In Partnership with Social Development Network (SDN) Singapore

SINGAPORE, July 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lunch Actually and Global Love Institute, in partnership with Social Development Network (SDN), are bringing the world's top dating industry players and professional matchmakers to Singapore in the largest offline dating conference - Global Love Conference (GLC) 2022, happening on 18 July 2022.

The Global Love Institute - formerly known as the Matchmaking Institute - holds a yearly conference for dating industry professionals across the globe. It provides a comprehensive platform for industry professionals to network, share tips and ideas and learn from the success stories of an extensive list of renowned keynote speakers, with the aim of "making love more accessible".

"We are glad to welcome back dating industry conferences to Singapore, after a 3-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Through the sharing of best practices and insights from local and global experts, we hope business owners and practitioners will be inspired in their work with singles. This is also a valuable opportunity for SDN to connect with partners to curate more social interaction opportunities for our singles," says Chairman of the SDN Council, Mr Douglas Foo, Founder and Chairman of Sakae Holdings Ltd .

This year, the international speakers who will be gracing the Singapore conference include CEOs, founders and senior management teams from Asia's leading dating and matchmaking companies, including:

• Muruga Janakiraman, Founder & CEO of Matrimony - the largest matrimony company in India
• Taito Kumura and Mark Banz, Matchmakers from IBJ - a listed and largest matchmaking company in Japan
• Park Soo-Kyung, CEO of DUO - the largest matchmaking company in Korea
• Ms Violet Lim and Mr Jamie Lee, Co-founders of Lunch Actually - Asia's first and largest lunch dating company

Other notable speakers include:

• Dr Jean Liu, Assistant Professor at Yale-NUS College who will be sharing her findings on the psychology of dating
• Dr Angela Smith, Forensic & Behavioral Psychologist who will speak on the topic of how to work with narcissistic singles
• Mark Brooks, CEO of Courtland Brooks to share about the trends in the matchmaking industry, and more.

The conference will include a series of hands-on workshops, led by the various speakers, and end with a panel discussion to exchange best practices, differences of dating trends in each country, and collaborative initiatives to grow the dating industry.

"We are thrilled to welcome such prominent experts from around the world, which makes this a truly global, enriching event for us in the dating industry. Dating is a very personal experience, one that can be very emotional for both the client and our consultants. Agencies like us always strive to empower our consultants with the right tools and more importantly, knowledge, to help them navigate the expectations and feelings of our singles to find them their match. Conferences like this, which allow us to meet and learn from other professionals from around the world, is very encouraging and inspiring," says Jamie Lee, co-organiser of the GLC and co-founder of Asia's largest lunch dating agency, Lunch Actually. "We hope that industry professionals feel the same and will go on to do their best for their clients."

Global Love Conference 2022 Singapore will be happening on Mon, 18 July 2022 at 9am-6pm. Tickets range from US$ 99 to US$289 (approximately S$138 to S$397) and are available at www.globalloveinstitute.net/conference/sg-2022. Local businesses and participants can also enjoy the subsidised rate of S$150. 

Leveraging on this gathering of leading dating businesses and experts in Singapore, Lunch Actually and Global Love Institute have also specially curated two programmes for local singles and businesses.

Singles Roundtable with Experts on 16 July

A unique opportunity for local singles to hear from and exchange views with regional and global industry experts, dating coaches and matchmakers in this one-afternoon only event.  It is also a strategic opportunity for the experts to interact directly with the singles and gather insights on their experiences and challenges in dating and relationships.

The discussion will be helmed by three international professionals including relationship experts Dr. Angela Smith and Ms Genevieve Gresset who appeared in 'Married at First Sight UK' and Mr Mark Brooks, CEO of dating consultancy Courtland Brooks.

Dating Business Start-Up Workshop For Aspiring Entrepreneurs on 15 July

In support of the local dating sector and to motivate budding dating practitioners and business owners, a start-up workshop has also been put together as part of GLC's line-up. This workshop will cover various aspects of starting a dating business, such as Setup & Funding, Business Models, Marketing & Lead Generation as well as a discussion on the Future of Online and Offline Dating. Speakers for this workshop include Simon Corbett (Founder of Global Dating Insights), Lisa Clampitt (Founder and CEO of Global Love Institute), Genevieve Gresset, and Violet Lim and Jamie Lee of Lunch Actually.  

This workshop will be held on Fri, 15 July 2022 from 2-6 PM at Huone - 3D River Valley Rd, #03-01 Block D, Singapore 179023. This event is complimentary for any aspiring dating practitioners and start-ups. Register at https://globalloveinstitute.net/workshop/2022-startup-workshop 

"We put together these special localised events due to high demand from our clients, and partner agencies. And we are very excited to bring the local businesses and singles, and the industry experts together in one room for the first time. This will spark real discussions, and experts will gain firsthand insights about what singles and businesses are facing in today's dating landscape. This discussion will generate ideas on how the region's industry players can come together to better support singles in their dating journey," says Violet Lim, co-organiser of the GLC and co-founder of Asia's largest lunch dating agency, Lunch Actually.

