ITIC APAC 2024

Julien is a healthcare insurance leader with over two decades of experience in the international health insurance and medical assistance sectors. With expertise in medical provider partnerships, cost containment, and employee benefits, he has navigated the healthcare landscape across APAC and Europe.

As the Director of Medical Network APAC at Aetna International, Julien demonstrated exceptional leadership, orchestrating cost-saving initiatives resulting in significant reductions in medical costs. Notably, Julien played a pivotal role in innovating insurance products, driving exceptional sales.

Julien’s career journey includes key roles at Aetna and Europ Assistance, where strategic network management initiatives yielded medical cost savings and expanded coverage across diverse regions.

With a commitment to employee engagement and a passion for meaningful interactions, Julien fosters strong relationships and delivers performance beyond industry standards.

Katy Youngman has had an extensive career in the healthcare industry, specifically in travel and international private health medical insurance (IPMI). These experiences have provided her with a deep understanding of both the healthcare service provider and payor perspectives.

A significant part of her career has been spent at Allianz partners, where she has had the opportunity to make a substantial and sustainable contribution.

By leveraging her expertise in business, health, and procurement, she has driven positive change and achieved measurable results for the business and members. She takes pride in her ability to identify areas for improvement and implement strategies that enhance the overall customer experience.

One area that particularly excites her is the intersection of digital health services and customer healthcare choice. She strongly believes that technology has the power to revolutionise how healthcare services are accessed and delivered. With a special focus and drive for continuous improvement, she is dedicated to exploring innovative solutions that utilise digital health services to provide customers with more convenient and personalised options.

Alex is a seasoned expert in health and travel risk management with extensive experience throughout Southeast Asia, both as an insurance broker and assistance provider. Alex’s journey into travel assistance services began at International SOS Paris and has since led him to set up his own company, Feti’a assistance.

Feti’a is based in regions where access to quality medical care is a challenge, and its motto is ‘presence matters’. To facilitate seamless cross-border medical transfers and to promote local assistance providers who often work in the shadows, Alex also founded AWARE24, a regional network of local assistance experts across Asia.

Dr. Ekkit Surakarn is a senior surgeon who has spent several years of service in the emergency department, and medical transport. His field of interest is trauma and acute care surgery.

He is the founder member of Bangkok Trauma Center, a verified trauma center, and also a member of BDMS Trauma Network. He believes that sharing of trauma care standards and practice guidelines will lead to a better trauma care community.

Currently, Dr. Surakarn is an instructor for the Helicopter EMS (HEMS) and Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Provider Course.

Paul Brenchley is a Managing Director & Partner at BCG, based out of the Singapore office. Paul has been in the insurance industry for over 20 years, working for both insurers and supporting them in consulting firms. He has been in Southeast Asia for over 10 years. His focus has been working across a number of (re)insurance companies to help them with their business challenges. This includes new business and proposition build, strategic advice on business growth, driving affinity partnership/bancassurance/agency, improving operational excellence and customer experience.

Adrit is the Managing Director, APAC for CoverGo, an award-winning Insurtech providing enterprise software solutions to insurance companies globally. CoverGo has developed the first fully configurable, modular, no-code health insurance platform for omni-channel distribution, policy admin and claims powered by 500+ open insurance APIs, allowing insurance companies to configure and deploy products at record speed, across any cloud. CoverGo’s vision is to replicate this across GI & Life to become a fully configurable, no-code SaaS platform for all lines of business!

Prior to joining CoverGo, Adrit had over 17 years of experience in insurance, insurtech, and health tech, including co-founding Symbo (embedded insurance insurtech) and serving as the CEO of Vivant (Health Tech). He has also held various leadership roles at RSA & AIG. His extensive background equips him to address key challenges and opportunities in the industry.

Adrit is a firm believer in tech innovation to advance the evolution of the insurance or health sector, a vision perfectly embodied by CoverGo.

Dr. Jong is the Group CEO and Group Medical Director at EMA Global, a company he established in 1991. Renowned for contributions to clinical anaesthesia, intensive care medicine, and aeromedical expertise, Dr. Jong holds a prominent position as a leading sub-specialist in aeromedical medicine. He also meticulously supervises all transports and actively engages in the aeromedical training and quality assurance initiatives for EMA Global’s medical escorts.

Lily Chen brings extensive expertise in healthcare services management and health insurance solutions. A graduate of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, Lily began her career as the Marketing and Account Services Director for China’s first international clinic chain. After Parkway Health’s merger with World Link in 2009, she founded Essential Benefit Solutions, China’s first third-party administrator specializing in corporate wellness.

