Programme Director & Facilitators
- Kenneth Neo (Module 1)
- Jörg Dietzel (Module 2)
- Adam Wong (Module 3)
- Eugene Wong (Module 4)
- Low Siew Thiam (Module 5)
- Hwang Soo Chiat (Module 6)
- Eugene Wong (Module 7)
- Adel F Dimian & Michael Netzley (Module 8)
- Ang Ser-Keng (Module 9)
KENNETH NEO (Program Director and Module 1: Competitive strategies for SMEs)
Kenneth Neo is currently an Adjunct Faculty of Lee Kong Chian School of Business.
Kenneth specialises in ventures development, innovation management and technology enterprises. He is founder of NeoCapital Group, a ventures catalyst & accelerator established in 2004, and has set up
three companies in the biomedical field, the latest being the wearable artificial kidney.
Prior to founding his own company, Kenneth had worked for Singapore Technologies Group, and has served as
its Vice-President and General Manager in the Electronics, Information Technology & Aerospace sectors. He had initiated successful new businesses in computer networking, information security, mobile computing and vehicular telematics. He also chaired the Incubators@Work!, the corporate entrepreneurship programme of Singapore Technologies.
Kenneth is currently researching on innovation management and the strategies that companies; (established SMEs & startups) can adopt to compete effectively in the global market. He has an MBA(NTU) and B.Eng(Hons)(NUS) and
had attended the Science, Technology & Innovation Programme at Kennedy School, Harvard University.
JORG DIETZEL (Module 2: Brand management for SMEs)
Jörg Dietzel has worked in Branding, Marketing and Communication for 18 years, the past
nine in Asia.
He has run agencies and multinational accounts in London, Berlin, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore and worked with brands like FedEx, Visa, American Airlines, Pepsi, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Sony, Drypers.
Since opening his own brand consultancy in Singapore, he has worked with several SMEs on branding and communication, namely OPRC, Coffee Grounds, Raoul, Pageone, Binter.
He is an Adjunct Faculty at SMU where he teaches classes in Strategic Brand Management and Advertising.
ADAM WONG (Module 3: Financing and cashflow management)
Adam Wong is the Executive Director of Mayvest Asia Pte Ltd,
a financial consulting firm. He is also an adjudicator of the Financial
Industry Disputes Resolution Centre in Singapore. Prior to his current appointment, he was a General Manager with Standard Chartered Bank
and other major banks with 22 years of successful track record in Cash
Management, eCommerce, Corporate Banking and Trade Finance and Small &
Medium Enterprises. Having strong strategic orientation and regional exposure in South East Asia and Hong Kong,
he is credited with significantly growing global banks' SME assets by 450% and net profit by 140% over a 3-year period in Singapore. He also started a new cash management business for a
leading bank in Asia and grew it to a USD35 billion business annually.
Adam is a Fellow Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Credit Risk Management Professional
and a Certified Professional Trainer. Mr. Wong has contributed actively
to the development and training of professionals in the financial
services sector for the past 20 years by sharing his expertise regularly through The Institute of Banking and Finance, and various other organizations in Malaysia and Indonesia. He has also conducted programmes in the area of banking and finance for Australian
and local universities in Singapore.
EUGENE WONG (Module 4: Growth strategies for SMEs)
Eugene Wong is the Founder and Managing Director of Sirius Group, which is a boutique private equity and business
advisory company that works with and invests in Small and Medium Sized (SME)
growing companies in Singapore and overseas. It works with growing SMEs to develop their growth strategy as well as funds them.
Some of the local SMEs that Sirius has either invested or consulted are
Jackspeed, Comms Design International, Jason Parquet, Opentech,
Soundbuzz, Jason Electronics, among some 30 over companies.
Eugene currently sits on
the boards of several public listed companies such as Ajisen China
Holdings Limited listed on HK mainboard, Haike Chemical Group
listed in UK AIM and Yaan Security Technology Ltd and Communications
Design International Ltd, both listed in Singapore. He sits on the
Audit Committee of all the boards and is the Chairman of the Audit
Committee of Haike Chemical and Chairman of the Nomination Committee
of Ajisen China.
Eugene is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Venture
Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA) Eugene also started a
S$20 million Sirius Angel Fund with the Spring Singapore as
co-investor. The fund invests in innovative early stage growing
companies.
Eugene was
previously the Executive Director of Crimson Asia Capital Singapore,
which is part of the Crimson funds, which has around US$500 million
under its management.
Eugene received an honorary PhD from Honolulu University. He has an
MBA from Imperial College, University of London and graduated from
the National University of Singapore Business School with a BBA
degree with First Class honors.
LOW SIEW THIAM (Module 5: Talent management for SMEs)
Low Siew Thiam has spent a lifetime in identifying and managing talent, initially in the HR field in corporations such as Shell, Telecoms Singapore and Sime Darby; then for his own business, Homestead, which he grew to be the third largest furniture retailer in Singapore. For the last three years, as Strategic Adviser to A.Baur & Co., a Swiss-owned company operating in Sri Lanka, he works with the CEO in identifying and promoting talent to ensure the long-term growth of the company.
Siew Thiam has, since handing over Homestead to his sons in 1998, built a management consultancy, specializing in management education and executive coaching, spread over six countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Nepal. He has been appointed to the Advisory Board of Asian Institute of Technology Extension, based in Bangkok. He has also been a Guest Lecturer at INSEAD and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
HWANG SOO CHIAT (Module 6: Cost management)
Hwang Soo Chiat is an Associate Professor of Accounting at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University. Since graduation, Soo Chiat has worked in various management positions from Accountant/Group Accountant of a group of companies involved in manufacturing, property development, and hotel management (1975 – 1978); Finance Manager of a large Retail Group of Companies (1978 – 1979) to General Manager/Director of logistics companies (1993 – 1996). He had also acted as consultant for Applied Research Corporation where he provided consultancy services to a number of manufacturing companies. He was an Independent Director of Oakwell Engineering Ltd., a company listed on SESDAQ from 1996 till 23 May 2001.
