THE HEIST TEAM

Kajal is Principal and Founder at Heist. Based in Singapore, she leads Heist’s business in the region and works with global and local clients to uncover the fundamental insights needed to keep up with the rapid pace of change in Asia.

Formerly Insights Lead for emerging markets at frog, Kajal leads the design of products, services, and experiences that help businesses establish footholds in new markets, remain relevant across generations, and gain the clarity and confidence needed to create products that deeply connect with consumer needs. She has practiced her craft in more than 23 countries over 15 years. Her extensive client list includes many of the world’s best-known brands, including 3M, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Nestle, P&G, Tata, DBS, and Standard Chartered.

Eric is a leading expert in design thinking, innovation, business model innovation, new business design and startup acceleration.

He is the Founder and Managing Director of ASA Advisory Services, a leading Innovation Consultancy based in Singapore and also the founder of Augmented Tribe, a tech-startup offering an Innovation Platform to support organisation with their innovation and digital transformation initiatives. Eric is finally the founder of Singapore Ideas Lab, a local community of 750 entrepreneurs.

Eric has worked hand in hand with hundreds of corporate innovation teams as part of innovation programs he has designed and facilitated. He has also accelerated in excess of 100 startups in South East Asia working hand in hand with each one of those over the past five years.

Kenneth is a design researcher passionate about building better worlds with empathy. He helps organisations understand the cultural context and unspoken needs of the people they impact, using mixed-methods research and sharp storytelling. His industry experience includes social change projects on mental health communications and sustainable behaviour, as well as innovation and strategy projects in FMCG.
 
Kenneth has a background in research-driven storytelling as an editor, data storyteller, and content strategist. He holds a Master’s degree in Digital Management (Hyper Island, UK) and a Bachelor’s degree in Media and Cultural Studies (Grinnell College, US). Having lived and worked a few years in the United States, he now splits time between Singapore (his country of origin) and cities such as Belgrade, Berlin, and Chiang Mai.
 
He is currently training in developmental coaching and futures thinking, as he believes that combining design research, strategic foresight, and self-development has much to offer individuals and organisations looking to create desirable futures for themselves.

Heist. Reflected in our name is our approach to design challenges. We swiftly assemble a team of experts – each chosen for skill sets and experiences relevant to your project. Our goal is to set up a team in the local market we are studying, to use a set of design research methodologies to gain valuable insights. And then with a blend of creative strategy, business design and technology, we help clients launch their next phase of innovation – creative concepts, new product development, or experiences.

Here is a selection of some of the experts in the Heist network, across Singapore and the region.

Currently based in Beijing, Andrew is a business leader with over 20 years of experience having held leadership roles at experience design firm Eight Inc. and brand experience agency Imagination. Prior to his time in design and marketing services companies, Andrew was a client-side marketer with The Economist as well as Fortune Magazine. 


Andrew brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to Heist and is a great addition to Heist.

Chris started his career at a digital agency in the UK – early 2000, not long before the dotcom bubble burst. From there, he moved into recruitment and worked for 2 companies within the marketing and design space, before starting his own firm Cogs in 2004.

Cogs is an executive search and recruitment company focused on digital transformation working with digital agencies, design firms and management consultancies, as well as businesses of all sizes, across a variety of sectors: from tech-first players to more traditional companies looking to evolve.

The company specializes in design, content, marketing, tech, CX and development and today employs over 60 people, with 5 offices across Europe and Asia. Chris’ role in the past 6 years is growing Cogs’ business in Asia; working with clients and talent across South East Asia, Hong Kong, Greater China and Japan.

The mission of Cogs, as well as Chris’ own personal aspirations, is to help people and businesses reach their full potential. Chris has always had an interest and passion for education, how it develops the grassroots talent and professional development needed for the digital and creative industries to thrive.

Ketan is an accomplished leader with a track record of building award-winning solutions, teams and data-driven value propositions across multiple brands, segments and geography. For the past year, he has been a freelance consultant to various CEOs, navigating through the complexity of delivering digital transformation. With 25 years of commerce and financial industry insights, he has successfully delivered strategic digitisation initiatives for international banks across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and APAC regions.

Ketan has held many senior C-suite positions such as COO and CDO. He has delivered major transformations in UBS, DBS, Standard Chartered, Barclays and HSBC banks. At UBS, he led and established UBS Wealth Management as the best-in-class digital wealth manager in APAC 3 years earning 19 industry accolades from 2015 to 2018. He also successfully lead a strategic shift in DBS bank’s digital transformation for their Wealth, SME and Digital Banking venture.

Ketan firmly believes that the time is right now to take advantage of disruptive technologies to help transform business outcomes.

Maria has been the Chief Client Experience & Digital Officer at Sun Life in Hong Kong since 2016 where she is shaping and delivering the digital transformation agenda of the organization that firmly anchors on putting clients in the centre. Maria has over 22 years of corporate and consulting experience in digital transformation and marketing management.

She spent 10 years at HeathWallace, a leading international digital design firm, where she founded in 2006 their user experience design business for Asia Pacific. Prior to joining HeathWallace, Maria spent six years at AXA Investment Managers in London, Paris and Hong Kong where she was responsible for developing the asset manager’s global online strategy and marketing capabilities as their Head of Change Management for Global Marketing & eBusiness.