Our Team
Equipped with experience and understanding of Asian societies and processes of development, our team is able to bring people, knowledge and resources together, and make change happen.
Chief Executive Officer
Director, Development
Director, Operations
Programmes
Administration & HR
Finance
Communications
Programmes
Stay updated on all the latest news and events
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Chief Executive Officer
As CEO, Dr Koh Thiam Seng is responsible for the management and execution of the Foundation’s vision, including implementing strategy and plans, ensuring resource efficiency and compliance, representing the Foundation externally, and overseeing project implementation and monitoring.
Prior to joining The HEAD Foundation, Thiam Seng was Executive Vice President at Sing-Ed Corporation Pte Ltd, where he managed a group of international schools and directed the EdTech business. He was an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Education (NIE) for over 28 years, where he held various leadership positions, including Deputy Director of NIE, Associate Dean for Research Administration and Support and Founding Associate Dean for Academic Computing. While remaining as an NIE faculty, he held senior leadership positions at the Singapore Ministry of Education. He was the Director of Educational Technology, who oversaw the implementation of the 2nd IT Masterplan for Education and directed the National Research Foundation’s Interactive and Digital Media in Education research programme. He served as Deputy Director of Higher Education, where he was involved with policy formulation for higher education. After his MOE posting, he served as Principal of St. Joseph’s Institution, where he established the Integrated Programme track and the IB programme and led SJI to achieve the highest MOE school award, the “School Distinction Award”. He went on to be CEO at St. Joseph’s Institution International.
He holds a B.Sc. degree in Chemistry and Mathematics from the National University of Singapore, an M.Sc. degree in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from Massey University in New Zealand and a PhD degree in Synthetic Organic Chemistry and Biochromatography from Monash University in Australia. He also has a Diploma in Education from the Institute of Education, Singapore.
Dr Wan Chang Da is the Chief Executive Officer at The HEAD Foundation.
Chang Da believes that education and healthcare are key transformation pillars of our society. While healthcare provides the foundation, education nurtures to unleash the real potential of the human person. Only with a healthy body and a learned mind, lives can be transformed in steering our society for a better tomorrow.
Before joining The HEAD Foundation, Chang Da was the Director at the National Higher Education Research Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia. He also spent a year with Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan. As an academic, he has a strong interest in higher education in Southeast Asia and the Global South. Chang Da has vast experience in undertaking research, consultancy, and capacity building projects for UNESCO, UNICEF, OECD, Commonwealth Tertiary Education Facility, ASEF Education, ASEAN Foundation, Department for International Development (UK), Ministry of Higher Education/Education (Malaysia), and Higher Education Leadership Academy (Malaysia).
Chang Da read economics at the University of Malaya and the National University of Singapore. He then went to the University of Oxford to read a doctorate in education. Currently, Chang Da is one of the 200 elected Members of the Global Young Academy.
Director, Development
CD Liang is responsible for the development function at the Foundation.
CD was trained as an engineer and started his engineering career in the late 80s in Kuala Lumpur. He subsequently became a software developer who designed and implemented multimedia solutions for leading hotel chains and major banks in Southeast Asia and Greater China.
After completing his MBA degree in 1998, he worked for seven years in the Greater China region as a management consultant (for Monitor Company, Arthur Andersen and KPMG Consulting) and a sourcing consultant (as Director of Program Management, APAC for FreeMarkets, Inc. and Ariba, Inc.). He subsequently relocated to Singapore to work for eBay, Inc. as Marketplace Development Director for Southeast Asia. Before joining The HEAD Foundation, CD worked for the non-profit division of the IMC Group to manage social investments in education and media projects.
CD had served many family businesses and MNCs throughout his career. Born and grew up in Kuala Lumpur, CD had also worked and lived in Bangkok, Boston and Hong Kong before he settled down in Singapore in 2005.
CD has a bachelor’s degree (architecture & engineering) from Princeton University and an MBA degree from MIT Sloan School of Management.
