Gene is a multiple award-winning internationally recognized expert in digital & direct marketing, including all aspects of customer acquisition, retention, CRM, engagement, UX, and loyalty. He has spent the majority of his career in Asia, 25 years+, having also lived and worked in Japan for 10 years with AIG.

As the executive vice president and worldwide chief digital & direct marketing officer at AIG, for example, he launched direct marketing businesses for the firm throughout the world. In Asia, beginning in Japan and later in Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong and India he built and managed a digital & direct marketing portfolio of business totalling US$4.5 billion, businesses that he built from scratch.

Gene was also the chairman of the worldwide Direct Marketing Association in 2010, and was the chairman of the Hong Kong Direct Marketing Association from 2003 until 2014. He is a founding governor of the DMA’s ECHO Academy of Direct Marketing Arts & Sciences, country ambassador for the John Caples Awards, and principal judge for JUOMA in Hong Kong.

Monica began her career in direct response marketing right here in Hong Kong shortly after graduation. When she joined Datatrade in 1988 as the first marketing manager, she became one of the true pioneers in the data business, methodically building Hong Kong’s largest proprietary database to support businesses as diverse as Newsweek magazine, Reader’s Digest, American Express, AIG, Diners Club and many other companies who relied on accurate and actionable data.

Monica grew within the Datatrade business to eventually become a partner, and later the Chief Executive Director, largely thanks to her expansion of the business to cover all functional areas of direct response marketing operational disciplines. She added letter-shop, fulfillment, customer contact centre, data analytics, and all the other elements necessary to support any digital & direct marketing enterprise.

Monica is an active member of the digital & direct marketing community in Hong Kong, serving on the boards of HKDMA, D+DMA, and others, as well as mentoring young talent for HKTDC’s SME program.

Tann Pai is a specialist in insurance direct marketing with over 20 years of experience working in several Asian markets. Her business experience covers Asian countries, such as Korea, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and India.

Tann started her career in insurance direct marketing at AIG in 1998 and has since worked for other major insurance companies in Japan. In addition to insurance, Tann has experience in direct marketing of consumer goods as well and has extensive knowledge and skills in marketing and overall operations in cross industries.

Tann has worked on business/marketing strategy, direct marketing launch in new markets, CEM/CRM and call center operation of all categories of insurance products and retail/consumer products.

Michio Okada started his career in the insurance industry in 1995, and over the years he has gained particular expertise in insurance direct marketing, call center operations and BPO management.

In 2009, Michio started his own business as a call center consultant and has worked with numbers of call centers to improve their sales efficiency. In 2013, he joined GCI, AFD’s predecessor, and has been involved in OLM’s direct insurance operations since that time.

Ryuichi began working at an advertising agency at the age of 23, managing mass media ad placements, planning and managing events, and planning and executing sales promotions.

Based on the direct marketing experience, he moved to American Home Insurance Company in 1996, and Worked on insurance direct marketing, including Japan’s first DM promotion of automobile insurance.

Ryuichi then joined SASTI provider created by the 2006 revision of the Insurance Business Law, where he was in charge of negotiations with the Financial Services Agency. He worked for people with intellectual disabilities, where he was in charge of life planning for people with disabilities and their parents. After that, he moved to SASTI company for people with intellectual disabilities and continued to work on the theme of quality of life for people with disabilities by utilizing insurance, such as creating life plans for them and their parents.

After accumulating his career and knowledge, he moved to a general insurance agency and took charge of consulting on corporate risk management, providing consulting on specific methods of risk hedging from the perspective of operational risk and hazard risk, as well as risk analysis inherent in companies.

Taras has extensive experience in both start-up and mature direct response operations across Japan, South-East Asia and Australasia with primary focus on insurance broad market sales. Key competencies include creating cost-efficiencies using a broad range of direct marketing techniques, D2C front- and back-end operations, mass marketing of insurance products using all major media with emphasis on DRTV, TPA selection, contract negotiation and ongoing management.

Taras has 20 years of experience 16 of which he spent in insurance industry in Asia, holding various country and regional positions with AIG Companies, Allianz and Chubb, including Head of Mass Marketing, SVP DRTV, and, most recently, Director and Personal Lines Division Head. He also served as a CMO for the largest US direct response company and sold beauty products via DRTV and digital channels in Japan.

He started his career with AIG in Japan and launched broad market operations or expanded existing direct response businesses for various AIG operating entities in Korea, India, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand by using Accident and Health, guaranteed or simplified issue Life, and direct Auto products.

Seniors segment has been a major target market for AIG across Asian direct response operations. In his most recent role Taras was responsible for Chubb Japan’s personal lines business and managed the largest profit center comprised of auto, personal residential and specialty insurance distributed through general and specialized agents and corporate sponsors. He achieved record profitability for the profit center through portfolio management, underwriting discipline, product development, process improvement, distribution development and key partner management.

Ralph Mucerino began his professional insurance career with The Travelers and joined AIG in 1979. He held several roles in the Domestic Brokerage Group earlier in his career including Senior Vice President of Commerce & Industry and Senior Vice President of American Home and National Union where he was responsible for several business units and operations, including field operations and IT. Ralph’s ensuing career encompassed a wide range of roles in both consumer and commercial insurance, including multiple regional management roles for domestic and overseas businesses, multiple product manager roles in commercial and consumer insurance, multiple leadership roles in distribution, marketing and client management and leadership positions in reengineering of AIG’s overseas businesses.

During his distinguished forty-one-year career with American International group, Ralph led multiple diverse businesses which highlighted his leadership, vision, creativity, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. In 1996, he assumed the CEO role for the Africa-Middle East Region. He then relocated to Japan, where he served as President of the Far East Region, AIG’s largest general insurance operation outside of the United States. In 2002, upon his return from Japan, Ralph was appointed CEO of AIG Global Energy and, in 2006, for the combined AIG Global Marine and Energy Division. In November 2008, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of AIU for the company’s international businesses. In 2011, Ralph was appointed Head of Distribution for General Insurance, globally. This was followed by appointments as President of the Consumer Lines business for the Americas and President of AIG Partnerships and sponsorships for Accident and Health business from 2014 until his retirement in October of 2020.

Ralph retired in October of 2020 as Senior Vice President of AIG. Upon retirement, he established an advisory company, RPM Strategy & Management Consulting LLC. The focus of RPM is on start-up companies in the fin-tech space. Ralph is also a member of the Executive Insights Advisory Board of the International Insurance Society and serves as a mentor for retiring military officers as part of the American Corporate Partners program. He is also a former Trustee of Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is a graduate of St. John’s University.

Graham is the Chief Executive of Asia Affinity Holdings Ltd., a diversified financial services company headquartered in Hong Kong, with operating subsidiaries in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Graham started his career with a major UK insurance broker and in 1974 was posted to their Japan office. He has remained in Asia and over the course of the intervening 47 years has lived and built insurance businesses in Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and a regional wholesale broking business in Singapore.

In 2000 Graham launched his own business focused on distribution, business process outsourcing and contact centre solutions for the financial services sector in Asia. Asia Affinity is focused on providing growth and protection solutions, both non-marine and marine to the SME and Micro communities in Asia. Through their subsidiary companies, the group, is active in the Mutual Aid and Cooperative sectors in Japan; provides underwriting and sustainable solutions for Coastal communities through their marine businesses and in 2016 launched KMB, a Micro Insurance initiative to support sustainable community development, and resilience, in Asia.