The Front Row Podcast

Chade-Meng Tan (Meng) is an award-winning engineer, international bestselling author, movie producer and philanthropist. He is Co-founder of Buddhism.net, and Co-chair of One Billion Acts of Peace, which has been nominated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and seven other Nobel Laureates for the Nobel Peace Prize. He co-founded the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI, pronounced “silly”). He retired from Google as its Jolly Good Fellow at the age of 45. In this podcast, Meng an early Google employee (and Singapore's first Google employee) , shares his journey from joining a fledgling startup to becoming a key figure in promoting mindfulness and meditation in the tech industry. We talk about the culture at Google, the influence of its founders, and his personal experiences with meditation, emphasizing its importance for personal growth and well-being. Meng also addresses modern distractions and offers practical mindfulness exercises that you can implement today for a better life.

Brian Wong, an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong, dives into the evolving status of Hong Kong in the context of China and the West. He explores Hong Kong's unique geopolitical role and its colonial history under the 'one country, two systems' framework. Wong discusses the city's legal and political complexities and how recent unrest has shaped its identity. He also debates China's foreign policy changes and the need for equitable partnerships, all while envisioning Hong Kong's global position amid shifting narratives.

Ian Ball is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Accounting and Commercial Law at Victoria University of Wellington, and until 2021 was Chair of the Audit Committee for the financial statements of the New Zealand Government. He was Chief Executive Officer of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) (2002-2013). Earlier, as Chairman of the IFAC Public Sector Committee (now the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board) (1995-2000), he initiated and led the development of International Public Sector Accounting Standards. While with the New Zealand Treasury (1987-1994) he was responsible (as Director of Financial Management Policy and then Central Financial Controller) for the development and implementation of the Public Finance Act 1989, making New Zealand the first country to adopt accrual budgeting, appropriations and accounting . In this episode, he talks about why public accounting matters for any country interested in good governance.

Professor Danny Quah is Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics and Dean at the Lee Kuan Yew School Of Public Policy. His research interests lie in income inequality, economic growth, and international economic relations. His work takes an economic approach to world order - focusing on global power shift and the rise of the east, and alternative models of global power relations. In this episode, we explore the complexities of US-China relations, challenging the idea of the Thucydides Trap and examining the dangers of zero-sum thinking and more. TIMESTAMPS: 00:28 Is The Thucydides Trap Wrong? 08:06 The Danger of Zero-Sum Thinking 09:27 Epic Fail Outcomes 13:38 Electric Vehicles in US-China Rivalry 21:06 America's Action Against Japan 23:49 Third Nations in Great Power Rivalry 31:41 America's Emergence 37:09 Ideas That Drove America 40:38 No Political Convergence 45:12 What Drives US-China Rivalry 53:44 The Problem of Inequality 01:01:40 Dean Danny's Advice For Young Professionals

Professor Keyu Jin is an Associate Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics. She specialises in international macroeconomics and the Chinese economy. Her research focuses on global trade imbalances, asset prices and China's economic growth model. She is the author of the best-selling book, The New China Playbook. In this episode, we examine the country's rise as an industrial powerhouse, the balance between state and market forces, and the innovative "Mayor Economy" model. Along the way, we discuss whether China's financial markets can ever catch up globally, how the tech crackdown impacts innovation, and what household spending on education reveals about its cultural priorities. We also dive into bigger questions: what would a mature Chinese economy look like? Can China become a truly innovative powerhouse? And how might US-China trade tensions shape the global order? Timestamps: 00:34 China's Economic Success 01:26 Why The New China Playbook 07:14 China As An Industrial Power 15:16 Is The Chinese Economy Excessively State-Heavy? 18:58 The Mayor Economy 24:50 Imagining A Mature Chinese Economy 28:33 Why Chinese Financial Markets Are Poor 33:13 China's Tech Crackdown 39:49 Household Spending on Education 45:59 Can China Be More Innovative? 48:27 US-China Trade Tensions 52:55 Advice For Young Professionals

