Speakers

Kok Chin (“KC”) is generally acknowledged as a global thought leader for Smart Cities. He is a member of the Advisory Board since 2020 for ESI ThoughtLab, a think-tank based in Philadelphia, US.

He is Founding Chairman of Smart Cities Network (SCN), a not-for-profit organization incorporated in 2018 with a membership of professionals who are either consultants or solution providers. In June 2022, he led SCN into a strategic partnership via an MOU with UN Habitat as the Implementation Partner for the Cities Investment Facility. The goal is to help identify and scope “bankable projects” for participating cities.

Currently, at the government level, KC is the Smart City Advisor and Capacity Builder for the Philippines Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and supported the development of a national movement for Smart and Sustainable Cities, with 4 identified regions and cities.  

He was the Executive Director (ASEAN) of Smart Cities Council, the largest ecosystem of stakeholders in the world with over 600 cities in their network

KC is the Consulting Expert for the Phnom Penh City Government (Cambodia), Visiting Professor for the National University of Management (NUM) based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and currently, the Smart City consultant for UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to help develop the national guidelines for Smart Cities in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. 

He has been a keynote speaker for numerous Smart City events across ASEAN – for the cities as well as at ASEAN level, e.g. “Cities of the Future” by UK-based Unbound, Geo-Connect Asia, World Congress for Innovation and Technology and many more. Most recently, he moderated the pitching of 18 cities in ASEAN at the UN Capital Development Fund in April 2025, and the AI Cities Pitch Lab at the Smart City Expo Kuala Lumpur from 17-19 September 2025.

Prior to these, KC project managed the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge in 2012 with consulting and research experts from IBM and interviewed over 20 government agencies and stakeholders to provide the IBM Recommendation Report in Dec 2012. It was instrumental as a catalyst in getting the Singapore government to launch Smart Nation in 2014.