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2010/SOM3/CTI/WKSP/002
Speakers’ Biographies
Submitted by: Singapore and Hong Kong, China
Ease of Doing Business Workshop on Trading
Across Borders
Sendai, Japan
18-19 September 2010
Speakers’ Biographies
Ms Eva Yam
Assistant Director-General, Trade and Industry Department, Hong Kong, China
Eva is Hong Kong, China’s (HKC’s) Assistant Director-General of Trade and Industry. She is
responsible for overseeing the policy on HKC’s participation in Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) and other regional economic and trade fora, bilateral commercial relations with Asia other
than Mainland, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands. Before joining the Trade and Industry
Department in 2007, Eva has served in various branches and bureaux within the Government in a
wide spectrum of policy responsibilities.
Dr Cheong Wei Yang
Deputy Director, Industry Division, Ministry of Trade & Industry, Singapore
Wei Yang is Singapore’s representative to the APEC Economic Committee. He has been Deputy
Director of Industry Division in the Singapore Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) since September
2007. His unit facilitates the efforts of the Economic Development Board in establishing Singapore as
a business location of choice. Prior to MTI, he served as Head of the Fiscal Strategy Unit in the
Singapore Ministry of Finance, where he oversaw the long-term sustainability of Singapore's fiscal
policy and strategic planning. Wei Yang was a Chemical Engineering and Economics graduate from
MIT. He was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship in 1999 and obtained his PhD in Economics from
Oxford University.
Ms Mikiko Imai Ollison
Team Lead for the Doing Business indicator on “Trading Across Borders”, IFC-The World Bank
Mikiko Imai Ollison leads the “trading across borders” indicator of the World Bank Group’s Doing
Business publications, and is responsible for building and maintaining the database on trade logistics
environment for 183 economies around the world. Previously, as a private sector development
specialist focused on trade issues at the Mitsubishi-UFJ Research and Consulting, a Tokyo-based
think tank, she advised the Japanese government on policies and strategies toward developing
countries, and led research efforts in Africa and in Central Asia. She also served as a policy manager
at the ONE Campaign, an advocacy organization focused on African development. She attended the
London School of Economics, where she earned a master's degree in Development Studies and a
bachelor's degree in Economics.
Mr Dave Haigh
Manager, Multilateral & Regional Cooperation, New Zealand Customs Service
Dave has an extensive career in the New Zealand Customs Service undertaking a wide variety of
roles. He spent a significant amount of time working on intelligence-related issues including managing
the development and implementation of a new intelligence system. More recently he has been
undertaking international relations activity and this was his priority when attached to the Australian
Customs Service from 2000-2002. In 2004 he was appointed to the role of Customs Counsellor in
Brussels where he represented New Zealand Government views on customs matters. Dave is
currently the Manager Multilateral and Regional Cooperation and he has responsibility for WCO,
APEC and Pacific issues.
Mrs. Virginia S. Cram-Martos
Director, Trade and Timber Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
Mrs. Virginia S. CRAM-MARTOS has many years experience working in trade issues, and particularly
those associated with trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade and standardization issues.
Educated at the University of Chicago, she holds an MBA degree in International Business. She also
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studied at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium where she received a Masters Degree in
Finance.
Mrs. Cram-Martos started her career at the UN in 1992 as Coordinator for the development of
electronic business standards and then was Chief of the section responsible for trade policy and
governmental cooperation for seven years before becoming Director of the Division in 2005. Prior to
joining the United Nations, Ms. Cram-Martos was the Secretary General of the International Data
Exchange Association (IDEA) based in Brussels and, before that, she worked for more than 12 years
in the private sector in retail and international trading companies.
In the UN/ECE, as Director of the Trade and Timber Division, Mrs. Cram-Martos supervises intergovernmental programmes covering: trade facilitation; electronic business standards; regulatory
harmonisation and standards policies; agricultural quality standards; timber markets; and the
sustainable management of forests.
One objective that she has placed for herself and her team is to support international trade and the
integration of both developing and transition economies into the world economy through the
development and implementation of international norms and standards for trade. Acting as an
advocate for this objective, she frequently travels to give presentations in English, French and
Spanish and to meet with government officials to promote the international standards work
undertaken by the UNECE.