Shaun Rein is the Founder and Managing Director of the China Market Research Group (CMR), the world's leading strategic market intelligence firm focused on China. He works with Boards, billionaires, Heads of States, CEOs and senior executives of Fortune 500 & leading Chinese companies, private equity firms, SMEs and long/ hedge funds to develop their China growth, political and investment strategies. TIMESTAMPS: 00:33- Shaun Rein's Journey to China 04:58- The Myths About China 09:35- The Split: Understanding US-China Relations 15:29- Opportunities and Challenges in the Chinese Market 21:37- The Competitive Landscape for Western Brands in China 25:46- Shifting Consumer Sentiments: Local vs. Foreign Brands 29:07- The Rise of Chinese Brands 30:36- Electric Vehicles: China's New Energy Revolution 33:01- Understanding Economic Weakness and Structural Challenges 39:50- Exploring Xinjiang 43:34- Alibaba's Rise and the Tech Crackdown 48:43- Advice for Young Professionals

Professor Tan Tai Yong is the President of the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). Before he joined SUSS, Professor Tan was President, Yale-NUS College. Professor Tan specialises in South and Southeast Asian History and has published extensively on the history of India and Singapore. Timestamps: 00:00- The Historical Context of Singapore's Founding 08:05- The Evolution of Singapore's Identity 17:10- Civilizational Influences on Singapore 26:27- Singapore's Role as a Global City 30:36- Nation Building and Identity Formation 35:31- Challenges of Multiracialism in Singapore 38:34- The City-State Paradox 41:47- Singapore as a Potential Innovator in Adult Learning 47:13- Barriers to Adult Learning 51:07- The Idea of Singapore 59:58- Advice for Young Professionals

Kenneth Chan was McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer for China and Division President for the Greater China region between 2009 to 2015. He led an organization of 150,00 employees and oversaw the fastest period of expansion at that time (opening over 1,000 restaurants in the span of 5 years). More recently from 2016 to 2021, Kenneth served as an equity and operating partner (as part of the Lionhorn Group – McDonald’s licensee) for McDonald’s Singapore and Malaysia, and the Managing Director of McDonald’s Singapore. In this episode, we talk about: - How he turned around McDonald's Business in China - How McDonald's Pushes for Innovation - The Lessons He Learnt as a Corporate CEO

Kishore Mahbubani is a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS). Mr Mahbubani has been privileged to enjoy two distinct careers, in diplomacy (1971 to 2004) and in academia (2004 to 2019). He is a prolific writer who has spoken in many corners of the world. In diplomacy, he was with the Singapore Foreign Service for 33 years (1971 to 2004). He had postings in Cambodia, Malaysia, Washington DC and New York, where he twice was Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN and served as President of the UN Security Council in January 2001 and May 2002. He was Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Ministry from 1993 to 1998. Mr Mahbubani joined academia in 2004, when he was appointed the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School), NUS. He was Dean from 2004 to 2017, and a Professor in the Practice of Public Policy from 2006 to 2019. We discuss: - The most important lessons he learned from our founding generation of political leaders - Why ASEAN is a peace miracle - Why wars could be avoided - What's Singapore's role in the Asian Century could be TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Teaser 01:55- Decolonizing The Mind 06:10 - Kishore's Learnings from Lee Kuan Yew and 1st Gen Leaders 12:01- Harsh Truths of Geopolitics 18:13 - The Deterioration of Western Leadership 23:51 - ASEAN's Miracle of Peace 30:09 - Managing Myanmar within ASEAN 35:51 Advice for Future Generations

Dag Detter is the Managing Partner & Founder of Detter & Co. Dag specialises in public commercial assets and works as an advisor to local and national governments, investors and international financial institutions to help unlock public wealth. As the former President of Stattum, the Swedish government holding company, he was responsible for the comprehensive restructuring of the national government portfolio. In this episode we discuss how governments can make better use of their public wealth to improve citizen welfare. Chapters: 00:00- Introduction to Deg Detter 00:37- Separating State and Business 02:48- What is Public Wealth 05:18- The Case for Accrual Accounting 07:51 - Why Governments Are Averse To Risk 14:44- Why Pursuing Sovereign Wealth Fund Structures Can Be a Dead End 15:35- The Role of Professional Management17:52Social Value vs. Financial Value 21:03- Getting Value Out of Public Wealth 27:19- Conditions for Success 29:40- Government's Role in Market Failures 32:47- Sweden's Unique Approach to Market Reform 36:56- Success Stories from Dag's Experience 38:53- Difference Between SWF & NWF 41:43- Lessons from Sweden for Policymakers 43:37- Possible Takeaways for Singapore 47:38- New Zealand's Resilience Through Accrual Accounting 49:04-Closing Questions