For media enquiries, please contact:Angela Simangela@affluencepr.comTel: +65 3165 4653Hp: +65 9698 8485

Myra Mamyra@affluencepr.comTel: +65 3165 4653Hp: +65 9353 0091

About Global Love Conference

Established in 2003 in New York, The Global Love Institute was formerly known as the Matchmaking Institute. The GLI is the brainchild of certified matchmaker and coach Lisa Clampitt who created it to regulate the matchmaking and coaching industry and set a code of ethics. Today, the GLI provides training and certifications to aspiring matchmakers across the globe all year round. The GLI offers courses that are deeply rooted in science and research to revolutionize traditional matchmaking. For more information, visit www.globalloveinstitute.com.

About Lunch Actually

Lunch Actually is the pioneer and leading dating company in Asia. Brainchild of co-founder Violet Lim, lawyer turned banker turned matchmaker, she's inspired to help single professionals find love over a simple lunch date. Together with her husband, Jamie Lee, they launched Lunch Actually in Singapore in 2004. Subsequently, the service expanded to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand. Up to now, the company has arranged over 150,000 first dates and created more than 4,500 successful couples. Lunch's Actually BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is to create 1 million happy marriages through its matchmaking and coaching services. For more information, visit www.lunchactually.com.

About Social Development Network (SDN)

SDN works with partners in the private, people and public sectors to promote a conducive environment for social interaction and dating. For more information, visit www.sdn.sg. 

APPENDIX A

GLOBAL LOVE CONFERENCE DETAILS

Date: 18 July 2022, MondayTime: 9 AM to 6 PM (+8 GMT)Venue: Forest Room, HUONE Singapore (3D River Valley Rd #03-01 Block D Singapore 179023)

Ticket prices:

• Standard Ticket for Industry Professionals: US$285 (approximately SG$397)
• Standard Ticket for Certified Matchmakers: US$250 (approximately SG$361)
• Early-Bird Ticket for Industry Professionals: US$215 (approximately SG$299.50)
• Early-Bird Ticket for Certified Matchmakers: US$178 (approximately SG$248)
• Virtual Ticket: US$99 (approximately SG$138)
• Local Businesses and participants: US$105 (approximately SG$150)

Tickets are available at www.globalloveinstitute.net/conference/sg-2022.  Industry professionals are welcome. 

APPENDIX B

EVENT LINE UP: GLOBAL DATING INSIGHTS & GLOBAL LOVE CONFERENCES

APPENDIX C

SPEAKERS PROFILES

LISA CLAMPITT, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, LISA CLAMPITT MATCHMAKING & FOUNDER, THE MATCHMAKING INSTITUTE

Lisa Clampitt, LMSW, is the founder and president of Lisa Clampitt Matchmaking and the founder of the Matchmaking Institute. She is a professional matchmaker and relationship expert for over 15 years, a book author and a New York State Licensed Master of Social Worker since 1991.

In 2001 Lisa created Lisa Clampitt Matchmaking, a high-end personalised dating service offering a great way for exceptional single men to meet extraordinary women.

Lisa founded the Matchmaking Institute in 2003 to set a code of ethics and strict quality standards in the matchmaking industry. It is the first institute offering a professional matchmakers network, matchmaking workshops, yearly world-wide professional conferences providing matchmakers with a group of peers and support. 

Lisa is consistently sought after as a matchmaking and relationship expert and has had extensive national and international press coverage including on ABC's 20/20, the O'Reilly Factor, Time Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Forbes.com, Worth Magazine, Crane's New York, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Reuters and Today in New York among many other media outlets.

Lisa has been happily married for over eleven years and lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

GENEVIEVE GRESSET, MASTER CERTIFIED MATCHMAKER

Genevieve is one of 12 Master Certified Matchmakers in the world. She is a matchmaking coach and author with 25 plus years of experience in high level coaching, mentoring, training, supporting businesses through change and challenging times as well as working with single professionals. She has held senior board level directorships in B2B and B2C companies in service, technology, UK luxury brands, events, new technology and wellbeing from start-ups to public listed companies.

Genevieve has a passion for transforming people's lives, developing, setting up and coaching in the following sectors, personal services (matchmaking) sales, business development, personal and professional development, events, environmental, technology, new technology security and media. She is an ICF (International Coaching Federation)-qualified Transformational Business and Relationship Coach and Mentor, a recognised relationship expert and a regular presenter, contributor, speaker and writer in the media.

DR JEAN LIU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, YALE-NUS COLLEGE

Dr Jean Liu is an assistant professor of psychology at Yale-NUS College. Her PhD focused on the neuroscience of love, exploring whether the hormone oxytocin plays a role when two people meet for the first time. In recent years, she has broadened her research to look at how technology influences relationships, and how psychology informs the online matchmaking process. Outside the university, Dr Liu speaks regularly at public forums and has been widely featured in the media.

MARK BROOKS, CEO, COURTLAND BROOKS AND IDEA

Mark runs the leading internet dating business agency-consultancy, Courtland Brooks, and IDEA, the Internet Dating Excellence Association.

The Courtland Brooks agency-consultancy (CourtlandBrooks.com) is a team of 29 seasoned Internet dating professionals, available to assist companies with strategy, business development, marketing and media relations. Having helped more than 100 clients, including PlentyofFish, Cupid, