Shakuntala Santhiran – Shaks for short – is an international broadcast journalist, professional moderator and MC. She has more than 2 decades of experience as a television news anchor, reporter and producer with leading media organizations including the BBC, CNN International and Al Jazeera English. Born in Singapore and educated at Smith College and Boston University in the United States, Shaks has lived and worked in multiple cities around the world including Boston, London, Hong Kong, Kyoto, Doha and now New York. She speaks several languages including English, Mandarin and conversational Japanese.