MyDigitalWorkforce Work in Tech (MYWiT)

Apa itu MYWiT?

MyDigitalWorkforce Work in Tech (MYWiT) memberi insentif kepada majikan untuk menggambil pekerja Malaysia untuk pekerjaan teknologi dan perkhidmatan digital melalui insentif gaji dan latihan.

Insentif ini dibiayai oleh Kerajaan Malaysia untuk mendorong para majikan memberikan peluang pekerjaan kepada warga yang menganggur.

Apakah yang ditawarkan? Inisiatif ini menawarkan subsidi gaji sebanyak 40% daripada gaji bulanan selama 6 bulan dan insentif latihan bagi latihan dalaman atau luaran/pihak ketiga.

Muat turun MYWiT Presso Deck

Manfaat MYWiT?

Majikan

Kurangkan kos pengambilan pekerja baru dengan subsidi gaji dan insentif

Pencari Kerja

Gandakan keupayaan anda dan mulakan kerjaya di syarikat teknologi atau perkhidmatan digital

Perkasakan dan Latih Semula Pekerja

Tingkatkan kemahiran digital dan teknologi pekerja baru anda pada kos yang lebih rendah dengan insentif latihan

Majikan

Kurangkan kos pengambilan pekerja baru menerusi subsidi gaji

Peluang Pekerjaan

Bekerja dengan syarikat perkhidmatan digital

Perkasakan pekerja

Tingkatkan kemahiran pekerja dengan kos lebih rendah melalui insentif latihan kemahiran digital

Syarikat Mencari Pekerja

Insentif

Insentif yang disediakan adalah bagi syarikat yang mengupah siswazah baru/ rakyat Malaysia yang tidak bekerja/ pekerja yang diberhentikan bagi pekerjaan berikut:

1. Jawatan dalam bidang Teknologi Digital bagi mana-mana industri

2. Jawatan dalam bidang Perkhidmatan Digital bagi mana-mana industri

Insentif tersebut merangkumi:

Subsidi gaji:

40% daripada gaji bulanan selama 6 bulan (maksimum insentif yang diberikan adalah sebanyak 40% daripada RM6,500/bulan, iaitu RM2,600/orang/bulan)
Gaji minumum: RM2,000/month

Subsidi latihan bagi latihan dalaman atau luaran/ pihak ketiga:

Latihan dalaman (minimum 40 jam/orang) : sehingga RM5,000/orang
Latihan luaran: sehingga RM8,000/orang (tidak termasuk 6% SST)

Pilih kursus latihan anda dari sini: Direktori Latihan Kemahiran Digital MDEC

Jika kursus yang dikehendaki tidak tersenarai dalam Direktori Latihan Kemahiran Digital MDEC, sila hubungi kami di [email protected]

Permohonan Ditutup

Kriteria Kelayakan:

Diperbadankan di Malaysia bawah Akta Syarikat 1965/Akta Syarikat 2016;
Modal berbayar minimum: RM20,000;
Tidak tertakluk kepada perintah pembubaran/penggulungan/tidak aktif;
Bukan syarikat sektor awam, persekutuan, badan berkanun negeri/pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT);
Menawarkan pekerjaan minimum selama 12 bulan dan;
Tidak mempunyai hubungan keluarga/perniagaan rapat dengan ahli Lembaga pengarah, pemegang saham/pekerja MDEC

Warganegara Malaysia;
Tiada pekerjaan tetap sekurang-kurangnya 2 bulan/siswazah baru/pekerja yang diberhentikan;
Tarikh mula bekerja dengan syarikat antara 5hb April 2021 hingga 31hb Ogos 2022;
Bukan ahli keluarga terdekat kepada pengarah/pemegang saham dalam syarikat pengambilan pekerja;
Bukan penerima/bekas penerima manfaat mana-mana insentif MYWiT daripada mana-mana syarikat dan;
Bukan sebahagian daripada peserta program PenjanaKerjaya, Jamin Kerja dan Penjana KPT-CAP

Maklumat lanjut di ruang FAQ di bawah

Proses Permohonan & Pembayaran Balik

Langkah 1

Dapatkan calon pekerja & pilih latihan yang bersesuaian*

Langkah 2

Mohon dalam talian

Langkah 3

Terima pengesahan dari MDEC

Langkah 4

Menandatangani perjanjian perkongsian

*Kursus latihan boleh dipilih dari senarai Direktori Latihan Kemahiran Digital MDEC.

Jika kursus yang dikehendaki tidak tersenarai dalam Direktori Latihan Kemahiran Digital MDEC, sila hubungi kami di [email protected],my.

Langkah 5

Daftar di dalam sistem e-invois MDEC

Langkah 6

Hantar tuntutan & dokumen sokongan melalui sistem e-invois MDEC**

Langkah 7

Terima bayaran balik secara atas talian

**Pembayaran balik akan dilakukan secara bulanan

Permohonan Ditutup

SENARAI SEMAK DOKUMEN

1. Maklumat syarikat:

Sijil SSM

2. Maklumat pekerjaan termasuk:

Penerangan bagi pekerjaan yang dipohon

3. Maklumat pekerja termasuk:

Salinan surat tawaran pekerjaan minimum 12 bulan
Salinan MyKad pekerja baru
Maklumat pekerja (templat disediakan)
Salinan transkrip akhir / sijil / surat rasmi tamat pengajian daripada Universiti / Institusi (bagi siswazah baru)
Surat Pemberhentian Pekerja (bagi pekerja yang diberhentikan)

4. Maklumat Latihan

a. Latihan luaran:

Templat latihan luaran (disediakan dalam boring permohonan- Maklumat Pekerja Excel)
Sebutharga untuk kursus yang dipilih

b. Latihan dalaman:

Templat latihan dalaman (disediakan dalam boring permohonan- Maklumat Pekerja Excel)
Profil Pelatih atau CV pelatih (jika pelatih tidak mempunyai LinkedIn)

5. Pengishtiharan bertulis yang menyatakan bahawa semua dokumen dan maklumat yang dihantar adalah benar dan ditandatangani oleh penandatangan sah majikan.

Hiring Partners

FAQ

Soalan Lazim

Apa itu MYWiT?

MYWiT adalah program insentif di bawah Kumpulan Wang COVID-19 Kerajaan Malaysia untuk memacu penciptaan pekerjaan bagi mengurangkan pengangguran di kalangan rakyat Malaysia.

Apakah manfaat MYWiT kepada syarikat dan pekerja?

