Our Professionals
Preliminary Round Judges
Ms Cindy Koh
Partnerships and Contract Manager,
Nestlé R&D Centre Singapore
Ms Cindy Koh is an experienced Partnerships and Contract Manager at Nestlé R&D Singapore, specializing in fostering innovation through strategic collaborations with local and regional external partners. With a focus on developing new technologies, products, and services, Ms Cindy Koh works closely with project managers and researchers to identify, validate, and establish win-win partnerships.
Having joined Nestlé in 2020, Ms Cindy Koh brings over 5 years of experience from L’Oréal, Research and Innovation, where she successfully managed open innovation activities and contract negotiations. In her previous role as a Business Development Manager in Shanghai (L’Oréal China), she oversaw global open innovation portfolios for domains like scalp care and skin imperfection. Prior to this, Ms Cindy Koh gained valuable industry insights on emerging technologies during her tenure at A*STAR's Industry Development Group and Lux Research.
Ms Cindy Koh holds a MBA from IE Business School (Madrid) and Singapore Management University, as well as a BSc from the National University of Singapore.
Biography
Dr Allan Lim leads Open Innovation team at Nestlé R&D Center, which is responsible for white space exploration, external partnerships and contracts. Dr Allan Lim started his career in Nestlé as a chemist in 1995 after graduating with PhD from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology. In 2008, Dr Allan Lim took on the responsibility on innovation partnership in Asia. One of his biggest achievements is the establishment of strategic partnership between Nestlé and A*STAR in 2014.
Today, Dr Allan Lim spearheads external R&D innovation in Southeast Asia through different collaboration models with public research institutes, academia, enterprises and startups. A case in point is the Circular Materials Laboratory, a precompetitive R&D consortium of more than 20 companies, universities, government agencies and public research institutes, which was set up in 2018 to accelerate research in material and environmental science for single serve packaging.
At the national level, Dr Allan Lim supports Enterprise Singapore by servicing as Chairman of Singapore Food Standards Committee and member of Singapore Standards Council since 2017. Dr Allan Lim also contributes to the international and local academic institutions by serving as co-chairman of the scientific committee of the 21st IUFoST World Food Congress 2022 Singapore, and as chairman and member in local academic advisory boards.
Biography
Biography
Dr Allan Lim
Head of Open Innovation,
Nestle R&D Centre Singapore
Mr Quang Le
The Head of Customer Solution Center
(CSC), OFI Singapore
Biography
Mr Quang Le is the Head of the Customer Solution Center (CSC) – Singapore at OFI, where he oversees the Innovation Application and Food & Beverage Solutions teams. With over 20 years of experience in the food technology industry, he possesses deep technical expertise in ingredient functionality, food processing, and machinery engineering. Throughout his career, Mr Quang Le has held pivotal roles at leading global ingredient companies, consistently driving innovation and delivering tailored, high-impact solutions to meet evolving customer needs in the food and beverage sector.
Biography
Ms Shanthi Nallusamy is the Vice President of Customer Solutions and Global Innovation Head (Dairy) at ofi. In this role, she leads the regional innovation centres in Singapore as well as centres in China, Malaysia, Vietnam & Indonesia. Ms Shanthi Nallusamy’s leadership in innovation is evident from her involvement in initiatives such as setting up new capabilities in APAC region. MS Shanthi Nallusamy has extensive experience in research and development (over 26 years), coupled with her leadership in customer solutions, underscores her significant contributions to the food and beverage industry.
Ms Shanthi Nallusamy
VP Innovation, Customer Solution Centre
(CSC), OFI Singapore
& Global Head (Dairy IEC)
Ms Meiyu Lim
Category Manager, Bakery & Snacks,
OFI Singapore
Biography
Ms Meiyu Lim has over 18 years of work experiences in the food industry, ranging from laboratory testing, quality control/assurance to product development and application. She is an independent and focused individual who is passionate in baking, sustainability of food and reduction of food waste. For the past 10 years, she has been a key driver in setting up innovation centres for a few multi-national companies and developing numerous bakery solutions for customers in the APAC region. Ms Meiyu Lim is capable of fast prototyping, leveraging insights from the marketing team and presenting the USP of the product concepts to customers. She aspires to develop novel bakery & snacks solutions for customers and see the product being commercialized. She will also continue to empower her team members to achieve collective goals and mentor them to help them in their career growth.
