Ayesha Khanna, co-founder and CEO, Addo
Cover Ayesha Khanna, CEO of AI solutions firm Addo, supports the next generation of female tech leaders through 21st Century Girls and Squad.

Women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics aren’t just leading the way for important innovations. They are also role models for young girls

International Girls in ICT Day was instituted by the United Nations to call attention to the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in the world. The global celebration, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of April, encourages more girls and young women to pursue STEM education and careers and, in particular, cultivate digital skills that will lead to success in these fields.

For the UN—and indeed for all of us—it is important for more women to engage in scientific research and technological fields, as their participation opens more doors for scientific discoveries and crucial innovations for the rest of humanity. This also contributes in no small part to wider economic development for everyone.

It is important, too, that young girls see prominent women scientists, researchers, professors, or business leaders like the bright female minds on Asia’s Most Influential list, so they are inspired to start their journey in science and technology. With support from global institutions and local governments, more young girls and women can become AI specialists, space explorers, renowned researchers or medical innovators, all working to improve the state of the world.

Also read: Why this CEO spent 23 days in the Arctic Circle

Ayesha Khanna, co-founder and CEO, Addo (Singapore)

Tatler Asia
Ayesha Khanna, co-founder and CEO, Addo
Above Ayesha Khanna, co-founder and CEO, Addo

As founder and CEO of tech company Addo, Ayesha Khanna is on the pulse of innovations in artificial intelligence. Tapping into the power of machine learning, data engineering and data governance, her AI solutions firm builds data platforms that optimise the processes of global companies and governments. For its clients, Addo has created an AI engine that calculates the likelihood of shoppers buying products, an analytics platform that monitors Covid-19, and a machine-learning platform that predicts the status of containers in a port.

A believer in technology’s ability to empower, Khanna pays it forward by supporting the next generation of female tech leaders. “I founded 21st Century Girls in 2014 to equip girls in Singapore with the skills and knowledge they need to lead future industries, by offering free classes in coding, AI and Web3,” she said in an op-ed for Tatler. “Now we want to extend that with Squad, a global collective for Web3 that we’re about to launch... for women to learn about all things Web3.” The proponent of technology was recently featured as the keynote speaker at InnoEx 2023, where she discussed automation and, of course, artificial intelligence.

Read Ayesha Khanna’s full profile on Asia’s Most Influential

Dr Serena Nik-Zainal, advanced clinician scientist, Cancer Research UK (Malaysia)

Tatler Asia
Dr Serena Nik-Zainal, advanced clinician scientist, Cancer Research UK
Above Dr Serena Nik-Zainal, advanced clinician scientist, Cancer Research UK

Dr Serena Nik-Zainal is lauded for her outstanding contributions to cancer research, including leading a significant study of the whole-genome sequencing of breast cancer. The professor, who is also an honourary consultant in clinical genetics at Cambridge University Hospitals, continues to work with large cancer datasets, linking her efforts with the 100,000 Genomes Project, the program that finds common genetic variants of patients with rare diseases. In 2022, through a study of genomic data from 12,000 UK National Health Service patients, she and her team found 58 mutational signatures that may be causes of cancer, a discovery that will further the understanding and treatments of the global disease that causes 10 million deaths every year.

She is also developing algorithmic tools using machine learning to aid doctors’ diagnoses of patients, including FitMS, which helps identify cancer mutational signatures. On April 27, 2023, the professor will speak at the University of Cambridge Department of Genetics’ Whodunnit in the genome: Fingerprints of mutagenesis reveal culprits of cancer seminar to share insights, breakthroughs and challenges about WGS and cancer.

Read Dr Serena Nik-Zainal Wang’s full profile on Asia’s Most Influential

Sandy Wang, chairman, Formosa Biomedical Technology Corp (Taiwan)

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Sandy Wang, chairman, Formosa Biomedical Technology Corp
Above Sandy Wang, chairman, Formosa Biomedical Technology Corp

As chairman of Formosa Biomedical Technology Corp and Formosa Smart Energy Technology Corporation (FSET), Sandy Wang shepherds the science and technology interests of Formosa Plastics Group, one of the largest diversified conglomerates in Asia.

