Chris Gentry
Chairman
Chris Gentry founded and serves as Chairman of AsiaWorks. A lifelong outdoorsman, Chris is a leader in outdoor experiential education. After graduating from college, Chris established the first Incarceration for Youth "California Wilderness Trainings" and subsequently developed trainers and ran similar programs for other Western US states. He went on to be the director of the California Outward Bound School . Later, Chris focused on a number of philanthropic and cultural exchange programs, including Project RAFT - "Russians and Americans for Teamwork," an outdoor leadership partnership in which Chris became the first American to run white water in Siberia . His rafting includes the first descent of two major Russian rivers. A member of the American team to attempt climbing the Tibet side of K2 , Chris is a Master Ropes Course Builder, translating his love for mountain climbing into developing safe, challenging ropes courses and training experiences for corporate and public group use. Chris brought exciting and new Ideas to Japan while working with experiential learning facilitators. Chris then brought his personal experience to Hong Kong where AsiaWorks was developed. He continues to mentor developing trainers. He is based in Bali.

James P. Cook
President
Jim Cook has led AsiaWorks for over 10 years, building it to a US$12 million company with seven locations across Asia, conducting training sessions and seminars for nearly 30,000 participants a year through our corporate and public training subsidiary companies. Jim began his career in real estate brokerage and development after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Texas State University in the United States . He has more than 20 years experience in the seminar industry. He continues to run trainings on a regular basis and has conducted programs for leading multi-national and Asian corporations, including Allied Domecq, AT&T, Bank Mandiri, Cathay Pacific and Hindustan Lever. Jim is based in Hong Kong.

Mark Hemstedt
Managing Partner
Mark is one of the two Managing Partners who lead AsiaWorks having opened the first office in Malaysia in 1995. In addition to his total group role, he is also responsible for AsiaWorks operations in Southeast Asia , and developing markets. Mark is a lead trainer and consultant in our public and corporate divisions and has conducted programs in Europe, Asia, Africa , and the Americas In the international arena, Mark has designed and led programs for both the United Nations and Unicef. He led a team to design and deliver character building modules for over 200,000 teenagers in the Malaysian National Service and has led the mentoring program for the 150 most senior police officers in Singapore . Previously, he worked for more than 12 years with the multi-national Unilever, most recently as Commercial Director in Malaysia . Mark has held senior positions with companies in Britain , Hong Kong , China , Thailand , Korea , Malaysia , Indonesia and Singapore . He has a Bachelor of Science with honours in Accounting and Financial Analysis from Britain 's Warwick University and is an Associate Chartered Management Accountant. Mark is based in London and Singapore.

Emily Liu
Managing Partner
Emily Liu is one of the two managing partners responsible for AsiaWorks operations. She joined the company in 1996 and set up the Taipei office. In 1999, she assumed a regional role, taking charge of the entire North East Asia Public Division including Hong Kong , China and Taiwan . In 2003, she set up the Kaohsiung office and took over the additional responsibility of Corporate Business Development for the North East Asia region.  Following that, Emily set up the first AsiaWorks offices in China : Shanghai (2004) and Shenzhen (2006). Under Emily's dynamic leadership, the NEA Public Division has expanded at an exponential rate.  Prior to joining AsiaWorks, Emily had a successful career in advertising at Leo Burnett Company and Bates Advertising, where she developed campaigns for major multi-national companies such as Proctor & Gamble, United Airlines, Nokia, Heineken and Apple Computers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Fu-Jen Catholic University in Taiwan , studied in EMBA at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in 2001, and is a Certified Corporate Coach (Corporate Coach U). Emily is an inspirational champion of organisational and personal development and is based in Hong Kong and Taipei.

Gareth McIlroy
Global Training Director
Gareth McIlroy is responsible for the overall quality and consistency of all of our training programs globally. Gareth is a lead trainer and consultant in both our Public and Corporate divisions. He leads corporate training programs Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas . A talented trainer and executive coach, Gareth has conducted programs and coached executives from multinational companies including Dell, Sony Ericsson, Standard Chartered Bank, Shell and Unilever. Before joining AsiaWorks, he worked as a Project Manager, and Business Development Director for major international construction companies in London , Gibraltar , Malaysia , and Thailand . Originally from Northern Ireland , he earned his Bachelors of Science with Honours in Civil Engineering from Loughborough University (UK), and an Executive MBA from Chulalongkorn University ( Bangkok , Thailand ). Gareth is based in Singapore.