MYWiT menawarkan peluang kepada syarikat/majikan untuk mengambil pekerja yang tidak bekerja, siswazah baru atau pekerja yang diberhentikan dan memberi latihan mengikut keperluan dan kesesuaian dengan gaji dan kos latihan bersubsidi.

Apakah manfaat MYWiT kepada pencari pekerjaan?

MYWiT menawarkan peluang kepada pencari pekerjaan bagi mendapatkan kerja di syarikat teknologi digital ternama dan meningkatkan kemahiran digital.

Apakah insentif yang ditawarkan di bawah program MYWiT?

Insentif yang ditawarkan merangkumi:

RM9,800 – RM23,600 (Insentif maksimum bagi setiap orang bergantung kepada gaji yang ditawarkan)

Insentif gaji: 40% daripada gaji bulanan pekerja selama 6 bulan (gaji minima: RM2,000/bulan dan maksimum insentif adalah 40% daripada RM6,500/bulan, cth, RM2,600 sebulan/seorang)
Insentif latihan: sehingga RM5000 seorang (latihan dalaman) dan/atau RM8,000 seorang (latihan luaran)
Insentif akan dibayar kepada majikan

Siapa yang layak untuk program ini?

Bagi syarikat/majikan, kelayakan merangkumi:

Diperbadankan di Malaysia di bawah Akta Syarikat 1965 atau Akta Syarikat 2016
Modal berbayar minimum: RM20,000
Tidak menjadi subjek pembubaran / penggulungan / tidak aktif
Bukan syarikat atau anak syarikat dalam sektor awam, badan berkanun persekutuan & negeri dan pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT)
Menawarkan pekerjaan sekurang-kurangnya 12 bulan
Surat tawaran pekerjaan dikeluarkan selepas 5hb April 2021 hingga 31hb Ogos 2022 untuk tempoh sekurang-kurangnya 12 bulan
Pengarah syarikat / pemegang saham / rakan kongsi / pengurusan kanan untuk menyatakan dan mendedahkan jika ada hubungan perniagaan / hubungan keluarga dekat dengan mana-mana pengarah atau pekerja MDEC

Bagi pekerja:

Warganegara Malaysia
Tidak mempunyai pekerjaan tetap untuk minimum 2 bulan/siswazah baru/pekerja yang diberhentikan
Bukan ahli keluarga terdekat (pasangan, ibu bapa, anak (termasuk anak angkat atau anak tiri), saudara atau saudari, pasangan anak, saudara atau saudari) pengarah / pemegang saham / pengurusan atasan syarikat pengambilan pekerja
Tarikh mula bekerja di syarikat yang dinyatakan dalam Surat tawaran pekerjaan antara 5hb April 2021 hingga 31hb Ogos 2022
Bukan penerima insentif semasa/lalu MyDigitalWorkforce Work In Tech (MYWiT) di mana-mana syarikat
Bukan sebahagian daripada program PenjanaKerjaya, Jamin Kerja

Bilakah syarikat / majikan boleh mula membuat tuntutan?

Syarikat/majikan boleh mula membuat tuntutan insentif latihan setelah tamat latihan dan insentif gaji setiap bulan melalui system e-invois MDEC.

Bolehkah syarikat / majikan menuntut pengambilan pekerja baru yang telah bergabung dengan organisasi sebelum menerapkan program MYWiT?

Syarikat boleh menuntut insentif bagi pekerja baru yang telah dikeluarkan surat tawaran pekerjaan dengan tarikh bermula antara 5hb April 2021 hingga 30hb April 2022.

Apakah jenis dokumen yang diperlukan untuk pendaftaran?

Sila rujuk senarai semak dokumen

Bolehkah syarikat saya mengemukakan lebih daripada satu permohonan?

Syarikat boleh mengemukakan permohonan baru setelah menerima status permohonan MYWiT untuk permohonan pertama/sebelumnya.

Berapa lama masa yang diperlukan untuk menerima notis persetujuan setelah mengantar borang permohonan MYWiT?

Status permohonan akan dikemukakan dalam tempoh 35 hari waktu bekerja setelah borang permohonan MYWiT yang lengkap dihantar.

Bagaimana proses pembayaran balik dilakukan?

Syarikat boleh memfailkan tuntutan untuk insentif gaji setiap bulan dan insentif latihan boleh dituntut selepas tamat (semua) latihan oleh pekerja. Syarikat diberi tempoh 6 bulan dari tarikh mula perjanjian perkongsian (tarikh akhir perjanjian perkongsian ditandatangani oleh syarikat) untuk mengemukakan tuntutan akhir.

Bolehkah saya menggantikan peserta sekiranya mereka berhenti atau diberhentikan?

Syarikat / majikan tidak dibenarkan mengganti pekerja sekiranya mereka berhenti atau diberhentikan. Syarikat / majikan diminta untuk memaklumkan MDEC dan memberikan bukti dokumen dalam masa 30 hari jika pekerja berhenti, atau jika majikan memberhentikan pekerja daripada syarikat.

Bagaimana sekiranya syarikat tidak dapat memenuhi komitmen?

Syarikat dikehendaki mematuhi terma dan syarat untuk menerima insentif. MDEC mempunyai hak untuk menyenaraihitamkan mana-mana syarikat yang tidak dapat memenuhi syarat dan syarat programnya.

Apakah jenis pekerjaan yang layak untuk menerima program insentif?

Sebarang Jawatan Teknologi Digital dan Jawatan Perkhidmatan Perniagaan Digital; Data Sains, Keselamatan Siber, Permainan, Aplikasi Perisian, Animasi, Fintech, Pemasaran Digital, Kewangan & Perakauanan, Sumber Manusia, Penjualan & Pemasaran, Moderasi Kandungan, Pengalaman Pelanggan, Pengurusan Pentadbiran, Sokongan Teknikal dan Perolehan.

Berapakah gaji minimum yang perlu dibayar kepada peserta dan tempoh minimum kontrak pekerjaan?

Gaji bulanan minimum ialah RM2,000 dengan tempoh kontrak pekerjaan sekurang-kurangnya 12 bulan.

Bolehkah gaji minimum mengambil kira elaun?

Syarikat perlu menawarkan gaji pokok + elaun tetap yang memenuhi kriteria gaji minimum (RM2,000).

Bolehkah syarikat/majikan menuntut insentif gaji sahaja?

Tidak. Matlamat kerajaan adalah untuk menyokong kemahiran semula digital dan meningkatkan kemahiran melalui program MYWiT justeru, latihan diperlukan untuk setiap pekerja baru.

Berapa ramai peserta/jawatan yang boleh didaftarkan oleh syarikat untuk program MYWiT?

