Board of Directors
Sonia Ng
Sonia Ng is a UK-qualified barrister with decades of commercial legal experience across the UK, USA, Malaysia, and Singapore. She has served in various capacities, including Head of Legal, South-East Asia for a global private company. Beyond her legal career Sonia is a passionate cellist with a focus on supporting cancer charities, and has played with the VINS quartet for ARC Children’s Centre, as well as with Chamber Players and The Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sonia leverages her expertise and passion to contribute meaningfully to strategic planning, fundraising efforts and advocacy initiatives of The Musicians’ Initiative, empowering young musicians to thrive and achieve their full potential.
Nelius Strydom
Nelius has over 26 years’ experience in the financial service industry including C-level leadership roles with large international players in the industry. For the past 10 years he has worked in the InsureTech space and has been instrumental in driving financial product adaption and engineering for the digital age. Leveraging his competencies in new business and financial product development, as well as risk management, he has developed data analytics tools to drive distribution, pricing and efficiency across the insurance lifecycle. Having spent time as a CPO he has an in depth knowledge of product development frameworks and innovative technology solutions. He has transformed several traditional development centres into product focused teams.
Cynthia Goh
Cynthia Goh is a lawyer with over 20 years of legal experience and is currently a Partner specialising in Capital Markets practice and Mergers and Acquisitions in Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP. She has consistently been listed as one of Asia’s leading lawyers in the area of Mergers & Acquisitions by Asialaw, with a colourful career across firms such as Lee & Lee, the Singapore Academy of Law, and HL Global Enterprises. Cynthia’s expertise spans various fields such as schemes of arrangement, securities laws and regulations, stock exchange procedures, and reverse takeovers.
Cynthia is also a gifted pianist who has won multiple national music competitions, including 1st prize in the 1983 Piano Junior Section of the National Music Competition, and 1st again in the Youth-At-Heart category of the 2022 Steinway Youth Piano Competition. She continues to study under Prof. Boris Kraljevic and remains deeply committed to music. Cynthia hopes her lifelong dedication inspires other professionals to pursue their passion for piano and music, proving that artistry and ambition can go hand in hand.
Charles Chen
Charles is the founder/managing partner of Charles and Partners and also a lecturer at the Singapore Management University. With a background in Accounting and Economics, he began providing financial consulting and accounting services to SMEs in 2014. Charles has set up projects with clients in various industries to enhance their financial management, optimise their group tax position and operationalise company processes. Charles is committed to grooming consultants of the next generation to not only be well-versed in accounting, but also in the areas of legal, taxation and strategy.
Alvin Arumugam
Alvin Arumugam is the Music Director of the Musicians’ Initiative (Singapore) and the South Asian Symphony Orchestra. With over a decade of experience, he has held prominent roles, including resident conductor of several award-winning wind orchestras in Singapore from 2005 to 2021. Alvin graduated from the Royal College of Music, London, with a Masters’ in Conducting and frequently worked with the college orchestra, assisting renowned conductors such as Martyn Brabbins, Antonio Pappano, Jac Van Steen, and Rafael Payare.
In 2017, Alvin was appointed Music Director of the Musicians’ Initiative, leading it to commendation as a bold and innovative ensemble. His international engagements have seen him collaborate with the likes of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Opera Academy, and the Manila Symphony Orchestra. Alvin has also led operatic collaborations with The Opera People, conducting Il Re Pastore and Der Zwerg. His career reflects a commitment to pushing artistic boundaries and fostering musical excellence across cultures.