Nico Luchsinger, Executive Director

Nico has been working with Asia Society Switzerland since its inception in 2016 – as Head of Programming, Co-Executive Director, and since April 2021 as sole Executive Director. He holds an M.A. in history and economics from the University of Zurich, and previously worked for Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung as a journalist, editor, and producer, reporting on issues like media and technology. He was a co-founder and CEO of the global entrepreneurial community Sandbox, and ran business development and strategy for Swiss startup Mila.

At Asia Society Switzerland, Nico is responsible for leading the team, and setting the overall strategy of the organization together with our board. He also runs our flagship conference STATE OF ASIA, and the TOY Senior Fellowship program. Nico regularly provides briefings on Asian geopolitics to companies and organizations, moderates events including our Oxford Debates and Executive Roundtables, and frequently comments on developments in Asia and how they related to Switzerland in Swiss and international media.

• Favorite book on Asia: Deepti Kapoor's Age of Vice is a deeply researched thriller on Indian society. Alec Ash’s books Wish Lanterns and The Mountains Are High are well-written and personal stories that say something about today's China without trying to create a larger – and simplified – narrative.
• Favorite Asian food-related Youtube channel: Chinese Cooking Demystified. I get hungry just from watching that.
• Favorite Asia podcast: There are too many. Email me for a list of favorites.

Contact Nico via email or LinkedIn.

Serena Jung, Program and Strategy Director 

Serena joined Asia Society Switzerland in 2018 as a Program Manager, became Program and Communications Director in 2021, and has served as Program and Strategy Director since 2025. She holds a lic.phil. in literature, philosophy, and history from the University of Zurich. She previously worked as an editor and producer for the two magazines Schweizer Monat and Literarischer Monat (RIP) where she was in charge of visual development of all products; conducted interviews with authors, artists, and politicians; reviewed books (fiction), wrote reportages, and lead special issues on the South Caucasus.

At Asia Society Switzerland, Serena works on the development of the organization's overall program and strategy and leads large program series like the Oxford Debates or Big Picture, our series on culture and art. She is also responsible for the Gen A – Young Leadership Program, an initiative for young Asia-curious talents based in Switzerland. She is part of the programming team for the STATE OF ASIA conference and co-host of the STATE OF ASIA podcast.

• Favorite Korean dish: guk, tang, jjigae – I'll have them anytime. But there's one soup to rule them all: jeongol. Mostly bulgogi based stew, finished in the center of the table and attention. And rightly so.
• Favorite Asian book (as of the last year-ish): Shehan Karunatilaka’s The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.
• Thing I miss most from Asia: Family.

Contact Serena via email or LinkedIn.

Madelaine Wiebalck, Executive Programs Manager 

Madelaine joined the team at Asia Society Switzerland in May 2021 as Executive Programs Manager. Before that, she headed a Master's program in Business Management at the University of Zurich, and worked at the Trade Office of Swiss Industries in Taipei. She holds a Master's degree in Sinology from the University of Würzburg.

At Asia Society Switzerland, Madelaine leads our Executive Programs, curating invitation-only events such as our Executive Roundtables, special receptions, and private Art Tours. She also heads Asia NEXT, our Executive Education program offered in collaboration with IMD, and oversees both our Passport Community as well as the annual Jade Dinner. In addition to regularly moderating events, she shapes the 'experience' design of our STATE OF ASIA conference and works on advancing the organization's fundraising efforts.

• Favourite Asian movie: Spirited Away by Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. Every time I watch it I spot a new detail that I never noticed before. Also, I really like the film music by Joe Hisaishi.
• Favourite Chinese character: Really hard to say, as there are over 50'000 of them and they are all amazing, but I'll go with 茶 (chá), meaning tea. It is made up of three parts: leaf, person, and tree, which I find quite befitting.
• Favourite place to drink tea: Maokong, a quaint village located atop a mountain just outside of Taipei. The tea leaves grow on the mountain, and you can enjoy fabulous views while savouring the hot, fragrant goodness in a tiny, hand-painted porcelain cup.

Contact Madelaine via email or LinkedIn.

Rebecca Farner, Outreach and Communications Manager

Rebecca joined Asia Society Switzerland in 2019 as an intern and returned in March 2022 as Outreach and Communications Manager. With a background in religious studies and philosophy, focusing on Tibet and ethics at the University of Bern, she has worked with various non-profit organizations, including Amnesty International and the International Social Service Switzerland.

In her role at Asia Society Switzerland, Rebecca manages media relations, oversees partnerships and foundation fundraising, and shapes communication strategies. She also curates and organizes events, including the long-running Talk at the Library series and Members Get-Togethers. Passionate about exploring new subjects, Rebecca frequently moderates conversations on niche topics and lesser-discussed regions.

• Favorite Asian book: Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous – beautiful and poetic.
• Favorite Asian dish: Nepalese Dal Bhat. Always cooked just the way my Ama la taught me.
• Favorite Asian movie: Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki – a classic. 

Contact Rebecca via email or LinkedIn.

Remko Tanis, Managing Editor

Remko joined Asia Society Switzerland in April 2022. Before that, he worked as an independent journalist and editor. He spent nine years living in China and Singapore, covering East and Southeast Asia as a foreign correspondent.

As Managing Editor, Remko tracks topics and themes playing out across Asia, and finds the relevant experts to put these issues into context throughout our broader programming, as well as in the Asia NEXT Executive Education program.

Remko hosts and produces the STATE OF ASIA podcast, and is lead on the speakers and programming team of the annual STATE OF ASIA conference. He is also producing A Closer Look, our deep-dive series that explores key topics through expert insights and focused discussions.  

