MS KATHRYN GUSTAFSON (UNITED STATES) was born in Washington, USA and educated at the University of Washington in Seattle, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Paysage in Versailles where she received her Diploma in 1979. Kathryn has lectured in Europe and the US, and is widely represented in architectural and landscape publications. She is an honorary fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry, a medallist of the French Academy of Architecture and the recipient of London's first Jane Drew Prize. In the US, she has received the Chrysler Design Award, the Tucker Design Award as well as American Institute of Architects (AIA) and American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) awards. Completed projects include the 1km long Westergasfabriek Culture Park in Amsterdam, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London and the National Botanic Garden of Wales, interior landscape of the Great Glasshouse.

MRS CHEONG-CHUA KOON HEAN (SINGAPORE) is the Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which is the national planning and conservation authority of Singapore. She is also concurrently the Deputy Secretary (Special Duties) in the Ministry of National Development. A trained architect-planner, Mrs Cheong has had extensive experience in strategic planning, urban design and conservation. She advises the Ministry of National Development on land use and planning policies, the property market and the government land sales programme. She has also chaired several Design Evaluation Panels and has been involved in the jury panels of major development projects in Singapore. Mrs Cheong is a board member of the Jurong Town Corporation as well as the National Heritage Board. She is also a Board Trustee of the international Urban Land Institute.

PROF MENG ZHAO ZHEN (CHINA) is a professor at the Beijing Forestry University’s (BFU) Department of Landscape Architecture. Among other leadership positions, Prof Meng is Dean of the landscape consulting team for the Beijing Government, Chairman of the Beijing Society of Landscape Architects, as well as Vice Chairman of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architects (CHSLA). Widely published, his research interest is in Chinese traditional landscape architecture. Prof Meng has dedicated himself to landscape architecture education, having pioneered courses in landscape architecture as well as established the Ph.D. Programme in landscape architecture at BFU. Under Prof Meng’s guidance, three of his students won the IFLA-UNESCO International Landscape Architecture Student Design Competition. He has lectured extensively in United Kingdom, France, United States, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. As Vice Chairman of CHSLA, he has hosted the International Symposiums on Landscape Architecture in China, Japan and Korea, as well as the Conference on Historic Gardens in China and France. For his achievements, he was awarded the Contribution Award for Forestry Science and Technology in 2004.

ALLEN ANG (SINGAPORE) is the Head of Department (Commercial) Projects Division of City Developments Limited (CDL), a Singapore listed international property and hotel conglomerate involved in real estate development and investment, hotel ownership and management. Allen brings with him over 10 years of experience in real estate management and property development. At CDL, he is involved in creating distinctive spaces and defining lifestyles through the management of the landscaping and environmental aspects of both commercial and residential real estate development projects.

HERBERT DREISEITL (GERMANY) is a registered landscape architect in the German Chamber of Architects and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Herbert was trained as an artist through apprenticeships in countries including England, Norway and Germany. Inspired by a vision for water, architecture and art, Herbert founded the Atelier Dreiseitl in 1980, a company that has since developed a reputation in landscape architecture and urban hydrology. Herbert also holds a university teaching position at the University of Hanover, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland.

DR DOEKE FABER (NETHERLANDS) is the President of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and is also on the board of directors for Floriade 2012. He is also Chairman of the Board Association of Flower Auctions in The Netherlands. In 2006, he obtained an honorary citizenship of Shenyang Municipality in China. He has published over 50 reports, articles and books.

D. LAWRENCE HALL(DUBAI, UAE) is General Manager/Managing Development Director of the international firm Crystal Fountains, Dubai, UAE. He brings 29 years of highly-acclaimed international professional experience in architecture and landscape architecture. Lawrence has been based in Dubai for the past four years and was formerly Head of Planning & Landscape Architecture for the prominent architectural firm of Khatib & Alami CEC, Dubai/Sharjah. Lawrence is also a pilot and professor of architecture and landscape architecture with the University of Nevada, USA.

DR JOHN HAYDU (UNITED STATES) is a professor in the Food & Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida, USA. His major responsibilities are with Environmental Horticulture, which includes ornamental plants and turfgrass-related products and services. He has also worked with other agricultural commodity areas, including renewable fuels and agroforestry. His research and extension activities address a wide range of disciplinary areas, including economic impact analysis, agricultural marketing and merchandising. Widely published, John has a total of 289 publications addressing a wide variety of research and extension topics.

JAAP KRAS (NETHERLANDS) is owner/founder of Hortimarc, an independent consultancy group. He is also Publisher CEO of FloraCulture International, a leading publication in the floriculture world. He has several articles and publications such as law articles in Dutch law magazines and books, as well as in intellectual, corporate law and horticulture magazines in Holland. He has also lectured extensively in seminars and exhibitions in many countries including Australia, Brazil, Israel, New Zealand, Poland and Vanuatu.

