SINGAPORE

ILLKA GOBIUS
Principal Consultant
Verve MPR Pte Ltd

Illka founded Verve in 1998, taking the business into practice in 2002. She is the Principal Consultant, responsible for building the business and overseeing the execution of client projects. She has acquired internationally know clients for the business from the corporate and government sectors including the Singapore Tourism Board, Aviva, CNN, HSMAI Asia Pacific, Japan Airlines, JetQuay CIP Terminal, MasterCard, Mouawad and Pernod Ricard.

Illka has some fifteen years of solid, all round experience in marketing and public relations in Australia and across Asia. She has broad and deep understanding of the disciplines of public relations, direct marketing, branding, marketing communication, promotion, events, design and merchandising. She has gained experience industry sectors that encompass the food and beverage, hospitality, travel, tourism, environment, office products and IT industries.

Illka, an Australian national, graduated from the Queensland University of Technology with a Graduate Diploma and Bachelor of Applied Science degree for Industrial Design. She also studied for a Graduate Diploma in International Marketing and achieved a Professional Certificate in Marketing at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Illka represents the eighth generation of her family to live in South East Asia.

Professor Ian Swingland

Professor Swingland was educated at London, Edinburgh and Oxford Universities. He has worked as a mathematician for Shell and as a biologist at Oxford, Edinburgh and with the Royal Society. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to conservation in the New Year Honours List for 2007 and variously Chair, Member or Trustee of many national and international bodies.

A leading authority on commercialising biodiversity assets and sustainable land use, he co-founded Sustainable Forestry Management, to demonstrate that attractive returns can be generated by investment in the world’s tropical and subtropical forests, and the Ultra Green Group of companies concerned with global water and energy supplies on an integrated, sustainable and ethical basis. He also founded The Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology ("DICE") in 1989 which is now the leading international research and postgraduate training institute in biodiversity and sustainability.

Ian also has extensive consulting experience in projects across Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia in ecotourism and community conservation and development.

Edward Lim

Edward Lim is an events consultant with Verve, responsible for executing events tactics, including sponsors, exhibitors, and logistics for the events that Verve manages.

He was most recently associated with Bar None and the Living Room, as a general manager of the bars, marketing and events.

Prior to that, Ed worked for a fantasy events company, organising entertainment for children at corporate events and responsible for developing the theme, look and feel of events in addition to executing logistics.

Paul van Rooyen

Paul van Rooyen is a junior PR & Events consultant with Verve MPR. He is responsible for assisting with all project matters.

CHINA

Jiang Ting

Ting's company Bridge86, a long time collaborator with Verve, operates in Singapore and Beijing, is one of the leading cross culture brand marketing companies in the Asia Pacific Region.

Bridge86 exists to help multinational organisations to integrate with China Market seamlessly, leverage a localised brand, strategy and method as an asset to drive financial growth, both at strategic and implementing level.

Bridge86 assists Verve with copywriting in Chinese, and executing publicity campaigns and events in China.

www.bridge86.com