Navigating the Future of Manufacturing Conference Speaker Profiles

As managing director of Messe Düsseldorf Asia for over two decades, Ringling has been a part of the Messe Düsseldorf group since 1986, coming to Singapore as general manager of Messe Düsseldorf Asia from September 1995 to October 1998. Appointed in May 2000 as managing director, he is responsible for the company's strategic direction and operational management.

Messe Düsseldorf Asia is one of Asia’s most prominent exhibition organisers and a subsidiary of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH –organiser of more than 40 international trade fairs of which 20 are world no.1 trade fairs. Messe Düsseldorf Asia oversees trade fairs in the Southeast Asian region and is the regional headquarters of the Messe Düsseldorf group in Southeast Asia.

Through Ringling’s leadership, industry insight and operational expertise, this has strengthened Messe Düsseldorf Asia’s culture of innovation, expanding the company into new regional markets from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam, extending its productportfolio and regional reach. Instrumental in conceptualising numerous trade fairs all over Southeast Asia in various industries, such as wire and tube, printing, plastics and rubber, medical and healthcare, metallurgy and foundry, and also wines and spirits, Ringling also played a pivotal role in establishing strategic partnerships with leading international and regional industry associations for these exhibitions.

Besides the Messe Düsseldorf group he has worked with other organisers in Germany as project director for several major shows in different industries. Ringling continues to drive and champion Messe Düsseldorf Asia as a major player in the exhibition industry in Southeast Asia by keeping his fingers on the pulse of the industries in the region.

Rathanesh Ramasundram is a healthcare strategist with over 20 years in the healthcare industry, including 14+ years in growth and strategy consulting. She is passionate about crafting impactful strategies that accelerate organizational success and transformation. Rathanesh specializes in supporting organizations expand their market presence across APAC and globally, with deep expertise in business growth roadmaps, go-to-market strategies, benchmarking, competitive and customer intelligence, and pipeline optimization.

In her current role at Frost & Sullivan, she partners with leading healthcare stakeholders and governments to shape strategic direction and drive operational excellence across the healthcare ecosystem. She has worked extensively with global life sciences and pharmaceutical companies, medtech and diagnostics firms, hospital groups, and public sector agencies. Her work focuses on delivering actionable insights that inform investment decisions, fuel innovation, and guide long-term strategies. Known for facilitating high-impact growth engagements, Rathanesh is a trusted advisor in advancing healthcare transformation and ecosystem collaboration.

Chee Seng Poon is the Vice President of Research and Development at Smith+Nephew Asia Pacific, where he brings over 25 years of leadership in driving transformative medical technologies from concept to global market adoption. He leads a highly-skilled R&D team focused on developing advance solutions across Sports Medicine, ENT, and Advanced Wound Management, with a particular emphasis on addressing the evolving needs of global and emerging markets.

Under his leadership, Smith+Nephew has brought multiple FDA Class II and Class III medical devices to the global market, contributing to company’s sustained revenue growth. Chee Seng’s achievements were when the company was awarded the 2024 WIPO National Award for WIPO Users by WIPO-IPOS. Chee Seng continues to drive the organization’s strategic innovation capabilities through key development centres in Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Prior to joining Smith+Nephew, Chee Seng held senior leadership roles at Cardinal Health Singapore and the Plexus Penang Design Centre. Across these positions, he built and led high-performing R&D teams and drove the successful commercialization of medical devices for global markets, developing a strong track record in product development, localization, and supply chain integration – delivering innovative, scalable solutions that served both established and emerging markets.

Chee Seng holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Ohio State University and an M.Sc. in Computer Integrated Engineering from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family and occasionally rekindling his competitive spirit on the badminton court.

Dr Rajiv Chhibber is a Senior Corporate Affairs, Policy, Communications & Media Strategist with two decades of experience across several industries including Pharmaceuticals/Medical Devices and has worked in the past in the Development Sector in the key areas of Healthcare, Climate Change, Energy and Sustainable Development.

Dr Chhibber is currently Vice President, External Affairs at Sahajanand Medical Technologies, a leading developer and manufacturer of minimally invasive coronary and vascular systems, having manufacturing presence in India, Thailand, Ireland & Brazil.

As a seasoned Public Policy Strategist and a speaker at global symposia’s like WHO, World Economic Forum, G20, QUAD Alliance, ASEAN etc, Dr Chhibber has been a key intermediary to shape global health diplomacy & strategy that has driven sectoral growth through innovative initiatives & collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including large networks across US, Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America, encompassing governments, civil society, communities, businesses, donors, & UN/multilaterals, agencies. He has the distinction of being the 1st MedTech lead to represent the Indian Medical Device Industry at the World Economic Forum, Davos in Jan 2024. Dr. Chhibber is a member to various government/industry and academic bodies & committees in areas of public health advocacy, Pharma, Medical Devices, Environmental health and climate change where he plays a stewardship role in assisting the governments vision to achieve the SDGs and advancing Health systems. He provides mentorship to numerous academic institutions in the areas of MedTech, HealthTech, Public Health & Sustainability, driving the ‘Industry-Academia’ approach.

Sowmya Srinath is a healthcare strategist, passionate about contribution to healthcare industry in its transformation journey. She is a healthcare expert with 19+ years of experience across sectors. She is a thought leader in healthcare delivery, medical technology, diagnostics, pharma, digital health, care pathway transformation, and many others. She has experience in working with healthcare industry participants, investors, government entities, associations and care providers in ASEAN countries, Middle East, India, North America, Europe, China, Russia and Japan.

In her current role, Sowmya drives business in Asia, working with clients in their growth journey into new sectors and geographies, with go-to-market strategies, competitive due diligence, concept testing, feasibility analysis, portfolio optimization etc. She also supports public sector clients and governments in their transformation projects.