The first day of the Summit proper at M+, an iconic museum on the waterfront of Kowloon and home to visual culture, art and design, kicked off with a series of speeches. First, up was Tamara Lamunière, Head of Tatler Ventures and also the founder of Tatler Gen.T. She welcomed attendees to the event and shared how the Summit represented the values that Gen.T was built on—to inspire, boost and connect leaders across Asia.

Lamunière said, "When we started Gen.T back in 2016, it was part of a larger vision that we had for Tatler—Asia's leading luxury media group—to expand beyond media and beyond lifestyle and to start playing a much larger role in global conversations, but through the lens of Asia's most influential audiences, and the issues that matter most to them. In the case of the Summit: entrepreneurship, innovation and making a positive impact."

Lamunière also raised the issue of how leaders of any organisation today are torn between a much greater variety of needs, wants and expectations by the necessity of business and the realities of our day-to-day lives. By naming many of these in an expansive list, she demonstrated how these responsibilities have continued to grow in size and intensity.

Lamunière commented after, "While we can't help you with all of that, we can help you with some of it. Through the Tatler Gen.T Summit, we hope that you walk away with original thoughts, new ways of seeing old problems and stronger network, while enjoying the experiences that we at Tatler are known for."

Following Lamunière's introduction to the event were a few onstage words from Michael Wong, Deputy Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong government. Wong praised the overall journalistic standards of the Tatler brand and its immense cultural relevance. He also explained how Hong Kong’s arts, sports and overall culture scene is already thriving but is set to dramatically expand with the upcoming completion of facilities like the new Lyric Theatre complex and the Kai Tak Sports Park.

Wong said, "There was a lot of scepticism. People think Hong Kong is a city just about business and money. They know that we’re not a culture desert yet people wouldn’t come for our experiences. The past couple of years have shown the opposite."

The last of the opening remarks were made by Mary Huen, CEO, Hong Kong and cluster CEO (HK, Taiwan, Macau) of Standard Chartered. Huen spoke about how future improvements likely lie with the committed activity of a small group of talented individuals set against the struggles of the world such as the fallout of Covid-19 and ongoing issues of poverty and widespread unemployment. Huen posited that those gathered at the Summit were exactly the kind of individuals such improvements would be driven by.

Huen said, "I’m very energised and excited by the conversation, your optimism, your energy and your curiosity. It inspires and wows me that this is the next generation feeding the future. It’s great news for all of us."

Legendary travel writer, essayist and novelist, Pico Iyer, took the main stage for the first presentation of the day. He spoke about his experiences throughout his career and the evolving cultural and ethnic dynamics of the places he has visited. He also brought attention to the need to step away from the rat race, if only fleetingly, at regular intervals.

Iyer said, "I maintain a three percent rule. I try to spend three percent of my days on retreat, just three days every season. As long as I have those three days, the other 97 can take care of themselves. I also think if I spend 20 minutes every morning, which is only 3 percent of my waking day, just sitting quietly, gathering my thoughts, the rest of the day will go much better."

Read More: Pico Iyer on the importance of taking a step back and where his new ideas come from

YouTube co-founder, Steve Chen, and Patrick Grove, CEO of Catcha Group were on the panel A Blueprint for Disruption: A no-holds-barred conversation with legendary entrepreneurs Steve Chen and Patrick Grove moderated by a 14-year-old tech advocate and AI researcher, Zara Khanna.

The two tech business titans discussed the bumpier aspects of their journeys to the top of the game and the lessons learned from them. Grove said, "Every journey has problems and pivots along the way, but it’s the people that have the right founder-market fit for that particular problem that will persevere.”

Read more: Tech legends Steve Chen and Patrick Grove on regrets, survival and founder-market fit

Kay McArdle, founder & director, Equal Justice; Manisha Wijesinghe, executive director, Help For Domestic Workers and Alicia Lui, founder, Women In Sports Empowered Hong Kong were all named Tatler Front & Female Award Winners in 2022. All three assembled to take part in the panel Beyond the F Word: Harnessing the Power of The Female Economy, moderated by Sarah Chen-Spellings, ‍co-founder and managing partner, Beyond The Billion to discuss an entire half of the market that is still underserved.