Mr Cesar Hernandez
Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economy, Mexico
Cesar Hernandez is General Director of Foreign Commerce at the federal Ministry of Economics, and
President of the Foreign Commerce Commission (COCEX).
Before entering the Ministry of Economics Mr. Hernandez was senior researcher at Centro de
Investigación para el Desarrollo, A. C. (CIDAC), a non-profit Mexico City think tank (2002-2009). He
also served as Director general of consulting at the Office of the Legal Counselor of the Presidency of
Mexico (2000-2001); and Director General of telephony services, at the Federal Telecommunications
Commission (1997-1999).
Mr. Hernandez has two law degrees from UNAM (LLB, 1991; SJD, cum laude, 2006), and has an
M.A. in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (1994).
His most recent books deal with Mexico US relations (México 2025: El futuro se construye hoy, in
collaboration with Luis Rubio, et. al., CIDAC, 2006), and electricity sector reform (La reforma cautiva:
Inversión, trabajo y empresa en el sector eléctrico mexicano, CIDAC, 2007).
Mr Lim Teck Leong
Senior Assistant Director-General (Trade), Singapore Customs
Lim Teck Leong was awarded the Singapore Government’s Scholarship in 1992 to study Solid State
Electronics Engineering at the Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochshule (RWTH) Aachen in
Germany where he graduated with a Diplom Ingenieur (German equivalent of a Master in
Engineering) in 1998.
He started work in Singapore Customs in May 2000, and was involved in a wide spectrum of Customs
work, ranging from policy reviews, free trade agreement negotiations, business process reengineering
to operational work. While working in Customs, he has held appointments as Deputy Commander of
the Customs Ports in October 2002, as Head Intelligence in April 2003 and as Assistant DirectorGeneral (Strategy & Investigation) in January 2005.
In May 2005, he was appointed as Chief Executive, Singapore Totalisator Board. Singapore
Totalisator Board, through its two wholly owned entities, Singapore Turf Club and Singapore Pools,
operates the horse racing, gaming and lotteries in Singapore. The Singapore Totalisator Board then
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donates the surplus generated from its gaming and lottery operations to activities or entities that are in
need.
In January 2007, he was appointed as Chief Executive, Vital.org. Vital.org is a public sector shared
services organization. It was newly set-up in late 2006 to centralize all the human resource and
finance administrative functions of the civil service under a single entity, thereby allowing better
efficiency and service standards.
In January 2010, he joined back Customs as Senior Assistant Director-General (Trade).
Mr Hidetoshi Aramaki
Deputy Director, Regional Customs Cooperation, Customs and Tariff Bureau, Ministry of Finance
Mr. Aramaki was appointed as the Deputy Director in charge of regional customs cooperation (APEC,
ASEM) in July 2009. This year he serves as the Assistant Chair of the APEC Sub-Committee on
Customs Procedure (SCCP).
Prior to this position, Mr. Aramaki was a counselor to the Inter-American Development Bank in
Washington DC, United States. He assisted the Executive Director for Japan at the Bank for three
years in the decision making of the bank on development financing in the Latin American and
Caribbean region.
He began his career with the Ministry of Finance in 1993 and experienced several positions at the
Customs and Tariff Bureau in the Ministry of Finance, Japan Customs Headquarters. During 2002 and
2005 he served as a Deputy Director for Bilateral Affairs at the Customs and Tariff Bureau and
contributed to the development of bilateral customs cooperation and joint operations including
Container Security Initiative between Japan Customs and the United States Customs and Border
Protection.
He holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Keio University of Tokyo, Japan and also holds
M.I.A. Degree in International Economic Policy from the School of International and Public Affairs
(SIPA), Columbia University of New York, the United States.
Mr Jonathan Koh
Director, Trade Facilitation Centre of Excellence, CrimsonLogic
Jonathan heads CrimsonLogic’s Trade Facilitation Centre of Excellence. Jonathan and team provide
the domain expertise for CrimsonLogic’s flagship trade solutions including Single Windows. Jonathan
also looks after the areas of Enterprise Architecture, as well as Business Process Reference Models
for Trade Facilitation, and Customs Administration.
