PROGRAMME

*Programme is subject to change. 

08.00 – 09.00 Early Bird Bites

09.00 – 09.10 Take Off
Marissa Trew & Yeoh Siew Hoon

09.10 – 10.00 How To Soar With Tech Giants

How do you land that job you’ve always wanted in that tech giant? What does it take to get there, stay there and climb up the ladder? And what are these tech giants looking for in talent? What is their strategy in a changing workplace?

Part 1: Let’s Hear It From The Talent Chiefs

AccorHotels is expanding rapidly in Asia where it’s opening a new hotel every 3 days and in South-east Asia, one new property every 2 weeks. Expedia has identified Asia as a key growth market as part of its “Go Global” mission – to scale its business here, it needs masses of smart talent. As one of the industry’s largest travel technology companies, Amadeus is also looking to expand its Asia footprint. What’s the thinking behind their recruitment strategies?

Graeme Ham, Vice President  of Talent & Culture, AccorHotels, South-east Asia
Pablo Alonso, Director of Human Resources, Amadeus APAC
Jessica Bezzina, Director of Human Resources APAC, Expedia Lodging Partner Services

Part 2: Let’s Hear It From The Insiders

How did they get started in travel? And what did it take to get to their current role? Lessons from three individuals working in three of tech and travel’s biggest brands.  

David Peller, Director of Strategic Partnerships APAC, Booking.com
Matthew Hulen, Industry Manager, Travel, Southeast Asia, Facebook
Jane Soetiono, Strategy & Insights Manager – APAC Travel, Google

10.00 – 10.30 Room For Dreams  

Hospitality is one of the biggest sectors in travel. It is the biggest employer and generator of jobs, and the scope of hospitality is changing as technology changes customer behavior. Find out from these individuals who’ve followed different career paths how their industry has changed and how they strive to remain relevant and how there’s always room for your dreams.

Ian Wilson, Senior Vice President, Hotel Operations, Marina Bay Sands
Charmaine Wee, General Manager, Unlisted Collection
Deborah Woollard, Vice President, Human Resources, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG)
Andy Tan, Vice President, Sales APAC, Hotelbeds Group
Jessica Uekermann, General Manager, IBIS Singapore Novena

10.30 – 10.45 In A World of Tech, It Still Needs Human Power

A traditional travel agent talks about why the human touch is still important and how he has remained relevant in the changing world of technology-driven travel.

 Robin Yap, President Asia, The Travel Corporation

10.45 – 11.00 Meet The Re-TERN-nee – Q&A with Maria Trujillo, Founder, Aquí Design 

We catch up with Maria, who attended last year’s Tern and kickstarted her own career through our event. Find out how she’s doing, what work she gets up to and how she carved her own niche.

11.00 – 11.20 Break & Find A Job

During this break, grab the opportunity to network – remember, one quick hello may change your life. Take the time to check out the jobs on our Job Board and don’t forget to take part in our “Win A Mentor” lucky draw too!

11.20 – 12.30 Sparklers & Flock Workouts, Round 1 

Five 10-minute sparklers to inspire you after which you will break out into groups to discuss the topics. Choose the topic or the speaker who most inspired you and join that group. Each group will be asked to present their conclusions at the end of the day.

Sparkler #1: How to Get the Most of Your Workplace
Isabella Crocker, Senior Manager – Global Early Talent APAC, Expedia

Sparkler #2:  Women Entrepreneurs: Making it in a Man’s World
Aya Aso, Founder & ex-CEO, AGORA Hospitalities, Japan

Sparkler #3: Changing Trends In Careers
Graeme Ham, Vice President of Talent & Culture, AccorHotels, South-east Asia  

Sparkler #4: How to Build Events and Communities
Mei Yi Yeap, General Manager Asia, Peatix

Sparkler #5: How to Ace that Interview and Land your Dream Job
Andrew Chan, Founder & CEO, ACI HR Solutions 

Followed by 20-min Flock Workouts, each sparkler to act as flock leader 

*Remember: Appoint a team leader who will present at the end of the day

12.30 – 13.30 Lunch Stop

13.30 – 13.45 Open space, led by Tahnya Butterfield-Gill, Founder, NOSHTrekker

13.45 – 14.20 Startup Streetwise & Social Heroes

What does it take to be a startup in travel? It may be the world’s biggest industry but it is also getting super-competitive and in a world of scale, how do you compete with giants? What are the skills needed to run a startup? And what’s the perspective from a VC? And meet those who are championing and running social enterprises in travel and trying to change their slice of the world.

Tushar Khandelwal, COO, Voyagin
Anh-Minh T. Do, Director of Communications, Vertex Holdings
Kei Shibata, Co-founder & CEO, Venture Republic, Japan
Jamon Mok, Founder, Backstreet Academy
Tahnya Butterfield-Gill, Founder, NOSHTrekker

14.20 – 15.20 Sparkers & Flock Workouts, Round 2

Sparkler #5: The Power of Human Connection: The Art of Connecting the Dots
Astha Kalbag, Paid Social Marketing Manager, Uber

Sparkler #6: From Journalist to VC: What do investors want?
Anh-Minh T. Do, Director of Communications, Vertex Holdings

Sparkler #7: Write The CV That Will Change Your Life
Luke Clark, Senior Content Manager APAC, Michael Page

Sparkler #8: How to Build Influence & Advance Your Career
Shyn Yee Ho-Strangas, Director, Business Operations, Expedia

Followed by 20-min Flock Workouts, each sparkler to act as flock leader

Remember: Appoint a team leader who will present at the end of the day

15.20 – 15.40 Break/Find a Job & Win A Mentor

During this break, grab the opportunity to network – remember, one quick hello may change your life. Also, take time to check out the jobs on our Job Board and don’t forget to take part in our “Win A Mentor” lucky draw too!

15.40 – 16.00 On the Perch with Kathleen Tan, President, China, AirAsia

Low cost airlines have been the biggest force changing travel in Asia in the past decade. They’ve allowed our travel dreams to take flight and created new job opportunities across the region. The AirAsia Group is currently the biggest low cost carrier network in Asia comprising nine airlines, employing 22,000 staff. Find out how this high-flying woman executive has thrived in the world of aviation and what career opportunities await those who want to fly as high?  

16.00 – 16.30 Land of New Horizons

Where are the growth areas in travel? We put the spotlight on new areas of opportunities, where you could consider building a career in.

Philipp Schlaefer, Head of Commercial, Southeast Asia and India, Expedia
Dawid Makowski, CTO, BeMyGuest
Stewart Hunter, Director of Sales & Partnerships APAC, Sojern
Melissa Jane Thompson, Manager, Marketing & Communications, Singapore Tourism Board
Peter Allen, Managing Director, Agoda Outside

16.30 – 17.00 Flock Presentations 

Each flock has 3 minutes to present their summary of their workouts.

17.00 – 17.10 The Final Debate: Gigs are way cooler than regular jobs. 

We end the day with a debate over a topic everyone’s talking about – are gigs the way to go? Or do real jobs win in the end? Our two debaters have 3 minutes each to convince you.

For: Maria Trujillo
Against: Astha Kalbag

You vote the winner.

17.10 Touchdown & “Win A Mentor” Lucky Draw

Time to close. We hope that our one-day event has inspired and enriched you and that like the sunbird, your travel career will take off to new heights. See you again next time!

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