MEET THE TEAM

ROLE

Ashwin is an experienced environmental consultant with over 10 years of business experience across Asia. He has led various materials-flow analysis, waste management economics research, strategy advisory and implementation projects on circular economy in this region. He specialises in packaging and food in India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore and has worked with some of the biggest multinational clients from consumer goods and packaging industries as well as government agencies and intergovernmental organisations.

BACKGROUND

Prior to founding GA Circular, Ashwin graduated with a business degree and worked in investment banking in Singapore for several years, managing credit risk operations with institutional clients for financial derivatives in Asia-Pacific. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business degree from the London School of Economics & Political Science, University of London.

Ashwin is passionate about the business opportunities in creating wealth from “waste” and envisions a world without waste. In 2014 he co-founded a non-commercial community farm with his wife and neighbours that continues to produce edibles in north-eastern Singapore. He currently serves as the co-chair of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce’s (SICC) Circular Economy Committee.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) World Congress, 2018
• Plasticity, 2018
• SICC Position Paper on Circular Economy in Singapore, 2018 (co-contributor)
• Material Flow and Value Chain Analysis for PET Bottles and Aluminium Cans in Thailand, 2018
• Towards Circularity of Post-Consumer Flexible Packaging in Asia, 2017

ROLE

Laura, co-founder and director at GA Circular, has over 10 years of research and consulting experience ranging in fields of marketing, consumer insights, environmental consulting and waste management. In her role at GA Circular, Laura has led materials-flow analysis, waste management economics research, strategy advisory and implementation projects on circular economy in this region. She specialises in packaging and food in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and India.

BACKGROUND

Prior to co-founding GA, Laura graduated with a business degree and she worked in the FMCG and F&B sectors in Vietnam for 4 years and was part of the founding leadership team of AIESEC in Vietnam for 2 years. She holds a Bachelor of Business degree from the University of South Australia.

Laura grew up on a farm in rural Australia instilling a love for the environment and an interest in biocycles and wildlife. In 2014 she co-founded a non-commercial community farm with her husband and neighbours that continues to produce edibles in north-eastern Singapore. She is passionate about creating a world without waste.

COURSES

• Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries – Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
• CircularX: Circular Economy – Delft University of Technology
• Life Cycle Assessment, Introduction to Carbon Footprinting, Fundamental embodied energy and Carbon

RECENT PUBLICATIONS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• Material Flow and Value Chain Analysis for PET Bottles and Aluminium Cans in Malaysia, 2018
• TEDx 2017
• National University of Singapore Circular Economy Forum, 2017
• Towards Circularity of Post-Consumer Flexible Packaging in Asia, 2017
• Sustainable Brands KL, 2017
• European Union Plastic Free Ocean, 2017

ROLE

Sumangali Krishnan, Chief Business Officer at GA Circular, has over 12 years of research and consulting experience ranging fields law, economics and waste management. In her current role at GA Circular, Sumangali has developed and led various research projects, exploring both policy and on-ground realities across South and South East Asia. Working closely with intergovernmental agencies, national and local governments, as well as leading plastics, consumer and retail goods manufacturers in Asia, Sumangali has a good understanding of opportunities and challenges faced by many of the countries in region with respect to waste.

BACKGROUND

Prior to her role at GA Circular, Sumangali has worked in research, private practice and has provided legal and business advise to start-ups and emerging businesses. Sumangali has a J.D. in Law from Boston University as well as a Masters and Bachelors degree in Economics, and has lived and worked in the United States prior to moving to Singapore.  She is particularly interested policy, legislation and business-led interventions as a solution to resource management in Asia.

ROLE

Abishek is the Head of Projects at GA Circular with over 7 years of diverse experiences ranging from engineering, communications and storytelling, public-private-people innovation partnerships, and sustainability. He has led on-ground research and strategy advisory projects for the circular economy across ASEAN and India. He specialises in post-consumer packaging across Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines and has worked with multiple consumer goods and packaging MNCs, and government agencies across these markets.

BACKGROUND

Prior to joining GA Circular, Abishek worked at an innovation company – crafting different social and environmental challenge statements to crowdsource business and tech solutions. Abishek is also a photographer and filmmaker and is passionate about leveraging the power of storytelling to drive change. He co-founded a film production house while in university to produce a feature film and several short films and commercials. He is also actively involved in the local spoken-word poetry circuit. He holds a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Singapore.

ROLE

Amita is a Project Manager at GA Circular, and leads our technical feasibility studies for plastics recycling projects in Asia. A move from Sweden to Singapore offered her the opportunity to pursue a new career full of purpose, to create wealth from waste by driving the circular economy in Asia.