Sebagai menyokong syarikat/majikan pelbagai saiz, tidak ada kekosongan minimum atau maksimum yang diperlukan. Ia tertakluk kepada ketersediaan dan kelulusan dana.

Apakah had usia untuk peserta?

Tiada had usia bagi peserta.

Bolehkah saya mengambil pekerja warga asing?

Tidak. Insentif hanya boleh didaftarkan untuk calon warganegara Malaysia.

Bolehkah gaji/ nama jawatan/ jumlah peserta untuk jawatan tertentu diubah?

Tidak. Gaji/nama jawatan/jumlah peserta perlu sama sepertimana yang telah diluluskan. Sekiranya terdapat sebarang perubahan, syarikat perlu menghantar permohonan baharu.

Apakah yang akan berlaku selepas 6 bulan tuntutan diselesaikan/dibayar balik sepenuhnya oleh MDEC?

Majikan dikehendaki menyediakan laporan status untuk mengesahkan status pekerjaan pekerja di bawah inisiatif ini, pada akhir 12 bulan dari tarikh mula bekerja, termasuk:

Penyata KWSP terkini, atau
Bukti untuk mengesahkan urus niaga pembayaran gaji Pekerja yang Menyertai (hanya untuk jawatan kontrak)

Adakah pencari kerja memerlukan kemahiran teknikal untuk memenuhi syarat dalam program ini?

Tidak. Pencari kerja tidak perlu mempunyai kemahiran teknikal, latihan harus diberikan oleh syarikat/majikan.

Apakah jenis latihan yang syarikat perlu sediakan?

Peserta mempunyai pilihan untuk memilih satu daripada latihan seperti berikut:

Latihan dalaman (min 40 jam) ATAU
Latihan luaran (pilih mana-mana kursus dalam Direktori Latihan Kemahiran Digital MDEC)

Bagaimana jika tiada kursus yang sesuai dari Direktori Latihan Kemahiran Digital MDEC untuk pekerja saya?

Kami sarankan majikan yang mengambil bahagian untuk melanggan salah satu platform dalam talian ‘Learning on Demand’ yang tersenarai dalam Direktori Latihan Kemahiran Digital MDEC. Ia menawarkan pelbagai pilihan kursus berkualiti. Jika kursus yang dikehendaki tidak tersenarai dalam Direktori Latihan Kemahiran Digital MDEC, sila hubungi kami di [email protected]

Bolehkah saya mengupah penyedia latihan luaran untuk menjalankan Latihan Dalaman?

Tidak. Penyedia latihan untuk latihan dalaman hendaklah termasuk di antara pekerja sepenuh syarikat atau daripada entiti lain dalam kumpulan syarikat yang sama

Bolehkah syarikat menuntut Latihan Dalaman dan Latihan Luaran untuk pekerja/peserta yang sama?

Tidak, tuntutan bagi setiap pekerja/peserta mestilah samada untuk Latihan Dalaman atau Latihan Luaran sahaja.

Adakah terdapat tempoh minimum untuk latihan?

Tempoh minimum latihan bagi setiap pekerja adalah seperti berikut:

Latihan Dalaman: minimum 40 jam
Latihan Luaran: Jika anda memilih ‘MDEC Learning on Demand’: minimum 20 jam

Apakah dokumen yang diperlukan untuk latihan semasa permohonan dalam talian?

Sila rujuk senarai semak dokumen

Apakah dokumen yang diperlukan untuk latihan semasa proses pembayaran semula insentif?

Slip kehadiran latihan atau Sijil Penyertaan
Latihan Dalaman: Bukti kos latihan (templat yang akan disediakan oleh MDEC) dan ditandatangani oleh syarikat yang ditandatangani oleh Penerima mengikut senarai latihan yang diluluskan
Latihan Luar: Invois dan bukti pembayaran kos latihan

Bagaimana jika kos latihan melebihi jumlah insentif?

Majikan dijangka untuk menanggung sebarang kos yang melebihi insentif latihan yang diluluskan.

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Kementerian Komunikasi
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				Wed 9 Nov 2022 \| 11:00 – 11:45 PANEL SESSION : SOUTHEAST ASIA – DIGITAL CONTENT TALENT POWERHOUSE Cita Ballroom Description The digital content sector, broadly covered as animation, games, visual effects and its related production, development, distribution and commercialisation ecosystems, is essentially a creative industry driven by innovative studios and talented individuals and teams. The very nature of these individuals, skillsets and capabilities are the fuel of the creative industry. The Southeast Asian landscape for these talents is as diverse as the multi-ethnic cultures, languages and traditions of over 680 million people in the region. This panel session will talk about recent research, led by MDEC in partnership with more than ten regional industry associations and over 150 studios and schools.
Nazliyah Ali Sector Head, Industry Partnership, Talent Corp Malaysia				Nazliyah primarily oversees the Oil, Gas and Energy (OGE) and Communications Content and Infrastructure (CCI) in TalentCorp’s Industry Partnership department. She has established profound relations with key players, large organisations, and leading associations of the OGE and CCI sector to drive collaborations for talent development. With over 12 years of client management, business development and sales experience in property development, advertising and banking, Nazliyah started out in TalentCorp in 2012 working on the Malaysian professional and student diaspora programmes, before transferring to Industry Partnership where she continues to engage employers, focusing on addressing mismatches between the talent market supply and demand. Prior to TalentCorp, Nazliyah was a Client Management Manager at a public relations agency where she managed prominent corporate accounts in several sectors. Nazliyah holds an Honours Degree in Business Administration (Marketing) from Universiti Teknologi MARA.

Eka Chandra AINAKI, Indonesia				Eka Chandra is the Secretary General of AINAKI and CEO of IOTA Studio. He has been involved in the creative industry for more than 10 years. Their latest development is a platform called IOTA Kids which helps studios or creators monetize their IPs in Indonesia and the SEA market.

Cris Dumlao SIKAP, Philippines				Cris Dumlao is one of the founding members of SIKAP and its current Vice President. She has 20 years industry experience, having produced content being shown in the Asian region. She is also a multi-award creative entrepreneur, representing the Philippines in pitch competitions worldwide. Cris is currently an independent animation producer, a 3D animation specialist, and an animation consultant for Kampilan Productions, LLC and Animation Vertigo, Inc.

