Eligibility
TADS Awards accepts nominations globally. Nominees shall have ready services / products, reasoned management team with financially stable company background.
Nominations & Application
Nominations can be via self-submission or submission by a third-party Nominator. There is no cost associated for any stage of the TADS Awards, and nominees can withdraw at any time.
NOTE :
– Nominee, the principal applicant or contestant for this award (“Project”)
– Nominator, a third-party company who is nominating a Project as the Nominee
– Projects nominated by any of the committee members, global ambassadors and partners listed on the TADS Awards site will be entitled to 5% bonus points due to additional level of pre-vetting and pre-qualification work.
Application (Comprising Part-1 and Part-2)
Part-1 : Basic Information
- Either the Nominee (for self-submissions) or a Nominator will submit the Application Form online;
- For Part-1 of the Application (this form here), only basic information of Nominee and Nominator are required;
- The Nominator (if applicable) will receive a confirmation email for them to confirm their nomination to the Nominee (Project);
- The Nominee (Project) will receive a confirmation email, with a special URL accessing a new form to continue Part-2 of the application process.
Part-2 : Project Detail
- After completion of the four steps of Part-1 above, the Application will proceed to Part-2.
- In Part-2 of application, Nominee (Project) is required to fill in detailed information of Project and to provide supporting materials & documentations of the Application.
Nomination Ended
Thank you for your support!
Online Information Sessions
Session #1
14th October 2020
8-9pm (Hong Kong Time)
Session #2
23th October 2020
8-9pm (Hong Kong Time)
Session #3
27th October 2020
8-9pm (Hong Kong Time)
Vetting
A Vetting / Audit Committee will conduct screening, qualifying and auditing of information submitted by the nominee. Shortlisted candidates will be passed to Award Committee for grading, judging and selection of winners at the next stage.
Judging Criteria
The Asia Pacific Digital Economy Institute, organizer of the TADS Awards, appoints two independent judging panels (“Awards Committees”) each year, one Awards Committee for each Award Category.
Awards Committee members are carefully selected to ensure the process is fair and objective, and will include experts from across the financial technology and financial services sectors. Each member of the Awards Committee is bound by a strict confidentiality agreement and are required to declare any conflict of interest in relation to applications over which they deliberate and to stand aside from deliberations where there is a conflict.
Awards Committee will select winners from the two Awards Categories based on the below judging criteria:
The “BEST OF CLASS TADS” category is for the issuers of different types of digitized securities. The judging criteria is based on:
The “ECO-SYSTEM EXCELLENCE” category is for the technology / service providers along the value chain. The judging criteria is based on:
Each Awards Committee will base their score for each entry according to:
1) the judging criteria of the respective Award Category;
2) information provided in the application form, and
3) any substantiating evidence uploaded or shared with the application.
Each member of the respective Awards Committee will score entries independently and then review scores collectively to make a final decision.
Best of Class TADS (Tokenized Assets & Digitized Securities) |
Economic viability |
The methods of economic analysis used, including but not limited to the payback period method, internal rate of return method, and net present value method. |
Innovation |
The novelty of financial products which apply technology and creativity, and which utilize unique aspects of TADS to design a product that differs from the status quo. |
Risk management |
The ability to manage risk on underlying investments in order to protect overall risk exposure of investors by issuers of such products. (TADS are essentially financial investment products.) |
Corporate Governance |
The use by issuers of technology to enhance internal governance, improve transparency and accuracy to financial products. (Blockchain technology is core to TADS products.) |
Compliance |
The demonstration of compliance in relation to local and/or international securities laws and regulations of their respective jurisdiction is fundamental. (TADS are considered as securities in most jurisdictions.) |
Eco-System Excellence (Vertical Solutions) |
Ingenuity |
The idea / solution in relation to the project is inventive, smart and easily adapts to being a practical application for users. |
Impact |
The innovation has a material and sustained impact on the project as measured by directly or indirectly improving the competitive advantage of the underlying TADS and / or ability to improve the work process of the issuers. |
Practicality |
The solution offers a practical way to effectively deal with some of the key challenges faced by issuers. The ability to deliver key value propositions and to bring results are vital. |
Compliance |
The solution demonstrates the ability to enhance compliance with local and international regulations, in addition to specific client mandates. |
Cost Efficiency |
The cost efficiency of the solution, taking into account the scalability, sustainability and long term profitability of the solution. Cost efficiency is at the core empowering these factors. |
Awards Committee –
Best of Class TADS
By alphabetical order

