Asia Pacific Board Leadership Centre Webinar | Presenters biography

Audit & Assurance
Chief Operating Officer
KPMG Asia Pacific

Neil is the Chief Operating Officer for KPMG Asia Pacific’s Audit & Assurance business and is a member of KPMG’s Regional Leadership Team. Neil has worked on large audit and consulting clients across a number of industries with a particular focus on financial services. In addition to having based himself in Brisbane, Sydney, London and Johannesburg, Neil has travelled extensively across the world, supporting clients and KPMG member firms alike, with recent priorities including Digital Transformation, Talent management, and ESG Assurance initiatives.

Partner, Risk Management
KPMG in the Philippines

Ma. Gracia (Monette) Diaz is the Head of Department of Professional Practice, and the Risk Management Partner of R.G. Manabat & Co., KPMG in the Philippines. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Firm. 

She has been in a lead role in KPMG Asia Pacific Board Leadership Centre Audit Workstream group since 2014. This is included in her more than 20 years of professional experience in financial reporting, audit, regulatory compliance and corporate governance, being the former General Accountant of the Philippine SEC.

She is the Chairperson of the Committee of the Sustainability & Integrated Reporting of the Philippine Institute of CPAs (PICPA) and is a member of the Philippine Interpretations Committee under the Financial Reporting Standards Council, and the PICPA Ethics Committee. Also, she serves as the Executive Director of the Capital Market Development Council, a joint public sector and private sector advocacy group.

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Head of Board Advisory Services
KPMG in Malaysia 

Kasturi leads the Board Advisory practice of KPMG in Malaysia, under the Firm’s Risk Consulting practice. She is also the program leader for KPMG Board Leadership Center and KPMG Impact. Internally, she drives the Firm’s inclusive culture as the Head of Inclusion and Diversity.

She’s a certified practicing accountant and has been with KPMG for over 24 years, specializing in sustainability and integrated reporting advisory, corporate governance advisory, Sarbanes-Oxley (both USSOX and JSOX), external and internal audit, key control reviews, and enterprise risk management. Kasturi is a member of the Integrated Reporting Steering Committee of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, which promotes the adoption and continued development of integrated reporting in Malaysia. 

In recent years, Kasturi assisted Bursa Malaysia Berhad with the development of the Corporate Governance Guide (revised across several editions), as well as the Sustainability Reporting Guide and Toolkits which serve to facilitate the understanding of listed issuers on the implementation of corporate governance and sustainability practices. She is a regular speaker on corporate governance and a trainer of boards in programmes that are organized under the auspices of regulators and professional bodies.

Partner, Chief Economist
KPMG Australia

Brendan is Chief Economist for KPMG Australia and is lead partner for KPMG’s Economics practice.

He has significant experience in advising public sector departments and agencies on a range of issues and activities, including econometric analysis, economy-wide modelling, cost benefit analysis, impact assessments, efficiency improvements, and legislative/regulatory reform.

Brendan regularly assesses existing policies and provides economic analysis to inform key decision-makers about the impacts of potential policy interventions. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Queen Mary University of London in the School of Economics and Finance, and is an Advisory Board member of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne.

Global Leader, Governance, Risk & Compliance Services
KPMG Australia

Kevin is the Global Leader for Governance, Risk & Compliance Services and a Partner in KPMG Australia's Risk Strategy & Technology team. His key focus is using technology to support bringing strategy and risk management together to then enable organisations to align their risk and assurance processes to support those in governance. Kevin has experience as CFO of a large corporate infrastructure business and has spent over 25 years working with his client’s C-Level and boards providing Governance, Risk and Assurance services across global, national and local clients. He has over 20 years of experience as a board member, Director and/or Chairman of not-for-profits, putting his advice to his clients into practice. 