Nop Dharmavanich TACGA, Thailand				Nop Dharmavanich is an animation director, Motion graphics designer, and brand builder, the founder of award Tomogram studio and former President of the Thai animation and computer graphics association (TACGA) Nop graduated from Savannah college of art and design majoring in Computer Art. He has worked in almost all aspects of the industry from interactive, motion design, animation, and VFX. One of his well-known works as a director was “The story of Mahajanaka” an animation that involved more than 14 animation studios in Thailand. Nop was a president of TACGA from 2018-2022, which gave him opportunities to work with many private and public organizations, both domestic and international, in developing and strengthening the animation industry, studios as well as digital content education in Thailand. Now, he is a vice president of TACGA and a committee of the National Film Board of Thailand.

Jasni Zain (Moderator) Head, Research & Partnerships MDEC				Jasni is the Head of Research & Partnerships for Digital Content Development within the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Currently overseeing industry research and exploring partnerships opportunities, he also has led national and industry strategy formulation and funding programs for industry and studios within the space of animation, games, visual effects and new media. He has over 22 years experience across a range of industries, and has served the last 13 years in the public sector concentrating on tech, outsourcing, national economic planning and the creative content industry.

Wed 9 Nov 2022 \| 11:00 – 11:45 PANEL SESSION : SOUTHEAST ASIA – DIGITAL CONTENT TALENT POWERHOUSE Cita Ballroom Description The digital content sector, broadly covered as animation, games, visual effects and its related production, development, distribution and commercialisation ecosystems, is essentially a creative industry driven by innovative studios and talented individuals and teams. The very nature of these individuals, skillsets and capabilities are the fuel of the creative industry. The Southeast Asian landscape for these talents is as diverse as the multi-ethnic cultures, languages and traditions of over 680 million people in the region. This panel session will talk about recent research, led by MDEC in partnership with more than ten regional industry associations and over 150 studios and schools.
Nazliyah Ali Sector Head, Industry Partnership, Talent Corp Malaysia Nazliyah primarily oversees the Oil, Gas and Energy (OGE) and Communications Content and Infrastructure (CCI) in TalentCorp’s Industry Partnership department. She has established profound relations with key players, large organisations, and leading associations of the OGE and CCI sector to drive collaborations for talent development. With over 12 years of client management, business development and sales experience in property development, advertising and banking, Nazliyah started out in TalentCorp in 2012 working on the Malaysian professional and student diaspora programmes, before transferring to Industry Partnership where she continues to engage employers, focusing on addressing mismatches between the talent market supply and demand. Prior to TalentCorp, Nazliyah was a Client Management Manager at a public relations agency where she managed prominent corporate accounts in several sectors. Nazliyah holds an Honours Degree in Business Administration (Marketing) from Universiti Teknologi MARA.

Eka Chandra AINAKI, Indonesia Eka Chandra is the Secretary General of AINAKI and CEO of IOTA Studio. He has been involved in the creative industry for more than 10 years. Their latest development is a platform called IOTA Kids which helps studios or creators monetize their IPs in Indonesia and the SEA market.

Cris Dumlao SIKAP, Philippines Cris Dumlao is one of the founding members of SIKAP and its current Vice President. She has 20 years industry experience, having produced content being shown in the Asian region. She is also a multi-award creative entrepreneur, representing the Philippines in pitch competitions worldwide. Cris is currently an independent animation producer, a 3D animation specialist, and an animation consultant for Kampilan Productions, LLC and Animation Vertigo, Inc.

Nop Dharmavanich TACGA, Thailand Nop Dharmavanich is an animation director, Motion graphics designer, and brand builder, the founder of award Tomogram studio and former President of the Thai animation and computer graphics association (TACGA) Nop graduated from Savannah college of art and design majoring in Computer Art. He has worked in almost all aspects of the industry from interactive, motion design, animation, and VFX. One of his well-known works as a director was “The story of Mahajanaka” an animation that involved more than 14 animation studios in Thailand. Nop was a president of TACGA from 2018-2022, which gave him opportunities to work with many private and public organizations, both domestic and international, in developing and strengthening the animation industry, studios as well as digital content education in Thailand. Now, he is a vice president of TACGA and a committee of the National Film Board of Thailand.

Jasni Zain (Moderator) Head, Research & Partnerships MDEC Jasni is the Head of Research & Partnerships for Digital Content Development within the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Currently overseeing industry research and exploring partnerships opportunities, he also has led national and industry strategy formulation and funding programs for industry and studios within the space of animation, games, visual effects and new media. He has over 22 years experience across a range of industries, and has served the last 13 years in the public sector concentrating on tech, outsourcing, national economic planning and the creative content industry.

				Wed 9 Nov 2022 \| 14:15 – 15:00 PANEL SESSION : UNDERSTANDING THE METAVERSE – FUD & FOMO (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt & Fear Of Missing Out) Cita Ballroom Description Learn how IP & Brand Owners can work together with Metaverse Platforms and what are the future prospects.
George Wong CEO Reactive Labs				George Wong is the Head of Malaysia & Singapore of The Sandbox, a leading decentralized virtual world and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands. Concurrently, he’s the Chief Executive Officer for Reactive Labs, a blockchain advisory covering corporate structuring, tokenomics & Web 3.0 implementation, the Sub-committee Chairperson for NFTs & Metaverses in ACCESS Blockchain Association Malaysia, the Chief Technology Officer for Finnax Asia and the Honorary Secretary for Women in Blockchain Asia. His early MNC corporate career in Sony Malaysia, saw him managing up to a MYR120 million business portfolio, winning internal domestic and & international awards for explosive business growth & marketing innovation. Prior to this, he has ventured more than 20+ start-ups and initiatives from retail to publishing & most notably in the investment and blockchain space. He has managed a variety of investment-related firms, supported the growth of a regional investment community, and even successfully completed an ICO in 2018

Kee Yong Pin COO Monsta				Kee Yong Pin is one of the Co-Founders and the Chief Operating Officer of Monsta. Under his role, he oversees day-to-day operations and business development of Monsta. He leads the strategy for market expansion in bringing Monsta’s content (BoBoiBoy, Mechamato & Papa Pipi) to wider global reach. His main task is to establish and secure new business partnerships. He also supervises the growth of Monsta Digital Network. Under his supervision, Monsta’s content has reached to more than 80 countries around the world; Monsta Digital Network has 20 Million Subscribers and garnered more than 10 Billion views to date. His latest addition under his portfolio is to lead the division that will build and develop the immersive experiences of Monsta IPs in the metaverse.

Jazni Zain (Moderator) Senior Manager, Research & Partnerships MDEC				Jasni is the Head of Research & Partnerships for Digital Content Development within the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Currently overseeing industry research and exploring partnerships opportunities, he also has led national and industry strategy formulation and funding programs for industry and studios within the space of animation, games, visual effects and new media. He has over 22 years experience across a range of industries, and has served the last 13 years in the public sector concentrating on tech, outsourcing, national economic planning and the creative content industry.