Chris Carlin
Head of Alliances, Redistribution Solutions and Data Products, Asia
Morningstar
More
Chris Carlin is Head of Alliances, Redistribution Solutions, and Data Products, Asia for Morningstar, overseeing the business in North Asia, Japan, and ASEAN markets. Carlin spent 16 years at Thomson Reuters where he held many roles, and most recently served as Director of Investment & Advisory products for Asia Pacific. In his career he has worked in the United States, Australia, and Hong Kong. In addition, Carlin was a key member of Irish Funds, an industry body, which promotes Ireland as a domicile for funds and asset servicing.
Carlin holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance from Arizona State University, and earned his MBA from the Manchester Business School.

Pietro Doran
Managing Principal
First Rock Associates
More
Pietro Doran has over 30 years of Real Estate industry experience. He is concurrently CEO of Hancom Dreamtec (subsidiary of the Hancom Group) and Managing Partner of First Rock Associates Asia. Prior, he was Chairman, Principal Partner and Founder of Doran Capital Partners.
From 2002 through 2005, Mr. Doran served as a founding partner, Managing Director and Senior Investment Officer for the New Songdo City development and developed a $24 billion project of Songdo City in Korea.
Prior, he was a senior investment advisor at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund, President of Morgan Stanley Properties Korea, Managing partner and Chief Investment Officer at Gale International Korea, co-founder of John Buck Company Korea, and founder of Brooke Hillier Parker Korea.
He holds a MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a BS (Cum Laude) from the University of Massachusetts.

Peter Koo
APAC Leader, IT & Specialized Assurance
Deloitte
More
Peter Koo, APAC Leader of IT & Specialized Assurance Services of Deloitte. He is also leading the firm’s FinTech Integrated Management Office (IMO) in southern region; the FinTech IMO liaises various activities including fundraising, TechFin, Blockchain System Implementation, Digital Transformation, e-Commerce/ FinTech related Tax advisory, FinTech/ Cyber Assurance, Fintech Risk and Regulatory Advisory, pre-IPO advisory, and IPO statutory audits.