For FSET, which was founded in 2022, Wang steers Formosa’s new ambitions in the field of green energy. Committed to the global effort to reduce carbon emissions, Formosa has invested NT$16 billion for the construction of FSET’s lithium iron phosphate battery cell plant, the largest in Taiwan. In April 2023, Wang held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project’s first phase, which will have an energy output of 2.1 GWh and is set to be completed in 2024. The project’s second phase will increase the plant’s power output to 5 GWh. According to Wang, FSET was established to help Taiwan develop renewable energy and transition to carbon neutrality, with four major goals: energy conservation, energy storage, new energy, and recycling and reuse.

Read Sandy Wang’s full profile on Asia’s Most Influential

Nancy Ip, neuroscientist and president, HKUST (Hong Kong)

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Nancy Ip, president of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)
Above Nancy Ip, president,. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

World-renowned molecular neuroscientist Nancy Ip became the first female president of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in October 2022. Of the appointment, the professor said, “I am humbled by the trust placed in me, and will work tirelessly to build upon our foundation of excellence as we embark on HKUST 2.0, the next chapter of our university’s development.” 

Since joining HKUST in 1993, Ip has had many roles, including vice president for Research and Development, dean of Science and head of the Department of Biochemistry. She is concurrently the Morningside Professor of Life Science and the director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, as well.

Ip, who received her PhD degree in Pharmacology from Harvard Medical School, has also been instrumental in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, directing global research for the neurodegenerative disease that affects over 50 million people. In 2022, Ip and her research team received access to a database of 10 million Alzheimer’s disease patients from China, which has greatly aided the work. More promising, Ip is developing a blood test that will help in the early, accurate and accessible detection of the disease.

Read Nancy Ip’s full profile on Asia’s Most Influential

Ivy Ng, CEO, SingHealth (Singapore)

Tatler Asia
Ivy Ng, group CEO of SingHealth
Above Ivy Ng, group CEO, SingHealth

Since 2012, Prof Ivy Ng has been the group CEO of Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd (SingHealth), the nation’s largest healthcare group with a network of hospitals, national speciality centres and polyclinics engaged in 40 clinical specialities. To champion effective and affordable healthcare, SingHealth provides patient care, enables academic research, advances medical knowledge and supports healthcare professionals and partners.

Ng remarked about the importance of healthcare transformation, noting, in a statement, how organisations are “finding new ways to bring care that is more patient-centred, value-based and efficacious…” To this end, SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC) received a substantial donation of $50 million from the Lee Foundation in January 2023. “This generous gift will galvanise a paradigm shift in care delivery,” said Ng, who added that the funds will be used to drive innovation and develop new technologies to improve patients’ lives. Specifically, the donation will support the AMC Health Discovery District, SingHealth’s ecosystem of innovation centres. 

Prof Ng is also an adjunct professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore and a clinical professor at the National University of Singapore.

Read Ivy Ng’s full profile on Asia’s Most Influential

Florence Tan, chair, NASA Small Spacecraft Coordination Group (Malaysia)

Tatler Asia
Florence Tan, deputy chief technologist of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate
Above Florence Tan, deputy chief technologist, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (Photo: Imran Sulaiman)

With her work at NASA, Florence Tan helps find the answer to the ultimate question: Are we alone? For over three decades, she worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she had a hand in the building of mass spectrometers that were used to investigate Mars, Saturn and the Moon. 

Today, Tan, who holds a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, chairs NASA’s Small Spacecraft Coordination Group, providing guidance on cross-agency initiatives, as well as strategy for small spacecraft. As of March 2021, there have been 178 SmallSat missions and studies. She is also the deputy chief technologist for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, which conducts scientific studies of the Earth and the universe using space observatories. 

Read Florence Tan’s full profile on Asia’s Most Influential


Tatler Asia's Most Influential is the definitive list of people shaping our world today. Asia's Most Influential brings together the region's most innovative changemakers, industry titans and thought leaders who are driving positive impact in Asia and beyond. View the full list here.

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