Wed 9 Nov 2022 \| 14:15 – 15:00 PANEL SESSION : UNDERSTANDING THE METAVERSE – FUD & FOMO (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt & Fear Of Missing Out) Cita Ballroom Description Learn how IP & Brand Owners can work together with Metaverse Platforms and what are the future prospects.
George Wong CEO Reactive Labs George Wong is the Head of Malaysia & Singapore of The Sandbox, a leading decentralized virtual world and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands. Concurrently, he’s the Chief Executive Officer for Reactive Labs, a blockchain advisory covering corporate structuring, tokenomics & Web 3.0 implementation, the Sub-committee Chairperson for NFTs & Metaverses in ACCESS Blockchain Association Malaysia, the Chief Technology Officer for Finnax Asia and the Honorary Secretary for Women in Blockchain Asia. His early MNC corporate career in Sony Malaysia, saw him managing up to a MYR120 million business portfolio, winning internal domestic and & international awards for explosive business growth & marketing innovation. Prior to this, he has ventured more than 20+ start-ups and initiatives from retail to publishing & most notably in the investment and blockchain space. He has managed a variety of investment-related firms, supported the growth of a regional investment community, and even successfully completed an ICO in 2018

Kee Yong Pin COO Monsta Kee Yong Pin is one of the Co-Founders and the Chief Operating Officer of Monsta. Under his role, he oversees day-to-day operations and business development of Monsta. He leads the strategy for market expansion in bringing Monsta’s content (BoBoiBoy, Mechamato & Papa Pipi) to wider global reach. His main task is to establish and secure new business partnerships. He also supervises the growth of Monsta Digital Network. Under his supervision, Monsta’s content has reached to more than 80 countries around the world; Monsta Digital Network has 20 Million Subscribers and garnered more than 10 Billion views to date. His latest addition under his portfolio is to lead the division that will build and develop the immersive experiences of Monsta IPs in the metaverse.

Jazni Zain (Moderator) Senior Manager, Research & Partnerships MDEC Jasni is the Head of Research & Partnerships for Digital Content Development within the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Currently overseeing industry research and exploring partnerships opportunities, he also has led national and industry strategy formulation and funding programs for industry and studios within the space of animation, games, visual effects and new media. He has over 22 years experience across a range of industries, and has served the last 13 years in the public sector concentrating on tech, outsourcing, national economic planning and the creative content industry.

Wed 9 Nov 2022 \| 16:15 – 17:00 PANEL SESSION : FUNDS & GRANTS – SHOW ME THE MONEY (Hybrid) Cita Ballroom
Vincent Paolo Naval (Virtual Appearance) FPO Program Supervisor, FDCP Film Philippines Office Vincent Paolo Naval is from the Film Philippines Office under the Film Development Council of the Philippines. He has been with the agency for a year and have been exposed to much of the industry of Film Financing and Grants. He currently works on the financial and service assistance programs of the film commission in the Philippines and would be happy to share with what they have to offer, from Film Grants, Locations, and even production assistance.

Walid Omar Executive Producer Lil Critter Workshop Walid Omar founded Lil Critter Workshop after a successfully running a studio for 12 years. He has executive produced and funded two original Lil Critter series, Hogie the Globehopper (Netflix, Discovery Kids) and the Asian TV Award-winning Buck and Buddy (CITV, Cartoon Network APAC) and grown the Lil Critters Workshop studio in Kuala Lumpur as a go-to destination for animation service work. The former MIPTV Producer to Watch is setting up a UK animation development studio in the UK this year.

Tang Chi Sim Founder & CEO Omens Studio Chi Sim is a tech and media entrepreneur who was technical co-founder of Amoeba Interactive and earth9.com, which he helped built and exited, and currently devotes his time as Founder and CEO to award-winning animation and digital media company Omens Studios and film company Taipan Films. Chi Sim is primarily responsible for financing, business and product development. A graduate of the National University of Singapore’s Computer Science department, Chi Sim previously worked as an engineer at Microsoft before venturing into entrepreneurship. He enjoys the creative process and holds a patent for collaborative group information management.

Mohan Low (Moderator) Director MDEC Director of Digital Creative Content at MDEC, he helps drive the mission to develop the digital creative content industry in Malaysia. He has over 15 years of experience in the digital content space, leading teams across games development, games commercialization and ecosystem building. Mohan has launched over 30 games during the course of his career. His passion has also led him to mentor over a 100 game projects and organize gaming culture events. He currently works towards building Malaysia into a regional digital content hub.

Wed 9 Nov 2022 \| 09:45 – 10:45 DIGITAL CONNECTIONS: GLOBAL KIDS’ MEDIA TRENDS Cita Ballroom
Sam Harris Director Auger Insights Sam is a deeply experienced researcher and strategist with a background in media, youth audiences, and platform development. Using a range of classic and modern research methodologies – and utilising his background in marketing, consulting, and content creation – Sam regularly works with brands to unlock powerful insights about core consumers and their ever-evolving needs.

Ligia Talludec Director 121 Insights Brazil A language specialist and trained UX and qualitative researcher with over 15 years of experience in the industry, Ligia is praised for her ability to combine fresh, innovative thinking with marketing clarity to answer big business questions. For over a decade, Ligia was part of Kantar’s qualitative team, focused on International and institutional inter-company projects. She is a champion for UX and CX areas, conducting F2F and online IDIs to test different interfaces (from e-commerce websites to mobile prototype apps), working with highly demanding key clients in the Technology Industry

Bonnie Wang Researcher & Semiotician Freelancer Bonnie is an experienced strategist, qualitative researcher and semiotician with an education background in visual sociology, strategy and management in HK and Europe. She started her career with consumer and market knowledge in P&G Germany, before joining The Behavioural Architects to understand the irrationality of human behaviour. After 4.5 years in Flamingo connecting brands with Chinese culture, she worked at InnateMotion helping brands defining their social purposes, before she started freelancing in London and Shanghai. Bonnie specialised in media and entertainment, fashion, beauty, tech, and placemaking. Some of her key clients include Dior, Adidas, Dyson, and Mercedes

Pam Goldfarb Liss Founder LitBrains With more than 30-years of experience, Pam enjoys the never-know-what’s-coming-next fun of interviewing consumers especially kids, teens and their parents. She has interviewed on subjects from pasta, hamburgers and tax software to prescription drugs, hospital stays, baby bottles and online privacy with clients including Philips Avent, Barilla, Bayer, Coca Cola, Deluxe, General Mills, Google, Glaxo-Smith-Kline (GsK), Horizon Organic, Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Procter & Gamble, United Healthcare and Zillow. An industry advocate devoted to ensuring kids and teens are not just productive in focus groups but feeling safe and encouraged to be. For more than a decade, Pam created and taught a course: ‘Moderating Kids and Teens’ at RIVA Market Research Institute. Now, Pam has taken this course online with more live and on-demand workshops on moderating with kids and teens in her new Mission Kid Possible powered by LitBrains-Igniting Ideas! at www.litbrains.com. Pam is also an active industry speaker and presenter. She has served four years as a board director on the Qualitative Research Consultants Association. Pam also participates in other annual events devoted to creativity including the Creative Education Foundation and its Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) and also enjoys attending their partner event, the Florida Creativity Institute.

