The Future of Work, Rethinking Talent & Career in the Age of AI | ESSEC

Join our ESSEC & Mannheim EMBA - Asia Pacific Speaker Series – The Future of Work, Rethinking Talent & Career in the Age of AI
Date:16 October 2025, Thursday
Venue: (In-person)ESSEC APAC campus, 5 Nepal Park, 3C10. See directions here
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30 PM
Registration will start from 6:30 PM

Hybrid models, the gig economy, and AI are rapidly redefining how organisations operate in Southeast Asia. This session explores how these forces are reshaping leadership, talent management, and organisational culture, and what strategies can help senior executives harness disruption to build resilient, high-performing teams amid such disruption.

Agenda

6:30 – 7:00 PM | Registration

7:00 - 7:05 PM | Welcome Remarks by Professor Julien Salanave, Academic Director, ESSEC & Mannheim EMBA

7:05 - 7:35 PM | Keynote

7:35 - 8:30 PM | Panel discussion followed by a 15 min audience Q&A

Presented by:

Alvin Aloysius Goh
CEO of the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI)

Alvin Aloysius Gohis the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI), where he leads the national institution in championing progressive people practices and shaping the future of human capital development across Singapore and the region.

With over two decades of experience in HR and organisational leadership, Alvin has served in diverse sectors including banking, finance, education, and consulting. His prior appointments include Chief of Staff, Chief HR Officer, and Senior Consultant with a global human resources consultancy. He has led major transformation projects, driven progressive people practices, and built strong partnerships across the APAC region and beyond.

He is passionate about driving organisational transformation through a culture of innovation and agility. Alvin has a proven track record in implementing progressive people strategies, leading change initiatives, and cultivating partnerships with diverse stakeholders. He is also an experienced facilitator, known for delivering dynamic workshops that lead to meaningful, business-aligned outcomes.

Alvin contributes actively to national initiatives and boards, including the National Integration Council under MCCY, MINDEF’s Mark Gold Evaluation Panel, ITE’s Committee of Inquiry Panel, and NTUC’s COMPACT (Community of PME Advocates) Advisory Council. He also serves as a Senior Mentor with NTUC and supports healthcare transformation as part of the Steering Committee for the Centre for Asian Nursing Studies.

Alvin holds an MBA from the University of Western Australia and a Bachelor of Business from Central Queensland University. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies with a focus on leadership and organisational strategy.

May-Anne Tham
EMBA Alumni, Global HR Business Partner, SAP

May-Anne Tham is Global HR Business Partner atSAPAsia Ltd. A successful cross-functional leader with varied experiences in HR, Finance and Consulting across different industries, May-Anne has assumed leadership and expert positions in Audit, Quality Management, Cash Collections and HR. She oversees the deployment and embedment of the people agenda across a wide variety of teams and functions, including topics such as team and organisational development, business transformation, HR strategy, and workforce insights.

Jack Huang
EMBA Alumni, Associate Director, KPMG

Award-winning and passionate educator, corporate trainer, leadership and talent learning consultant with a background in public policy/government affairs, and 20 years of professional experience across the public, private and academic sectors. Two years ago, I made a deliberate career pivot to pursue a full- time career in adult learning and development, leveraging more than 12 years of mentoring, lecturing, facilitation, workshop design and organizational development experience.

As a firm believer of people-centred lifelong learning, I oversee the end-to-end learning experience, supported by diverse credentials ranging from personality profiling, design thinking, corporate transformation and change management to diversity, equity and inclusion. My ambition is to become a truly world-class expert in talent, leadership and skilling, delivering transformative learning experiences for working professionals around the globe.

Mark Chen
EMBA Alumni, HR Director, Omattrix

Mark Chen is a dedicated HR practitioner with an ESSEC & Mannheim EMBA degree and over 20 years of professional experience spanning HR, Sales and Marketing, Legal, Administration, and International Trading. He has fully adapted to Singapore HR practices, including payroll processing, the Singapore Employment Act, and the CPF Act. Mark offers a comprehensive HR background through leadership roles at Arlanxeo APAP HQ, Merit APAC HQ, Michelman APAC HQ, and Bekaert Asia HQ, with particular expertise in Compensation & Benefits, Talent Acquisition, and Learning & Development.

Before moving into in-house HR, he served as a Talent Acquisition consultant with Hudson, supporting recruitment for US and European MNCs in China. He also gained over five years of commercial experience in Singapore across various industries, providing him with extensive exposure to business operations in Southeast Asia and China.