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Head of Advisory (Consulting)
KPMG in Singapore 

Irving is a partner in KPMG in Singapore and has been with KPMG for over 29 years, having worked in both the London and Singapore offices. As the Co-Head of Advisory (Singapore and Indonesia), he is responsible for the Advisory businesses and practices across Management Consulting and Risk Consulting.

Irving sits in the firm’s Senior Executive Committee which oversees the firm’s strategic and operational excellence. His key area of practice is in corporate governance, where he is also the KPMG APAC Leader for Board Advisory Services. He has undertaken numerous corporate governance reviews for both public and private organisations in light of the renewed focus in this area. He is a frequent invited guest speaker at board meetings and presentations as well as public forums on corporate governance.

In October 2018, Irving was appointed to the Board of the Singapore Tyler Institute (STPI). He was also appointed on that same year to the Advisory Board for the School of Accountancy for the Singapore Management University. Together with the other Board of Advisors, they are tasked to help shape the future of the accounting profession.

In addition, Irving is a member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) where is a member of the Governance Committee and council member of CPA Australia Sub-committee for the Public Sector. 

Chief Finance Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Chief Sustainability Officer
Ayala Corp

Albert M. de Larrazabal is the Chief Finance Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Chief Sustainability Officer of Ayala Corporation. In his current role, Albert oversees Ayala Corporation's financial activities and provides significant input in the company's investments, capital structure, and how the company manages its income and expenses. He is also responsible for raising capital for expansion.

Albert has over two decades of extensive experience as a senior executive in finance, business development, treasury operations, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, as well as investment banking and investor relations. Earlier executive appointments in non-Ayala group were VP and CFO of Marsman Drysdale Corp., VP and Head of Consumer Sector of JP Morgan Hong Kong, and SVP and CFO of San Miguel Corp. Prior to joining Ayala Corporation, Albert served as Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Finance Officer of Ayala's digital solutions arm, Globe Telecom.

Partner, Audit & Assurance Services
KPMG Indonesia

To her friends, she is called Ningsih and she prefers that way. She has more than 25 years of deep knowledge and understanding in auditing, and she is particularly well versed in the financial service industry. Ningsih initiated the formation of KPMG Indonesia’s Board Governance Forum (“BGF”) in June 2015, and continues to be in its heart and soul until now. During her tenure with KPMG, she was the Head of Financial Services (2006 – 2012) before she took over as the Head of Audit (2008-2018). Now, she is overseeing the System of Quality Management.

Outside KPMG, Ningsih is currently the Board member of Indonesian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (IAPI)’s for the period 2021-2025. In line with her aspiration to lead the public accounting profession to stay relevant in this changing environment, she is actively involved in the development of sustainability reporting and assurance standards/guidance in Indonesia through IAPI’s Extended External Reporting Task force and IAI’s Comprehensive Corporate Reporting Task force.

Managing Director
Sri Trang Agro-Industry Public Company Limited

Veerasith is the Managing Director of Sri Trang Agro-Industry (STA), a public listed company in Thailand Stock Exchange. STA is the largest natural rubber producer in the world, and the third leading global producer of latex gloves.

Veerasith holds a Master’s of Business Administration (Finance and Marketing) from Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Chulalongkorn University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Cybernetics from the University of Reading.

Director & CFO
PT Bank Central Asia Tbk

Since April 2018, Ms Vera Eve Lim is the Director and Chief Financial Officer of PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA), one of the largest banks in Indonesia. In her role, she is primarily responsible for corporate planning and strategy, economy and research, corporate communications, investors relations, as well as ensuring that the bank has good corporate governance practices and robust accounting, tax and regulatory reporting. With environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing and reporting gaining traction, Vera is also responsible for overseeing the investment strategies in this space. 

Prior to joining BCA, Vera was the Director and CFO of Bank Danamon (2006-2017) and was also the Commissioner of Adira Finance (2010-2017) and the Deputy President Commissioner of Adira Insurance (2008-2013).

Vera is a member of Perbanas, Ikatan Bankir Indonesia (IBI) as well as Indonesia Watercolor Society.

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