Globally recognized DEI expert Prof. Elissa Buxbaum brings Identity Conscious™ to the communications industry. With 20+ years of experience in strategy development, coaching and training, Elizabeth has transformed organizations with upwards of 15,000 employees, including the BBC, FX Networks and over 100 colleges and universities. As CEO of One Us Consulting, she provides data-driven solutions that elevate companies to global standards of diversity, equity and inclusion. Elissa has been interviewed by news outlets from New York to Norway, is published in academic journals / industry magazines, and speaks regularly at conferences such as the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) and SXSW.

Taewoo Kim brings a unique blend of experience in leadership training, communications and AI technology. With a master’s degree in computer science from Cornell University, he has held IT roles in Samsung, advised the South Korean president on green growth and was Korea’s first professional blogger. As founder and CEO of Fountains, he offers strategic consulting and marketing to major corporations and helps them integrate the power of AI into everyday leadership, communication and organizational productivity. He's the author of Meconomy and has appeared on platforms such as CNN and Chosun.

As a voice coach, producer, director and voiceover artist, David understands the impact of the spoken word – not only what needs to be said, but how it must be delivered. Since starting his career in London at the BBC three decades ago, David has worked in commercials, documentaries, TV series and radio drama. Today he helps his corporate clients understand their voice, maximize their vocal impact and enhance their executive presence. David has worked with CEOs, executives and senior partners at global financial institutions and international legal firms across Asia, including Baker & McKenzie, Mayer Brown, Hogan Lovells, Herbert Smith Freehills, Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, Nomura, CLSA, Credit Suisse and Weber Shandwick.

A pioneer in brand tone of voice, Mark co-founded the leading verbal identity consultancy True & Good in 2010. With clients across Europe and Asia, Mark oversees writing, naming and training for brands such as RBS, Standard Chartered and Deezer. He’s helped some of the world’s best-known brands solve communication challenges in an agency career spanning BBDO, M&C Saatchi and Grey and advised political parties and government departments on the power of language to bring about change. Mark has been working in professional communication since 1992 and holds an MA in English from Oxford University.

Simon Bureau helps elevate the communication skills of Korean professionals who aspire to leadership positions, by contributing his 35 years of international business experience, including over two decades working in Korea. Since 2010, he has designed and delivered over 600 leadership communication workshops or lectures. The focal point that drives his workshops is helping Korean professionals collaborate effectively with foreign managers, overseas partners or clients.

Rod is Korea’s only dedicated business storytelling coach and facilitator and leads the Korea and Japan practices for Anecdote, one of the world’s largest networks of business storytelling professionals. Based in Korea for 20 years, he has worked for Samsung as a marketer and sales trainer and taught MBA courses at both KAIST National University and Sungkyunkwan University. As a specialist in business communications, he sees business stories as a key tool to help leaders build and engage teams, establish credibility and generate sales revenue. His passion for storytelling comes from seeing how the world’s most successful leaders use compelling narratives to influence, persuade and inspire. Rod is currently researching a book on Korean business stories and plans to publish it in late 2020.

Joo-Young Jung, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Society, Culture and Media at International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan. Her research focuses on the social implications of new communication technologies in environments such as urban communities and disaster/post-disaster situations. Her most recent research focused on how communication processes and community relations influenced socio-psychological disaster recovery in Fukushima. She earned her PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. She is the co-editor of The Communication Ecology of 21st Century Urban Communities and her research has appeared in numerous academic publications.

Tom is the COO of the Global Treehouse in Tokyo, a startup focusing on mindfulness for leaders, creativity and innovation. He’s also the founder and president of duXit, a consultancy specializing in leadership development, organizational alignment and talent strategy. In his nearly 40 years in Asia, Tom has focused on growing local talent to become future global leaders. As Group Head of Learning and Talent Development, Tom led the global talent and learning functions for Singapore’s DBS Bank, increasingly recognized as a global leader in digital innovation. Previously, Tom was senior partner and managing director for Korn Ferry’s leadership and talent practice in Japan. He is a former lecturer on leadership in global organizations at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.

Merlyn is a collaborator, leader and expert in all things data and analytics. As the principal consultant of RDI Consulting Services, he helps organizations gain a competitive advantage by extracting actionable business insights from their data. Emphasizing a truly collaborative approach to analytical consulting, he offers strategic advisory, BI/analytics solutions development and training to improve data literacy in financial and other organizations.

Hank Morris has more than 30 years of experience in the Korean financial sector. He has held senior management roles in securities analysis, securities sales and investment banking in Korean and UK securities and trust companies, investment banks and asset management firms, including Ssangyong Securities, Kleinwort Benson, Standard Chartered Merchant Bank and GAM. Currently Hank is an adviser to Erudite Risk, a risk management company with operations in Seoul, Singapore and New Delhi, and a member of the Seoul Financial Forum’s executive committee. He is also a regular guest on CNBC, Bloomberg and the BBC. Hank first came to Korea in the 1970s with the US Peace Corps. After starting a career in finance in the US, he returned to Korea in the early 1980s and is still based in Seoul.