Tay Kuan Yan 

With 20 years of experience in the public perception management, Kuan Yan is legal advisor to the Institute of Public Relations in Singapore and has been an expert member of several government-led steering committees on youth, design and trade development.

He began his career as a diplomat with the Singapore Foreign Service, where he was Assistant Director in the Policy and Analysis Directorate.  His international exposure included his posting as First Secretary and Head of Chancery in Canberra, Australia.  Kuan Yan also had a distinguished career in banking and technology where he was a Public Affairs Manager with DBS and HSBC.  He helped them with internationalisation efforts and was also a speech writer and government relations advisor to the then-CEOs.  He has also worked closely with design guru, Philippe Starck and was regional manager for THOMSON and Digital Equipment Asia Pacific. 

Kuan Yan also co-founded AideA Publicists Pte Ltd, a marketing communications agency with blue chip clients like FORTUNE, Arthur Anderson, Microsoft and IBM.  Within its second year of operation, AideA Publicists was able to receive a million dollar turnover.  Previously, as General Manager of The Hoffman Agency, Kuan Yan continues to work on accounts like Google, Friendster, Ericsson Telecom, CommunicAsia, Games Convention Asia and Datacraft.  Aside from his managerial role, Kuan Yan is also a trainer for senior spokespersons and lectures on legal and social issues related to communications.