Lui said, “Think about the woman as a consumer—as an asset worth investing in. You have women who grew up not really watching sport: how do you convert them into a fan? That's a huge opportunity there—how’d you convert women into participating in sports. So it’s not just about the sports fields anymore. It is around the equipment they need: the shoes, the clothes, all of these are still growing opportunities that I think are worth considering ... Across all spectrums, there are really things that you can think about how you can use your knowledge or resources to help support that.”

The conversation about blockchain tech has been far from smooth. Many wonder if it can make a comeback and why should creatives and investors alike still care about Web3. Unblocking the Blockchain: Why Web3 Matters, a panel featuring Hanjin Tan, an award-winning singer and Web3 pioneer and Gary Liu co-founder and CEO, Terminal 3, moderated by Angelina Kwan, managing director, Stratford Finance tackled the above question and more.

The conversation swirled around the lack of personal ownership in Web2’s digital space, with Tan and Liu agreeing that Web3 had to potential to offer a more equitable and profitable system for creators with its promise of decentralisation. Throw in some detours into the subjects of NFTs, AI, and magicians (you had to be there) to achieve an alternative and enlightening presentation on where blockchain's potential bounceback will lead us.

Liu said, "I would not recommend that everyone in this room start building on blockchain today because it’s not ready yet. But I would recommend that everyone learn about it."

The Summit had its fair share of idols in attendance, including the greatest female squash player who ever lived. Nicol David can lay claim to being the world’s number one player for nine years straight before moving on to co-found the Nicol David Organisation in 2022.

Putting her talents to continued good use, the non-profit empowers girls and boys through athletics. In her talk, Squashing the Competition with Nicol David: What Business Leaders Can Learn from Elite Athletes, David talked about passing on skills to the next generation and how the value of physical health goes far beyond the court.

It has been two years since U.S forces left Afghanistan and it returned to Taliban rule. But while that war is over, there are still other kinds of battles being waged. Mahbouba Saraj was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to fighting for women’s rights under the repressive regime. Seraj honoured the Summit with her presence, telling the audience about the ongoing struggle of women in Afghanistan during her talk, Commitment at any Cost: Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Mahbouba Saraj on Standing Up Against the Taliban.

Sex sells. That’s not surprising. But what is eyebrow-raising is how big the industry of physical pleasure is compared to how little many people know about a business based upon our most basic needs. Between the Sheets: Unlocking the Science & Business of Intimacy was the first panel following lunch at the Summit, which featured Maaike Steinebach, sextech advisor and investor and Sara Tang, sex coach, sexologist and educator of Sarasense.

Moderated by Karis Cheng, co-founder and head of brand studio, Unsensible, the panel talked about how sex tech is empowering women to learn how to embrace wellness through online resources.

Steinebach said, “Apart from the fact that we should normalise the conversation on sex, it’s also an amazing business opportunity. When you work in a marginalised space like sex or women’s health, it is really important that there are people who can advocate for the marginalised.

The concept of the family business and maintaining a generational legacy goes back as far as human civilization. Yet, in recent years this longstanding ideal has come under scrutiny. The panel All in the Family: Navigating for Success When Business Is Personal, moderated by Tamara Lamunière, offered perspectives from Binod Chadhaury chairman, CG Global Corp and his son Nirvana Chaudhary managing director, CG Global Corp of what priorities are within a successful and hardworking billionaire family.

Nirvana Chaudhary said, “While making decisions, you can fail. But never in our history have we sold or closed a business. We’ve come up with a new model, or see a sectorial opportunity, but we don’t come from a place where the option is to shut down.”

We all know the saying, "Who wants to live forever?" But what is often meant rhetorically, Bryan Johnson took as a challenge. Johnson, who founded and eventually sold eCommerce company Braintree for $800 million, achieved an entirely different kind of fame when his mission to drastically lengthen his lifespan as much as possible drew intense and mixed reactions from social media.

A Quest For Immortality: In Conversation With Bryan Johnson was a pre-recorded session (in order to accommodate Johnson's specific sleep schedule) wherein the multimillionaire tech entrepreneur went into the details of his “Project Blueprint” longevity scheme.

“We all want to be part of something that matters, lasts and inspires. We all want to earn the respect of our peers. We are not so different after all. So, let’s make our algorithm align with that,” he said. 