Jonathan has been involved in providing consultancy and advisory services to many governments and
non government agencies in their Single Window / Trade Facilitation initiatives. He currently serves on
the International Advisory Committee for the United Nations Network of Experts for Paperless Trade
in Asia and the Pacific (UNNeXT), and as an international reviewer for the United Nations Single
Window Implementation Framework. Jonathan had served as a project director for several projects
including Qatar’s Customs Clearance Single Window, and Trade Facilitation studies for the
Governments of Jamaica, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Prior to CrimsonLogic, Jonathan served with the SAP AG where he provided strategic advisory
services to governmental ministries, as well as public-linked companies on Supply Management and
Procurement. Prior to this, Jonathan was a partner in a supply chain consultancy practice, supporting
multinational corporations in the area of global trade, preferential trading regimes and trade financing.
Jonathan has a B. Eng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New South Wales,
Australia, and a MBA (Finance & Investment) from the University of Hull, UK.
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Ms Zaidah Mohd Nor
Senior Assistant Director of Customs, Royal Malaysian Customs
Ms Zaidah Mohd Noor is the Senior Assistant Director of Customs, Malaysia. She has served as a
Customs officer for 25 years since 1984, after graduating from her first degree from University of
Malaya, Malaysia.
She has been posted at the Customs Division as a Customs Superintendent from 1984 to 1991 in
Penang. In 1991, she was transfered to a Public Relation Unit at the Customs Head Quarters, Kuala
Lumpur and served as a Public Relation Officer until 1995. Zaidah went for further studies from 1995
to 1997 and earned her Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Science. Since 1997, she has been
posted to the IT Division and become the head of Internal Tax Application Unit.
Ms Raelene Vivian
National Director Cargo, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
Raelene Vivian is the National Director Cargo, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.
Cargo Division has responsibility for processing international cargo and mail arriving into and leaving
Australia by air and sea. In 2008-09 this included nearly 12 million air and sea cargo consignments delivering internationally competitive release times.
Prior to joining the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Raelene worked in the
Australian Taxation Office (ATO) where she was a member of the ATO executive.
Raelene’s career has included involvement in developing and improving e-tax as a flagship electronic
product and also developing the registration process for a single point of entry to government for
business. She has a very successful track record in change management that includes leading and
implementing the regime of simplified superannuation and the review of taxpayer self assessment.
Raelene has a degree in commerce and a masters of business administration, and has worked on
secondment with New Zealand Inland Revenue.
Mr Leung Lun-cheung, Ben
Head of Land Boundary Command, Customs and Excise Department, Hong Kong, China
Ben has assumed the post of the Head of Land Boundary Command since June 2008. He is
responsible for implementing policies in relation to Customs control and facilitation functions at all
entry and exit points under the Land Boundary Command.
Before assuming the post of the Head of Land Boundary Command, Ben has served a wide range of
Customs work, occupying senior positions as Assistant Secretary for Trade and Industry at the
Government Secretariat on secondment, Deputy Head of Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau in
protecting intellectual property rights in Hong Kong and Head of Customs Drug Investigation Bureau
in directing anti-narcotic enforcement work with outstanding results.
Mr Kang Taeil
Director, Audit Policy Division, Korea Customs Service
Kang Taeil started his career in Korea Customs Service in 1995, and was appointed as Director of the
Audit Policy Division in 2010. Other positions held with the Korea Customs Service include: Director of
Special Audit Division, Director of International Cooperation Division, Deputy Director of Audit Policy
Division, Deputy Director of Inspection & Classification Division, and Deputy Director of Investigation
Division II.
He has a Bachelor and Masters degree in Public Administration from Seoul National University, and
also holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California Santa Barbara, U.S.A.
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Mr Teh Thiam Siong
Head, Schemes and Licensing Branch, Singapore Customs
Teh Thiam Siong has been with Singapore Customs since 2000. As Head, Schemes and Licensing
Branch, Thiam Siong oversees the administration and operationalisation of all customs trade
schemes, including the Singapore’s supply chain security programme, the Secure Trade Partnership
(STP) Programme. The STP programme is a framework to guide the development, implementation,
monitoring and review of the company's supply chain security measures.
In his previous postings in the Supply Chain Security Branch, Trade Control Branch and the Research
and International Branch of Singapore Customs, he had led mutual recognition discussions with other
customs administrations on supply chain security programmes and had experiences in strategic
Goods Control, Chemical Weapons Convention, APEC Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures
(SCCP), World Customs Organisation (WCO), and customs issues under Singapore's various free
trade agreements.
