Stephanie took up the role of Executive Director of the newly established Chamber in May 2014. Since then the Chamber has grown to 137 Member Companies and regular business-focused and networking events are held for the business community in Myanmar. Stephanie works closely with UKTI to support UK businesses entering the Myanmar market.
 
Prior to this Stephanie worked in Client Services for market research firm, Nielsen MMRD. Stephanie has extensive experience of membership organisation management, having held policy research and committee executive roles at the British Medical Association, the trade union and professional association for doctors in the UK, before moving to Myanmar in 2013. Stephanie holds a degree from the University of Oxford, UK.

Richard Barnard is the Project Director for Dulwich College International (DCI) in Yangon, Myanmar. Richard oversees the establishment of the new DCI-managed international school located within the Star City residential development, in Thanlyin Township of Yangon. The school is situated on an 8.3 hectare (20 acre) plot with fully-equipped, ultra-modern facilities enabling the school to uphold the highest educational standards with a challenging, balanced curriculum, with capacity to inspire over 1,500 students from 2 to 18 years of age. The school is developed in partnership with Yoma Strategic Holdings. Richard is an Old Alleynian (old boy of Dulwich College) and upon graduating from University of Bristol he moved to Hangzhou, China to attend university there for two years. Having gained fluency in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese, Richard worked for the Zhejiang Provincial Government’s information office for 18 months before joining DCI in 2004 to assist with the opening of the first Dulwich College international school in China (Shanghai). Subsequently, he led the development of Dulwich schools in Suzhou and Zhuhai (both in China), before departing DCI in late 2010 for an MBA at IE Business School, Madrid. After an 18 month period of work in the branding and marketing sector, advising Chinese SMEs targeting an IPO on their Investor Relations strategies, Richard followed his passion back to education and re-joined DCI in early 2014 to oversee the exciting new developments in Myanmar.

Multi-disciplined executive with a broad range of international market entry experience including mergers, acquisitions and listings.  Having travelled extensively on a global basis he has dealt with numerous hands-on international trade and finance scenarios, specializing in infrastructure solutions.

Philip joined JCB in 2002 to bring the Chinese market into JCB's global strategy.  Currently based in London covering international diplomatic liaison, with particular emphasis on India and Global account relations. He is a Director of the UK India Business Council, China-Britain Business Council.  He also sits on the UK Gov Asia task force and the ASEAN Task Force.

Phil is Director of Emerging Programmes at the peacebuilding INGO International Alert. One of his main responsibilities over the past few years has been to lead the organisation’s work in Myanmar which has focused in the main on Conflict Sensitive Economic Governance. He also established Alert’s global Business and Conflict programme, which works to engage private sector companies in peacebuilding processes.  He has worked with both multinational and local businesses in the South Caucasus, Sri Lanka and the Philippines and has written in particular on the interface between economy and conflict. He now spearheads Alert’s new programming which, in addition to Myanmar, encompasses the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and research into the connections between crime and political instability. Phil graduated from Cambridge University in 1982 where he read History before training and working as a teacher and then joining the NGO sector. He is a trained counsellor and a trustee for the UK based NGO Music In Detention which works to give voice to detainees.

Andy is currently responsible for managing the European operations of UOB out of London. He regularly engages with European corporates in enabling and financing their Asian strategies and operations, as well as assisting Asian corporates who wish to expand into Europe.

Andy joined the London Branch in 2013. Prior to this role, Andy was the Head of Oil and Gas Centre of Excellence which he established under the Corporate Banking Overseas unit in 2011 based at the UOB Headquarters in Singapore. Andy was instrumental in growing the Oil and Gas portfolio for the Bank, and continues to hold an advisory role for Oil and Gas related matters.

Prior to joining UOB, Andy worked for Royal Dutch Shell in both its regional offices in Singapore, and global offices in The Hague, across the Gas and Power, and Chemicals sectors.

Andy is a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and holds a BSc (Econs) degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, as well as a MBA from IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Clare Filshie is Deputy Head of the Human Rights and Democracy Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). She co-chairs the UK Steering Group on Business and Human Rights, which brings together a diverse range of government departments to oversee implementation of the UK Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. 

Clare has expertise across a range of foreign and security policy areas, spanning a fifteen-year career in the FCO. As a Chinese speaker and specialist, she spent a number of years working for the British Embassy in Beijing, focusing initially on Chinese domestic policy before switching focus to foreign policy at a time when China was stepping up its role on the international stage. Following her return from China, she headed up a unit charged with developing the UK's international counter-terrorism strategy. She then moved to Rome, spending four years there as Political Counsellor in the British Embassy. She returned to London to take up her current role in 2013. 

Clare graduated with a degree in Law from Balliol College, Oxford University, spending a year at the University of Regensburg to specialise in German Law. She took up a Junior Fellowship at Queens College, Oxford University before starting her career in the FCO. 

John Grant was a member of the British Diplomatic Service between 1976 and 2007. After postings in Stockholm, Moscow and the Foreign and Commonwealth office in London in the 70’s and 80’s, he served in the UK Permanent Representation to the EU from 1989-1993 and 1994-97. He was Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary from 1997-99, British Ambassador in Stockholm from 1999-2003 and UK Permanent Representative to the EU from 2003-2007, including during the British Presidency in 2005. He worked from 2007-2009 for BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company and since then has been Executive Vice President, Policy and Corporate Affairs, BG Group, with responsibility on the Group Executive Committee for government affairs, sustainability, communications and social performance. 

Donna comes to IHRB from Amnesty International where she worked on human rights in Southeast Asia for almost 25 years.  Her last position there was Director for South East Asia and the Pacific. In May 2012, Donna facilitated and led Amnesty's first mission to Myanmar since 2003.

Donna works on Myanmar in close cooperation with the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) in Yangon.  She is part of the team which wrote the Oil and Gas Sector Wide Impact Assessment (SWIA) and is currently working on the ICT SWIA.  She has also written briefing papers for MCRB.

Sett Hlaing is General Counsel for the KBZ Group of Companies. Sett started at KBZ in 2012 and has been acting as counsel to the various entities within the KBZ Group of Companies in diverse industries ranging from banking, insurance, finance, mining, hospitality and real-estate. Sett is the Head of Legal and Compliance at KBZ Bank and manages the bank’s Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) compliance program. Sett is an Admitted Solicitor in Australia. Prior to joining KBZ, Sett worked as a solicitor and in-house counsel for a law firm and companies in Sydney focusing primarily in corporate advisory, contracts and litigation. Sett also worked at the Office of Legal Affairs at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.  Sett holds a Bachelor of Business majoring in Applied Finance and a Bachelor of Laws (University of Western Sydney), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law Australia), Master of Laws in International Law (Australian National University) and Master of Laws in European Law (University of Paris II Pantheon-Assas).

Stephen is the managing partner of Allen & Overy’s Bangkok office and the head of the Bangkok banking and projects practice.  He has over 20 years experience of advising on the development and financing of power and infrastructure projects in Thailand and the ASEAN region.  Stephen is at the cutting edge of the development of the power and financing sectors in Myanmar and is advising developers and multilaterals on various projects in Myanmar including advising the International Finance Corporation (as the advisor to the Ministry of Electrical Power) on the first independent power bid in Myanmar, the Asian Development Bank and IFC on a substantial construction financing in Yangon and the developers on all aspects of the development and financing of a 500MW power plant. 

Thura Ko Ko is a founding partner of YGA Capital, a Myanmar registered company focused on identifying and investing in attractive growth opportunities in Myanmar. YGA Capital is associated with global and regional private equity funds.