Together the GA Circular team, Amita has participated in various materials-flow analysis, research, strategy and implementation projects on circular economy in this region.

ROLE

Amirul is passionate about achieving a sustainable environment. As a Project Manager in GA Circular, he has conducted research on packaging and food in Malaysia and Singapore while also helping organise the first Feeding the 5000 in Singapore and Asia in 2017. Amirul manages several aspects of an extensive food industry waste audit for a Singapore government client.

BACKGROUND

Amirul is a Bachelor of Environmental Studies graduate, specialising in Environmental Geography, from the National University of Singapore. Aside from academics, Amirul’s passion for sustainability led him to participate as a member of the organising teams of the GCNS Youth Forum for 2017 and 2018, facilitating discussions on sustainability between youths and experts.

ROLE

Selina is a Project Manager at GA Circular. In her current role she manages the team involved in carrying out national food waste audit for the commercial and industrial establishments in Singapore.

BACKGROUND

Prior to joining GA Circular, Selina was working at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) on sustainability research projects on research into heavy metal toxicity in incineration ash preventing its usage in construction and sustainability in the Business events industry sector in Singapore. Selina graduated from National University of Singapore (NUS) with a bachelors in Environmental Engineering. Selina has prior experience in Green Facilities management, Green Mark and UNFCC projects during her internship.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• Presented at World Engineers Summit 2017, Singapore on “Analysis of heavy metals in incineration ash in Singapore and potential impact of pre-sorting on ash quality”
• Presented at Green and sustainable Chemistry Conference 2018, Berlin on “Rapid determination of toxic materials in ash using portable X-Ray Fluorescence Analysers”

ROLE

As a Project Manager in GA Circular, Paolo manages technical assistance projects and feasibility studies for plastics recycling programmes in South East Asia.

BACKGROUND

Paolo has more than ten years of experience in the Municipal Solid Waste sector. Paolo holds a Master in Environmental Engineering from the University of Padua, Italy. Prior to the Environmental Studies he obtained a B.A. in International Cooperation and Development. Before joining GA he worked as a Project Manager and Solid Waste Management Expert in Germany. During this period he was actively involved in SWM Projects in Indonesia, Middle East and the Balkans.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• Emission Reduction in Cities: SWM Programme of the Indonesian Ministry of Public Work and Housing (2018), presented at ISWA 2018

ROLE

Nitya is a Project Executive at GA Circular. She has been a part of multiple materials-flow analysis, and waste management research projects in the ASEAN region. Her focus is on packaging waste in ASEAN countries.

BACKGROUND

Prior to joining GA Circular, Nitya graduated with an MSC in Environment, Politics and Development at SOAS University of London. Nitya wishes to work towards achieving sustainable development by empowering informal waste sectors throughout Asia.

ROLE

As a Project Executive in GA Circular, Joshua is currently working on NEA’s National Food Waste Audit (Commercial and Industrial Sector). His primary role is to head the planning and execution of data collection for food waste from over 100 companies all over Singapore. To ensure an efficient and reliable audit, Joshua works closely with his colleagues, leading waste management companies like Veolia, as well as the 4 major incineration plants in Singapore.

BACKGROUND

Prior to his tenure at GA Circular, Joshua graduated from NUS with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree in Environmental Engineering. During the course of his tertiary education, Joshua participated in and led numerous overseas student projects within Southeast Asia. Aside from honing his leadership and management skills, these projects and the exposure to different cultures and living conditions shaped Joshua’s worldview and motivates him to be at the forefront of environmental sustainability.

Outside GA Circular, Joshua is passionate about education – both his own and that of the younger generation. He currently volunteers as a Mathematics tutor at his church and regularly seeks out opportunities to educate himself on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from design to music.

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS

ROLE

Aisyah, Project Executive at GA Circular, is an aspiring environmental consultant. In her current role, she is involved in a research project to understand Singapore’s food waste generation, collecting survey and waste data from commercial and industrial establishments.

BACKGROUND

Aisyah holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies, specialising in Environmental Geography from National University of Singapore. She is interested in understanding perceptions of people towards waste and recycling, which was the main focus of her final year thesis, and how policies can be tailored to address their perceptions. She is also passionate about living a zero-waste lifestyle and promoting environmental consciousness.

ROLE

As a Project Coordinator in GA Circular, Thao is currently coordinating with stakeholders for PRO Vietnam, a Packaging Collection and Recovery Initiative.

BACKGROUND

Prior to her journey with GA Circular, she had 5 years of experience in Marketing and Communication for both businesses and NGOs. Inspired by GA Circular’s research on waste management in Vietnam, Thao joined the team in 2019 to work towards achieving the circular economy in Vietnam and Asia.