The people of Beta

Co-founder, The Daily Aus

Australia

Zara Seidler is the co-founder of The Daily Aus and is passionate about media literacy for young people.

News partnerships, Meta

Singapore

Yu Yu Din is the Strategic Partner Manager leading emerging countries in APAC with the News Partnerships team at Meta.

Creator, founder, Woody World

Thailand

Woody Milintachinda has more than two decades of experience in radio and TV. He is one of Thailand’s top talk show hosts and one of the most powerful social media influencers in the country.

Co-founder + CEO, The Daily Maverick

South Africa

Styli Charalambous is CEO and co-founder of Daily Maverick. Media entrepreneur, blind optimist, and reformed accountant.

Media partnerships, Meta

Thailand

Sorradithep Champ Supachanya is Meta's Strategic Partner Manager for Media Partnerships in Thailand. He works with TV broadcasters, production companies, and digital publishers to help them succeed on Facebook and Instagram through community building and monetisation.

Publisher, Frontier Myanmar

Myanmar, Thailand

Sonny Swe is CEO and co-founder of Boomerang Media Group, and the publisher of Frontier Myanmar.

Co-founder, Josh Talks

India

Shobhit Banga is the director and co-founder of Josh Talks, the largest regional content and upskilling platforms in India.

Co-founder, North Base Media

Thailand

Saša Vučinić is a Serbian journalist and is the co-founder of North Base Media VC, and co-founder and former CEO and Managing Director of the Media Development Loan Fund

Strategy + policy + funding, Macroscope

United Kingdom

Sameer runs Macroscope, which works with clients, partners, and peers in the UK, Europe, and beyond to help transform and grow the public interest journalism and information ecosystem.

Faculty, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society

United States of America

Ross Settles is a faculty associate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and before that, taught media innovation and economics at the University of Hong Kong. He’s trying to keep up with innovators in storytelling and media, and is always curious about what’s working and what’s next.

Co-founder + COO, Suno India

India

Rakesh Kamal is the COO and co-founder of Suno India, a podcast network based in India. He has extensive experience in climate policy, advocacy, and awareness.

Co-founder + head, Kontinentalist

Singapore

Pei Ying Loh is the co-founder and head of Kontinentalist, a data-driven editorial studio based in Singapore that seeks to change global narratives and conversations about Asia.

Co-founder, Suno India

India

DVL Padma Priya is a journalist with over 15 years of experience across journalism, digital communications and advocacy. She is the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Suno India, a leading award-winning podcast network based in India.

News partnerships, Meta

Thailand

Pacharapun ‘Petch’ Tinnabal develops and drives strategies to news organisations across Thailand. After more than a decade working at the US Embassy, Bangkok as a media specialist, she uses her experience and deep insight into the media landscape to help news partners cultivate and adopt sustainable plans to grow their businesses.

Podcast Librarian, Podchaser

Malaysia

Norman Chella, aka. Norm, is the world’s current podcast librarian and an advocate for healthy, thriving, Asian podcasting.

Founder, Asia Undercovered

Japan

Nithin Coca is a freelance journalist and curator of the Asia Undercovered newsletter, covering politics, society, and environment across the region.

CEO, International Fund for Public Interest Media

United Kingdom

Nishant Lalwani is the CEO of IFPIM.

Editorial Lead, Kontinentalist

Singapore

Nabilah is the editorial lead for data-driven editorial studio Kontinentalist. She has over 13 years' experience in media and creative and corporate communications, including being a correspondent for The Straits Times and editor for ArtsEquator.

Community manager, Splice

India

Mili Semlani is a new-media professional who enjoys working at the intersection of content, product, and community.

Co-founder, Icarus Media

Myanmar, Thailand

Lachmi Baniya is a media entrepreneur and fitness enthusiast who, through her company Icarus Media, has created five digital publishing products, cornering the women's market in Myanmar with a monthly reach of 11 million through positive and empowering messages.

Audio + tech, PumaPodcast

Philippines

Marc Casillan is the Audio and Tech Head of PumaPodcast, and bassist of its company band, The Light Snacks.

Media investing, Media Development Investment Fund

India

Koreel is the Investment Director for Asia at MDIF. He has more than 15 years’ experience in media investing, strategy and editorial, and has served in senior investment, strategy, and operational roles in various large Indian media organisations.

Founder, We, the Citizens

Singapore

Kirsten Han is a freelance journalist and activist who covers Singapore from a rights-based perspective via her newsletter, We, The Citizens. The only authoritarian regime she willingly submits to is the one run by her three cats.

Founder + editor, Media Commoner

Philippines

JP Campos is the founder and editor of Media Commoner, a media start-up based in Makati, Philippines. He is interested in digital media literacy, media innovations, and disinformation research.

Co-founder + CFO, The Kyiv Independent

United Kingdom

Jakub is a co-founder and Chief Financial Officer at The Kyiv Independent. He runs research and advisory projects with a focus on media business, distribution, and media tech. He also advises and invests in impactful media start-ups.

Data, Code for Africa

Italy

Jacopo Ottaviani is a computer scientist and senior strategist who works as Code for Africa’s Chief Data Officer.

News partnerships, Google News Initiative

Singapore

As part of the News Ecosystem Relations and Development team at Google, Filip leads programs and partnerships (through the Google News Initiative) focusing on news startups and early-stage publishers across the Asia-Pacific region.

Co-founder, Nest Center for Journalism Innovation and Development

Mongolia

Duuya Baatar is the co-founder of Nest Mongolia, an NGO that helps Mongolian media organisations establish sustainable business models to serve the needs of niche audiences.