Asia Pacific Annual Conference

Keynote I: Artificial Intelligence, A Friend not a Foe

Shuji Itatani, Daikin Industries Ltd. 

Shuji Itatani is a senior engineer at Daikin Industries LTD. in Japan, one of the world's leading companies in both air conditioning and fluorine chemistry fields. He began his career as a researcher and engineer in the field of fluorine chemistry. He earned his PhD in Science from Osaka University. Currently, he takes responsibility for human resource development related to digital transformation at Daikin Information and Communications Technology College, an in-house training institute established in 2017. His main role is to assist employees in understanding the latest digital technologies and acquiring the necessary skills to improve business processes.

Sanjay Sarma, Asia Business School

Sanjay Sarma is the Chief Executive Officer, President and Dean of the Asia School of Business, and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Sloan School of Management at MIT. He was the Vice President for Open Learning at MIT for nearly 10 years, during which he oversaw OpenCourseWare and led the creation of MITx, MicroMasters, the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative and the Jameel World Education Lab. As a researcher, he co-founded the Auto-ID Center at MIT and developed many of the key technologies behind the EPC suite of RFID standards now used worldwide. His current research interests are Internet of Things, street scanning, sensing, RFID, autonomy, cybersecurity, logistics, manufacturing and education. He is the Author of 3 books including The Inversion Factor, Grasp, and Workforce Education.

Keynote II: Leading Boldly

Harivansh Chaturvedi, Birla Institute of Management Technology 

Dr Harivansh Chaturvedi is Professor and Director at Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida, India and Alternate President of Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI). He has more than 45 years of experience in teaching, research and academic administration. He has been Director at All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a statutory body under the Government of India. Dr Chaturvedi is also member of the Governing Council and Chair of the Membership Committee of the UN Global Compact Network India and has authored and edited five books relating to various challenges before Indian Business, economy and Higher education.

Rosmini Omar, Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Rosmini Omar is a Professor of management and Dean of Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Her research passion is grounded on Capacity Building, Organizational Development and micro small and medium enterprises.  Her current Erasmus+ research is ANGEL (ASEAN Network for Green Entrepreneurial Leadership) which aims to nurture green microenterprises among students and marginal communities. She is also active in social work by serving in the Board of Visitors for a Malaysian specialist hospital; committee for Patients for Patients Safety Malaysia while supporting patients and patient-centered care agenda under the WHO Global Initiative in Healthcare Setting.