Covering the big ideas, bold leadership and dynamic economies at the frontlines of global transformation
Global Perspectives is CNN's new live event series, bringing the network's renowned journalism and expert analysis to the stage. Each event features in-depth conversations on the big ideas, bold leadership, and dynamic economies and cultures shaping global transformation.
This October, CNN will host the inaugural Asia edition of the Global Perspectives franchise, convening dignitaries, political and business leaders, cultural voices, and influential thinkers in Bangkok. Taking place alongside the IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, discussions will explore a world in transition, and the forces redefining power, growth and influence. Editorial highlights, interviews, and coverage from the event will feature across CNN's platforms.
Global Perspectives is an invitation‑only convening of global decision‑makers and influential leaders shaping the future of technology, finance, geopolitics, healthcare, media, and culture.
For decades, science has positioned the brain as the centre of intelligence. Today, neuroscience is confirming what Eastern traditions have long known: our decisions, instincts, and resilience are shaped by the body as much as the mind. Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores this powerful convergence and what it reveals about human behaviour and choice.
AI promises to transform how we work, lead and compete - but who will capture the gains, and at what cost? As Asia rises as a powerhouse of innovation, manufacturing and adoption, this session explores where real value is being created across jobs, decision-making, chips, trust and the future of intelligence.
What happens when disease can be detected years before symptoms appear? As AI-driven diagnostics, biomarkers and continuous monitoring transform healthcare from reactive to predictive, this conversation explores the breakthroughs reshaping medicine and the ethical questions that come with knowing what may lie ahead.
In a world shaped by algorithms, conflict and constant noise, stories still have the power to move people, build identity and change how we see one another. A special closing conversation with a global cultural figure on influence, resilience, leadership and the narratives that continue to connect us.
Alice Oh is a KAIST ICT Endowed Professor in the School of Computing at KAIST and leads the Subcommittee on Global Collaboration within the Presidential Council on National AI Strategy for the Republic of Korea. She received her PhD in Computer Science from MIT in 2008. Her major research area is at the intersection of natural language processing (NLP) and computational social science, with a recent focus on multilingual and multicultural aspects of large language models (LLM).
Richard Quest is CNN’s foremost international business correspondent and anchor of Quest Means Business, the definitive word on how we earn and spend our money.
Quest also serves as CNN Business editor-at-large, and is the network’s established airline and aviation correspondent, having interviewed all of the major airline executives.
Additionally, Quest is the host of CNN International’s signature monthly feature program Quest’s World of Wonder, an immersive travel series that finds him exploring a new destination each month and meeting fascinating people who reveal the heart of that city.
Quest’s dynamic and distinctive style has made him a unique figure in the field of business broadcasting. He has regularly reported from G20 meetings and attends the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland each year. Quest has covered every major stock market and financial crisis since Black Monday in 1987 and has reported from key financial centers globally including Wall Street, London, Sao Paolo, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
The Honourable Bernard Charnwut CHAN is the Chairman & President of Asia Financial Holdings Ltd., Chairman of Asia Insurance Co. Ltd., Chairman of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Chairman of Tai Kwun Culture & Arts Co. Ltd and Chairman of Our Hong Kong Foundation. He previously served as a Hong Kong Deputy to the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, the Convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Executive Council, Member of the Legislative Council, Chairman of M Plus Museum, Chairman of the Hong Kong Palace Museum. He was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star in 2006 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2020.
Chadatip Chutrakul is one of Thailand’s most visionary retail development leaders and is widely recognized for playing a pivotal role in transforming Bangkok into a global destination for world-class retail, lifestyle, and cultural experiences. She has been the driving force behind some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, including Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery, ICONSIAM, and Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok - destinations that have significantly reshaped the city’s commercial, tourism, and lifestyle landscape.
In 2019, she became the first Thai female to be inducted into the World Retail Hall of Fame by the World Retail Congress. Most recently, she was also honored with the “PIONEERS OF PLACES AWARDS” from the MAPIC Awards 2025, as one of only five global leaders and the only Asian nominee recognized for inspiring and transforming the global retail industry over the past 30 years.
Colley Hwang is the Founder and Chairman of DIGITIMES, and serves as an Ambassador-at-Large of Taiwan. An industry analyst for 40 years, Hwang has witnessed waves of tech evolutions. He has authored 10 best-selling books—including Beyond Software and The AI Wave, twice winning the Golden Book Award with endorsements from Taiwan's presidents. With deep expertise in the competitive dynamics of the global ICT industry across the US, China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, Hwang provides strategic consultation for tech giants and governments. He has also lectured at prestigious universities, including Stanford, Harvard, and Keio, and has been a featured keynote speaker at numerous global exhibitions. DIGITIMES provides timely global IT news, research, and consulting services, serving as an authoritative source on Taiwan and Asia-Pacific supply chains through its Asia and Chinese editions.
Hyun Song Shin serves as the Governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK). He is widely recognized for his extensive expertise in economics, public policy, and finance.
Before joining the BOK, he served as Head of the Monetary and Economic Department (2025-2026) and Head of the Research Department (2014-2025) at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), while serving as BIS Economic Adviser (2014-2026).
In Korea, he served as Senior Adviser to the Korean president in 2010, playing a leading role in formulating financial stability policy and shaping the agenda during Korea’s G20 presidency.
Academically, he was the Hughes-Rogers Professor of Economics at Princeton University (2006-2014). Prior to Princeton, he was Professor of Finance at the London School of Economics (2000-2006). He earned his DPhill (1988) and MPhill (1987) in Economics from Nuffield College, Oxford, and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, also from Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1985.
Jonathan Serbin has over 25 years of leadership experience in the music and media business in Asia. He has served as President of Asia, as well as CEO of Greater China, for a number of music’s most iconic companies. Currently, Jonathan is CEO of Pacific Music Group, a pan-Asian record label he co-founded with music legends Ne-Yo, Sonu Nigam and MC Jin. Previously, Jonathan was Co-President of Asia for Warner Music where he was responsible for growth, operations and artist repertoire across Asia. Jonathan was responsible for launching Warner Music’s first dedicated K-pop imprint. Prior to Warner Music, Jonathan was the Head of Asia for Billboard, where he was responsible for the launch of the iconic music brand in China, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Joseph Chan, Founder and CEO of AsiaPay Group, has spent over two decades transforming digital payments across Hong Kong, Australia, and Asia. Since founding AsiaPay in 2000, his visionary leadership has driven rapid expansion into 17 markets, serving over 5,000 enterprises alongside leading banks. Under his guidance, AsiaPay introduced innovative, integrated payment solutions leveraging AI, blockchain, and contactless technologies to enhance security, conversion, and customer experience. Strategic partnerships with over 150 banks and digital wallets across 12 Asian markets have solidified the company’s competitive edge. Recognized with multiple industry awards, Joseph remains committed to customer-centric, localized service. Looking ahead, he foresees key trends including mobile payment growth, AI integration, e-wallet expansion, regulatory shifts, and a focus on cybersecurity and sustainability. His journey reflects enduring dedication to innovation, shaping the future of fintech across Asia.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the multiple Emmy®-award winning chief medical correspondent for CNN and host of the CNN podcast Chasing Life. Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, plays an integral role in CNN’s reporting on health and medical news for all of CNN’s shows domestically and internationally, and regularly contributes to CNN Digital.
Since 2001, Gupta has covered some of the most important health stories in the United States and around the world. On March 9, 2020, Gupta penned an op-ed announcing the network would refer to the novel coronavirus outbreak as a “pandemic,” ahead of both the WHO and the CDC. Throughout 2020 into 2021, Gupta reaffirmed his role as a trusted guide to viewers worldwide on navigating between facts and fiction surrounding Covid-19 and the pandemic.
Over the last few years, Gupta has increasingly focused on long-form reporting. He is the host of the CNN Original Series “Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta,” which follows Gupta’s travels around the world in search of the secret to living longer, healthier and happier. Gupta also stars in the HBO Original Documentary “One Nation Under Stress,” which examines why life expectancy is declining in the United States. His enterprise reporting on medical marijuana has led to seven documentary films, “Weed,” which were awarded the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.
In addition to his work for CNN, Gupta is an associate professor of neurosurgery at Emory University Hospital and associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He serves as a diplomate of the American Board of Neurosurgery. And in 2019, Gupta was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, considered one of the highest honors in the medical field.
Kristie Lu Stout is an anchor and correspondent for CNN, based in Hong Kong.
She reports from the newsroom and in the field on major news stories including US-China relations, strategic tech development across Asia, and the aftermath of extreme climate events in the region. A multi-platform journalist since she joined the network in 2001, Kristie reports for CNN for an ever-widening array of platforms including linear TV, digital, streaming, and social media.
