them year after year. The model was built for a different era and a different culture. In this session, Salman Haider, Head of Clinical Governance at Intellect, explores why the gap between EAP investment and actual employee uptake isn’t just a design problem, it’s a clinical one. Drawing on his experience building clinical governance frameworks across culturally diverse markets, he’ll unpack what it takes to deliver mental health support that people in Asia actually trust and use, from quality safeguards to culturally responsive care standards, and what shifts when organisations start holding their EAP to a higher clinical bar.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Salman Haider
Job Title
Head of Clinical Governance
Company
Intellect
Biography
Salman Haider leads clinical governance at Intellect, where he oversees the policies, compliance standards, and quality assurance processes that underpin mental health care delivery across the platform. His work spans risk management, clinical service delivery, and crisis intervention, and he collaborates closely with cross-functional teams to ensure clinical rigour is embedded into how products and features are developed.
A trained counsellor, Salman holds a Master's degree in Counselling & Guidance from the National Institute of Education (NTU), Singapore. Before joining Intellect, he practised in both private clinical settings and foreign worker dormitories in Singapore. He is a member of the Association of Psychotherapists & Counsellors Singapore (APACS).
9:50 AM - 10:10AM
A fireside chat with Bhairavi Jain: Rethinking Benefits for Today’s Workforce
Presented by ServiceNow
This fireside chat explores what ServiceNow is doing to design relevant and impactful programs for its workforce. From early careers to caregiving and later life, neurodiversity and more, hear how ServiceNow designs benefits that evolve with employees and support long-term engagement, wellbeing, and retention.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Bhairavi Jain
Job Title
Sr APJ Benefits Manager
Company
ServiceNow
Biography
Bhairavi is the APJ Benefits Leader at ServiceNow, where she leads the design and execution of a competitive benefits portfolio across the Asia-Pacific and Japan region. She also serves as the APJ TruAbility Lead, championing inclusion and accessibility initiatives for employees across the region. A seasoned Compensation & Benefits professional with over 15 years of experience, Bhairavi has held senior roles at Veritas Technologies, Symantec (now Broadcom), and IBM, delivering strategic rewards programs on a global scale. Bhairavi holds an MBA in International Business and Human Resources from Texas Tech University.
10:10 AM - 10:25 AM
Networking Break
10:30 AM - 11:10 AM
From Data to Action: Winning Leadership Buy-In and Shared Ownership for an Integrated Wellbeing Ecosystem
Presented by National University Singapore
Wellbeing only scales when it moves beyond siloed programmes and becomes a leadership-owned, cross-functional system. In this session, you will hear how NUS uses data-driven insights to win leadership buy-in, build shared ownership across departments, and implement an integrated wellbeing ecosystem.
The session will explore how NUS translates insights into coordinated action at three levels: individual support and skills, team/department practices and leader enablement, and organisation-wide communication and culture. Participants will also hear how continuous measurement and iteration are used to strengthen adoption, refine what works, and shape what comes next—keeping wellbeing aligned with evolving needs and organisational priorities.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Mr. Goh Zhengqin
Job Title
Deputy Head of Health & Wellbeing
Company
National University of Singapore
11:15 AM - 11:45 AM
Redefining Employee Benefits Through Technology
Presented by AIA
What if your benefits strategy could predict needs, personalise care, and prove real value?
Join Joana Sousa, Director, Brokers & Multinationals at AIA, as she explores how technology and AI are reshaping the future of employee benefits—from cost pressures to smarter, more impactful solutions.
As wellness investments rise, many organisations still struggle to demonstrate measurable value. This session dives into how AI is changing that narrative—turning data into actionable insights and outcomes.
Key takeaways:
- Presentation will focus on how technology and AI are transforming employee benefits.
- Wellness efforts have grown but struggle to show clear value, especially with rising medical costs.
- AI is positioned as the key enabler to fix long-standing challenges through:
- Better use of big data and wearables
- Personalised member journeys
- Freeing resources to focus on clinical outcomes and experience
Speaker Details
Full Name
Joana Sousa
Job Title
Director of Multinationals and International Brokers
Company
AIA
Biography
Joana Sousa has over two decades of experience across life, health, and general insurance globally. She recently joined AlA as Director of Multinationals & International Brokers for Group Corporate Solutions focused on growing AlA's employee benefits portfolio across Asia. Most recently, Joana served as CFO for South East Asia at Chubb Life. Prior to this, she spent much of her career at Cigna in senior leadership roles including CEO Australia as well as other CFO and Actuarial positions. A truly global citizen, born and bred in South Africa, culturally Portuguese and lived and worked in South Africa, London, Hong Kong and Australia.
11:50 AM - 12:50 PM
12:55 PM - 1:25 PM
A discussion on how to implement caregiving and family forming support.
Presented by Snowflake
As organisations expand support for caregiving and family building, turning intent into effective delivery remains a challenge. This session explores how Snowflake is implementing these programmes in practice—navigating global consistency, local realities, and evolving employee needs—while building support that is accessible, relevant, and impactful across diverse markets.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Priyanka Ladha
Job Title
APAC Benefits, Snowflake
Company
Snowflake
Biography
Priyanka Ladha is the Director of APAC Benefits at Snowflake. With 15+ years of dedicated experience entirely in the benefits field, she joined Snowflake nearly six years ago. Priyanka leads the APAC Benefits team, overseeing comprehensive benefits strategy and execution across major geographies, including India, Singapore, ANZ, Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia. Her expertise lies in designing and delivering best-in-class benefits programs that balance global consistency with local realities to ensure maximum employee engagement and impact across diverse markets. Prior to Snowflake, her career included roles at Deloitte, FactSet, and Servicenow.
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Ideation Lab Employers Only
Presented by Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Discuss the challenges of today and beyond. Each cohort group will present the issues and brainstorm on potential solutions, then the most innovative solution will receive the Ideation Lab award.
2:30 PM - 2:45 AM
Networking Break
2:45 PM - 3:00 PM
Ideation Lab Employers Only
Presented by Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Cohort groups present their ideated solution and awards
3:00 PM - 3:10 PM
Closing Remarks
Presented by Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Lisa Yee, President & CEO of the Silicon Valley Employers Forum brings the summit to a close with a thoughtful reflection on two days of insights, dialogue, and connection. Lisa will revisit the theme of Transformative Leadership, highlight key learnings, and celebrate the meaningful conversations and relationships built—leaving attendees inspired to turn ideas into action.
Speaker Details
Full Name
Lisa Yee
Job Title
President and CEO
Company
Silicon Valley Employers Forum
Biography
Lisa Yee is the President and CEO of SVEF, based in Northern California, leads and engages with employers and partners to drive change in global benefits. She enjoys spending time with her family and two rescue dogs, Daisy & Gryffin, volunteering with animal rescue organizations, traveling, and baking.