Haruna McWilliams Head Of Accounts Tokyoesque Haruna is a Strategist with 20+ years with global experience in Japan, UK, US, Singapore and now the Netherlands. A native Japanese, who grew up in Europe and was educated at an international school, made her very curious about how cultures around the world are different but also similar. Her experience in advertising, branding and media also made her an expert in ‘making sense’ of what’s happening in cultures and societies, and predicting where cultures are shifting to. She is currently Head of Accounts at Tokyoesque, where she makes Japan make sense for the world, and vice versa.

Alexander Brown Marketing Assistant Tokyoesque Alex is the marketing assistant at Tokyoesque. Having graduated in 2021 with a Master of Arts in Japanese from the University of Edinburgh, during which time he studied in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, he has since worked in manga translation with Amimaru before joining Tokyoesque at his current position. The cultural studies aspect of his degree, and also his time spent studying and working in Kyoto, allowed him to tackle manga translation with a wealth of cultural knowledge to draw upon, helping him to rapidly advance to higher projects.

Debbie Bray Co-Founder Hook Research Debbie has been carrying out qualitative research for 20 years for the UK’s biggest media brands. She is a youth audience expert and her experience means that she is regularly asked to talk at conferences and contribute thought leadership about the media lives of young consumers. Debbie has supported the biggest youth audience content owners in the UK and globally – working across a range of new and classic IPs to help her clients produce content that speaks to the ever-evolving tastes of young people around the world.

Nick Fisher Co-Founder Hook Research Nick has 20 years experience in media consultancy. In this time, he has specialised in research, strategy and creative development for media providers. He has a huge deal of kids experience, having worked with many of the major kids platforms and channels around the world (Warner, BBC, Disney, Viacom). In particular, Nick has developed a deep expertise in the global animation landscape, having worked on a vast range of heritage and new IP launches over the course of his many years in the industry.

Tue 8 Nov 2022 \| 17:15 – 18:15 PANEL SESSION : THE BUSINESS OF DIGITAL COMICS – FUTURE TRENDS AND THE NEXT BEST THING! (Virtual) Cita Ballroom
Stu Levy Founder & CEO TOKYOPOP Stu Levy is an international entrepreneur, producer, director and writer across mediums including graphic novels, film, television and new media. Founder of the pioneering media company TOKYOPOP, Stu is known for establishing the manga market in North America. As a producer, Stu has a number of live-action and animated feature films and television shows in various stages of development, including adaptations of Alex Unlimited and Mail Order Ninja. He produced English adaptations of television and home video anime series including the hits Initial D, GTO, and Rave Master. His first major studio feature film as Executive Producer was Priest, released theatrically worldwide in 2011 through Sony Pictures. Stu has directed two feature films (his feature documentary Pray for Japan and his award-winning feature debut Van Von Hunter), the 8-episode docu-reality series America’s Greatest Otaku, and several music videos. Stu wrote the Princess Ai and Juror 13 graphic novels, as well as Karma Club and Sailor Moon novels. Fluent in Japanese and a licensed California attorney, Stu served as chair of the Producers Guild of America’s International Committee, its Online Video Committee, and the PGA Producers Showcase (ProShow); and a Board Member of its New Media Council. His philanthropic activities over the years have included Japan’s Tohoku tsunami recovery, projects with Make-a-Wish Foundation, and literacy advocacy. Besides speaking at numerous industry events and guest lecturing to students, Stu’s a melted ball of paddy for his two little children, an avid endurance athlete who compares himself to the Energizer bunny sans ears, a very amateur composer, and an iPhone-photo-trigger-happy foodie.

Hieu Tran Co-founder & Head of Operations INKR Global Hieu is the co-founder and head of operations at INKR Global (inkr.com), a fast-growing digital comics platform with a simple mission: to make comics universally accessible. They help bring amazing comics and manga to the world by working directly with the creators and publishers, helping to localize the content and distribute it on their platform. INKR is currently with over 100+ leading publishers and creators from Japan, Korea, China, US, South East Asia, distributing over 1,700 diverse comics, and they hope to work with more and more talented creators and publishers around the world.

Usamah Zaid Yasin (Speaker/Moderator) Founder & Executive Director WAU Animation Usamah Zaid is the Founder & Executive Director of WAU Animation, the studio behind Ejen Ali, the highest viewed animation series across all FTA TV stations in Malaysia. Partnering with Media Prima, a local media giant, Ejen Ali stormed into the scene alongside 2 gaming apps and has won numerous accolades, including “Best Short Animation” at the Malaysia Film Festival. Usamah has been in the industry for over 16 years. Prior to WAU, he was one of the pioneers of Les’ Copaque and co-created Malaysia’s iconic twins, Upin & Ipin after graduating from Multimedia University with a degree in Film and Animation.

Tue 8 Nov 2022 \| 11:00 – 11:45 PANEL SESSION: FRAMED MEMORIES – TELLING YOUR STORY THROUGH MUSIC Cita Ballroom Andrew Bong CEO, Media Music Composer & Producer, Ventura Interactive, Laundry Music Andrew Bong is a media music composer & producer from Sarawak (Borneo), Malaysia. He is known for his music works in Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal (in The Best Animated Feature Film Oscar 2020 shortlist). To date (2022), he has composed music for many Malaysian animations. The titles include Framed Memories, Kuihpocalyse, and The Dalang’s Last Tale, featured in Hollywood Variety news as the Spectrum Trilogy (a co-production with the best animation studio in Singapore) (2019). These animated short trilogy garnered many awards and became official selections in many film festivals such as the Spark Animation 2019 (Oscar-qualifying). Andrew’s recent music scoring works include “Sebayan”, “Borih: The Bidayuh Paddy Priestess”, and “The Pillar of Strength”. He also penned the music score for MIFFEST (Malaysia International Film Festival 2022) opening film, Driving Mr.Palarae starring Bront Palarae (Stone Turtle) & Calvin Wang (Crazy Rich Asian). In July 2022, he wrapped up an original score for a Taiwanese feature film that premiered recently at The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN 2022 Edition) in Korea, “Warning From Hell”, directed by Danny Pang.