Kristie also hosts feature programs for CNN including Tech for Good, a series on the transformative power of technology, and Marketplace Asia, CNN’s monthly business program.
Based in China for over two decades, Kristie maintains a focus on how developments in China are dramatically changing the world for all of us. From anchoring CNN’s groundbreaking Eye on China series in 2004 to covering the US-China trade war, she has remained committed to reporting on the country. Kristie was also instrumental in launching On China, CNN’s first-ever regular series focused on the country – a first by any international TV news network.
Kristie also plays an active role in promoting the CNN Freedom Project, the network’s award-winning initiative focused on reporting stories of modern-day slavery, including student outreach in Hong Kong and across Asia as part of #MyFreedomDay. She is also proud to be part of CNN’s Call to Earth Day – a global initiative to engage students on the need for urgent action against climate change and pollution.
Over the years, her work has been nominated for multiple categories at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards. In 2025, she and her CNN-Asia colleagues received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Breaking News Coverage for reporting “South Korea Declares Martial Law.” In 2020, she was awarded Best Continuing News Reporting for TV and Video by the Association for International Broadcasting for team coverage of the 2019 Hong Kong Protests. In 2018, Kristie was awarded Best News or Current Affairs Presenter at the Asian Academy Creative Awards. Other accolades include multiple honors from the Asia Television Awards and Best News Coverage from the Royal Television Society for her reporting on Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Will Ripley is an award-winning Senior International Correspondent for CNN, based in Taipei.
Ripley has led CNN’s recent coverage of Taiwan, securing an exclusive interview with President Tsai Ing-wen and reporting on the growing tensions between the island and Beijing.
He has also reported extensively on the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, securing an exclusive interview with the acting President Wickremesinghe in 2022.
Before moving to Taipei, Ripley was based in Hong Kong. He reported on some of the biggest stories from the region in recent years, including Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, the Tokyo Olympics, the coronavirus pandemic, and the Hong Kong protests.
Before moving to Hong Kong, Ripley was CNN’s Tokyo-based correspondent. He reported on the devastating floods in Joso, the execution of two Japanese ISIS hostages, the deadly eruption of Mt. Ontake and the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.
A journalist with over 21 years of experience, Ripley has travelled to North Korea 19 times since 2014 — more than any American TV correspondent. He has reported exclusively from Pyongyang after missile launches and nuclear tests and was the only American journalist in North Korea when U.S. prisoner Otto Warmbier was released just days before his death in 2017.
Prior to CNN, Ripley spent nearly 15 years working in newsrooms across the United States. He started as a student news reporter in Connecticut before heading to Missouri, Texas, and Colorado.
Throughout his career, Ripley has won numerous accolades including Best Single News Story at the Asian Academy Creative Awards in 2018 for his reporting on the destruction of the remote Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea. He also received the award for Best Documentary at the Asian Academy Creative Awards for his exclusive CNN documentary Secret State: Inside North Korea.
Ripley grew up in Manchester, Connecticut and graduated from the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Hanako Montgomery is an award-winning international correspondent for CNN, based in Tokyo.
Montgomery helms CNN’s Japan coverage, reporting on breaking news, politics, society and the economy. Her work spans major stories including the Noto Earthquake, Japan’s demographic crisis, regional tensions with China, U.S.-Japan relations, and political instability within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. She also secured an exclusive interview with former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Specializing in human rights reporting, she has led the network’s Asia-focused coverage on topics ranging from the political battle over adolescent pregnancies in the Philippines, to India’s air pollution crisis affecting children, to human trafficking and immigrant rights in Japan.
A digital-savvy journalist, Montgomery regularly contributes across CNN’s social platforms and text coverage.
Before joining CNN, she was an East Asia reporter for VICE, helping lead coverage on key regional stories across TV, digital video, text, Instagram, TikTok, and more.
Earlier in her career, Montgomery worked as a TV Japan reporter for NHK in New York, covering the first major outbreak of COVID-19 and reporting on culture and society across North America. She has also reported for Al Jazeera.
In 2023, Montgomery won a National News & Documentary Emmy Award and a Front Page Award for her reporting on legal child abuse manga in Japan. She and her team gained rare access to examine the issue, interviewing artists who created the works, offenders who consumed them and government officials responsible for regulation.
She graduated summa cum laude from Binghamton University and studied Japanese politics and literature for a year at Sophia University in Tokyo. Montgomery is fluent in English and Japanese and is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
