• Dr. Hassan Shahidi, President and CEO, Flight Safety Foundation
• Mr. Han Kok Juan, Director-General, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore

• Mr. Onuma Toshiyuki, President of the ICAO Council

This panel brings together senior aviation leaders to share strategic perspectives on navigating rapid growth, technological changes, and evolving challenges. The panel will explore collaborative partnerships, shared aspirations, and the transformations for successful and safe aviation.

Panel Moderator: Dr. Hassan Shahidi, President and CEO, Flight Safety Foundation

Panelists:

• Mr. Simon Hocquard, President & CEO, Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation
• Mr. Tan Lye Teck, Executive Vice President, Safety & Security, Changi Airport Group
• Mr. Munekazu Tachibana, Executive Senior Fellow, Formerly Senior Vice President of Safety and Flight Operations, Japan Airlines

This session examines safety vision-setting and the translation of safety principles into operational practice, to manage tensions and dilemmas and ensure safety. The session will also discuss safety leadership tenets in an evolving environment and strategies for navigating the intersection of safety excellence and industry growth.

Speaker:
Mr. Hiroyuki Kometani, Executive Vice President, Chief Safety Officer, Chair of Safety Promotion Committee, All Nippon Airways

This panel brings together accomplished aviation leaders to explore collaborative frameworks and approaches to strengthen collaborative efforts, trust, information-sharing and coordinated capacity building to deliver meaningful safety improvements. 

Panel Moderator: 
Mr. Jose Fernandez, Director, Asia Pacific Centre for Aviation Safety

Panelists:
Mr. Bennet Walsh, Senior Vice President, Corporate Aviation Safety Strategy, Korean Air
Ms. Saifon Obromsook, Director of Safety Management Department, AEROTHAI, Chair of Regional Airspace Safety Monitoring Advisory Group (RASMAG), Director of Monitoring Agency for the Asia Region (MAAR), chair for aerodromes sub-group for APANPIRG

This session will explore different perspectives of safety culture, and showcase proven success stories of how organisations have effectively translated safety culture policies into practice.
 
Host: Mr. Mark Searle, Global Director, Safety, International Air Transport Association
 
Guest: Capt. Ron Hay, President, International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations

Artificial Intelligence is reshaping aviation, offering new opportunities to elevate safety. This session will explore how aviation leaders can harness the potential of AI to achieve better outcomes. The session will also discuss ideas in employing AI to support decision-making, strengthen performance, and open new pathways for safety improvements across aviation operations.
 
Speaker: Mr. Vishwajeet Uddanwadiker, Chief AI & Autonomy Officer, Engineering Test and Technology, Boeing

The aviation industry faces unprecedented workforce challenges as it navigates demographic shifts, technological disruption, and evolving operational demands. This session will examine strategies for attracting, retaining, and training the next generation of aviation professionals to ensure industry resilience and safety excellence.
 
Panel Moderator:
Ms. Natalie Randolph, Regional Director, Asia Pacific Office, FAA
 
Panelists:
Mr. Chris Bowden, Group General Manager, Safety & Quality, Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited  
Ms. Cheryl Chen, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific, International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations  
Capt. Zoya Agarwal, Pilot, Air India Limited
Capt. Oscar Marion, Flight Operations Expert Pilot, Airbus

This session examines the core building blocks that underpin effective safety management systems and explores how organisations can strengthen these foundations to achieve operational excellence whilst adapting to emerging challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. 
 
Speaker: Capt. Francesco Gaetani, Flight Standards Director, European Union Aviation Safety Agency

The aviation industry faces an increasingly complex landscape of operational disruptions, from extreme weather events and technological failures to geopolitical tensions and pandemic-related challenges. This panel brings together industry experts to explore how organisations can build systemic resilience and maintain safety standards whilst effectively managing disruptions across the Asia-Pacific region's diverse operational environments. 
 
Panel Moderator:
Capt. Roshan Joshi, Technical Director, Association of Asia Pacific Airlines
 
Panellists:
Mr. Stephen P. Creamer, President & CEO, Air Traffic Control Association 
Mr. Alastair Sim, Regional Marketing Director (APAC), Rolls-Royce
Mr. Koji Hayashi, Vice President, MRO Japan 
Mr. Hiroki Kitabayashi, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Kansai Airports

Runway safety is a critical challenge, especially amidst increasing traffic, operational pressures and the involvement of multiple stakeholders. This session will examine how airports, operators, ANSPs and regulators can work collaboratively to identify and mitigate runway hazards and prevent runway incidents or accidents.
 
Panel Moderator:
Mr. Mitchell Fox, Managing Director of BARS Program, Flight Safety Foundation
 
Panelists:
Capt. Peter Clemmow, General Manager - Group Safety and Operational Risk Management, Cathay Pacific
Capt. Nurcahyo Utomo, Director of Safety, Security and Standardization, Air Nav Indonesia
Capt. Adrian Abraham, Regional Safety Director, South-East Asia, Airbus
Ms. Duangtawan Pinpimai, Expert, Director Level, Safety Management Department, AEROTHAI

Rapid traffic growth, tight turnaround times and diverse worker demographic and workforce turnover pose challenges to safety in ground handling operations. This session will examine how airlines and ground handling operators can address operational pressures and workforce challenges through strong coordination, standardisation and enhanced training.
 