Read more: Finding the blueprint for longevity: Inside Bryan Johnson's mission to cheat death

Unicorns are wondrous creatures, which is why it is the name bestowed on a start-up that cracks a billion dollars in value. In addition, a group of unicorns is called a blessing, which seems awfully fitting for the treat given to the Summit audience when three unicorns made an appearance. On the panel, Chibo & The Unicorns: Beyond the Billion Dollar Milestone, Danny Yeung, co-founder, Prenetics, Steven Lam, co-founder and chief everything officer, Gogox and Annabelle Huang managing partner, Amber Group spoke about how crossing that monetary threshold changed everything. Moderated by one of Hong Kong's most successful investors Chibo Tang, Managing Partner, Gobi Partners the panel (powered by InvestHK) provided a peek into the world of super start-up success.

Yeung said, “If you decide to start your own company, you have to do it with passion and resilience. Because it’s not a nine-to-five job—you have to think about work 24/7. So if you’re not passionate about it, you'’re not going to be able to get through the hard times. And there are going to be a lot of them.”

Front & Female Award Winners for 2022 Fiona Nott, CEO, The Women's Foundation and Jennifer Yu Cheng, ‍group president and deputy vice chairwoman, CTF Education Group want to inspire and assist the next generation of female leaders across Asia. Moderated by Sarah Chen-Spellings, the panel From K-12 to the Boardroom: Investing in the Next Generation tackled the concerns of women working to succeed in a fairer but still not equitable world for gender.

Impact isn’t always about profit but about solving problems for the community. This was the key message for the audience at Changing Lanes: Roadmap to an Impact-Driven Business, a panel with Jaime "Jim" Ayala, founder, Hybrid Social Solutions and Dora Nattinee Sae Ho, founder and CEO, Thrive Venture Builder. Moderated by Chong Seow Wei, regional senior editor, Tatler Gen.T the discussion showed how entrepreneurs are putting a greater emphasis on improving a world that needs all the help it can get.

Asia is at the forefront of high cuisine. So it makes perfect sense the Summit would devote some time to the subject, featuring someone who creates art in the kitchen and someone who has expanded the region's culinary footprint. In How to Handle the Heat: Serving up Creativity Against the Odds, a panel moderated by Johannes Pong, editor, Johannes Media, celebrity chef André Chiang and Syed Asim Hussain, founder and principal, Black Sheep spoke about keeping ideas as fresh as one's ingredients.

Pablo Escobar is a name that lives in infamy. The Colombian kingpin's reign of terror during the 1980s has made his name synonymous with the drug trade and the violence it perpetuates. His son, Juan Pablo Escobar has had to carry the burden of that name his entire life and has even foregone it, changing his name to Sebastián Marroquín. But rather than shy away, the architect and author has made it a personal mission to make amends for his father's crimes to the families they harmed. In the final presentation of the conference, Living Under a Long Shadow: Juan Pablo Escobar on the Power of Legacy, Marroquín capped things off in a powerful and heartfelt way. 

Marroquín said, “Netflix portrayed my father as the Robin Hood of Colombians. For me, it’s very sad because this big company, which has produced so many good stories that can inspire young people, is glorifying my father’s life and starting to make kids to believe that being a criminal is such a good thing. I've visited so many schools and met young people who think the only way to succeed in life is to become similar to my father. My job now is to raise awareness and let them know that there’s no future if they take that path.”

After the close of the conference, it was time for the Summit's attendees to hit the city in style! Bussed out from M+ to Central, Tatler Gen.T had arranged the complete takeover of four of Hong Kong's top-shelf bars (Botanical Garden, Draft Land, Lockdown, and Penicillin) for the event's exclusive use. Attendees got to cut loose on a night of free-flowing cocktails and fantastic networking.

Day one of the Gen.T Summit ended with a well-earned raucous night on the town before day two would unleash the Summit’s attendees across it for a series of activities in multiple venues. 

Read more articles from the Tatler Gen.T Summit 2023 here.

The Tatler Gen.T Summit is sponsored by Standard Chartered Private Bank, Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong and MTR Lab, organised in partnership with M+, Regent, Black Sheep and Cathay Pacific and supported by Brand Hong Kong, Hong Kong Tourism Board and InvestHK.

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