Governance depth
Leadership experience spanning Google AI, the World Economic Forum, the UN, the World Bank, USAID, Asia Society, and country-level governance work.
SEA Observatory / Team
A multidisciplinary team for AI governance, product delivery, and public-interest execution.
SEA Observatory and GovSim are built by leaders with experience across Google AI, the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, the World Bank, TikTok, Meta, USAID, Stanford, Harvard, and public-interest work across Southeast Asia.
Google AIWorld Economic ForumUN / World BankTikTokMeta / FacebookStanfordHarvard
Why teams trust this group
The platform is built by people who have worked inside major technology firms, multilateral institutions, public-interest organizations, and cross-functional product teams.
Product and delivery experience
Product, policy, design, and engineering backgrounds across TikTok, the UN, software delivery, and human-centered design.
Regional execution
Capacity building, global affairs, communications, partnerships, and public-interest implementation grounded in Southeast Asia.
Leadership
Co-founders and leadership
Founders and senior leads bringing governance expertise, product direction, institutional strategy, and network-building into one platform.
Co-Founder
Edward Tsoi
Co-Founder & CEO
Founder of Connecting Myanmar and former Amnesty International Hong Kong board member; leads partnerships, growth, and overall direction.
Co-Founder
Dr. Supheakmungkol Sarin
Co-Founder & Chief Research Officer
Former Google AI and World Economic Forum leader; advisor to the UN and World Bank on GovTech and national AI strategy.
Wing-Yee Lau
COO & Product Director
Former TikTok and United Nations product-policy leader driving operations, execution, and product delivery.
Alejandro Reyes
Chief Strategy Officer
Asia Society scholar-in-residence and public administration specialist shaping institutional strategy and global positioning.
Michael L. Bak
Head of Policy & Network
Former Meta public policy leader with 25+ years across USAID and the UN, connecting policy networks to product and strategy.
Product & delivery
Product, design, and capacity building
The team translating policy insight into usable tools, public-interest interfaces, and practical learning experiences.
Gordon Cheung
Product Manager & Software Engineer
Product, data, and engineering experience across R&D and education. Building the platform's technical layer.
Kim Theara
Human-Centred AI Design
Translates governance complexity into clear, public-interest user experiences designed for Southeast Asia.
Anonyo Mitra
Product Manager & Capacity Building Lead
Harvard-trained AI governance practitioner bridging product thinking, stakeholder engagement, and capacity building.
Policy & research
Policy, research, and global affairs
Research rigor and country expertise helping keep the platform relevant, evidence-led, and regionally grounded.
Adrian Mak
Chief of Staff (Global Affairs)
Brings Stanford-linked AI governance and dispute-resolution experience into the platform's global affairs work.
Dr. Melody Shum
Chief of Staff (Research)
Applied research background across the EU, USAID, and the NHS, helping keep the platform evidence-led and rigorous.
Zar Motik Adisuryo
Policy Lead
Comparative policy specialist focused on Indonesia and regional governance, grounding analysis in country-level context.
Operations
Operations, communications, and coordination
Cross-functional support for storytelling, events, external positioning, and day-to-day execution.
Melissa Leung
Events & Communications Lead
Leads outreach, storytelling, and events with regional and global public-affairs communications experience.
Ben Goldman
Chief of Staff
Supports coordination and external positioning with a background in cybersecurity, diplomacy, and AI communications.
Alumni
Alumni
Former contributors who helped shape earlier phases of the work.
Lee Shi Hao
Former Project Lead
Contributed to an earlier phase of the work as a project lead.