• Best festival in Asia: Japan’s Fuji Rock in the mesmerizing summertime environs of the Naeba ski resort. Bring a poncho.
  Next Asian brand that should conquer Europe: Beard Papa’s. Cream puffs developed by, indeed, a man with a beard. Don’t know if they’re any good (they probably are), but the branding is spot on. 

Contact Remko via email or LinkedIn.

Manuela Coldesina, Operations Manager

Manuela joined Asia Society Switzerland in June 2022. She has a background in Japanese Studies and East Asian Art History and holds a Master’s degree in History, Arts and Culture of Asia from Leiden University, The Netherlands, with a specialization in Critical Heritage. Her career spans experience in both the cultural and financial sectors: she has worked as a museum researcher and curator for the MUSEC in Lugano, as well as a digitalization consultant and compliance officer in the international trust business.

At Asia Society Switzerland, Manuela ensures the smooth running of internal structures and organizational processes. She maintains the process documentation database and manages logistical arrangements for large-scale live events, including the Oxford Debate LIVE, the STATE OF ASIA conference and the State of Asia Address. She also collaborates on Big Picture, our public event series on the arts and cultures of Asia.

• Favourite Asian art: 20th century picture postcards – small visual time capsules full of wonders!
• Most memorable places to visit (in Japan): the Sakurajima volcanic island in the bay off Kagoshima, Japan.
• Favourite books: currently What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama.

Contact Manuela via email or LinkedIn.

Nadine Lange, Project Manager

Nadine joined Asia Society Switzerland in September 2024. She holds a Master's degree in Modern Asian & Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Zurich and has a background in Art History and Communication Sciences. Additionally, she studied Mandarin at the National Taiwan University in Taipei and has previously worked at a creative agency, as well as independently, on multidisciplinary projects spanning the fields of art, culture, and music.

At Asia Society Switzerland, Nadine co-runs the Gen A – Young Leadership Program, a one-year educational initiative equipping the next generation of Asia-interested individuals with tools and insights to navigate key trends and developments in the region – a program she completed herself as part of the 2021 cohort. She also oversees communications across various platforms, manages events, and contributes to graphic design and editorial projects.

• Favorite Asian book [for now]: Yukio Mishima’s Confessions of a Mask.
• Favorite Asian composer [atm]: Kensuke Ushio
• Favorite Asian dish: All things soup.

Contact Nadine via email or LinkedIn.

TOY Senior Fellows

John Lee, 2025 TOY Senior Fellow

John Lee is the 2025 TOY Senior Fellow at Asia Society Switzerland and a Fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis. He is the Director of East West Futures, a consultancy specializing in China's high-tech industries, political economy, military capabilities and international diplomacy. He holds Master's degrees from the Australian National University and King's College London and is a qualified Australian legal practitioner.

John was a Senior Analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin and previously served in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Department of Defence. Currently, he is a researcher at the Leiden Asia Centre and a Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, National University of Singapore. John co-leads the China Semiconductor Observatory project funded by the European Union, and is a member of the European research consortium Digital Power China.

His research focuses on China's influence on the semiconductor and automotive industries, telecommunications and the internet of things, and governance of cyberspace and the internet. He also works on defence sector matters, including military applications of artificial intelligence. John's work has been published by a range of academic and think tank publishers, and he has been published and quoted in major international media outlets, including The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, South China Morning Post and Le Monde Diplomatique.

James Crabtree, 2024 TOY Senior Fellow

James Crabtree is a geopolitical analyst and author, with extensive experience living and working in Asia. From July-December 2024, he served as TOY Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute and Asia Society Switzerland, and continues to be a Non-Resident Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. His book The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India's New Gilded Age, was named an Amazon book of the year and short-listed as FT / McKinsey business book of the year. He is a distinguished visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he was the Singapore-based Executive Director of the Institute of International Strategic Studies in Asia, where he led the organisation of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit, and an Associate Professor in Practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School, Asia’s leading school of public policy.

James spent ten years as a journalist and foreign correspondent, notably for the Financial Times, where he was both Mumbai Bureau Chief and Comment Editor. He is currently a columnist for Foreign Policy, and writes for publications ranging from the FT and Straits Times to the New York Times, the Guardian and Wired. He previously worked as a senior advisor in the UK Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, under Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. He has worked for various think tanks in London and Washington DC, and spent a number of years living in America, initially as a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Simona Grano, 2023 TOY Senior Fellow 

Simona Grano is an Associate Professor and Director of the Taiwan Studies Project at the University of Zurich. From September 2023 to February 2024, she served as the inaugural TOY Senior Fellow on Taiwan at Asia Society and continues to be a non-resident Senior Fellow on Taiwan at the Center for China Analysis.

Simona has held research positions and taught China Studies and Taiwan Studies at Ca' Foscari University of Venice in Italy, at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and at National Cheng'chi University in Taiwan. She is a research fellow of the European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan (ERCCT), in Tübingen, Germany, and a research associate of SOAS, London. Simona is the author of Environmental Governance in Taiwan: A New Generation of Activists and Stakeholders, published in 2015 by Routledge. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of Civil Society, Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, China Information, Asiatische Studien, Taiwan in Comparative Perspective, Orizzonte Cina. Her latest edited volume, China-US Competition: Impact on Small and Middle Powers' Strategic Choices, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in December 2022.
Simona completed her Ph.D. in Chinese Studies at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy in 2008. 

All pictures by André Hengst