Marcus Marsden
Director of Research and Marketing
Marcus Marsden joined AsiaWorks in 2002 after a successful 12-year career with Unilever, where he honed his leadership and management skills in marketing management. Marcus is a certified NLP practitioner (Society of NLP - Richard Bandler) and Creative Thinking facilitator (What If). Between 2000-01 Marcus ran a major European Change Management and Communication initiative for Unilever. In this role, he developed transformational workshops and coached many senior managers and teams. Marcus leads Corporate trainings in the fields of leadership, team building, coaching and creativity and has worked with many major multi-national companies, including Allied Domecq and Unilever. Marcus is not only a skilled deliverer of trainings, he is also a passionate student of the intellectual thought that underpins the work that we deliver. He holds an honours degree in Philosophy and Theology from Oxford University (UK). He is based in Hong Kong.

Peggy O'Neal
Director, Coaching Division
Peggy O'Neal is responsible for the management and development of coaching programs and coaches for AsiaWorks. Having been a coach and trainer for twenty years, she is a recognized expert in complex management, leadership, coaching, financial and business development issues. She began leading Advanced Courses in 1988, and was a highly successful city and regional manager for a large public training company in the United States. As a much sought-after keynote speaker and seminar leader, she has facilitated workshops for more than 10,000 people in the United States, Canada, Russia and Asia. She has coached leaders in global organizations, including Agilent Technologies, Hewlett Packard, Kendall Jackson Winery, OCLI, a division of JDS Uniphase, and Oracle Corporation.

Peggy has also taught coaching programs for the College of Continuing Education at California State University in Sacramento. Before becoming a coach, consultant and trainer, Peggy practiced law for thirteen years. She served through Bill Clinton as an Assistant Attorney General and as State Purchasing Director in Arkansas, then started her own law practice, specializing in business and corporate law. She also coordinated and delivered trainings for the Federal Labor Relations Authority as part of the Clinton administration.

Peggy obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor Degrees from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She currently resides in Singapore.

Ken Ito
Regional Training Director
Ken Ito is an expert in designing and facilitating indoor and outdoor experiential training programs that give companies powerful tools for developing leadership and renewing corporate values and commitment to excellence. Ken has 15 years' experience working with companies in Asia, the US , and Europe to increase efficiency, enhance communication, build teamwork, and dramatically improve bottom-line results. Clients include Shell, Phillips, Oracle, JP Morgan Chase, Grand Hyatt, Cathay Pacific and Nike. Before joining The Works Partnership in 1997, Ken was Managing Director of KKI Associates, Asia , a consulting and training firm specializing in staff development, team building, leadership training and motivational speaking. He was certified to do the Samurai Game® created by Mr. George Leonard. Ken earned his undergraduate degree in psychology at University of Illinois and his Masters of Education at University of Hawaii (USA). Ken is based in Singapore.

Bernard Tang
Regional Training Director
Bernard Tang joined The Works Partnership in 2000 and has progressed from field work in leadership and customer relations to certification as a Cantonese-speaking trainer in 2003. Previously, Bernard worked as an executive officer for the Hong Kong Government from 1995 to 2000, assigned to various departments including Public Affairs, Immigration and Health. A Hong Kong native, he earned his Bachelor's degree in English, literature and sociology from the University of Hong Kong . He is based in Hong Kong.

Miranda Yen
Regional Manager
Miranda Yen is a regional manager and trainer with AsiaWorks in Northeast Asia, where she has trained more than 5000 students in Taiwan , Hong Kong , Malaysia , Singapore , and China in personal effectiveness, leadership, and communications. Miranda is fluent in Mandarin, English, Cantonese, and Shanghainese, making her one of the most versatile multi-lingual trainers in AsiaWorks. She joined AsiaWorks in 1997, after working extensively in marketing and advertising, including the well-known multinational advertising agency Leo Burnett. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from University of Mary Washington in Virginia (USA) and is based in Hong Kong.

Suresh Kumar
Regional Director
Suresh Kumar joined AsiaWorks in 2000, and is responsible for general business operations for the public training division of AsiaWorks in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Singapore. He was promoted to this position after two years as Country Manager in Malaysia, and three years as Advanced Course manager and Leadership Programme Manager, where he honed his coaching and management skills. Prior to joining AsiaWorks, Suresh was a team leadership a project management system for Telekom Malaysia, the country's largest telecommunications company and provided after sales technology service to as client base of over 1000 companies. Suresh has an extensive background in IT security and beta testing new technology, and holds a Diploma in Computer Studies for Informatics College ( Malaysia ). He is based in Kuala Lumpur .