Prior to returning to Myanmar in 2010,Mr. Ko worked for over 12 years in global investment banking and private equity firms covering Asia out of Hong Kong. He was most recently a Vice President at Providence Equity, the global telecom and media fund. Prior to this, he worked for Goldman Sachs, the global investment! bank, and N.M.Rothschild, the U.K.based privatization and M&A house. Transactions completed included the privatization of Philippines national electricity grid, Transco, and advising on strategic investments into Vietnam’s water distribution and treatment plants.

Mr. Ko holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics, University of London. He is a Senior Advisor to TPG Capital and was elected as a 
Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum in 2013.

William Kuan is currently the Chief Executive Officer of New Markets for Prudential Corporation Asia (PCA).  He is responsible for formulating and executing new market entry strategies for Prudential across South America, Middle East and Asia.  His key roles include the assessment of business opportunities, review of market entry options, managing licensing requirements and successful launch of business operations.

Prior to this, he was the President Director and CEO for PT Prudential Life Assurance, Indonesia since 2010 and was responsible for Prudential’s business operations and business development across the country.  He also served as the Chief Financial Officer overseeing finance and strategy in Prudential Indonesia from 2006 to 2010.
He has more than 20 years of senior management experience with multinational companies and has been with the Prudential group for more than 15 years, with the first 6 years in Prudential Malaysia where he held  senior positions across various functions including Finance, Strategy and Partnership Distribution.

William holds an MBA from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia and has  completed The Strategic Leadership Program from the University of Oxford, UK.  Professionally, he is a Fellow Member (FCPA) of the Australian Society of CPAs and a qualified Chartered Accountant.  

Simon Makinson is a partner of international law firm Allen & Overy and is the Chairman of the firm’s ASEAN Group, and Head of its Myanmar Practice.  Simon manages the Yangon office and travels to Myanmar on a regular basis, working on transactions for our clients which include Japanese companies, international financial institutions, multilateral agencies and telecommunications companies.  He has also been heavily involved in training for various government departments in Myanmar, including the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Electrical Power, the Privatisation Committee and the Yangon Institute of Economics.  Simon is also Allen & Overy’s representative on the recently formed UK/ Myanmar Financial Services Taskforce.

Simon has been based in Thailand since 1989 and advises on a wide range of corporate matters including M&A for both listed and unlisted companies, large real estate transactions, FDI and restructuring.  He works across a number of specialist areas including telecoms, securities, insurance, automotive, power and natural resources. He was responsible for the opening of Allen & Overy’s Yangon and Vietnam offices as part of the firm’s strategy to cover the emerging markets of ASEAN and complement our existing offices in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

Ms. Thiri Thant Mon is the Head of Corporate Development for Yoma Strategic Holdings (www.yomastrategic.com) and a member of the Executive Committee of SPA Group Myanmar.  Yoma Strategic is listed on the main board of the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX ticker Z59) with a market capitalisation of over SGD 800 million (c. USD 640 million).  The SPA Group is a preeminent Myanmar conglomerate which invest in and operate a number of businesses in Myanmar, key sectors being real estate, automotives, financial services, aviation and agriculture. In addition to Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings, the Group holding companies comprise First Myanmar Investment (FMI), an OTC-traded Myanmar public company with over 6,500 shareholders.  FMI is expected to be one of the inaugural companies to be listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange in the latter part of 2015.

Prior to returning to her native country Myanmar to join Yoma Strategic Holdings in 2013, Ms. Thiri was a finance executive at Capital One in the United States and the United Kingdom and a capital markets investment banker at Morgan Stanley in the United Kingdom.  Ms. Thiri holds a Bachelors in Economics from the College of William and Mary, USA and a Masters in Business Administration from the London Business School, UK.  She is married with two sons, is an avid reader and traveller, a certified yachting day skipper and an active supporter of London Business School alumni community.

Mr Zeya has been Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of RGK + Z&A Group since 1997.

This period has been the rapid development of Zeya & Associates, the sustained growth of the Royal GK, the continuing success of Myanmar Central Power, including through supporting and most diverse providers of professional and technical services in Myanmar Electric Power Industry. A key feature of this period has been the utilisation of new technologies to lower costs and improve services, Engineering Firm, that does Government Contracting and Trading of Electrical Power Systems EPC, Independent/ Small Power Producer, Electric Power Trading (Mini Grids Operator), Green Energy, Medical Systems, Air Systems and SAMSUNG CE SBS+HHP SIS.