Irwan Junaidy (Speaker/Moderator) Chief Creative Officer The R&D Studio Irwan Junaidy graduated with an architecture degree from the UK. He has a passion for telling stories and building make-believe worlds, particularly those that are inspired by the people, arts and cultures of South East Asia. Irwan is the co-founder of The R&D Studio, an award-winning content development studio based in Malaysia. The studio produced Wizards of Warna Walk – the first long form scripted live action television series by Disney in South East Asia. He also directed the animated short films Batik Girl and The Dalang’s Tale, which has travelled to over 70 film festivals and won 12 international awards around the world.
Mclelun Lee Mixed Media Artist / Developer The R&D Studio Mclelun studied computer programming but has a passion and talent for design and arts who happens to be colour-blind. He enjoys painting, game development and experimenting with a variety of softwares.

				Tue 8 Nov 2022 \| 11:00 – 11:45 PANEL SESSION: FRAMED MEMORIES – TELLING YOUR STORY THROUGH MUSIC Cita Ballroom
Andrew Bong CEO, Media Music Composer & Producer, Ventura Interactive, Laundry Music				Andrew Bong is a media music composer & producer from Sarawak (Borneo), Malaysia. He is known for his music works in Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal (in The Best Animated Feature Film Oscar 2020 shortlist). To date (2022), he has composed music for many Malaysian animations. The titles include Framed Memories, Kuihpocalyse, and The Dalang’s Last Tale, featured in Hollywood Variety news as the Spectrum Trilogy (a co-production with the best animation studio in Singapore) (2019). These animated short trilogy garnered many awards and became official selections in many film festivals such as the Spark Animation 2019 (Oscar-qualifying). Andrew’s recent music scoring works include “Sebayan”, “Borih: The Bidayuh Paddy Priestess”, and “The Pillar of Strength”. He also penned the music score for MIFFEST (Malaysia International Film Festival 2022) opening film, Driving Mr.Palarae starring Bront Palarae (Stone Turtle) & Calvin Wang (Crazy Rich Asian). In July 2022, he wrapped up an original score for a Taiwanese feature film that premiered recently at The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN 2022 Edition) in Korea, “Warning From Hell”, directed by Danny Pang.

Irwan Junaidy (Speaker/Moderator) Chief Creative Officer The R&D Studio				Irwan Junaidy graduated with an architecture degree from the UK. He has a passion for telling stories and building make-believe worlds, particularly those that are inspired by the people, arts and cultures of South East Asia. Irwan is the co-founder of The R&D Studio, an award-winning content development studio based in Malaysia. The studio produced Wizards of Warna Walk – the first long form scripted live action television series by Disney in South East Asia. He also directed the animated short films Batik Girl and The Dalang’s Tale, which has travelled to over 70 film festivals and won 12 international awards around the world.

Mclelun Lee Mixed Media Artist / Developer The R&D Studio				Mclelun studied computer programming but has a passion and talent for design and arts who happens to be colour-blind. He enjoys painting, game development and experimenting with a variety of softwares.

				Wed 9 Nov 2022 \| 16:15 – 17:00 PANEL SESSION : FUNDS & GRANTS – SHOW ME THE MONEY (Hybrid) Cita Ballroom
Vincent Paolo Naval (Virtual Appearance) FPO Program Supervisor, FDCP Film Philippines Office				Vincent Paolo Naval is from the Film Philippines Office under the Film Development Council of the Philippines. He has been with the agency for a year and have been exposed to much of the industry of Film Financing and Grants. He currently works on the financial and service assistance programs of the film commission in the Philippines and would be happy to share with what they have to offer, from Film Grants, Locations, and even production assistance.

Walid Omar Executive Producer Lil Critter Workshop				Walid Omar founded Lil Critter Workshop after a successfully running a studio for 12 years. He has executive produced and funded two original Lil Critter series, Hogie the Globehopper (Netflix, Discovery Kids) and the Asian TV Award-winning Buck and Buddy (CITV, Cartoon Network APAC) and grown the Lil Critters Workshop studio in Kuala Lumpur as a go-to destination for animation service work. The former MIPTV Producer to Watch is setting up a UK animation development studio in the UK this year.

Tang Chi Sim Founder & CEO Omens Studio				Chi Sim is a tech and media entrepreneur who was technical co-founder of Amoeba Interactive and earth9.com, which he helped built and exited, and currently devotes his time as Founder and CEO to award-winning animation and digital media company Omens Studios and film company Taipan Films. Chi Sim is primarily responsible for financing, business and product development. A graduate of the National University of Singapore’s Computer Science department, Chi Sim previously worked as an engineer at Microsoft before venturing into entrepreneurship. He enjoys the creative process and holds a patent for collaborative group information management.

Mohan Low (Moderator) Director MDEC				Director of Digital Creative Content at MDEC, he helps drive the mission to develop the digital creative content industry in Malaysia. He has over 15 years of experience in the digital content space, leading teams across games development, games commercialization and ecosystem building. Mohan has launched over 30 games during the course of his career. His passion has also led him to mentor over a 100 game projects and organize gaming culture events. He currently works towards building Malaysia into a regional digital content hub.

				Wed 9 Nov 2022 \| 09:45 – 10:45 DIGITAL CONNECTIONS: GLOBAL KIDS’ MEDIA TRENDS Cita Ballroom
Sam Harris Director Auger Insights				Sam is a deeply experienced researcher and strategist with a background in media, youth audiences, and platform development. Using a range of classic and modern research methodologies – and utilising his background in marketing, consulting, and content creation – Sam regularly works with brands to unlock powerful insights about core consumers and their ever-evolving needs.

