Singapore alumni ambassadors
Get connected with other UQ Business, Economics and Law Alumni living in Singapore. There is a vibrant community of UQ alumni living in Singapore, including a team of dedicated volunteer ambassadors who are eager to build the community and remain connected to UQ. There are opportunities to connect with fellow alumni at events and through social media platforms, providing key industry contacts, mentors and employment opportunities from the wider business community.
KY Wong
Chair, Singapore Ambassador Council
Assistant Vice President, Treasury, Genting Singapore
UQ qualifications
Bachelor of Economics (Hons) 1988
Professional memberships
Fellow, Financial Services Institute of Australasia
KY Wong is currently Assistant Vice President, Corporate Finance of Genting Singapore PLC, a SGX-listed integrated resort developer, owner and operator. His current responsibilities cover Group Treasury and Corporate Finance.
He has a broad experience in a diverse range of corporate advisory and financial management roles, including corporate finance, M&A, strategic planning, corporate development and insolvency. He has been involved in international M&A activities in the Asia-Pacific region, which has led to various work stints in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and New Delhi as well as in Australia. His area of specialty is International M&A, strategic planning and group treasury.
KY's advice to new graduates is “Find your calling so that you are excited to wake up every morning to face the challenges which may come and maintain your drive throughout your career.”
He is thankful to many UQ professors and lecturers who mentored him along the way, particularly Dr George Docwra, who “not only made microeconomics come alive, but also encouraged me to pursue my Honours year.”
Leisure time for KY involves plenty of reading, surfing, skiing and scuba diving.
Suyin Lee
Deputy Chair, Singapore Ambassador Council
Managing Director, Buffalo Tours
UQ qualifications
Bachelor of Commerce 1989, MBA 2001
Suyin’s area of specialty is within travel management and retailing, particularly start-up ventures and new market entry. She spearheaded Flight Centre Travel Group’s entry into China and Singapore and helped establish the Group’s travel businesses in these markets. Suyin in a Member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives.
She has some wise words of wisdom for new graduates, “Be passionate about what you do, set realistic expectations and be prepared to work hard as all employers value a good work ethic. Don’t be afraid to take risks as your career is a journey, not a destination. Resilience and tenacity will get you far.”
Her favourite professor at UQ was Professor Victor Callan, whom she studied under as part of her MBA program.
Travel, walking/hiking and being in the company of friends and family is how Suyin enjoys her time away from work.
Siobhan Cool
Head of Regional Compliance, Mundipharma Pte Ltd
UQ qualifications
Master of Laws 2003
Siobhan Cool is currently Senior Legal & Compliance Counsel at Mundipharma. Her role encompasses Regional Counsel for Supply Chain and Research & Development within Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa; and Country Counsel to Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Siobhan was previously Principal Consultant and Managing Director of Cool Consults Pte Ltd for thirteen years, serving the banking, aviation, engineering, IT and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to this, she was General Counsel & Group Company Secretary for both Avation PLC and Skywest Airlines Lty Ptd for 9 years.
Working as a sole practitioner Barrister-at-Law from 1997 to 2003, Siobhan was a trial and appellate advocate in civil and criminal jurisdictions of all Australian State and Federal Courts in the areas of corporate, commercial, intellectual property, criminal, administrative and employment law.
Philip Forrest
Ambassador Emeritus
Non-Executive Director
UQ qualifications
Bachelor of Commerce 1968
Professional memberships and certifications
Board Member and Former President, AustCham Singapore
Director and Council Member, Singapore Institute of Directors
Fellow, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Former Member of Council, Singapore Business Federation
CPA Australia
Philip Forrest’s area of specialty is within Commercial and Investment Banking, and more recently a variety of Non-Executive Director roles. He has worked for Citibank in New York, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok and has also had opportunities in Singapore with Westpac and ANZ.
Philip is a proponent of new graduates considering Asia as a starting point to begin their careers due to the high growth of the region. His favourite UQ professor was Herb Qualls; in Philip’s words: “Herb definitely told the best jokes. But they weren’t printable then and probably still aren’t.”
A morning jog through Singapore’s Botanic Gardens as the sun rises, and the vast networking opportunities available in Singapore are activities Philip highly values.
Geoff Howie
SGX Market Strategist, Singapore Exchange
UQ qualifications
Bachelor of Economics 1994, Master Economic Studies 1996
Geoff Howie is the Singapore Exchange’s Market Strategist, with more than 20 years of experience in financial markets and economics. His areas of specialty include the global stock market, Federal Reserve history, Asia financial economics, equity capital markets and real estate investment trusts.