Stephan Law
Managing Director
ANS Capital Limited
More
Stephen Law is currently the Managing Director of ANS Capital Limited, with a focus on investment and corporate finance. He was previously the CFO of MTR Corporation Ltd (HK: 0066) responsible for finance, investment control, treasury, investor relations, information technology and materials & stores.
Prior to MTR, Stephen was a managing director of TPG, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. He was responsible for private equity investments in Asia. He was a founding member of the TPG Growth Asia team, leading key deals across different industries including consumer /retail, energy, healthcare. He also executed many successful IPOs in HK, US and Vietnam, and led the exits from his investment portfolio.
Prior to joining TPG in July 2006, Stephen Law was a director of Morningside, where he was responsible for a portfolio of venture capital investments. Under his management and directorships, these investee companies became leaders in their respective industries in the region. Stephen served as a director of the top three online game operator in China. He was the Chief Financial Officer of the second biggest outdoor advertising operator in China and he led its later sale to JC Decaux. Stephen was a founding director of an advertising agency which was subsequently merged with WPP Group. Stephen also founded and consolidated the Communication Central Group, the largest independent interactive marketing agency in China, which was sold to Publicis.
Prior to Morningside, Stephen focused on corporate finance and development for the Wheelock and Wharf Groups. He developed brewery business in China together with Foster’s. He initiated the launch of broadband business resulting in a multi-revenue model, and led the dual listing of i-Cable Communications Limited in Hong Kong and the United States. Prior to working for Wheelock, Stephen served as regional financial controller for multinationals.
Stephen started his career with Arthur Andersen in the United Kingdom. Stephen is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and a Certified Public Accountant in Hong Kong. He is currently a board member of the Hong Kong Business Accountants Association and was a Council member of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He was an Adjunct Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has also been appointed by the Ministry of Finance in China as an expert consultant to provide advice on finance and management accounting. He is a board member of SOW Asia, a charitable foundation which supports social enterprises through financial investments and accelerator program.
Stephen is an independent director of China Everbright Limited (HK: 165), China Galaxy Securities Co., Ltd. (HK: 6881), Bank of Guizhou Co., Ltd. (HK: 6199), and Somerley Capital Holdings Limited (HK: 8439). He was previously a non executive director of China NT Pharma Group Company Limited (HK : 1011) which is a comprehensive pharmaceutical group, engaging in investment, R&D, production, marketing and promotion of medicines and new medicinal technologies. He was also an independent director of US listed Stealth Biotherapeutics Corp (Nasdaq : MITO), which is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focusing on the discovery, development and commercialisation of novel therapies for diseases involving mitochondrial dysfunction. He is also a council member of the Hong Kong Independent Non-Executive Director Association.
Stephen holds a bachelor degree in science from the University of Birmingham, the United Kingdom and also received a master degree in business administration from the University of Hull, the United Kingdom.

Lowell Lo
Chairman & Executive Director
BM Intelligence Group
More
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Emi Lorincz
Board Member
Crypto Valley Association
More
Emi’s professional background has ranged from corporate finance to aircraft financing and later to commodity trading. Since 2017 her focus has been directed towards the ever evolving world of start-ups around digital assets and blockchain technology.
Bringing a wealth of work experience from the traditional markets and the field of cryptocurrencies, she enjoys combining these two worlds to help companies benefit from both.
Dedicated to increasing the usage and adoption of cryptocurrencies, Emi is engaged in rolling-out the enterprise-grade solution of the security company Ledger while serving on the council of the Bancor Foundation and on the board of the Crypto Valley Association.
Awards Committee –
Eco-System Excellence
By alphabetical order

Barry Chan
Partner, Financial Services Sector, Global Business Services
IBM
More
Mr. Barry Chan has 20+ years of experience in consultation and information technology in Hong Kong. He expertises in leading digital transformation strategy formulation incorporating innovations in open banking, AI and blockchain etc. Barry has strong proven industry track record leading complex systems projects, bringing sustainable business value to banks and financial institutes.

Prof. Ir Spencer Li
Associate Director
Asiapay
More
Prof. Ir Spencer Li is Associate Director of AsiaPay, World-class Provider of ePayment Services & Technologies in Asia-Pacific since 2000. Prof. Ir Li is a frequent speaker and writer on fintech, blockchain, smart banking and digital payment. Prof. Ir Li is also the advisory board of London Institute of Banking and Finance. He received 2020 Asia Futurist Leadership Award and Directors of Year Awards 2019.
Prof. Ir Li is the charter president of Innovation and Technology Association, co-founder of Hong Kong Internet & ECommerce Association and was Convenor, Mobility Technology, Smart City Special Interest Group, Hong Kong Computer Society.
As an entrepreneur, Prof. Ir Li has co-founded an eCommerce company which was listed in GEM in Hong Kong in 2002. He was the General Manager of BlueOcean Pay and CEO of Network Payment System (a listed company in South Africa).