Host:
Mr. Alexander Cornelius, Divisional Vice President, Safety, Security and Quality, Singapore Airlines
 
Guest:
Mr. Noel Darcy, Global Head, Health, Safety, Security & Environment, SATS

Weather-related hazards are one of the most significant challenges facing aviation operations, with turbulence, severe weather systems, and climate variability creating complex safety and operational considerations. This panel brings together safety professionals from various domains to examine innovation for predicting, avoiding, and safely managing weather-related risks across the diverse climatic conditions of the Asia-Pacific region. 
 
Panel Moderator:
Mr. Todd Sigler, Senior Director, Global Safety & Regulatory Affairs, Boeing
 
Panelists:
Mr. Hyson Su, Junior Vice President, Corporate Safety, Security & Quality Division, EVA Airways
Ms. Maya Shpak, Chief Executive Officer, Skypath
Mr. Max Matsumoto, General Manager, Safety Promotion/Management, Corporate Safety and Security, All Nippon Airways

Traditional safety approaches focus on understanding failures and preventing errors, but emerging research reveals the critical importance of studying successful operations and positive human contributions to system resilience, which this session will explore and share success stories.
 
Speaker: Dr. Kristy Kiernan, Associate Professor, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Aviation insurance is a catalyst for safety improvements across the industry. This session will explore how emerging trends impact risk assessment, discuss risk management strategies that align financial protection with operational excellence, and explore how insurance partnerships can drive safety innovation across diverse operational environments. 
 
Panel Moderator:
Mr. Jose Fernandez, Director, Asia-Pacific Center for Aviation Safety
 
Panelists:
Mr. Adam Johns, Senior Vice President, Aviation Operational Risk Consulting, Marsh Risk  
Mr. Jason Bok, Senior Vice President, Head Quality & Safety, Commercial Aerospace, ST Engineering
Mr. Tan Soon Keat, Regional Director, Asia, McLarens
Capt. Hideaki Miyachi, Vice President Safety Culture, Aviation Safety Research and Development, Japan Airlines
Mr. Ed Taylor, Executive Director, Willis Towers Watson 

Artificial intelligence is transforming aviation operations and presents unprecedented opportunities to enhance aviation safety through improved hazard identification, near real-time risk assessment, and proactive incident prevention. Machine learning algorithms can analyse vast operational datasets to enable more effective safety management systems and evidence-based decision making. This session will explore how AI can augment human expertise including examining the design of human-machine interfaces that maintain situational awareness and effective decision-making authority in automated environments.
 
Speaker:
Mr. Ben Ivers, Director, Emerging Technologies & Regulatory Strategy, Boeing

The success of data driven approaches to safety is very much dependent on the volume, veracity and variety of data. This panel will explore how big data will transform safety, how to overcome data related challenges and how aviation stakeholders can transform complex data into actionable safety intelligence. 
 
Panel Moderator:
Mr. Mitchell Fox, Managing Director of BARS Program, Flight Safety Foundation
 
Panelists:
Mr. Billy Nolen, Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer, Archer Aviation and former Acting FAA Administrator
Mr. Kohei Funabiki, Senior Research Engineer, Aeronautical Facility Research Unit, Aeronautical Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
 Mr. Akbar Sultan, Director, Office of Research and Engineering, US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)  

In complex, high pressure operating environments, human performance remains a critical determinant of safety and resilience. This session explores how emotional intelligence underpins psychological resilience, and how AI enabled tools can support — not replace — the human capacity to cope, adapt, and perform under stress. Drawing on emerging practices, it examines how data driven insights, predictive analytics, and digital support platforms can enhance self awareness, early stress detection, and timely intervention, while preserving trust, empathy, and psychological safety. Participants will gain perspectives on integrating AI responsibly to strengthen the human system and build resilient individuals, teams, and organisations.

Dr Fabio Mattioli, Director, Critical Ethnography Lab (CiEL)

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is a new frontier for aviation. Its potential to revolutionise transportation is both exciting and challenging. This session examines the complexities of introducing AAM into established airspace systems. Industry experts will discuss regulatory strategies, technological innovations, and operational frameworks that can enable safe and seamless coexistence between traditional aircraft and emerging mobility platforms.

Panel Moderator:
Mr. Manabu Iwamoto, Vice President, Industrial Research Department & Aerospace Office, Development Bank of Japan 
 
Panelists:
Mr. Earl Lawrence, Aviation Policy Lead for Advanced Projects, Joby Aviation
Mr. Richard Stocker, National Manager, Airworthiness and Engineering Branch, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Australia
Mr. Eguchi Makoto, Director, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Division, Japan Civil Aviation Bureau
Dr. Nobuo Kishi, Board Director, Executive Vice President, SkyDrive
Mr. Simon Whalley, Chief Regulatory and Safety Office, Skyports