KIM MORRIS (AUSTRALIA) is an acclaimed landscape designer, consulting horticulturist, qualified industry training specialist and garden writer.

Kim is the principal of Kim Morris Associates Pty Ltd – Cairns - the Great Barrier Reef- Australia. The company’s work ranges from the design of botanical parks & prestige gardens to the tailored development of sustainable landscape management and training programs throughout Asia and Australia.

Recent projects include:
•	The design of the 34ha Sino–Australian Friendship Garden Zhanjiang China – the largest overseas Australian tropical garden in the world.
•	Landscape industry competency based training and professional development programs for remote Australian outback indigenous communities, the Singapore National Parks Board and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.
•	Review of the Australian National Training Programs for the Horticulture and landscape industries.
•	Advisor to the Australian Government on plants and horticulture skills exports and current National Treasurer of the Australian Institute of Horticulture and Deputy Chair of the Cairns Landscaping Industries Cluster.
•	Columnist for Australian national garden magazines and newspapers.

NG SEK SAN (MALAYSIA) is a member of the Institute of Landscape Architects of New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. A multiple-award winner, his recent wins include two Creative Design awards at Malaysia’s Laman Festival. Sek San has also worked extensively in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand.

ROBERT PERCY (AUSTRALIA) is the Proprietor and Director of Wholesale Operations of Aspley Nursery, the first few nurseries accredited with the Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme Australia. He has over 35 years of experience in the nursery business, which is a growing business in supplying high quality plants to the landscape industry from Sydney to Darwin. Aspley Nursery is active in many nursery industry organizations, including the Horticultural Media Association and the Australian Region of the International Plant Propagator’s Society Limited. Robert has also been a member and chairman of the Horticulture Course Development Advisory Committee for TAFE TEQ and is currently the industry representative to the C.R.C. Tropical Plant Protection at the University of Queensland.

JAAP J. SPROS (NETHERLANDS) is an inspired promoter of the green environment. Having a long career in Dutch local politics, he is the mayor of three Dutch cities of which Boskoop is known world wide for its nursery stock. Jaap Spros holds many hats in the industry including being the chairman of Plant Publicity Holland and the foundation Entente Forale, an organisation in the Netherlands that aims to promote the importance of good landscaping in urban areas. In early 2008, he will take the seat as Chairman of the prestigious European Entente Florale organisation AEFP (Association Européenne pour le Fleurissement et le Paysage).

HENRY STEED (SINGAPORE) is a British Chartered Landscape Architect with over 35 years of experience in Landscape. He is one of the founding directors of ICN Design International. Henry has been a resident in Singapore for 23 years. His work has taken him across the Asian region and the Middle East. Henry was a Best of Show Award and Gold winner at the inaugural Singapore Garden Festival and also a Gold award recipient at the SILA Design Award Competition in 2006 and 2007.

ALFRED E G TONNEIJCK (NETHERLANDS) is a senior consultant at Triple E - Economy, Ecology and Experience - in Arnhem, the Netherlands. He received his degree in biology and chemistry from Utrecht University in 1976 and was an advisor of national and international authorities on air quality criteria. A sought after speaker on ‘The Green City’, he has authored over 100 publications in refereed journals, congress proceedings, book chapters and professional journals.

DR TONY H F WONG (AUSTRALIA) is a Principal of EDAW’s studio in Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, and also Chief Executive Officer of the Facility for Advancing Water Biofiltration at Monash University. He has over 25 years of experience in the fields of water resources engineering and management advancing ecologically sustainable development, particularly in integrated urban water cycle management and Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD). He has co-authored a number of book chapters for UNESCO. He was also a founding partner and director of the consulting firm, Ecological Engineering.

FRED VAN DER HOEVEN (NETHERLANDS) is the Manager of Business Development at the FloraHolland Connect, the marketing and sales division of FloraHolland in the Netherlands. FloraHolland is the largest marketplace for ornamental plants and flowers in the world, with a product turnover over € 4 billion in 2007. FloraHolland Connect is the partner in the chain for growers and supplier to retail organisations which purchase on a large scale. Fred is responsible for business development and retail service for partners in the floriculture chain namely growers, wholesalers and export companies.

NIEK VAN REST  (NETHERLANDS) is the Managing Director of the Flower Council of Holland, a role he took on since 1985. He founded the Plants for People project in 1990, an initiative to spread knowledge of the benefits of plants in a working environment. The project has expanded from Holland to neighbouring countries including Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Switzerland and France. Prior to his work in the area of plants, Niek was a hydraulic engineer and has worked on airport projects in Nigeria, Africa.

DIMITRI XENAKIS and MS MARO AVRABOU (FRANCE) are leading site-specific artists and designers from France. Dimitri is also a sculptor and photographer with a focus on natural and urban landscapes, while Maro specialises in light and colour in theatre, installations and gardens. Their recent competition wins include the 2007 International Gardens Festival at Chaumont, France and the Street Gardens Festival of Lyon, France.