Session 2: Going Digital

Moderator and Speaker Biographies

MODERATOR: Chris Perera:

Chris Perera is a Senior Director of International External & Regulatory Affairs, where she advances AT&T’s International market entry regulatory strategy and public polices across Asia Pacific. Chris works closely with AT&T’s diverse business units, and the team of international external affairs advocates around the world. AT&T provides wholesale telecommunications services to over 220 countries and territories, and provides enterprise services to over 130 countries.

Ms. Perera is also a Board Member and the current Vice President of the Asia Pacific Carriers’ Coalition (APCC), an industry association of global and regional telecommunications carriers operating in the Asia Pacific region. Through her role with the APCC, Chris works with Governments, National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and users, to advocate open market policies and best practice regulatory frameworks to promote competition and efficient investment in telecommunications markets.

Prior to joining AT&T in 2014, Ms. Perera was a Senior Director, Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Affairs for the Asia Pacific Region, GSMA, and the Chair of the New Zealand Radio communications Sector and an adviser to the Minister of ICT before that. Ms. Perera was also the Principal Wireless Advisor on the evaluation panel for the New Zealand Government's Broadband Initiative.

Ms. Perera has a Masters (Thesis) Degree from the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand, and holds a Management Accounting & Law Degree from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, United Kingdom.

Stephen Mattias:

Stephen Mathias is the partner in charge of the Bangalore office of Kochhar & Co, a leading law firm in India. He also co-chairs the firm's Technology Law Practice, the first of its kind in India. Stephen represents some of the world’s largest information technology companies and his work involves setting up software development and BPO centers in India, licensing, e-commerce, outsourcing, mobile applications, voice over IP, privacy and intellectual property. He has been a prolific speaker and writer both in India and abroad on technology law. Stephen is active in representing international companies in doing acquisitions in India and is a leading M&A lawyer in the technology industry in India. He also has experience of doing acquisitions relating to public listed companies in India. Another area of expertise for him is venture capital investments. He has recently been active in the renewables space.

 

Fiona Phillips

Fiona Phillips is the Regional Head of HSBC’s Retail Banking and Wealth Management Legal Team for Asia Pacific, as well as Co-head of the Bank’s Digital Legal Programme. Fiona has worked in Hong Kong, Dubai, Amsterdam and London. Originally training at Freshfields as a restructuring and insolvency lawyer, Fiona is now a Fintech enthusiast, passionate about consumer protection and a plain language terms advocate. Fiona also speaks English and German. 

 

Kelly McFadzien

Kelly specialises in corporate and commercial law with an emphasis on intellectual property, transactions and projects involving technology, infrastructure and outsourcing. Kelly advises a wide range of clients across a variety of industries and returned to Chapman Tripp in 2010 after working for Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong.  While in Hong Kong, Kelly was part of a team providing preliminary advice to clients across a variety of industries in relation to the licensing, marketing and distribution of goods and services in China and across the Asia-Pacific region, in addition to providing advice on technology and telecommunication transactions and issues. Kelly is recommended by Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2016 and recognised as an Up and Coming lawyer in Chambers Asia Pacific 2018.

 

Pindar Wong

Pindar Wong is Chairman of VeriFi (Hong Kong) Ltd, a discrete Internet Financial Infrastructure consultancy. He serves on the Hong Kong Government's Committee on Innovation, Technology and Re-industrialisation and as a director of ASTRI. Previously, he co-founded HK’s first ISP in 1993 and was the first Vice-Chairman of ICANN, Chairman of the Asia Pacific Internet Association, alternate Chairman of Asia Pacific Network Information Center, Chairman of APRICOT, Commissioner on the Global Commission on Internet Governance and Trustee of the Internet Society. From 2010-2015 he served on HK’s Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee. He is a Bitcoin enthusiast and co-founded bsafe.network.