Suresh Sharma
Entrepreneur-In-Residence
Georgia Tech
(Georgia Institute of Technology)
More
A former GE-executive turned successful entrepreneur, Suresh has led a remarkably rich international journey of excellence to unleash full potential of people and organizations through innovation, technology, global operations, strategy, entrepreneurship and investments.
Today, he is passionate about “industrializing innovation” through creating best-of-breed startup ecosystems and do investments that drive 21st century digital transformation of traditional brick-n-mortar industries.
He serves and has served as a Managing Partner or Partner in a number of PE/VC firms. Further, as part-time ‘EIR @ Georgia Tech – Center for Distributed Energy’ he helps researchers commercialize their innovations.
Earlier, inspired by his own hands-on experiences of startups, and having mentored hundreds of new ventures, he authored “The 3rd American Dream” (2014) – an insightful book about innovation and entrepreneurship – that illustrates necessary building blocks for growth at individual, societal and national level. Suresh is an ‘intellectual business leader’ – said reviewers of this acclaimed work.
Starting his early professional life in India as Naval Aviation Officer, his career took him to industry, R&D and numerous businesses in UK, USA and several countries. Among others, he worked at British Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, MATRA, NASA, and General Electric. During the 90s, Suresh got international recognition for his pioneering role in globalization of GE while setting up their path-breaking facilities in over 15 countries including: Mexico, India, China, Austria, Hungary, Canada, and others. He later co-authored his first best-seller book: ‘Global Outsourcing’ (2005).
An internationally acknowledged speaker, Suresh serves or has served on Boards of public, private and non-profit organizations.
Specialities: Energy, e-Business, Aerospace, Aviation, Defense, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Sourcing, Manufacturing, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Fred Sheu
National Technology Officer
Microsoft
More
As National Technology Officer at Microsoft Hong Kong, Fred Sheu supports policy decision and delivers technologically relevant and scalable solutions into Hong Kong market. His main objectives are to align IT value propositions to public policies in such areas as healthcare, education, the environment, and local social and economic development; and to promote a digital agenda in top policy areas, including innovation, security and privacy, technology neutrality, accessibility, and interoperability.
Prior to Microsoft, Fred worked with Hewlett Packard (HP) Enterprise where he was the General Manager of Software for HPE Hong Kong. Fred is an active veteran in Hong Kong ICT industry, he serves in councils of Hong Kong Computer Society (HKCS), itSMF Hong Kong Chapter and the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation (HKITF).Fred graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Computer Science (Hon) degree.

Dr. Tsai Wei-Tek
Professor of China Beihang University
More
His current research focuses on blockchains, smart contracts, and computational law. He has authored 6 books and more than 600 papers in software engineering, service-oriented computing, and cloud computing with 12K citations and h-index > 57. He has supervised 80 Ph.D. and numerous master students. He travels widely and has held various honorable professorships in Asia and Europe.

Peter Yan
Chief Executive Officer
Hong Kong Cyberport
More
Mr Peter Yan is a leading member of the information technology sector with over three decades of experience. He is now the Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited and leads the digital technology flagship to carry out its public missions to foster industry development, enterprise transformation and talent cultivation to realise Cyberport’s vision to create new impetus for Hong Kong’s new economy through digital technology.
Audit & Vetting Committee –
Best of Class TADS
By alphabetical order

Kokila Alagh
Founder & CEO
KARM Legal Consultant (UAE)
More
Kokila is a Corporate/Commercial and technology lawyer with over 17 years of experience in the middle east. She has worked with major corporations, government and semi government bodies, high net worth individuals and start-ups over the years. In addition to this, she has Masters in Law, in Digital Economy from the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, certification of Oxford Blockchain Strategy Programme from Oxford University and Fintech Programme from Harvard Business School has helped her develop an expertise in the area of newer technologies.

Eva Law
Chairman
Association of Asia Family Offices
More
Dr. Eva Law is a seasoned professional in asset management, private equity and wealth management, having diversified knowledge and experience in running multi-lines of business. She specialized in serving ultra affluence and entrepreneurs, carried proven track records in creating new business and generating profits.
Eva is the CEO of Flex Group Private Office Ltd, a US single family office, active in North America and has a new set up in Singapore. She is also the chairman of the investment management company that serves the family office. Besides, Eva is the owner of CAG International running various lines of business. CAG International received the Best Investment Manager Serving Family Offices & the Best Advisor to Family Offices Awards in 2019. She manages her group for venturing direct investment and family office solutions business. The investment focus of her group is about ESG & impact investment as well as disruptive technology contributing to a better future. She owns a superb business relationship with family principals and extensive industry stakeholders. Her recent endeavour is advising UNDP to craft the UN Future Capital Leaders Platform for achieving sustainability goals.