Under Lily’s leadership, Essential Benefit Solutions has delivered innovative corporate benefit solutions with a strong focus on health and wellness, helping organizations enhance employee well-being and engagement. In 2015, Lily became the Managing Director of JLT Insurance Brokers, overseeing its Employee Benefits (EB) business in China. Following JLT’s merger into Mercer in 2019, Lily reacquired the company and rebranded it under Essential.

Through the integration of advanced technology and a vast network of health service providers, Lily has elevated Essential into a premier corporate health solutions brand in China. Today, Essential is broadening its reach across Asia, delivering comprehensive health and wellness programs. The company collaborates closely with insurance providers, serving as both a broker and a health services platform provider.

David is the CEO of First Assistance. Before joining the team in 2013 he led various Travel and Assistance companies across the Asia Pacific region. From his earlier work and study in agriculture, David uses common sense over conventional wisdom to simplify complex business problems.

He embraces change and innovation, employing digital technologies to enable people to focus on providing customer care. David is passionate about influencing organisational culture, challenging the status quo and promoting diversity and inclusiveness.

Barry’s 20+ years of professional experience spans entrepreneurship, government service, strategic management consulting and business development. He started his career as a technopreneur, founding a software-as-a-service start-up targeting small and medium enterprises. After this, he served under a Malaysian federal government agency responsible for digital economy development. His role there was primarily connecting technologies developed both domestically and internationally.

Barry started his consulting career with International Data Corporation (IDC) – a technology-focused research and consulting firm headquartered in Massachusetts, USA. He is currently at Frost & Sullivan, a Palo Alto CA-based management consulting and market research firm serving as Head of Consulting for their Public Sector and Government Practise (PSG).

Together with his regional team of specialised analysts and consultants, Barry has delivered strategic projects for national, provincial and state governments across a multitude of areas including public policy, industry development, economic impact, trade and investment, as well as human capital and workforce development.

Barry has an MBA with a focus on corporate entrepreneurship and is currently pursuing a PhD investigating the topic of productivity and remote work and its impact on national economies and individual corporations.

Since 2023, Akrapon Kurusarttra has been the Assistant Director General of the Department of Health Service Support and Director of the Bureau of Medical Hub Industrial Promotion. He graduated from Khonkaen University in 2001 with a BA in Medicine. He became Deputy Director of Mukdahan Hospital Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health, in 2006, before becoming the Deputy Director of Public Health Administration and Acting Manager of Narcotics Prevention and Suppression Centre Ministry of Public Health in 2016.

Melinda Byrne is a Co-Director at Southern Cross Assist, a renowned organisation specialising in providing vital support and services to insurance companies and individuals alike. With a background as a registered nurse and team leader on the medical assistance desk in a large international assistance company, as well as experience in cost containment, Melinda brings a wealth of expertise to her role.

Melinda’s extensive experience in medical assistance, repatriation, and insurance has equipped her with the insights and expertise necessary to address the unique needs and challenges of these sectors. Her passion for her job and her relentless pursuit of excellence have earned her widespread respect within the industry. Her strategic mindset, coupled with her innate leadership qualities, has helped to establish Southern Cross Assist as a cornerstone of reliability and efficiency in these critical areas.

Combining her knowledge of healthcare, insurance, and assistance services, Melinda has played a pivotal role in the establishment of Southern Cross Assist.

Dr Jacob Thomas, a medical doctor, has vast experience in hospital management, having served in various capacities at the Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care Group (RSDH). He was the Executive Director of their flagship hospital, Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) for nine years. He is currently the Group Medical Advisor at Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care which comprises seven hospitals in Malaysia and Indonesia. RSDH is a leading tertiary care medical group in the region, reputed for its quality medical care and service excellence. 

Dr Thomas was appointed as the Champion (Head) of the Private Healthcare Productivity Nexus under the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (M)PC), which seeks to improve productivity of the private healthcare sector in Malaysia. This also includes the must-awaited enhanced Public Private Partnership (PPP). He serves as a Councillor of the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH), which is an accredited member of ISQua.  Dr Thomas was a member of the Joint Commission International (JCI) Board from 2014 till 2022. In January 2021 he was appointed as the Chair of this prestigious Board which is based in Chicago USA till December 2022. He has served as the President of the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia (APHM) from 2008–2018. He was also the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care since its formation in 2013 until August 2021.

Dr Thomas works closely with Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) and various Government agencies and NGOs to promote Malaysian Healthcare both locally and internationally.

He was the recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award for Healthcare by Global Health & Travel. This prestigious award is a testament for his contribution to the development of healthcare regionally.

In May 2023, Dr Thomas was recognised and awarded the Thomas Masterson Healthcare Pioneer of the Year in Asia-Pacific, which aims to recognise leading health experts by honouring the memory of Thomas Masterson (Co-Founder of Global-health Asia Pacific). This prestigious award also acknowledges his pioneering spirit and substantial impact on the healthcare industry and medical tourism sector.