Mr. Sivavenayakam T Velayutham holds the position of Director, Industry Development & Marketing in Digital Penang. He has strong experience in business development, strategy and planning which spans over 20 years. He was with MDEC between 2008 till 2021 and his previous roles encompasses heading MDEC’s global investment team. In addition, he facilitated in developing new strategy to grow the digital ecosystem in Malaysia. He has experience in various industry verticals with regards to developing local tech companies and also in developing startup ecosystem in Malaysia.

Siva has held system engineer and business development positions in companies such as Intel and MLABS Berhad. In MLABS, he has also held the position of Vice President for their Global Strategic Alliance Division. Siva has a MBA from Multimedia University Malaysia and has published 3 international research papers on data networks and satellite network during his early days as a research officer in USM’s Network Research Group. He is an outdoor activities enthusiast with running and hiking being his main passion.

Richard Ong is deeply passionate about the future of technology related to data analytics and machine learning. As a technology leader, he is looking to change the way organisations operate and serve their customers. He is also a leadership coach and author, with multiple IBM Bravo awards. He was met by Prince Charles to discuss his entrepreneurial efforts in Malaysia, and was featured on national radio.In 2011, Richard earned his Masters in Business Administration from Victoria University, Melbourne. He was the president of the VUMBA Community from 2010 to 2011 and was recognised as a WORQ super-member in 2018 for his community-building efforts. He also teaches part-time at Sunway University and Jeffrey Sachs Center.