QSR Media Asia Conference & Awards 2026

Eugene Lee is a multiple award-winning Chief Marketing Officer with nearly two decades of experience building brands and driving growth across local, regional, and global markets. Currently APAC CMO at CHAGEE, he leads diverse teams to create work that connects culture, creativity, and commercial results.
With a career shaped by international exposure, Eugene brings a sharp understanding of how consumers think, feel, and behave across markets. Known for pairing strong business judgment with creative bravery, he focuses on doing work that matters — building brands that last, teams that grow, and impact that can be measured.

Paul brings over 9 years of experience working at the intersection of data, growth strategy, and the Southeast Asian consumer landscape. Representing GlobalData, he specializes in delivering forward-looking insights across the Food & Beverage industry — from consumer behavior and innovation trends to market forecasts and competitive intelligence. His work supports businesses in making data-driven decisions that unlock sustainable growth in a rapidly evolving market.

Michael Bruce serves as Director of International Operations for Wendy’s, leading strategic and operational initiatives across Asia Pacific markets, including New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam, and Japan—a dynamic region with more than 225 locations. His role focuses on improving unit-level economics, elevating restaurant execution, and enhancing guest experience, while driving new store development and market expansion to support sustainable growth.

With over 28 years in the quick service restaurant industry and more than a decade living in Asia Pacific, Michael brings expertise in global operations and franchise leadership. Prior to joining Wendy’s in 2024, he spent 27 years with Dairy Queen in senior roles such as Regional Director for APAC and Director of New Market Entry, where he successfully led operational transformations and international growth strategies. Michael is passionate about operational excellence, disciplined execution, and building strong partnerships that enable brands to thrive globally while staying locally relevant.

Ben is the Regional Vice President of Domino’s Pizza International, overseeing 30 markets with over 5,500 restaurants in Asia, Middle East and Africa. Prior to Domino’s Pizza, Ben spent 12 years at McDonald’s, 2 years at Analytic Partners and 5 years at Procter & Gamble. He comes with a wealth of experience in F&B, FMCG and Consulting after working across industries, markets and functions in the past 19 years since he graduated from Singapore Management University.

Outside of Domino’s, Ben serves as President of Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS), Council Member of Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and member of the most recently formed Economic Strategy Review (ESR) board, specifically on the “Impact of Restructuring”.

He loves a good pizza, and so do his 3 young children.

Ann is a Veteran in the global Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry, where she had successfully led regional performance and growth of three prominent global brands across Pizza, Burger and Coffee & Dessert categories. 

Ann currently serves as APAC General Manager for Papa Johns brand (NASDAQ:PZZA), where she leads the region’s performance and initiatives across 7 markets, including China, Korea, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Guam. Prior to Papa Johns, Ann was at Restaurant Brands International (NYSE: QSR) since 2017, where she held various roles in Franchise Business Operations, Marketing and Finance in both North America and APAC regions. 

From 2020 through 2022, Ann worked alongside with the franchise partners and drove successful growth of the Tim Hortons brand in both China and Philippines. Additionally, Ann led sales & marketing initiatives for Burger King across China, Korea and Japan. Ann started her career in Mergers & Acquisitions in an investment bank based in Toronto and earned her Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

Mr Amit Manocha is Group CFO and MD, Private Equity at the Everstone Group, a premier India and Southeast Asia focused alternate asset manager with assets under management of ~US$8.0 billion. Amit is responsible for leading the firm’s overall financial strategy and execution. Amit has executed several transactions in various businesses including consumer, healthcare and other sectors across India, Southeast Asia and US. Everstone group has invested over US$500m in F&B Sector and Amit has led most of the transactions for the firm across the regions.

Prior to Everstone, Amit has worked with Coca-Cola, GE Capital and HCL Technologies in the corporate finance, business analysis and financial management groups in India and US. Amit is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and a top ranked Chartered Accountant from India with over 25 years of experience in private equity and corporate finance
 

Shaurya focuses on digital value creation, top-line transformation and ecosystem strategies for clients in the consumer and retail sectors.

In his strategy consulting career, he has worked with numerous global clients on large-scale transformations and helped Southeast Asian players across the consumer and retail sectors shape their disruptive digital strategies.

Shaurya holds a master’s degree in Business from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences.

Steen Puggaard is a Board-level senior executive with over 30 years of international F&B experience, driving growth for global consumer brands and private equity-backed F&B investments. Currently the CEO of Louis T Collection (The Getz Group), he has a proven track record of transforming distressed assets into high-performing enterprises. Notable achievements include taking 4Fingers Crispy Chicken from receivership to regional success and leading the acquisition and rapid turnaround of Domino’s Pizza in the Philippines.

With a career spanning leadership roles at McDonald’s, Burger King, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Steen offers a unique dual perspective as both an operator and an investor. As an Operating Partner in private equity and an Advisor in the Bain Advisory Network, he specializes in identifying scalability and creating enduring profitable growth across Southeast Asia. His expertise in M&A, franchise management, and "investment-ready" operational models makes him a leading voice on what institutional investors seek in the Asian QSR landscape.