CD Liang is responsible for the development function at the Foundation.
CD was trained as an engineer and started his engineering career in the late 80s in Kuala Lumpur. He subsequently became a software developer who designed and implemented multimedia solutions for leading hotel chains and major banks in Southeast Asia and Greater China.
After completing his MBA degree in 1998, he worked for seven years in the Greater China region as a management consultant (for Monitor Company, Arthur Andersen and KPMG Consulting) and a sourcing consultant (as Director of Program Management, APAC for FreeMarkets, Inc. and Ariba, Inc.). He subsequently relocated to Singapore to work for eBay, Inc. as Marketplace Development Director for Southeast Asia. Before joining The HEAD Foundation, CD worked for the non-profit division of the IMC Group to manage social investments in education and media projects.
CD had served many family businesses and MNCs throughout his career. Born and grew up in Kuala Lumpur, CD had also worked and lived in Bangkok, Boston and Hong Kong before he settled down in Singapore in 2005.
CD has a bachelor’s degree (architecture & engineering) from Princeton University and an MBA degree from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Director, Operations
Vignesh is currently the Director, Operations at The HEAD Foundation.
Vignesh helms The HEAD Foundation’s education team that works across Southeast Asia to improve education outcomes through; the design and delivery of bespoke capacity building opportunities for educators, the production of a suite of peer-led training workshops and resources for educators, and opportunities for thought leaders to share their insights and perspectives. Vignesh is particularly intrigued by how education systems need to adapt to ensure that future graduates have the skills needed to navigate a rapidly evolving world of work.
Before joining The HEAD Foundation, Vignesh was a researcher at the Lee Kuan Yew of Public Policy where he tried to understand how the application of cognitive psychology and behavioural economics in the design and implementation of policy can aid policy makers in achieving their desired outcomes. Vignesh has a Masters in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS and a Bachelor of Science (Economics) from the Singapore Management University.
Vignesh Naidu is the Director, Operations at The HEAD Foundation.
Before joining The HEAD Foundation, Vignesh worked with a large Singaporean conglomerate to strategize and develop a comprehensive learning and development framework. That project sparked his interest in the field of skills and employability; a vexing problem for many economies in the region and beyond.
Through The HEAD Foundation, Vignesh hopes to contribute to the literature and research in the field of skills and employability. Vignesh has also worked at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy as a case writer, focusing on social policies and behavioural economics. He also obtained his Masters in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
Programmes
Michelle Leong is the Senior Manager, Capacity Building Programmes, at The HEAD Foundation.
Before joining the Foundation, Michelle worked in the public and private sector. She has experience in both pedagogy and andragogy as a former Education Officer and as a Trainer for adult learning. She has also guided clients towards making effective decisions with focused, productive, and engaging discussions as a facilitator / consultant.
Michelle is motivated by developing self-sufficiency in self and others. Through Capacity Building at The HEAD Foundation, she collaborates with Institutional Partners to analyse needs and design, develop and deliver programmes with skills transferable to workplace. By collaborating with subject matter experts and researchers, she facilitates knowledge brokering, through ongoing dialogue and exchange, between knowledge producers and those who use the knowledge.
She obtained her Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
Michelle Leong is the Senior Manager, Capacity Building Programmes, at The HEAD Foundation.
Before joining the Foundation, Michelle worked in the public and private sector. She has experience in both pedagogy and andragogy as a former Education Officer and as a Trainer for adult learning. She has also guided clients towards making effective decisions with focused, productive, and engaging discussions as a facilitator / consultant.
Michelle is motivated by developing self-sufficiency in self and others. Through Capacity Building at The HEAD Foundation, she collaborates with Institutional Partners to analyse needs and design, develop and deliver programmes with skills transferable to workplace. By collaborating with subject matter experts and researchers, she facilitates knowledge brokering, through ongoing dialogue and exchange, between knowledge producers and those who use the knowledge.
