Silvia is an applied economist interested in labor and social protection issues. Prior to ADB, she was an economist at the OECD, where she conducted policy-relevant research on labor market issues with a focus on older workers and people with disability. Before that, she worked as an impact evaluation consultant at the World Bank. Silvia has a PhD from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam and the Tinbergen Institute in the Netherlands, and a bachelor's degree from Pompeu Fabra University in Spain.

Doriana Monteleone is a specialist at the European Training Foundation (ETF), an agency of the European Union that supports countries in reforming their education, training, and labour market systems. With a strong focus on skills development and lifelong learning, she contributes to ETF’s work in promoting inclusive and responsive vocational education and training (VET) systems aligned with evolving labour market needs.

Georgios Zisimos is a senior expert in EU education and training policies with a long international experience. He leads the policy advice work on skills provision. He held political roles in education namely as member of the Cabinet of the EU Commissioner for Education in the European Commission and as Secretary General of the Teacher's Union of his country. He has been member in scientific committees on curriculum reform and literacy. He taught Technology in schools. 

Javier Arroyo is Co-Founder of Smartick, the AI-driven personalized math learning method used by children in more than 100 countries. He holds degrees from Harvard Business School, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and Solvay Business School. Previously at Accenture and Fast Track (acquired by WPP), he is an Eisenhower Fellow, Endeavor Entrepreneur, and a frequent contributor to Forbes and El Mundo. 

Takuya is CEO of Manabie, an edtech startup transforming learning across Japan and Southeast Asia. Manabie is partnering with major education enterprises in Japan and the SEA region. Takuya previously co-founded Quipper, an edtech company widely used in the Philippines.

Steffina Yuli is the Chief Business Officer of Kipin, Indonesia’s leading offline-first edtech platform bringing books, videos, exams, and literacy content to 1M+ students and 350K teachers in 3,500+ schools. Backed by the Ministry of Education, Intel, Amazon, Temasek Foundation, and MIT Solve, Kipin was named a TIME World’s Top EdTech. A Yale graduate and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Steffina champions scalable, inclusive education across Southeast Asia.

Sandeep is the Founder & Managing Partner of Kaizenvest, an education focused fund management firm in Singapore. With over 25 years of experience in private equity, consulting & operations, he has led Kaizenvest to become the only education sector focused fund manager with funds across South & South East Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. He is frequently featured as a speaker on private equity, emerging investments& globally impactful trends & sits on the boards of various education companies.