A consumer psychologist by training, Suchit is the Experience Strategy Specialist in APAC at Landor, a global brand transformation consultancy. He works with brands across the region to create physical experiences grounded in how customers actually behave. While his work spans multiple sectors, he has a deep fondness for, and expertise in, the fast paced world of QSR.

His work in this space includes refreshing the dine-in experience for established chains like Domino's, Chowking and Pizza Express, and developing new to market concepts for groups like Jubilant Foodworks and Zee Network. He has written for Campaign Asia, Impact and Exchange4Media.

Sales Director of MY, Australia, New Zealand. Pioneer with iMin, close to a decade experience in Commercial Android Devices, dealing with many large POS vendors and QSR clients.

Mark is a seasoned B2B leader with 20+ years of international experience building and scaling businesses across APAC. As General Manager for APAC, he drives growth and strategy for Lark, a leading all-in-one workplace automation and collaboration tool, drawing on a background in finance and 14 years in high-growth startups. Living in Asia since 2006, he brings a grounded, global perspective to how organizations scale and execute.

Walther Uzi Buenavista is a Filipino entrepreneur and founder of Shawarma Shack. From building the brand from the ground up, he has combined a deep understanding of food, operations, and consumer behavior with a sharp international perspective. Walther’s leadership is driven by a global vision to expand Shawarma Shack, delivering consistent quality and innovative flavors while bringing a distinctly Filipino food experience to a wider audience.

Josh Bell is the Brand Principal of Guzman y Gomez Singapore and Yo-Chi Singapore, leading the strategic growth and brand development of two of the region’s fastest-growing food service chains.

With over a decade of experience in the quick-service restaurant industry, Josh has played a pivotal role in expanding Guzman y Gomez’s footprint in Singapore, transforming it into a high-performing, tech-enabled operation known for its speed, quality, and customer loyalty.
He holds a Juris Doctor of Law from Bond University, a Bachelor of E-Commerce from the University of Queensland, and completed executive education in International Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

A high-impact marketing leader in the F&B sector, Erika Tangtatco currently leads brand and marketing initiatives at LA Chicks Philippines. She is recognized for her insightful and innovative approach, combining data-driven strategy with a genuine passion for food to create experiences that shape brands and captivate audiences.

Julien has over 25 years of experience in management consulting, with a focus on consumer goods and retail industries. He is now a Senior Partner with Roland Berger and leads the firm’s Asian Consumer & Retail practice.

Prior to joining Roland Berger, Julien held several leadership roles in the management consulting industry in Asia. Over his consulting career, he has delivered projects across Europe and Asia, gradually concentrating on fast-growing consumer markets.

From 2006 to 2009, he worked as a principal consultant in Mumbai to one of the world's fastest and most ambitious retail rollouts in the world, bringing to life a retail network to over 1,300 stores in just 18 months — all from scratch. Over the last 10 years, he has worked closely with global sports brands, luxury, and cosmetics brands in the design of their growth strategies in the Chinese eCommerce market, and has advised leading Asia retailers in the redesign of their growth strategies, store formats, and operating models.

Julien holds master’s degrees from the École Centrale de Lyon and Essec Business School in Paris, and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Alaric Sng is the Senior Manager, Global Marketing at Shake Shack, a role he started in early 2022, leading brand marketing across Mainland China and Southeast Asia. A seasoned hospitality marketer, he previously helped develop Shangri-La Group’s loyalty marketing capabilities both in‑house and on the agency side. As a brand marketer, Alaric is passionate about crafting unique guest experiences through thoughtful brand storytelling and culturally relevant campaigns.

Adora Sarah Chou is the Chief Marketing Officer at Guzman y Gomez (GYG) Singapore, where she spearheads the brand’s full-funnel marketing operations, consumer insights, and the sustainable growth of its revenue channels. A firm believer in the direct through-line between brand storytelling and revenue generation, Adora has been the catalyst for GYG’s evolution since joining in April 2024. She has been the driving force behind high-impact campaigns such as “Clean is the New Healthy”, "Fast Food by GYG" and the “GYG Goes Local” initiative, which introduced ground-breaking innovations like Butter Chicken and Laksa Barramundi to Singapore. Guided by GYG's core value 'Be Real', she champions radical authenticity across every guest touchpoint. Beyond the boardroom, Adora remains a recognisable voice in Singapore’s media landscape, hosting her long-running weekend show on Gold 905. 

Frantz holds an MBA from Bradford University / Audencia / Deusto University. With more than 10 years in the retail industry, Frantz spent five years at Devanlay Lacoste as Area Manager for Southeast-Asia overseeing a portfolio of 15 markets and then moved on to the Samsonite group (9 brands) as Vice-President for Southeast-Asia, managing the 4 subsidiaries in the region. With his vast experience in business development, he later joined wife, Katherine and brother in-law, Adrien,  in 2015 at the SaladStop Group to helm the expansion of the healthy QSR group across Asia (SaladStop! & Heybo brands). He has since helped to launch more than 9 franchises and subsidiaries across the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Spain, Malaysia and the UAE.