Mr Zeya holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Associateship Degree in Mechanical Power Engineering. Mr Zeya has strong analytical and lead the development and execution of a successful competitive strategy,unique skills and competencies to succeed in this role. He was responsible for multiple roles – a strategist, a negotiator, a motivator and an innovator. His practical approach to creating competitive advantage, designing growth strategies and global strategy, building business strategy, creating strategic capabilities, reviewing strategic positions, identifying strategic talent, negotiating successful strategy execution and building a sustainable ecosystem for innovation and change. His local and global experience gives him a rare dual perspective that lends integrity and pragmatism to everything he undertakes.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and Minister for Intellectual Property in July 2014. She has been a Conservative member of the House of Lords since 2013.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe joined Tesco plc in 1997 and was an executive director on the main Board from 2006-2013. 
 
Earlier in her career, Baroness Neville-Rolfe worked as a civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and in the Prime Minister's Policy Unit. She served as Director of the Deregulation Unit in the Cabinet Office from 1995-1997.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe previously sat on the boards of several major businesses, including serving as a non-executive director of ITV plc and of 2 Sisters Food Group, a large privately owned UK food producer, as a member of the supervisory board of Metro Group, a large German-based international retailer and wholesaler, and on PWC’s advisory Board. She is a member of the London Business School's Governing Body.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe served as President of EuroCommerce, the pan-European retail and wholesale trade association from 2012-2014. In 2007 she won a European Women of Achievement Award.

Helen Ricketts has spent more than 25 years in the global oil and gas industry since graduating from the University of Surrey, UK in Chemical Engineering. She has worked in operations for ExxonMobil and for a number of EPC contractors in roles including design engineering, project management, strategic planning, marketing and business development. Helen has also completed a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at Henley Management College. Helen’s current role is as Regional Head of Business Development for Wood Group Kenny, the London-based subsidiary of the FTSE-250 listed Wood Group. Wood Group have extensive operations in Asia and as a British company, they are particularly interested in the UK’s investment plans for Myanmar as well as elsewhere in the region.

Christopher Scott is the founder and Managing Director of Claridon Group Ltd, a global logistics supply chain company, with offices in Europe, Myanmar & Lao PDR. Claridon Myanmar Co., Ltd was formed in early 2013 and operates global logistics services to and from the region from their office located in Yangon. Christopher has produced two white paper documents on transport and logistics for both the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry and the Myanmar International Freight Forwarders Association.

Christopher is an International Trade Ambassador for the British Chamber of Commerce International Advisory Council and works closely with both UKTI & Chambers of Commerce to promote international trade, particularly in Myanmar and other South East Asian regions and is currently working directly with the Government of Lao PDR advising on the development of various infrastructure projects, particularly in the transport & logistics sector.  Christopher is also a representative for the Bank of England’s South East & East Anglia Agency, advising on economic conditions for the South East & East Anglia region. 

Tina Singhsacha is the Chief Representative for the Bank’s Representative Office in Yangon.

Tina joined Standard Chartered Bank in January 2007 in Corporate Affairs and moved to Singapore in April 2008 to join Regional CEO, SEA as his Business Planning Manager. Tina became the Chief of Staff to Regional CEO, Singapore & SEA in 2011 and was responsible for running of CEO office, Government and Regulatory Relations, Legal and Corporate Real Estate Services functions for Standard Chartered Bank Singapore.

Tina started her career with HSBC in 1995 as the management trainee and was trained on all aspects of Commercial Banking from Wholesale Banking, Global Markets, Trade Finance and Consumer Banking. She left HSBC to pursue MBA and switched career after the MBA to become a management consultant at Bain & Company in Singapore in 1999.

