ACGN Event - Breaking Barriers: Igniting ESEA Leadership, 1 October 2025

Asian* Corporate Governance Network (ACGN) Event

* Asian - East and Southeast Asians (ESEAs)

🎤 Breaking Barriers: Igniting East and Southeast Asian Leadership - Raising Voices. Shaping Narratives. Leading with Impact.

📅 Date: Wednesday, 1 October 2025

🕕 Time: 6:00pm to 8:45pm (6:00pm - Doors open for networking)

📍 Location: Morrison Foerster, The Scalpel, 52 Lime Street, London EC3M 7AF

🎟️ Tickets: Seats are reserved on EventBrite.

For security reasons, please provide your full name and your company or affiliation (i.e. first and last names, NOT initials) when booking your ticket.

Join ACGN for a powerful evening of insight, storytelling and connection, spotlighting East and Southeast Asian professionals working across corporate governance, law and investor communications. This gathering will celebrate individual journeys, examine shared challenges and bring together a growing network of professionals committed to excellence and leadership.

💬 What to Expect:This dynamic in-person event will bring together industry leaders to:

✅ Explore how ESEA identities shape personal and professional journeys

✅ Hear candid reflections on navigating UK workplaces and leadership spaces

✅ Gain practical advice on building meaningful, long-term careers

✅ Connect across generations and inspire future trailblazers

Together, we’ll unpack cultural narratives, elevate leadership stories and help shape a more representative and dynamic professional landscape.

Whether you're a student, professional, community advocate or ally – this is your space to learn from lived experiences, connect with like-minded peers and expand your network in a welcoming, inclusive space.

✨ We welcome attendees of all backgrounds – across ethnicity, gender and other diversities.

🗓️ Event Schedule:

6:00pm: Doors open. Guests arrive for networking. Welcome drinks provided.

6:30pm: Welcome by ACGN, and panel discussion.

7:45pm: Formal discussion ends after Q&A from the audience. Networking drinks and nibbles.

8:45pm: End

Guest speakers

We are delighted to present a diverse panel of experts, including:

Catherine Gan - Chief Financial Officer, XLinks

Catherine Gan is a CFO, board director and business leader who spent the last 25 years developing international energy and infrastructure businesses. She is passionate about energy transition, having worked on projects relating to nuclear, renewable energy, EV and most recently global grid to connect renewable energy from North African to Europe.

She enjoys the challenge of managing multiple stakeholders across government and private sectors from different jurisdictions and cultural background, and building long lasting relationships along the way. Catherine was born and raised in Shanghai, and trained and qualified in the UK.

Mei Ashelford - Director, Brunswick Creative | Chartered Accountant | Investor Comms, Reporting & Content Strategy Specialist

Mei Ashelford is a Chartered Accountant and senior advisor with over 25 years’ experience in investor communications, governance reporting and content strategy. She is a Director at Brunswick Creative, where she leads the Investor Communications and Reporting offer, helping companies develop clear, effective narratives for investors. Known for cutting through the noise, Mei brings clarity to complex topics and alignment to investor messaging.

Her career spans forensic accounting, professional training, regulatory policy at the Financial Reporting Council, and senior roles in strategic communications. Mei sits on the ICAEW Corporate Reporting Faculty Board and the FRC Advisory Panel, and is a regular speaker and contributor on investor communications and reporting regulation and best practice.

Born and raised in the UK to Hong Kong Chinese parents, Mei brings a perspective shaped by both cultural heritage and lived experience navigating the corporate world.

Smriti Sriram – Partner, Slaughter and May

Smriti is a partner in Slaughter & May’s Disputes and Investigations group. She has a broad and international commercial disputes practice, advising clients on international arbitration, High Court litigation, public law, regulatory compliance matters and significant investigations. Smriti is Singaporean and served as a Justice’s Law Clerk in the Supreme Court of Singapore from January 2011 to June 2012.

Moderator and speaker

Saqib Alam – Partner, Morrison Foerster

Saqib Alam is a partner at the international law firm, Morrison Foerster. He is an English solicitor, New York attorney and Singapore advocate who advises global companies, boards and individuals facing business-critical issues and helps them resolve such matters from a legal and reputational standpoint. Practicing in London for the last 14 years, Saqib has acted in investigations and advised on corporate crises covering more than 30 countries around the world.

He also currently serves as a trustee for Operation Smile UK, a charity that provides free life-changing cleft surgery to children around the world.

Born in Singapore, Saqib graduated from King’s College London in 2006. From 2007 – 2009, he served as a Justice’s Law Clerk and later as an Assistant Registrar in the Supreme Court of Singapore.

🎟️ RSVP now to secure your place – spaces are limited! Let’s amplify ESEA voices, celebrate leadership and build connections that last. Let’s break barriers together!

Booking will close about a week before the event, so please reserve your ticket without delay! Terms and conditions apply.

By registering for this event, you agree to our event Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Notice. We kindly ask that all attendees review the Terms & Conditions carefully before completing registration.

Please note that for building security purposes, you will be required to provide your full first and last name when booking your ticket. Please have your identity document available for verification. All visitors to Morrison Foerster will need to check in with the reception at ground floor on arrival.

#ACGN #ESEA #Leadership #CorporateGovernance #DiversityandInclusion #NetworkingEvent #LondonEvents

Asian Corporate Governance Network extends its heartfelt thanks to Morrison Foerster, our event sponsor.

Asian Corporate Governance Network is also proud to share that The Core Partnership has become our first corporate sponsor!