Good Design Research Evaluation Panel

The Good Design Research (GDR) programme’s evaluation panel is chaired by Mark Wee, Advisor, DesignSingapore Council and made up of panel members with business, technology, and design expertise recognised by the design industry. They will select projects that could be supported with funding until the “proof of concept” stage, for a maximum period of 12 months. Find out what our panel members look out for in the GDR project proposals and some of their thoughts on the importance of design research.

Mark Wee

Advisor, DesignSingapore Council 
GDR Panel Chairman

Mark Wee (left) leads the Council in achieving the Design 2025 Masterplan vision of making Singapore an innovation-driven economy and a loveable city, by design. A design-thinking pioneer in Singapore, Mark designed award-winning innovative experiences for the public and private sector. As an award-winning architect, he was recognised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 2017 as the top 20 Under 45 architects in Singapore that would define the next generation.

Low Cheaw Hwei

Head of Design APAC, Head of Design Consulting,
Asia Head of Government & Public Affairs Singapore, Philips Singapore
Panel Member since March 2020

Low Cheaw Hwei looks after the overall direction of Philips Design in the region, leading the company through a design transformation, as Philips – a leader in healthcare technology – moves towards experience and solutions-based innovation. A respected industry practitioner, Cheaw Hwei has served as board member for various design platforms such as the Dsg, Singapore Design Masterplan 2025 Committee, Committee for Future Economy for innovation and capability development and judged at international design competitions. Cheaw Hwei is also currently the Chairman of the Design Education Advisory Committee. He is a frequent speaker at international design and innovation forums and has been awarded the Public Service Medal for his contribution to design education.  

Tai Lee Siang

Head of Pillar, Architecture and Sustainable Design, Singapore University of Technology and Design
Panel Member since March 2020

Tai Lee Siang is the Head of Pillar, Architecture and Sustainable Design at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Prior to joining SUTD, he was Executive Director of BuildSG, which focuses on the industry transformation map of the built environment sector. On the design front, he had led the inauguration of Archifest, and chaired the formation of DesignS – an alliance representing eight design associations in Singapore. Whilst President of Design Business Chamber Singapore, he oversaw the launch of the Singapore Good Design Mark in 2014. On the sustainability front, Lee Siang was elected the President of Singapore Green Building Council in 2011, where he led the establishment of the first green building product certification scheme in Singapore. He was the also first Asian to chair the Board of Directors of the World Green Building Council in 2016.  

Duleesha Kulasooriya

Executive Director, Deloitte Center for the Edge, Asia Pacific
Panel Member since March 2020

Duleesha Kulasooriya leads Deloitte Center for the Edge – a global management research institute exploring the edges of business and technology. He has researched, written and spoken extensively about dynamic ecosystems, emerging business landscapes, rethinking the role of firm and individuals in the form of institutional innovation, the future of work, and about relevance of “edges” such as the Maker Movement, the Sharing Economy, TransTech and Burning Man.  

Cristina Ventura

Founder & CEO, VenturaXVentures
Panel Member since October 2020

Cristina Ventura has been working in luxury and lifestyle, retail and technology for over 20 years for the world’s most prestigious companies such as LVMH, Gucci, Prada, Apple and The Lane Crawford Joyce Group. Cristina is currently Chief Catalyst Officer at White Star Capital, a multi-stage technology investment platform. Prior to this, she was Chief Catalyst Officer at The Lane Crawford Joyce Group, Asia’s premier luxury lifestyle group. She is also an active investor and advises family offices, venture capital and private equity firms through VenturaXVentures. Cristina has led the opening of Apple in Hong Kong and South China, where she was responsible for the growth of one of Apple’s largest global retail market. Previously, she was also Director at Prada and was involved in its IPO in Hong Kong, and Director for Gucci Europe & Middle East. Cristina represents an international understanding of luxury, lifestyle, strategic planning, digitalisation, venture building, innovation and investment.  