She obtained her Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
Administration & HR
Caroline Rayney has over 30 years of publishing experience. 23 years of which was with The Economist Newspaper Ltd as one of the pioneers when The Economist started their operations in Singapore in 1984. She helmed the newspaper’s customer service and fulfilment operations for the Asia Pacific region.
Caroline’s experience in publishing also encompass the production and distribution as well as event management of niche lifestyle regional publications. Caroline obtained a Diploma in Administrative Management from the U.K.
Caroline Rayney has over 30 years of publishing experience. 23 years of which was with The Economist Newspaper Ltd as one of the pioneers when The Economist started their operations in Singapore in 1984. She helmed the newspaper’s customer service and fulfilment operations for the Asia Pacific region.
Caroline’s experience in publishing also encompass the production and distribution as well as event management of niche lifestyle regional publications. Caroline obtained a Diploma in Administrative Management from the U.K.
Finance
Maryann has spent the past 15 years helping businesses set-up and manage their finance and human resources department.
At The HEAD Foundation, she oversees the finance function. Her previous role was Senior Finance & HR Manager for a Singapore-based FinTech start-up where she built the finance team and set up entities across Singapore, Australia, and Malaysia.
She is a member of CPA Australia and graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of South Australia Originally from Malaysia, Maryann has been working in Singapore for the past 12 years.
Maryann has spent the past 15 years helping businesses set-up and manage their finance and human resources department.
At The HEAD Foundation, she oversees the finance function. Her previous role was Senior Finance & HR Manager for a Singapore-based FinTech start-up where she built the finance team and set up entities across Singapore, Australia, and Malaysia.
She is a member of CPA Australia and graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of South Australia Originally from Malaysia, Maryann has been working in Singapore for the past 12 years.
Communications
Melody Español is the Communications Manager at The HEAD Foundation.
She previously worked for a multinational ICT company as part of its corporate communications team. She also gained experience in public relations working in a Singapore-based agency, serving clients in the enterprise and consumer tech space, start-ups and non-profits.
Melody obtained her bachelor’s degree with honours at the National University of Singapore.
Melody Español is the Communications Manager at The HEAD Foundation.
She previously worked for a multinational ICT company as part of its corporate communications team. She also gained experience in public relations working in a Singapore-based agency, serving clients in the enterprise and consumer tech space, start-ups and non-profits.
Melody obtained her bachelor’s degree with honours at the National University of Singapore.
Programmes
Hillary’s interest in education began as the recipient of a broad-based interdisciplinary curriculum emphasising inquiry and experiential learning, where she gained an embodied appreciation of the power of education to transform lives. She spent a semester in the Indian Himalayas with rural communities, understanding the intersectionality of education disparity with climate, geography, and gender and social politics.
Previously, Hillary has worked in a design agency as a writer and copyeditor, and in a private art gallery as an operations executive. She obtained her BA (Honours) in Arts and Humanities, with a minor in Anthropology, from Yale-NUS College, Singapore.
Hillary’s interest in education began as the recipient of a broad-based interdisciplinary curriculum emphasising inquiry and experiential learning, where she gained an embodied appreciation of the power of education to transform lives. She spent a semester in the Indian Himalayas with rural communities, understanding the intersectionality of education disparity with climate, geography, and gender and social politics.
Previously, Hillary has worked in a design agency as a writer and copyeditor, and in a private art gallery as an operations executive. She obtained her BA (Honours) in Arts and Humanities, with a minor in Anthropology, from Yale-NUS College, Singapore.
Workshop | Science Communication for STEM
Education 2024
Certificate in Education Studies in Leadership
Handbook | Becoming Leaders in Sustainability Education
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The Green Impact of Hydrogen — Building a Sustainable Future Through Innovation
Can We Recreate Memory? — Reversing Age-related Cognitive Decline
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Learning gains from COVID-19, diversifying educational pathways and lifelong learning, and more
Stay updated on all the latest news and events