At Bain, Tina led many strategy projects for many multinational and local companies across Asian countries from Vietnam, Thailand to Indonesia in many industries including FMCGs, Electronic and Banking. Upon her return to Thailand in 2001, Tina joined True Corporation in the Strategic Planning department and later moved to head the marketing team to help grow the broadband market and business in Thailand.

Tina has a Bachelor of Commerce from New South Wales, Sydney Australia and an MBA from Sasin Graduate International Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Her hobbies include scuba diving, reading and travelling.

Kathryn Thornton has been based permanently in Myanmar since July 2012 and is a Senior Associate in the Yangon office of Allen & Overy. 
Kathryn’s practice covers inbound foreign direct investment with a focus on the resources, telecommunications, banking and finance, power and consumer goods sectors.  Kathryn is a core member of Allen & Overy’s Myanmar Practice Group, assisting clients to navigate their entry into the Myanmar market.

Kathryn has experience in advisory and transactional work relating to public and private mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets and general corporate and securities advice.  She also has experience in the structuring and provision of funds management and financial products and services to wholesale and retail clients.

Kathryn holds an LLB (First Class Honours and University Medal) and a BA in International Studies (China Major) and is admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia.  Kathryn was formerly a board member of, and advisor to, the New South Wales Disability Discrimination Legal Centre. 

Alex Warren is a director of Frontier MEA, a frontier markets-focused business and investment research firm that established a presence in Myanmar in 2014. He was closely involved in setting up the company’s office in Yangon, and regularly travels to the country. Frontier’s services in Myanmar include subscription and custom business research on different sectors for local and international clients, undertaken by a team of Myanmar and international staff based permanently in-country. Recent case studies include an opportunity analysis for real estate development in Mandalay, and a detailed report on the fast-growing mobile telecoms and towers market. 
Prior to co-founding Frontier in 2009, Alex worked as a business researcher and journalist across the Middle East and North Africa, and has written widely about the region. He holds a languages degree from the University of Cambridge. 

Lisa arrived in Burma in February 2013 to head up the small but powerful UKTI team based at the Embassy in Rangoon. Her role involves encouraging and supporting British business in Burma by offering economic and political insight and practical advice; facilitating introductions to the Burmese business community and Government and identifying high value opportunities for British business.

Since arriving in Burma Lisa has focused on establishing a strong network amongst the British business community, this has recently resulted in the establishment of the first ever British Chamber of Commerce in Burma.

Alongside her day job Lisa has launched a Professional Women’s Network in Yangon. The network is a forum for international and Myanmar women to come together to share experiences and offer support and advice. The network is soon to launch a mentoring scheme in collaboration with Yangon University.

Prior to her current role Lisa was Private Secretary to the British Minister of Trade, Lord Stephen Green; a role that provided an excellent oversight of business across many sectors and exposure to senior business and government leaders. She has also worked for Lord Brittan in his role as Trade Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Before joining the civil service Lisa worked in the public sector practise at Accenture and the derivative documentation departments of both Citibank and JP Morgan.

Lisa graduated from St Andrews University in International Relations.

Keith Win was born in Myanmar and is of Burmese and English heritage. He is a UK-trained Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Keith qualified with Ernst & Young and subsequently gained experience in insurance, international finance, cross-border transactions, due diligence, corporate acquisitions and group financial control in multinational companies (St Pauls Inc, Liberty International, Hong Kong Bank subsidiary - Wardley Unit Trusts). He has worked for private equity property fund management companies (MGPA, Lennox, Frogmore) and is experienced in the launch of new funds: global as well as UK funds.

Keith established the Myanmar Britain Business Association in 1995 to help British and European companies in the emerging market and have over 20 years’ experience of Myanmar business.

Shortly after removal of sanctions, in 2012, he founded Chinthe Capital Advisors Limited, a corporate advisory and management company and have provided strategy consultancy for Australian oil & gas and FMCG companies and is helping foreign investors in cement, real estate, telecoms and related fields.