Rotating Panel Members

Semun Ho

CEO, Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFF)
Rotating Panel Member since March 2020 

Semun Ho is a rotating evaluation panel member. She is the CEO of the Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFF), the official association that drives the fashion and textile industry in Singapore. Prior to TaFF, Semun was at the helm of SGTech for 11 years as its Executive Director. Previously, she was the General Manager for Caliper Singapore, and had also worked in Motorola Electronics for 10 years, where she headed functional roles in Business Operations, Strategic Planning, Product Marketing for the Mobile Device Business in SEA and was subsequently appointed Regional Director to head the SEA Accessory Business. Currently, Semun sits on Design Education Advisory Committee, ITE Design and Media Academic Advisory Committees and Temasek Polytechnic Design Advisory Committee to further strengthen the links between the schools and industry. She is also sitting on the Made With Passion Strategic Council, to promote better awareness for local designers and is a member on the Technical Committee on Retail Services.  

Pann Lim

Co-Founder and Creative Director, Kinetic Singapore 
Rotating Panel Member since April 2022 

Pann Lim is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Kinetic Singapore, Holycrap.sg and Rubbish Famzine. He has won over 500 industry awards locally and abroad including Singapore’s highest design accolade — the President’s Design Award in 2013, 2015 and 2020, Gold Pencils at the New York One Show, Cannes Lions and a Yellow Pencil at the 2016 D&AD. Recently he has won 2 Graphite pencils at the 2022 D&AD that ranks Kinetic 5th in the world for design agency.  

Pann has been invited to jury numerous awards shows, including Spike Asia and the Effie Awards. In 2017, he was Design Craft Jury President at the D&AD Awards and AdFest. He currently sits on multiple School of Design advisory committees including Temasek Polytechnic, LASALLE College of the Arts, and at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts where he serves as Committee Chairman. He has been actively involved in nurturing newcomers, teaching and mentoring for prestigious awards.  

Maaike Doyer 

Founder, Epic Angels 
Adjunct Professor, Singapore Management University 
Rotating Panel Member since April 2022 

Maaike is an entrepreneur, educator, and investor with a twisted love for numbers. She studied math, had a career in M&A, and in the past decade, she led a global design firm as the CFO. She brought the company from Europe to the US where she founded and scaled its offices in San Francisco and New York. Her company produced the famous business model canvas book, Business Model Generation.  

When she moved to Singapore in 2020, she started Epic Angels, a network of female executives and operators who invest in startups in APAC. Maaike is a regular speaker at conferences. She created many (online) masterclasses and is a professor at universities and MBAs in entrepreneurship and design thinking. Maaike is a DesignSingapore Council advisory board member. 

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Past Panel Members

Yang Yeo

Creative Officer, Hakuhodo Inc.
Panel Member, April 2020

Prior to joining Hakuhodo Inc, Japan, Yang Yeo (left) was the Executive Creative Director & Managing Partner of Wieden + Kennedy Shanghai and Chief Creative Officer (North Asia) & Chairman of JWT China. He is a prominent industry figure, judge, and speaker at many creative festivals globally, including Jury President at the APAC Adfest, Spikes Asia and Cannes Lion. He was also featured in Adweek’s 2018 Global Creative 100. Yang is a DesignSingapore Council advisory board member.

Chris Lee 

Founder and Creative Director, Asylum 
Rotating Panel Member, April 2021 – 2022   

Chris Lee is a rotating evaluation panel member. Chris founded Asylum, a multidisciplinary creative agency in 1999. His portfolio of projects includes interactive design, product development, environmental and interior design, packaging, branding, and graphic design. He was the recipient of the President’s Design Award for the ‘Designer of the Year’ and ‘Design of the Year’ categories in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Apart from his commercial work, Chris is also active in creative education in Asia, where he lectures and gives talks at universities and conferences and conducts workshops for young designers annually. He is also a founding member and president of The Design Society, a non-profit organization that aims to promote visual culture through exhibitions, workshops and education.