Mr Mak Tak-wing
Divisional Commander (WCO and APEC), Customs Liaison Bureau, Customs and Excise
Department, Hong Kong, China
Tak-wing is in charge of the WCO and APEC Division under the Customs Liaison Bureau, which is
responsible for handling Customs matters arising from international fora, including the WCO, APEC
and WTO. He is also responsible for studying the development of co-operation with other Customs
administrations under the frameworks of “Mutual Legal Assistance” and “Customs Cooperative
Arrangement”.
Tak-wing joined the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department as a Customs Inspector. During his
service, he has worked in various fields, including excise administration, intelligence handling,
Customs crime investigation, training and development, and international Customs affairs. Between
April 2007 and April 2009, he had been seconded to the Commerce and Economic Development
Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and was
involved in the formulation of policies and legislative proposals for the protection of intellectual
property rights in the HKSAR.
Mr Greg Martin
Chairman, National Transport Commission of Australia
Greg Martin was appointed Chairman of the National Transport Commission (NTC) on 4 September
2008. He has over 40 years experience in transport and infrastructure policy and planning, research
and operations. Greg currently holds positions as Professor of Planning and Transport Studies, Curtin
University of Technology and Executive Director, Planning and Transport Research Centre of
Western Australia (PATREC).
During past roles within the Western Australian government, Greg has contributed a great deal of
expertise and leadership to Western Australia’s transport governance, with a focus on transport
infrastructure, road use, public transport and planning of land use. He has also held senior executive
roles within the Commonwealth Government.
Past appointments include:
• 2002 - Director General, Department for Planning and Infrastructure (WA)
• 1999 - Commissioner of Main Roads, Western Australia
• 1995 - Executive Director, Metropolitan Transport, Department of Transport (WA)
• Previous senior executive roles in the Commonwealth Government
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Ms Elley Mao
Principal Economist, Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit, Financial Secretary’s Office,
Hong Kong, China
Elley is the Principal Economist of the Hong Kong SAR Government. Over the years, she has advised
the HKSAR government on various economic issues in the Asia-Pacific region, including specifically
monitoring the economic relations of the mainland of China with its major trade partners and its impact
on Hong Kong and on the region as a whole, taking part in discussions and producing economic
impact assessment of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong
and the mainland of China, evaluating world oil price movements, tracking global commodity prices,
interest rates and currency exchange rates, and monitoring/assessing the economic impacts of trade
and competitiveness issues, domestic and cross-boundary infrastructure projects etc.
Ms Mary Elizabeth Chelliah
Chair, APEC Committee on Trade and Investment
Elizabeth Chelliah is currently the Deputy Director of the APEC division at the Ministry of Trade and
Industry an appointment she assumed in 2006. In September 2007 she was appointed as Chair of the
APEC Committee for Trade and Investment (CTI) for the years 2008-2009 and was reappointed for
another year at the APEC AMM meeting in Nov 09. In addition to her APEC portfolio, Elizabeth is also
heavily involved in FTA negotiations and was Singapore’s Chief Negotiator for the recently concluded
Singapore-Peru FTA that was signed in May 2008. She is currently involved in the TPP negotiations
as the Goods Lead Negotiator. She has also been the lead Goods negotiator in Singapore’s
concluded FTAs with China, India, Korea and EFTA as well as the ASEAN-China FTA and involved
as Goods lead in the currently stalled FTA negotiations with Canada and Mexico. Prior to her APEC
appointment, Elizabeth was handling the WTO and FTA porfolios and from 1998 -2002 had been
posted to the Singapore Mission in Geneva during which she handled all Goods related issues
including agriculture matters, accessions and dispute mediation issues. In 2000 she was Chair of the
WTO ITA Committee. Elizabeth has also been a panel member of two WTO disputes namely Textiles
Rules of Origin between India and the US and the EC Chicken Cuts classification dispute between
Brazil, Thailand and the EC. She is a lawyer by profession having done her basic law degree at the
National University of Singapore, was called to the Singapore Bar in 1989 and obtained a Masters in
Law (with distinction) from the University of Exeter in 1994.
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