Ligia Talludec Director 121 Insights Brazil				A language specialist and trained UX and qualitative researcher with over 15 years of experience in the industry, Ligia is praised for her ability to combine fresh, innovative thinking with marketing clarity to answer big business questions. For over a decade, Ligia was part of Kantar’s qualitative team, focused on International and institutional inter-company projects. She is a champion for UX and CX areas, conducting F2F and online IDIs to test different interfaces (from e-commerce websites to mobile prototype apps), working with highly demanding key clients in the Technology Industry

Bonnie Wang Researcher & Semiotician Freelancer				Bonnie is an experienced strategist, qualitative researcher and semiotician with an education background in visual sociology, strategy and management in HK and Europe. She started her career with consumer and market knowledge in P&G Germany, before joining The Behavioural Architects to understand the irrationality of human behaviour. After 4.5 years in Flamingo connecting brands with Chinese culture, she worked at InnateMotion helping brands defining their social purposes, before she started freelancing in London and Shanghai. Bonnie specialised in media and entertainment, fashion, beauty, tech, and placemaking. Some of her key clients include Dior, Adidas, Dyson, and Mercedes

Pam Goldfarb Liss Founder LitBrains				With more than 30-years of experience, Pam enjoys the never-know-what’s-coming-next fun of interviewing consumers especially kids, teens and their parents. She has interviewed on subjects from pasta, hamburgers and tax software to prescription drugs, hospital stays, baby bottles and online privacy with clients including Philips Avent, Barilla, Bayer, Coca Cola, Deluxe, General Mills, Google, Glaxo-Smith-Kline (GsK), Horizon Organic, Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Procter & Gamble, United Healthcare and Zillow. An industry advocate devoted to ensuring kids and teens are not just productive in focus groups but feeling safe and encouraged to be. For more than a decade, Pam created and taught a course: ‘Moderating Kids and Teens’ at RIVA Market Research Institute. Now, Pam has taken this course online with more live and on-demand workshops on moderating with kids and teens in her new Mission Kid Possible powered by LitBrains-Igniting Ideas! at www.litbrains.com. Pam is also an active industry speaker and presenter. She has served four years as a board director on the Qualitative Research Consultants Association. Pam also participates in other annual events devoted to creativity including the Creative Education Foundation and its Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) and also enjoys attending their partner event, the Florida Creativity Institute.

Haruna McWilliams Head Of Accounts Tokyoesque				Haruna is a Strategist with 20+ years with global experience in Japan, UK, US, Singapore and now the Netherlands. A native Japanese, who grew up in Europe and was educated at an international school, made her very curious about how cultures around the world are different but also similar. Her experience in advertising, branding and media also made her an expert in ‘making sense’ of what’s happening in cultures and societies, and predicting where cultures are shifting to. She is currently Head of Accounts at Tokyoesque, where she makes Japan make sense for the world, and vice versa.

Alexander Brown Marketing Assistant Tokyoesque				Alex is the marketing assistant at Tokyoesque. Having graduated in 2021 with a Master of Arts in Japanese from the University of Edinburgh, during which time he studied in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, he has since worked in manga translation with Amimaru before joining Tokyoesque at his current position. The cultural studies aspect of his degree, and also his time spent studying and working in Kyoto, allowed him to tackle manga translation with a wealth of cultural knowledge to draw upon, helping him to rapidly advance to higher projects.

Debbie Bray Co-Founder Hook Research				Debbie has been carrying out qualitative research for 20 years for the UK’s biggest media brands. She is a youth audience expert and her experience means that she is regularly asked to talk at conferences and contribute thought leadership about the media lives of young consumers. Debbie has supported the biggest youth audience content owners in the UK and globally – working across a range of new and classic IPs to help her clients produce content that speaks to the ever-evolving tastes of young people around the world.

Nick Fisher Co-Founder Hook Research				Nick has 20 years experience in media consultancy. In this time, he has specialised in research, strategy and creative development for media providers. He has a huge deal of kids experience, having worked with many of the major kids platforms and channels around the world (Warner, BBC, Disney, Viacom). In particular, Nick has developed a deep expertise in the global animation landscape, having worked on a vast range of heritage and new IP launches over the course of his many years in the industry.

				Tue 8 Nov 2022 \| 17:15 – 18:15 PANEL SESSION : THE BUSINESS OF DIGITAL COMICS – FUTURE TRENDS AND THE NEXT BEST THING! (Virtual) Cita Ballroom
Stu Levy Founder & CEO TOKYOPOP				Stu Levy is an international entrepreneur, producer, director and writer across mediums including graphic novels, film, television and new media. Founder of the pioneering media company TOKYOPOP, Stu is known for establishing the manga market in North America. As a producer, Stu has a number of live-action and animated feature films and television shows in various stages of development, including adaptations of Alex Unlimited and Mail Order Ninja. He produced English adaptations of television and home video anime series including the hits Initial D, GTO, and Rave Master. His first major studio feature film as Executive Producer was Priest, released theatrically worldwide in 2011 through Sony Pictures. Stu has directed two feature films (his feature documentary Pray for Japan and his award-winning feature debut Van Von Hunter), the 8-episode docu-reality series America’s Greatest Otaku, and several music videos. Stu wrote the Princess Ai and Juror 13 graphic novels, as well as Karma Club and Sailor Moon novels. Fluent in Japanese and a licensed California attorney, Stu served as chair of the Producers Guild of America’s International Committee, its Online Video Committee, and the PGA Producers Showcase (ProShow); and a Board Member of its New Media Council. His philanthropic activities over the years have included Japan’s Tohoku tsunami recovery, projects with Make-a-Wish Foundation, and literacy advocacy. Besides speaking at numerous industry events and guest lecturing to students, Stu’s a melted ball of paddy for his two little children, an avid endurance athlete who compares himself to the Energizer bunny sans ears, a very amateur composer, and an iPhone-photo-trigger-happy foodie.

Hieu Tran Co-founder & Head of Operations INKR Global				Hieu is the co-founder and head of operations at INKR Global (inkr.com), a fast-growing digital comics platform with a simple mission: to make comics universally accessible. They help bring amazing comics and manga to the world by working directly with the creators and publishers, helping to localize the content and distribute it on their platform. INKR is currently with over 100+ leading publishers and creators from Japan, Korea, China, US, South East Asia, distributing over 1,700 diverse comics, and they hope to work with more and more talented creators and publishers around the world.

Usamah Zaid Yasin (Speaker/Moderator) Founder & Executive Director WAU Animation				Usamah Zaid is the Founder & Executive Director of WAU Animation, the studio behind Ejen Ali, the highest viewed animation series across all FTA TV stations in Malaysia. Partnering with Media Prima, a local media giant, Ejen Ali stormed into the scene alongside 2 gaming apps and has won numerous accolades, including “Best Short Animation” at the Malaysia Film Festival. Usamah has been in the industry for over 16 years. Prior to WAU, he was one of the pioneers of Les’ Copaque and co-created Malaysia’s iconic twins, Upin & Ipin after graduating from Multimedia University with a degree in Film and Animation.