Programme
Marina Bay Sands
Expo & Convention Centre
Cassia Ballroom 3201A - 3306, Level 3
Day 1Oct 16, 2012
08:00 AM
Checking In
Time to check in and get those passes08.45 AM
The Journey Begins
Kick-off to WIT Conference 201209:15 AM
The Journey to Global Glory
Global brands are expanding in the region. Regional players are fanning out. Local players are going regional. All in the name of attaining global glory. As the online travel landscape matures and more players come into the market, what will it take to be a winner? How do you hold on to margin stability? What demand generators are working? Where are the new avenues for growth? Where’s the future competition and disintermediation going to come from? Questions that will be raised and answered in this opening session.Starring:
Glenn Fogel, Executive Vice President-Corporate Development, Priceline Inc
Featuring:
Yoshihisa Yamada, Senior Executive Officer & Director, Rakuten Inc; Vice Chairman, Rakuten Travel Inc; President, Rakuten Edy Inc
The Panel:
Amit Saberwal, Chief Business Officer-International Markets, MakeMyTrip, India
Dhruv Shringi, CEO, Yatra, India
Rod Cuthbert, Interim Chairman, Rome2Rio
Scott Blume, CEO, RajaKamar, Indonesia
Related Stories: How big can a hedgehog grow?
10:15 AM
A Journey Of Transformation
From a boy who couldn't walk to a man who broke records and an artist who inspires. Join us in this journey of transformation in a conversation with Gregory Burns, Paralympian & ArtistSession Sponsor: Travelstart, South Africa
10:45 AM
State of Play: The Online Universe
A round-the-online-world journey with Douglas Quinby, Senior Director Research, PhoCusWright [View presentation slides here.]11:00 AM
11:30 AM
Disruption: A Conversation Unlike Any Other
This conversation, hosted by Yeoh Siew Hoon, Editor & Founder, Web In Travel, will be an experiment. Hold on to your seats.Featuring:
Brett Henry, Vice President, Commercial and Marketing, Abacus International
Kingsley Wood, Business Development, Asia Pacific, Amazon Asia Pacific Resources
Morris Sim, CEO & Co-founder, Circos Brand Karma
Ram Badrinathan, CEO, GlobalTHEN
Siva Ganeshanandan, Director Digital Marketing Suite, APAC, Adobe Systems
Steven Greenway, Head of Commercial, Scoot
Timothy Hughes, Vice President Marketing, Agoda
12:15 PM
Meet The Disruptors
These are the outsiders who have come into travel and disrupted a space – be it travel planning, accommodation or local experiences. We find out what each are trying to do. Featuring: Anshuman Bapna, CEO, MygolaMelissa Yang, CTO & Co-founder, Tujia, China
Turochas 'T' Fuad, CEO & Co-founder, Travelmob
12:45 PM
WITovation Awards 2012, Part 1
Presenting the first round of our WITovation Awards winnersUber Social
True Specialist
01:00 PM
Journey’s Break
Time to unwind, and catch up with friends02:00 PM
Crowd sourcing: IDEO & WIT Challenge
What are the best practices in crowd-sourcing? And some examples of what works, what doesn't from a leading company in design thinking, IDEO, and stories from its Open IDEO platform. Followed by a crowd sourcing session with everyone.Featuring: David Beath, Business Lead, IDEO, Singapore
02:30 PM
Social Evolution: What’s Next?
Where’s the social journey taking us? This session, hosted by Morris Sim, CEO & Co-founder, Circos Brand Karma, will take a stab at the future, share some cool social concepts that work and debate social marketing trends. Featuring:Ali Bullock, Head of Communications, World Wildlife Fund
Sergio Mello, Entrepreneur, satisfly.com
Weston Hankins, Founder, Footsteps Ventures
03:20 PM
03:30 PM
Journey’s Break
Time to unwind, and catch up with friends04:00 PM
04:15 PM
Airline Cloud9: Technology, Customer, Profits
How are airlines navigating the changing times and using the different channels to enhance customer experience and increase revenues? Featuring: Lawrence Chai, Vice President Commercial, Malaysia Airlines Gerry Oh, Vice President Asia Pacific, Jet Airways Tomohiro Nishihata, Vice President, Web Sales, Japan Airlines [View presentation slides here.]04:55 PM
05:10 PM
Hospitality: The Independent Story
We unplug the hotel story to focus on the independents which make up a huge market in Asia, properties that have not gone with a brand or franchise. The web has made it possible for these hotels to go direct, with clever use of the online channels that are now available to them. This session will line up the various channels that are now open to independents to sell to the consumer direct to increase occupancies and raise yields. Each will pitch to our hoteliers who will fire questions at them, and then decide which one did the best job, convincing them of their value proposition. Hosted by Martin Symes, Chairman, Wego Representing The Independents: Andrew Dixon, Owner, Nikoi Island Resort, Bintan Jack Tan, Chief Strategic Marketing and Technology Officer, Solare Hotels & Resorts, Japan Facing: Aaron Hung, Director of Partnerships, APAC, TripAdvisor [View presentation slides here.] Amanda See, Senior Director, Sabre Hospitality Solutions [View presentation slides here.] Chris Gribble, Vice President and General Manager of APAC and ME Hospitality Solutions, Infor Hospitality Craig Fong, CEO, Global Hospitality Solutions Nazar Musa, General Manager, Escapes Asia, Living Social [View presentation slides here.] Ming Foong, Global Account Director, Travelport GDS Philip Schaetz, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Dorsett Hospitality International Roland Jegge, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific, Worldhotels05:50 PM
Unplugged: My Obsession
Take a journey with Stephan Ekbergh, CEO, Travelstart, South Africa [View playlist here.]06:10 PM