Geoff is the creator and author of the SGX My Gateway Report which highlights local market highlights and developments, serving investors since 2012. The report is one of the most read in the Singapore financial markets with one of the largest subscriber bases.
Geoff has led numerous content campaigns for SGX and is a leading market communicator to the investing public. He pens the weekly Inside Insights column in the Business Times, in addition to speaking with Money FM 89.3 every Friday for the Market View Roundup.
Prior to his role at SGX, Geoff held lead Broking and Market Strategist roles across the Asia Pacific offices of the world’s largest Futures and Options broker. He complemented his dealer profile with the provision of frequent market outlooks, educational events and media engagements. Geoff’s other notable merits include receiving two Hong Kong Securities Institute Outstanding Achievers awards for the 2005 year.
He has also served as the Treasury Adviser to the Leader of the Queensland Liberal Party in Queensland Parliament.
A career highlight for Geoff occurred when he was a global derivatives broker in Singapore in 2010. Geoff said, “I made a contra-call for yields of Japanese Government Bonds to spike higher on 6 Oct 2010 via the media (Bloomberg). The yields of the trillion dollar market turned that day, rallied into the end of the year, and did not return to those 6 Oct lows for almost two years."
“Rather than a market highlight, I feel this was a career highlight as I was empowered in that broking role, and highly appreciative that so many of all the common traits we all look for in a job and our line manager were in place. The responses from global investors to that contra-call on the Japanese Government Bonds helped to augment the dealing desks’ competitive position even further.”
Geoff’s advice to economic graduates is, “Amongst all those lectures and tutorials, do remember what lessons stood out the most to you? Embed those lessons and develop your own philosophy on how they do or don’t apply to the world. The world needs much more inclusive economic growth, and the more ideas, interpretations and challenges to the status quo, the greater the scope in Australia’s products and services, which can drive trade and GDP.”
Hoon Sun Loh
Senior Advisor, Phillip Securities Pte Ltd
UQ qualifications
Certificate in Accountancy 1962, Diploma in Commerce 1963, Bachelor of Economics (Hons) 1964
Professional memberships and certifications
Fellow, Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants
Member, CFA Singapore
CPA Australia
Hoon Sun Loh is a Senior Advisor at Phillip Securities Pte Ltd, and was previously Managing Director for 27 years.
Hoon Sun has had a diverse work experience in various industries including auditing, plantation, mining, timber, oil, banking and finance. Before Phillip Securities, he was Executive Vice-President and Head of Overseas Union Bank’s Treasury and Investment Banking and Chairman of OUB Investment Management Ltd.
He has served as Chairman of the Gold Exchange of Singapore, Board Member of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX), Stock Exchange of Singapore, Securities Industry Council, Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and GST Board of Review. He is also a Past President of CPA Australia, Singapore Division and Australian Alumni Singapore.
He is on the Regional Advisory Committee of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, Industry Advisory Committee for the Accounting Program, Singapore Institute of Technology and the Advisory Panel, Governance and Transparency Index, National University of Singapore Business School.
Hoon Sun was awarded the Life Membership by CPA Australia (2005), International Alumnus of the Year by The University of Queensland (2005), Gold Medal by Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (2010) and Leadership Award by CFA Singapore (2012).
Shahir Muaz
Business Development, Salesforce
UQ qualifications
Bachelor of Commerce 2014
Shahir Muaz graduated from UQ in 2014 with a Bachelor of Commerce. Shortly after graduation and upon his return to Singapore, Shahir connected with the UQ alumni network – a move which he does not regret, as it led him to a position as an Associate at Grant Thornton Singapore.
As an auditor in a firm with an international presence, Shahir audited companies of a wide and diverse range, allowing him to be familiar with the intricacies of many business areas.
Shahir is now working in Business Development with Salesforce.
Shahir is excited to be a member of the BEL Alumni Ambassador Council in Singapore and is looking forward to helping other recent graduates in the way that the UQ alumni network has helped him.
Shahir’s favourite memory of UQ was the time he spent with friends in the sprawling grounds of the Great Court and having a good laugh between classes.
David Ow
Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Manager, ActivHealth (S) Pte. Ltd.
UQ qualifications
Bachelor of Business Management 2009
David Ow is currently the Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Manager at ActivHealth (S) Pte. Ltd.
He was previously the Marketing Manager at DBS Private Bank, a role which encompassed strategy; media; marketing communications; sponsorship; branding, engagement and events; managing local and overseas events; and working closely with senior management, sales, product, legal and compliance.
Prior to his role at DBS Private Bank, David was the Acquisition, Segment and Loyalty Marketing Manager at Citibank Singapore for four years, and Business Development Manager for two years.