On 6 March 2026, SPARK hosted the Intelligent Outlook Forum 2026 at JTC Punggol Digital District, bringing together senior leaders from across government, enterprise, healthcare, finance and technology to explore how artificial intelligence is becoming the foundational operating system of future cities and enterprises.
The forum convened more than 50 CEOs, CIOs, CTOs and technology leaders from across Southeast Asia to examine how organisations are transitioning from early AI experimentation toward scalable, production-grade systems capable of supporting the next generation of digital economies.
Participants were welcomed to the event by David Tan, Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Development Group) at JTC Corporation, who shared insights into the development of Punggol Digital District and provided a tour of how AI-enabled infrastructure and smart systems are being embedded into this new innovation hub.
The programme began with a fireside conversation between Alex Capri, author of Techno-Nationalism: How It’s Reshaping Trade, Geopolitics and Society, and Tan Kok Yam, Chief Executive of SkillsFuture Singapore. Their dialogue explored the growing intersection of geopolitics, talent development and AI infrastructure, highlighting how national competitiveness increasingly depends on access to compute, data and workforce capabilities.
Envisioning the Future of Intelligent Cities
The first leadership panel examined how artificial intelligence is being embedded into the physical and economic infrastructure of cities. Speakers discussed how healthcare systems, financial institutions, real estate developments and enterprise technology platforms must converge to enable resilient, data-driven urban environments.
Insights were shared by Dr Melvin Heng, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Thomson Medical; Nathaniel Farouz, Chief Executive Officer of Keppel Sindora Living; Anand Sachdev, Managing Director, Country Manager Singapore and Head of South & Southeast Asia at ING APAC; and Shankar Raghavan, Senior Director and General Manager for Advisory and Professional Services APAC at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
The discussion highlighted how intelligent city development requires long-term investment models, interoperable digital infrastructure, and governance frameworks capable of supporting increasingly autonomous systems.
Humanising the AI Experience
The second panel explored how organisations can ensure that AI systems remain trustworthy, resilient and aligned with human needs as they scale into enterprise production environments.
Speakers including Baskara Rao, Chief Technology Officer at Temasek; Nikhil Dwarakanath, Group Head of Data & Analytics at Grab; Joash Wee, Deputy Director at Thomson X, Thomson Medical Group; Warren Schilpzand, Regional Director for Australia/New Zealand & ASEAN at SambaNova Systems; and Casa Goh from Veeam discussed the growing importance of AI sovereignty, infrastructure resilience and hybrid technology architectures.
The panel emphasised that successful AI adoption requires organisations to move beyond pilots toward production-ready systems supported by governance, operational resilience and sustainable infrastructure strategies.
Technology Partner Perspectives
The forum also featured insights from technology partners on how organisations can scale AI systems while maintaining transparency, reliability and cost control.
Matt Pinter, APAC CTO at Apptio, an IBM Company, explored how enterprises can manage the financial complexity of AI adoption and align AI investments with measurable business outcomes.
Yang Yang, Regional Vice President of Solution Engineering Specialists APJ at Snowflake, discussed how unified data platforms and enterprise-grade AI infrastructure are enabling organisations to move from AI prototypes to trusted production systems.
Research Publications Released
Two major research publications were launched during the forum to provide strategic guidance for organisations navigating the next phase of AI transformation.
The Enterprise AI Transformation Journey — 2026 CIO Survey Report
This report explores the transition from generative AI experimentation toward agent-driven enterprise systems, examining how organisations are operationalising AI at scale while addressing governance, cost management and infrastructure complexity. Download here.
Future Cities for Flourishing Across 100-Year Lives — Future Cities Council Playbook
This industry-led research initiative explores how cities can evolve to support longer human lifespans, multi-stage life journeys and continuous reskilling, highlighting the role of intelligent infrastructure in shaping future urban environments. Download here.
Ecosystem Partners
The Intelligent Outlook Forum 2026 was made possible through collaboration with our ecosystem partners:
JTC Corporation
Apptio, an IBM Company
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Snowflake
SambaNova Systems
Tanium
Veeam
SUSE