Journey’s End
Curtains on another day06:30 PM
Unplugged: Fun & Friends
Join us for a night of fun with friends and musicMain Sponsor: Worldhotels Co-Sponsors: Trust International and IFH
Day 2Oct 17, 2012
09:00 AM
The Journey Continues
Kick-off to the final day09:15 AM
Next Wave, New Gen
The first Internet generation has come of age. Those born in 1994, the year the Internet came into being, turn 18 this year. Then there’s also a whole new generation of Millenials emerging. This has two implications for travel. One, a new kind of employee and two, a new kind of consumer. What do they want from us? This session, hosted by Yeoh Siew Hoon, Editor & Founder, Web In Travel, will delve into the Millenial Effect. Featuring: Laurenz Koehler, Co-founder, Duxton Consulting Group [View presentation slides here.] AIESEC Students: Loan Pham, Harish Murugasamy, Sufie Sudyono, Danielle Hong, Tracy Duong, Anastasia Yolanda09:45 AM
Unplugged: My Obsession
Take a detour with Emilie Couton, Director of Hotel Solutions, Accor Asia Pacific [View presentation slides here.]10:00 AM
Unplugged: My Obsession
Take a detour with Mario Jobbe, COO & Co-founder, Circos Brand Karma [View presentation slides here.]10:15 AM
WITovation Awards, Part 2
Presenting the final round of our WITovation Awards winnersAbsolute Mobile
Pure Customer
Unplugged Plus
10:30 AM
Coffee With Kathleen Tan
A conversation with Kathleen Tan, Group Commercial Head of AirAsia, the powerhouse behind the building of a brand that's distinctly Asian and her journey over the last eight years driving the low cost airline that's grown from, when she first joined, five old Boeings to a fleet of 105 Airbus, during which she has helped build China, India and 16 hubs for the AirAsia Group.11:00 AM
Journey’s Break
Time to unwind, and catch up with friends11:30 AM
Unplugged 480
Presenting the results of an experiment in survival run by WIT & Discovery Channel Magazine Featuring: Luke Clark, Editor, Discovery Channel Magazine11.50 AM
12:05 PM
Mobile: Let’s Get Naked
Yes, we know mobile’s no longer a trend. Yes, we know it’s here, there and everywhere. But what does it really mean to your business? We ask our experts to strip down the mobile story, share insights on customer behaviour and get down to what really matters to you. Featuring: Ali Yilmaz, Head of Travel, Google South-east Asia [View presentation slides here.] Brett Henry, Vice President, Commercial and Marketing, Abacus International Kei Shibata, CEO, Venture Republic, Japan Arun Verma, Technology & Innovation, AirAsia ASEAN12:45 PM
Unplugged: My Obsession
A tale of corporate travel with Kurt Knackstedt, Global Category Leader, Travel & Expense Management, Global Sourcing-Services, Rio Tinto [View presentation slides here.]01:00 PM
Journey’s Break
Time to unwind, and catch up with friends02:00 PM
Battle For The Customer: Who Wins?
Who is winning in the battle for the customer and his or her loyalty? Hotels are striving to increase their direct distribution while trying to maintain a balanced channel mix. Can they have their cake and eat it too? Travel reviews are becoming an increasingly part of the customer decision-making process - how is the market leader responding to the challenges of the future? Hotel OTAs are becoming ever more powerful - how are they upping the game to win the customer? A session that will look at the changing hotel distribution scene in the battle for the customer. Who'll get us in the end?Featuring:
Christine Petersen, President, TripAdvisor For Business
Eduardo Schutte, VP Of Distribution and Channel Management, Hilton Worldwide
Frank Trampert, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Wyndham Hotel Group
Nick Jeffery, General Manager, Australia, New Zealand & India, Sabre Hospitality Solutions
Timothy Hughes, Vice President Marketing, Agoda
Andrew Pumphrey, Global Brands Director, LateRooms Group
02:45 PM
Money Men: An Investor’s View of Travel & The WIT Start-Up Pitch Finals
In this session, hosted by Fritz Demopoulos, CEO, Queen’s Road Capital, the people with the funds share their take on what’s hot in travel and which ideas did or did not fly, and what they are keeping their eye on. Plus the Grand Finals of the WIT Start-Up Pitch held at the WIT Bootcamp, two days agoFeaturing:
Adrian Currie, Management Board Member, Priceline Group
Amit Anand, Jungle Ventures
Hugh Mason, JFDI.asia
William Klippgen, Tigris Capital
03:30 PM
Journey’s Break
Time to unwind, and catch up with friends04.00 PM
The Future of Content: Beyond Words, Even Reality
In the Internet of things - or Internet embedded everywhere in our real world – it’s now possible to make new kinds of personal and social travel experiences. Call it the radical effect of hyperconnectivity on people experiencing the world. But what does it really mean to us as humans and businesses? A scientist gives his take on the world around and beyond us and in the journey, takes our mind to new places. Plus, are there lessons we can learn from Hollywood? Followed by a panel on where experts see content and user interfaces going. Starring: Prof Adrian David Cheok, Professor, Keio University Graduate School of Media Design, Tokyo, Japan [View presentation slides here.] Featuring: George Mitchell, CTO & Co-founder, Circos Brand Karma [View presentation slides here.] Gordon Locke, President, D Custom Melissa Yang, CTO & Co-founder, Tujia Inc. Ross Veitch, CEO & Co-founder, Wego Related Stories: What happens when a scientist meets a Hollywood junkie?05:00 PM
Unplugged: My Obsession
A secret journeyJens Uwe Parkitny, Vice President Digital Marketing & Distribution, Asia Pacific, Accor