David Ogilvy
Senior Product Manager
SBI Security Solutions (Tokyo)
More
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Audit & Vetting Committee –
Eco-System Excellence
By alphabetical order

Frankie Tam
Counsel
Eversheds Sutherland
More
Frankie is an international technology lawyer qualified in Hong Kong, New York, and England & Wales. Her practice covers a wide array of commercial and tech-related matters, including significant technology outsourcing transactions, Fintech, Regtech and blockchain services agreements and data privacy matters.
Frankie is a member of the Vetting Committee of Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission’s General Support Programme, where she advises the Government on merits of technology projects. She is on the advisory board of the Stanford University’s Responsible Digital Leadership project. She teaches Regtech and Fintech programmes at postgraduate degrees, and has extensive experience sharing at professional bodies’ CPD programmes and industry conferences. Frankie has mentored distributed ledger technology companies at accelerator programmes.

Alyssa Tsai
Founder & CEO
PANONY
More
Alyssa Tsai is the Founder and CEO of PANONY and PANews, a consulting, research and news platform that assists enterprises in adopting emerging technologies through offering industry insights and communication strategies to business leaders. Alyssa Tsai is also an honoree of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in “Media, Marketing & Advertising”.

Sally Yip
Committee
TADS Awards
More
Ms Ip is a seasoned financial technology professional with over 20 years experiences in marketing and business development and in multinationals. She led setting up of new regional marketing teams and launched new products in Microsoft, MasterCard and PayPal in Asia Pacific. She has been actively involved in fintech development in Hong Kong and served as Mentor for the Cyberport University program. She consults with fintech start-ups on strategy development, payment solutions and go-to-market implementation.
Key Dates
TIME | EVENT |
Before October 1st | Nomination procedures, deadlines, judging criteria will be posted on the TADS website |
October 1st | Nomination period opens |
November 3rd | Nomination period close. Deadline for submission of reference materials |
On November 18th | TADS Award winners announced. TADS Award ceremony streamed worldwide |
On December 6th | Announcement and information session for TADS AWARDS 2021 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is TADS?
A: Please have a look at this video
Q: What are entry requirements?
A: TADS Awards accepts nominations globally. Nominees shall have ready services / products, reasoned management team with financially stable company background.
Q: Where can I find out more about TADS?
A: Please have a look at this video
Q: How do I apply?
A: You can apply through the site’s Methodology section “Nominations” (https://tadsawards.org/nomination/)
Q: What are the judging criteria?
A: The judging criteria for digitized securities is based on: Innovation, Economic Viability, Risk Management, Corporate Governance & Compliance. The judging criteria for the technology / service providers along the value chain is based on: Impact, Ingenuity, Cost, Efficiency, Practicality & Compliance
Q: Who are the judges?
A: Awards Committee members are carefully selected to ensure the process is fair and objective, and will include experts from across the financial technology and financial services sectors.
Q: What is the application process?
A: The application process has 2 parts to it. Part 1 requires you to fill out all of the basic information about a Nominee. Part 2 will be sent to your email where you will be required to fill out detailed information on a project with supporting documents.
Q: What will happen when I’ve sent my application?
A: After applying, you will get a confirmation email to inform you that your application was received. The applications will then all be reviewed and scored by the judges.
Q: What should I include in my application?
A: All of the information required for Part 1 & Part 2 of the application process. ( https://tadsawards.org/methodology/#nomination)
Q: When is the deadline?
A: Countdown to nomination end date – 24:00hr Nov 3rd
Q: How much does it cost to enter the awards ceremony?
A: There is no cost associated for any stage of the TADS Awards, and nominees can withdraw at any time.