Speakers' Profile

Ms Julianne Parkinson was appointed CEO of the Global Centre for Modern Ageing (GCMA) in April 2018. With more than 25 years’ experience in leadership roles, including KPMG, EY and South Australian Government. Julianne specialises in strategic planning, business sector development and complex stakeholder engagement.

Julianne has worked extensively with clients operating in government, corporate and private sectors and undertaken engagements across Australia and the South-East Asia region.

Julianne is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Professor Arlene Astell is a psychologist researching how technology can support active ageing. She has more than 20 years of experience co-creating innovative solutions with older adults, including those living with dementia. As Chair of the ISTAART Technology Professional Interest Area of the US Alzheimer’s Association, Arlene has been leading on development and adoption of accessible, user-friendly technologies for dementia. These are summarized in her latest book for researchers, families and care staff: “Using technology in dementia care: A guide to technology solutions for everyday living” (2019: Jessica Kingsley Publishers).

Jennene is the Chief Executive Officer of Feros Care and member of the Aged Care Industry Information & Technology Council in Australia. Jennene’s last 19 years at Feros has seen this organization expand from a single locality, residential provider of 95 clients to one of the fastest growing aged, disability and community care services in Australia, supporting now over 60,000 people are year.

Jennene was inducted into the Aged Care IT Hall of Fame in 2016 and the company has won a many national and international awards for their innovation and digital transformation.

Dr Karen Chan is an Associate Professor and Director of the Swallowing Research Laboratory at the Human Communication, Development and Information Sciences, The University of Hong Kong. She received her speech-language pathology training and PhD from the University of Hong Kong. Dr Chan is an experienced clinician and researcher in the area of voice and swallowing disorders. Her current research interests are on assessment and treatment for motor speech disorders and swallowing problems in the elderly, post stroke individuals, and head and neck cancer survivors. Dr Chan works closely with local community partners to promote the awareness of swallowing safely in elderly.

Mr Leong Cheung has been Executive Director of Charities & Community at The Hong Kong Jockey Club since 2014. In this capacity he is also the co-chair of the Hong Kong Chapter of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Prior to joining the Club, Mr Leong was Operating Partner with Bain Capital. Before that he was Managing Director of Global Sourcing & Supply Chain at Esquel Group, the founder and CEO of an education focused Internet venture, and a senior consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. Mr Cheung is also co-founder and chairman of an innovative social enterprise, RunOurCity.

In addition to his present roles, Mr Cheung is active in the community. He currently serves on the Elderly Commission and the Community Care Fund task force under the Commission on Poverty of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. He is a director of the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited and is an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Mr Cheung has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Dr Guillen was graduated in Electronic Engineering and got PhD in Telecommunications from the Polytechnic University in Valencia.  His main fields of interest are digital health, technologies and digital services for active and healthy ageing and IoT for health care and ageing. Since the beginning of his professional career, he combined academic, research activities and entrepreneurial.  In 2008 he founded Wearable Information Technologies (Weartech) in the field of smart textiles and wellbeing. He also founded MYSPHERA in 2012 and Connected Health Services in 2014.  He has participated in more than 20 R&D projects in the e-Health and e-Inclusion fields funded by European Union's (EU) various Framework Programmes and has been member of the management board in many related EU projects. Nowadays, he is the deputy coordinator and business manager in the ACTIVAGE project, one of the largest IoT running project for ageing well from EU H2020 program.

Adam is an experienced entrepreneur and business developer that focus on reaching his goals in life and help others to do the same. He has a MaSc in Mechanical Engineering but his career has taken him more to the innovation, marketing, sales and executive direction. He is a creative visionary and always has the ability to think “outside the box”. He has the ability to engage people around him with enthusiasm and energy. He knows the essence of business and know how to focus on the important issues, especially if the goal is international operations.  Adam is an experienced speaker both internationally and among decision makers in Sweden.

Mr Anders Hansen is a Danish entrepreneur, inventor and co-founder of inmutouch.com. He holds a MSc in Computer Engineering. Together with his wife he invented the inmuRELAX - an intuitive multi-sensory tool that through haptic stimulation and relaxing interactive music provides peace, improves sleep and ease the daily care. The invention was based on their personal family experience with dementia.

inmuRELAX is first sensory tool in the world to use interactive music - music mirrors the users touch and movement.

Dr Timothy Kwok graduated from University of Leicester in the UK and received specialist training in Geriatric and Internal Medicine in St George’s Hospital in London before returning to Hong Kong, to join the Department of Medicine & Therapeutics in the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He obtained his doctorate in Medicine in 2004, and was promoted to professorship in 2006. He is director of Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing, a comprehensive care centre for people with dementia, and the Jockey Club centre for osteoporosis care and control. His research interests include dementia, fracture prevention, nutrition and physical activity in old age.

Dr Lam Ching-choi is a specialist in paediatric and community medicine and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Haven of Hope Christian Service.  Under his leadership, Haven of Hope Christian Service is one of the pioneers in the provision of holistic care for the elderly in Hong Kong.

He is a non-official member of the Executive Council of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He also serves as the Chairman of the Elderly Commission to advise the Government on the related policies.  He is also the Supervisory Board Member of the HK Housing Society

Dr Lam has been honored by the HKSAR Government with the Justice of Peace in 2003 and Silver Bauhinia Star in 2019 respectively.  In 2018, apart from receiving Honorary Fellowship from Lingnan University, he was also given the Ageing Asia Global Ageing Influencer Award for his devotion to public services and his influence on policy-making for the global ageing trend.

