OUR PEOPLE
An Interdisciplinary Team
Our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors are an interdisciplinary team who strive to achieve the objectives and vision of the Indo-Pacific Centre in Singapore.
Sharmila Gunasingham
Vivek Anand Oberoi
Vivek is an award-winning Bollywood actor. Off-screen, Vivek is passionate about helping the less fortunate and being a good role model for the fanbase. As an active part of the Yashodhara Oberoi Foundation, operated by his family, Vivek supports a number of Indians in need of dire assistance and in deep crises. Vivek is actively involved with poverty alleviation, healthcare policies and disaster resilience policies across India. The World Health Organization awarded him the Special Director’s General Award for his tremendous efforts in the fight against tobacco in India, where he is an anti-tobacco ambassador. In addition, the United Nations invited him to be the youth ambassador for India, which has led to a positive influence on the youth of the country. Vivek has also been voted the most socially responsible and active member of the Indian Film Industry.
Krithika Gunasingham
Krithika is a Director at Global Law Alliance, (GLA) having graduated from University College London with an LLB (Hons) and was called to the Singapore Bar in 2012. Krithika’s core speciality includes general corporate and commercial law, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, banking and trade finance. She regularly advises clients on corporate governance and regulatory compliance matters for local and international firms operating in Singapore.
Divya Hundlani
Divya is a researcher and academic writer in the public policy field. Divya completed a Masters of Public Policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore in 2014 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Miami, Florida, USA. Divya has worked at Singapore’s Earth Observatory Unit studying the economic impact of reconstruction in post-disaster environments and subsequently joined the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute to work on Sri Lanka’s foreign policy matters related to economics, security and governance. Her core interests lie in policy related to economics and governance in public policy.
Rohan Gunaratna
Professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore
Rohan is Professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore. He received his Masters from the University of Notre Dame in the US where he was Hesburgh Scholar and his doctorate from the University of St Andrews in the UK where he was British Chevening Scholar. A former Senior Fellow at the Combating Terrorism Centre at the United States Military Academy at West Point and at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Gunaratna was invited to testify on the structure of al Qaeda before the 9/11 Commission. Professor Gunaratna is the author of 16 books including “Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror,” University of Columbia Press and most recently, co-author for “The Three Pillars of Radicalization: Needs, Narratives, and Networks,” Oxford University Press, 2019. Gunaratna edits the Insurgency and Terrorism Series of the Imperial College Press, London and is a trainer for national security agencies, law enforcement authorities and military counter terrorism units in conflict zones globally.
Scott Campbell
President, Howard Baker Forum and Senior Strategic Advisor, Government Relations & Public Policy, Baker Donelson
Scott Campbell is the Senior Strategic Advisor of Baker Donelson, Washington, DC and President of the Howard Baker Forum, its public and international affairs affiliate. Mr. Campbell is a member of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. A political and public policy strategist and a lawyer, Mr. Campbell provides advice to U.S. and foreign companies with interests and undertakings in energy, homeland security, technology, trade and foreign direct investments. He is the principal coordinator for the U.S.-Japan Roundtable, an ongoing program of the Howard Baker Forum that encourages and facilitates U.S.-Japanese partnering in nuclear energy. Mr. Campbell actively organizes and sponsors international programs and studies on cybersecurity and privacy issues and on global data management in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Mr. Campbell has previously served on the National Petroleum Council and as Director of the Office of Policy, Planning and Analysis at the Department of Energy. Prior to coming to Washington, D.C., he practiced law, served as a federal prosecutor for the Department of Justice, and served as an executive of an energy company in Texas.
Our Advisory Council
The Advisory Council consists of eminent individuals from across the Indo-Pacific region, who will advise the Board of Directors on matters related to the Centre, its research and events.