Soo Chiat first joined academia in 1979 as a lecturer with the then University of Singapore. During his tenure with the university, he has taught in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. He was also the thesis supervisor for a number of postgraduate students. His administrative appointments include Head, Division of Marketing and Business Policy and Head-in-charge, SABRE Centre, as well as ENDEC Entrepreneurship Research Unit.
Soo Chiat’s current research interests include the use of accounting ratios for prediction of bankruptcy of companies, corporate governance, and changing cultural values in Singapore. He has published in local and international journals.
EUGENE WONG (Module 7: Internationalisation & media strategies for SMEs)
Eugene Wong is the Founder and Managing Director of Sirius Group, which is a boutique private equity and business advisory company that works with and invests in Small and Medium Sized (SME) growing companies in Singapore and overseas. It works with growing SMEs to develop their growth strategy as well as funds them. Some of the local SMEs that Sirius has either invested or consulted are Jackspeed, Comms Design International, Jason Parquet, Opentech, Soundbuzz, Jason Electronics, among some 30 over companies.
Eugene currently sits on the boards of several public listed companies such as Ajisen China Holdings Limited listed on HK mainboard, Haike Chemical Group listed in UK AIM and Yaan Security Technology Ltd and Communications Design International Ltd, both listed in Singapore. He sits on the Audit Committee of all the boards and is the Chairman of the Audit Committee of Haike Chemical and Chairman of the Nomination Committee of Ajisen China.
Eugene is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA) Eugene also started a S$20 million Sirius Angel Fund with the Spring Singapore as co-investor. The fund invests in innovative early stage growing companies. Eugene was previously the Executive Director of Crimson Asia Capital Singapore, which is part of the Crimson funds, which has around US$500 million under its management.
Eugene received an honorary PhD from Honolulu University. He has an MBA from Imperial College, University of London and graduated from the National University of Singapore Business School with a BBA degree with First Class honors.
ADEL F DIMIAN & MICHAEL NETZLEY (Module 8: International operations and negotiations)
Adel F Dimian is Practice Associate Professor of Management in the
He received his formal education in the sciences, liberal arts, and business administration earning a BS and PhD degrees in chemistry, and an MBA with honors from the Carlson School of Management,
MICHAEL NETZLEY
Michael earned his PhD in communication from the University of Minnesota and has taught globally in MBA programs at Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, the Helsinki School of Economics, and the Bled School of Management in Slovenia. He has also served as a visiting professor to Chuo University in Japan and led study missions to Germany and Argentina. Currently, Michael is a Practice Assistant Professor of Corporate Communication at Singapore Management University where he teaches undergraduate and executive courses.
Michael’s research, teaching, and consulting focus primarily on two areas: leadership and corporate communication. Michael has delivered executive programs on leadership and leadership skills throughout Asia-Pacific, Middle East-Africa, and Europe. He has served as the program director for the Wharton-SMU Strategic Leadership and Change Management Program. In Europe, Michael teaches leadership in the President’s MBA Program at Slovenia’s Bled School of Management. As a qualified neutral (mediator), he brings a unique perspective to leadership having studied conflict resolution and negotiation at William Mitchell College of Law and the Hamline University Law School. Michael has successfully mediated many small business, contract, and court disputes.
Michael is also very active with research and teaching in corporate communication and managing corporate reputation. Currently Michael is authoring his fourth book which examines best practices in corporate communication and reputation management in SE Asia. His previous books, part of the Prentice Hall series on Advanced Business Communication, provide concise guides for effective workplace communication. Michael is an experienced case writer who has authored or served as managing editor of more than forty corporate communication teaching cases.
Michael has consulted internationally with companies such as 3M, US Bancorp, Key Bank, Singapore’s Central Provident Fund, and Bosnalijek pharmaceutical (Bosnia). His executive education clients include Intercontinental Hotel Group, IBM, Microsoft, SUN, UEM Group (Malaysia), Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, GIC (Singapore), Keppel Offshore and Marine, Neptune Orient Lines, Mettler Toledo, and CARE.org.
Michael currently resides in Singapore where he enjoys scuba diving during his free time.
ANG SER-KENG (Module 9: Public Enterprise, IPO & Corporate Governance)
Ang Ser-Keng is a Senior Lecturer of Finance at SMU. He is also the director of the UOB-SMU Entrepreneurship Alliance Centre. In essence, the Alliance is created to pursue the enhancement of the growth & development of the SME sector, as well as providing additional exposure to students when they work with SMEs on the consulting projects.
Prior to his appointment at SMU, Ser-Keng spent over seven years in investment banking. He spent nine years in London and Hong Kong, where he was involved in the origination and execution of a number of cross-border transactions in the Asia Pacific region at international banks, such as Deutsche Bank, ABN AMRO and Flemings, especially in mergers & acquisitions and capital raising via the capital markets (via IPOs, secondary offerings of equity & issuance of debt). At Deutsche Bank, he was responsible for an acquisition in the US, amounting to US$5.5 billion, for a Japanese MNC. As a Senior Vice President at ABN AMRO, he was also responsible for cross-selling a broader range of products, ranging from equity to debt to derivative products, as well as cash management to trade services. Prior to his career in investment banking, Ser-Keng worked at Arthur Andersen and Credit Suisse First Boston.
Ser-Keng received an MBA from London Business School and a Bachelor of Accountancy from the National University of Singapore. He is also a CPA and is qualified for ACIS.
