WAN-Ifra Asia is ramping up for its first regional e-summit, a four-day event running on Singapore time from July 20-23.

A stellar line-up of speakers has been arranged for the Asian Media Leaders eSummit, with pandemic predictions, growth opportunities and "power conversations".

Operations manager Wilson Leong told GXpress that at least two sessions a day (10-11:30am and 3-4:30pm SIN/HK) have been planned, with thought and industry leaders sharing insights, predictions and recommendations for leading through this pandemic. "We look at where growth opportunities exist and how they might be leveraged," he says.

While circumstances may not permit meetings in person, publisher members-only closed-door 'power conversations' will be limited to 15 participants so everyone has the chance to speak.

Check the full programme here.

Monday (July 20) morning: Recalibrating your business post-COVID with Ken Doctor (moderator) and keynoters Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong (owner of the LA Times), Sinead Boucher (who just bought New Zealand newspaper and online publisher Stuff) and Hugo Diba (founder of Indonesia's kumparan.com).

Afternoon: The post-COVID media outlook with Dean Roper (moderator) and speakers Ken Harding (telecommunications, media and technology managing director for FTI Consulting), Cecilia Yau (partner and mainland China and Hong Kong media leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers).

Innovation in News Report 2020-2021preview with Dean Roper (moderator) and Juan Señor, president of Innovation Media Consulting Group.

A Power Conversations session on building a sustainable media business follows.

Tuesday (July 21) morning: Inspiration and innovation in storytelling - keynoter Mario Garcia shares stories of inspiration and innovation during the COVID-19 crisis, with moderator Corinne Podger.

Newsroom transformation: Reimagining the distributed workplace - Ideas to change the way you work, and perhaps the way stories are covered, with moderator Corinne Podger and speakers Fergus Bell (co-founder of fathm), Mitra Kalita (CNN Digital Programming) and Warren Fernandez (editor-in-chief of the Straits Times & SPH's English/Malay/Tamil Media Group).

A second Power Conversations session follows.

Newsroom 2021: with moderator (APAC editor-in-chief of Vice World News).

Leadership and strategy during and after the pandemic crisis, with moderator Alexandra Borchardt (Reuters Institute) and keynoter Gary Liu (chief executive of South China Morning Post Publishers).

Wednesday (July 22) morning: Reimagining Singapore Press Holdings' storied titles - with speaker Anthony Tan (deputy chief executive of SPH).

Where is advertising headed - with the 2020 joint WAN-Ifra Syno International AdTrust survey findings, speakers Michael McDowell (Asia managing director of Syno International) and Ian Hocking (digital vice president of SCMP) and Asako Nojima (Cyber Communications).

A third Power Conversations session - Post-cookie world and new opportunities - follows.

Afternoon: 'Deep Dive' - Covering the next stage of the pandemic and lessons from reader data with Jill Nicholson (Chartbeat senior director of customer education).

Digital Subscriptions _ Will paid digital subscriptions work in Asia - with moderator Valérie Arnould and speakers Eko Prabowo (Kompas Daily), Lynn D'Cruz (Malaysiakini) and Bård Skaar Viken (Schibsted Media).

Supporting sustainable business models through subscription - with Rohan Tiwary of Google News Initiative APAC.

Thursday, July 23 morning: Revenue Opportunities - Content-led commerce, with moderator Md Tajdin Hassan (head of marketing at the Daily Star), and speakers Ke Ye (executive editor of In Zhejiang, Zhejiang Daily Press Group), Damian Radcliffe (University of Oregon and Tow Center for Digital Journalism).

A fourth Power Conversations session - New revenue ideas, moderated by Elsie Cheung - follows.

Afternoon: Brand extensions and the future of events, with moderator Jacqui Park and speakers Angus Peckham-Cooper (international events vice president, Dow Jones), Razlan Manjaji (South China Morning Post).

Closing keynote, Banking on Innovation, with moderator Jacqui Park, and speaker Neal Cross (co-founder and chairman of PictureWealth).

More details from the event website. GXpress is a media partner.