About the HD APAC Asia Advisory Group

The HD Asia Pacific Advisory Group is an informal group of individuals committed to advancing the mission and values of the Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) in the Asia Pacific region. Members bring diverse perspectives, networks, and experience across diplomacy, philanthropy, business, academia, and civil society, and support HD’s efforts to prevent and resolve conflict through dialogue and mediation.

Asia Advisory Group Members

Sapna Jhangiani KC

Sapna Jhangiani KC has over twenty-five years’ experience as Counsel, arbitrator, mediator and Judge in complex commercial disputes seated all over the world.

She is a member of Blackstone Chambers, based in Singapore, and previously practised in London, New York and Dubai. Alongside her independent practice, Sapna is a Judge in the Court of Appeal of the Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Sapna is called to the Bar in England & Wales, Singapore and the British Virgin Islands. She holds an undergraduate degree from Oxford University, and a diploma in international commercial arbitration from Queen Mary University, London, in which she graduated with distinction. She was named by Asian Legal Business as one of Asia’s top 15 female lawyers.

Sapna is passionate about the power of mediation to transform conflict into constructive dialogue, allowing for greater collaboration and understanding.

Nguyễn Phương Lam

Lam retired in 2018 after 26 years with Capital Group, where he served as Senior Managing Partner, Co-Founder and Co-Head of the Private Markets division. During his tenure, he oversaw more than 80 private equity investments totaling USD 6 billion across emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa. He also led Capital International Inc.’s Singapore branch as CEO from 2002 to 2018.

Since retiring, Lam has remained active on a part-time basis in investment and philanthropic leadership. He serves on the Investment Committee of the National University of Singapore, the Advisory Board of Asia Partners, and the Board of Directors of the Asia Philanthropy Circle, where he chairs the Finance Committee.

Prior to joining Capital Group in 1992, Lam was an M&A banker with Ermgassen & Co (a London-based advisory firm) and with JP Morgan & Co in New York, Brussels and London. Born in Vietnam, he completed high school in Brazil, graduated from École Centrale in Paris, and earned an MBA from Stanford Business School.

Having travelled to over 130 countries, Lam values diversity and cross-cultural understanding. He and his wife have resided in Singapore since 1995, where they are now citizens.

Lam is actively involved as an advocate, donor and mentor with organisations such as Acumen, Ashoka, Endeavor and Teach For All. The philanthropic activities of Lam’s family aim primarily at promoting inner transformation for systems change, in pursuit of human dignity and social justice. Lam is a committed meditator who believes deeply in interspirituality and perennial wisdom.

NGUYỄN-PHƯƠNG, Chí-Linh Jeremy 

Jeremy is the co-founder of Udentity, an education technology company that supports learning institutions with their digital marketing and recruitment. Udentity is a trusted platform for over 650 higher education institutions across 30 countries, as well as representatives at more than 530 schools across Asia.
 
Previously, Jeremy spent 5 years at Ashoka, the largest network of leading Social Entrepreneurs with a mission to build an Everyone a Changemaker™ World. There he managed the Ashoka Singapore & Malaysia office and built partnerships with Ben & Jerry’s, Bosch, UBS, Singapore International Foundation and Credit Suisse.

Jeremy supports his family’s service work through the Nguyễn-Phương Family Foundation which focuses on education for all, poverty alleviation, inner change/mindfulness and supporting social entrepreneurship. The family’s philanthropic work is focused across South East Asia with strong historical roots in Vietnam. 

Dr Anne-Marie Schleich

Dr Anne-Marie Schleich was a German diplomat from 1979 until 2016. She was most recently the German Ambassador to New Zealand and seven Pacific Island states from 2012 to 2016. She was the German Consul General in Melbourne, Australia, from 2008 to 2012 and has also served in Singapore, Bangkok, Islamabad and London. From 1998 to 2001, she was Deputy Head of the Asia, Africa and Latin America Department at the Office of the German Chancellor in Berlin. From 2001 to 2003, she was Head of the Department for International Environmental Policies at the German Foreign Office. Dr Schleich holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Mannheim.

She has written numerous articles on geopolitical developments in the Asia-Pacific region, published in Australia, Germany, Singapore and Switzerland. She has also spoken at various international conferences in Southeast Asia and at the National University of Singapore. Her research focuses on geostrategic developments in Oceania and China–India border conflicts. In 2022, she was appointed Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Dr Schleich is the editor of the volume “Perspectives of Two Island Nations: Singapore and New Zealand” published by World Scientific Publishing in 2024.

Karen Tan

Karen Tan served as Chief Strategy Officer at Maxwell Chambers for three years, where she led the organisation’s strategic direction, institutional partnerships and thought leadership agenda, strengthening its position as a leading dispute resolution hub in Asia. She now serves as an independent Strategic Advisor, continuing to support Maxwell’s expansion within the broader dispute resolution community.

Karen also holds senior leadership roles in the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations, previously co-chairing the Institutions Task Force and leading the development of its Green Survey and Sustainability Report. She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee.

Previously, Karen spent a decade at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, leading global outreach initiatives and supporting digital transformation. She holds a BS in Business Administration and is admitted to practise law in Hong Kong.