Police General (Ret.) Prof. H. Muhammad Tito Karnavian
Minister of Home Affairs, Republic of Indonesia
Police General (Ret.) Prof. H. Muhammad Tito Karnavian was the incumbent Chief of the Indonesian National Police from 2016 to 2019 before taking on his current role at the national level as Minister of Home Affairs. Police General Karnavian has a long and distinguished career in counter-terrorism, national security and defense policy. Having graduated from the Police Academy in 1987, Police General Karnavian went on to receive an M.A. in Police Studies from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom in 1993, a B.A. in Strategic Studies from Massey University Auckland, New Zealand in 1998 and a Ph.D. in Strategic Studies from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University in 2013. Police General Karnavian is a former commander of Indonesia’s famous Special Forces Counter-Terrorism Unit, Densus 88 and has held many established positions including the Head of National Agency for Counter Terrorism and Chief of Jakarta Regional Police.
Mr. M.U.M. Ali Sabry – President’s Counsel, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka
Mr. M.U.M. Ali Sabry PC is a lawyer and was formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, a position he held during the period 2022 – 2024. Following his admission to the Sri Lankan Bar in 1995, he specialised in public interest litigation, delict, medical negligence, commercial and intellectual property law. In 2009, his numerous contributions to the Sri Lankan legal landscape earned him the award of Outstanding Young Person of The Year for Achievement in Law. Transitioning to public service, he held key roles within the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and was appointed as President’s Counsel in 2012, which is the highest honour afforded to Attorneys-at-Law in Sri Lanka. Prior to his appointment as Foreign Affairs Minister, he served as Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and represented Sri Lanka in the Human Rights Session in the United Nations Human Rights Council. Hon. M.U.M. Ali Sabry PC has also previously held positions as the Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance. During his term as Justice Minister, he transformed Sri Lanka’s legal sector with over 100 legislative amendments and pioneering digitisation efforts. Subsequently, as Finance Minister, he led the Sri Lankan delegation for negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. During his tenure as Foreign Affairs Minister he spearheaded a series of measures aimed at bolstering Sri Lanka’s diplomatic standing on the global stage.
Mohammed Waheed Hassan
President, Republic of the Maldives
Dr Mohamed Waheed served as President of the Republic of Maldives in 2012 and previously as the first elected Vice President of Maldives. President Waheed has been a pioneer in Maldivian politics since he ran and won the first Western-style election campaign in 1988. President Waheed is an experienced international civil servant who has worked in headquarters, regional and country offices of the United Nations. He has served as UNICEF Country Representative and its head of mission in several countries. Between 2002 and 2005, he served as the Special Representative in Afghanistan where he advised the Government of President Hamid Karzai and assisted in the coordination and rehabilitation of the education sector on behalf of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan. President Waheed received his PhD from Stanford University, USA, in 1987 specializing in the field of international development. He received MA in political science and MA in education from the same university.
William Deckelman
Executive Vice President & General Counsel, DXC Technology Company
Bill Deckelman is Executive Vice President and General Counsel of DXC Technology Company, a global IT services provider. Mr. Deckelman is an active organizer and participant in conferences and policy studies addressing global cybersecurity, data governance and privacy concerns. He has completed advanced international law studies at Georgetown University Law Center and the London School of Economics and is involved in continuing legal and policy research and activities involving development of global cybersecurity norms. He serves as a member of the Indo-Pacific Centre advisory board and the American University Washington College of Law Tech, Law & Security program advisory board.
Mark Hughes
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, DXC Technology Company
Mark Hughes is DXC Technology’s senior vice president and general manager of Security. He is responsible for the company’s global security organization and offerings, including advisory services, managed security services, identity management and monitoring, and information assurance. Mark Hughes joined DXC Technology from BT, a world-leading global telecommunications provider, where he most recently served as chief executive of BT Security. Mark Hughes joined BT in 2002 and has held a variety of senior appointments, including key government customer-facing roles. He served on national boards, including the Cyber Growth Partnership for the United Kingdom, and he currently is a member of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Cybersecurity Board. Earlier in his career, Mark Hughes was the commercial director at MWB Business Exchange. He began his career in the British Army. Responsible for the security of BT since 2006, in 2013 he led the formation of BT Security, which has become a global leader with 3,000 cyber security experts across 15 security operation centers globally and double digit annual revenue growth.
CONTACT US
With the intention to promote regionalism in the Indo-Pacific, there must be a push beyond bilateral strategies to promote business links and cooperation. If you are looking to connect with key businesses and policymakers in Singapore or the Indo-Pacific region, contact us to see what we can do for you.