Mr Laurence Lien is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Asia Philanthropy Circle, a membership-based platform for Asian philanthropists to exchange, learn and collaborate. Laurence is also the Chairman of Lien Foundation, which is well-regarded for its forward-thinking approach in education, eldercare and the environment. Laurence previously led the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre in Singapore from 2008-2014, and chaired the Community Foundation of Singapore from 2013-2019. Prior to this, Laurence served in the Singapore Government. Laurence holds degrees from Oxford University, the National University of Singapore, and Harvard University. He was also a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore from 2012-2014.

Chwee Foon Lim has more than 25 years of international experience in Healthcare & Life Science sector, having worked and lived in Asia, Europe and the Americas.  She is currently CEO, Asia Pacific, at Ekso Bionics, a robotics company providing novel exoskeleton technology for healthcare, industrial and defence sectors.

Prior to Ekso Bionics, she was Head of Healthcare, APAC for The Linde Group. Linde Healthcare is a global leader specialising in integrated respiratory care combining pharmaceutical gases, medical devices and clinical services from hospital to home.  Chwee Foon has significant operational experience in China, Healthcare digitalisation and respiratory step down care model in post-acute and home settings.  She holds an MBA (with Distinction) from INSEAD, France, and B Accountancy (First Class Hons) from the National University of Singapore. 

Dr Lindeman has worked in the fields of health care and long-term care for nearly 40 years as a health services researcher and gerontologist, conducting research related to health care technology, assistive technologies, chronic disease management, healthy aging, disabilities, dementia, community-based and residential services, health care workforce, and family caregiving. His current focus is working with researchers, entrepreneurs and investors on the incubation, start-up, evaluation, and scaling of technology-enabled health care solutions, including initiatives that address critical health care challenges through mobile/cloud, sensors/IoT, telehealth, robotics, assistive technologies, and data analytics (AI/machine learning). These technology-enabled solutions cover a continuum of health care issues, ranging from wellness to complex chronic conditions and precision health, with an emphasis on global applications.

Dr Lindeman serves as an advisor to foundations, government agencies, businesses, and venture firms. He previously served as the founding Director of the Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging; Associate Professor of Health Policy at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Rush University Medical Center; and Co-Director of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

Dr Lou Vivian W. Q. is the Director of Sau Po Centre on Ageing, and Associate Professor at Department of Social Work & Social Administration at The University of Hong Kong. Her research interests focus on family gerontology, in particular family caregiving for dementia, stroke, end-of-life older adults, and social adaptation and mental health of Chinese older adults and family caregivers. She also has a keen interest in building evidence-based models to empower older adults and their families. Dr. Lou has been appointed as a member of the Elderly Commission, Statistics Advisory Board, Community Investment and Inclusion Fund, and Elderly Academy Development Foundation of the HKSAR Government. She is also a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and a Council member of Hong Kong Association of Gerontology.

Davis Park has been developing and managing the Center’s technology initiatives since 2011. Davis' professional experience includes technology access, adoption, training, and deployment to senior, low-income, and other underserved communities. He is the former director of Community Technology Programs at the Little Tokyo Service Center, where he developed and advocated for initiatives that promoted technology access for multiple communities. Davis earned a BA in anthropology from UC Berkeley and an MA from UCLA’s Urban Planning Program, and has served on several boards promoting technology adoption.

Dr Reed is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at USF. He is currently a Fulbright Scholar at Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a dual appointment in Rehabilitation Sciences and Biomedical Engineering. His research focuses on rehabilitation: on restoring abilities in individuals with asymmetric impairments, such as from stroke or unilateral amputations, and haptics: thermal responses of the skin, coordinated motions, and human-robot interaction. He has published over 75 peer-reviewed conference and journal papers as well as over 40 published abstracts and invited presentations. He is Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Haptics and Senior Member. He has been a member of National Academy of Inventors (NAI) since 2016 and was recently awarded Senior Member status as one of 66 in the inaugural class. He has 18 patents issued or pending, and three of them have been licensed with the intention for commercialization. 

Co-developer of whole body electric neuro-stimulation
Expertise in the vast field of chronic pain syndromes and neuroplasticity
 

Dr Tan obtained his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in 2004. At SMU, his research interest lies in bringing together Internet of Things technologies, and social-behavioural research to enable and sustain intelligent and inclusive societies, in partnership with public agencies, non-profit care organizations and private entities. As Academic Director of the SMU-TCS iCity Lab, he led a large-scale government funded project on sensor-enabled homes to inform community care for ageing-in-place, working alongside health and social care experts. He has been an Adjunct Faculty with the Geriatric Education and Research Institute, Singapore, since May 2017.

Prof Raymond Kai-yu Tong is a Biomedical Engineer and he is currently a Professor and Chairman in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, CUHK. His research interests include Rehabilitation Robotics (e.g. Hand of Hope), Brain-Computer Control Interface (BCI), Neural Engineering, Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) and Cognitive Assessment Software. His research, innovation and service have received Awardee of the 2013 Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons; the Grand Prix Award (the highest honor) of the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva 2012; Winner Award (e-Health) in the Asia Pacific ICT Award 2012; and HKIE innovation awards for young members(2008), gold awards in international invention exhibitions (2004/ 2007/ 2010/ 2015/ 2016).