Biography
Mr Aneesh Mathew brings 19 years of experience to the food industry, with a career focused on innovation. His expertise lies in food emulsions, specifically within dairy analogues, where he has experience in product design, creation, and scale-up. Throughout his career, Mr Aneesh Mathew has worked across diverse facets of the food industry, gaining a comprehensive understanding of varied product categories and technologies. Beyond his industry achievements, Mr Aneesh Mathew is equally interested and passionate about mentoring and sharing his passion for research and development.
Mr Aneesh Mathew
R&D Manager, Beverage and Dairy
Categories, OFI Singapore
Ms Mabelyn Tan
Senior Applications Scientist,
Tate & Lyle Singapore
Biography
Ms Mabelyn Tan is an experienced food scientist, passionate about creating healthier food options. With over 15 years of hands-on expertise in recipe formulation, she has led successful product launches across seven markets, including dairy products, plant-based beverages, to infant formula for special medical purposes. Fascinated by the structure-function relationships of proteins and other hydrocolloids, Ms Mabelyn Tan pursued a master’s degree in food science from Agrocampus Ouest Rennes in France, researched on dairy proteins with the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) and has worked for leading dairy companies in Singapore and the Netherlands. Today, she continues to create winning formulations in partnership with food companies across the world. As a Senior Applications Scientist in Tate & Lyle, a leading global player in ingredient solutions for healthier food and beverages, she has a bag of tips and tricks to share on making use of Tate & Lyle’s wide array of specialty ingredients, such as sweeteners, starches, various hydrocolloids, as well as soluble fibers.
Biography
Dr Wong Shen Siung is a global R&D and innovation leader, experienced in driving impactful innovation pipelines across Asia Pacific. He leverages deep scientific and consumer insights to develop winning food product concepts and solutions. With a 19-year track record spanning both the global food & beverage industry and academia, he possesses a proven ability to build and lead high-performing cross-functional teams. He excels at collaboration and have a passion for translating scientific knowledge into commercially successful products.
Currently, Dr Wong Shen Siung leverages his expertise at Tate & Lyle, a global leader in innovative food science solutions. Prior to this, he led the product physical functionality core team as a senior scientist at Abbott Nutrition R&D.
Dr Wong Shen Siung
Application and Innovation Leader,
Tate and Lyle Singapore
Ms Carolyn Stephen
Lead Nutritionist,
Food Innovation Resource Centre
(FIRC) Singapore
Biography
Ms Carolyn Stephen has over two decades of work experience with a diverse range of expertise encompassing sports nutrition, nutrition education, assessment and curriculum development for tertiary education. Her current area of work at Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC), Singapore Polytechnic focuses primarily on the conceptualisation and development of health and wellness- oriented food products as well as nutrition outreach for the food industry. In this capacity, she has successfully overseen several industry-based projects and contributed talks and seminars centred on nutrition and plant-based product innovation. As part of her portfolio, she provides essential product labelling consultancy to ensure labels meet regulatory requirements for local and overseas markets. She also served as a Working Group member of the Singapore Standards Council for the revision of the technical reference on nutrition and health claims. Ms Carolyn Stephen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Otago, New Zealand and is a member of the Singapore Nutrition & Dietetics Association (SNDA).
Biography
Dr Chua Jian Yong is the lead scientist and co-founder of a local food tech startup (Mottainai Food Tech) working on valorization food processing side stream into value-added food products. He is also a part-time lecturer at the Department of Food Science & Technology in NUS. He graduated from NUS with both the Bachelor’s degree and the PhD degree in Food Science & Technology, with strong interest in fermentation and food waste valorization.
Dr Chua Jian Yong
Lead Scientist/Co-Founder,
Monttainai Food Tech Singapore
Dr Alvin Loo
Lecturer,
Food Science & Technology Department,
National University of Singapore
Biography
Dr Alvin Loo Eng Kiat is a lecturer in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He holds a PhD in Biochemistry from NUS in 2011.
Before joining NUS, Dr Alvin Loo was a Marie Curie Actions Fellow and completed his postdoctoral research at Unilever Colworth in the UK. After which he worked in several food companies across several industries including palm oil, infant formula and chocolate confectionary products in roles related to innovation, product development and nutrition.
Biography
Mr Tony Liew specialises in new food product development, with a primary focus on bakery products designed for alternative diets. Their expertise includes creating diabetic-friendly, gluten-free, keto and vegan baked goods, among others.
Mr Tony Liew is pursuing a PhD at the National University of Singapore (NUS), working on a research project related to protein fortification in bread. In addition to their research, they serve as a teaching instructor for FST4104 Food Product Innovation at NUS Food Science and Technology.
Mr Tony Liew
Teaching Instructor,
Food Science & Technology Department,
National University of Singapore
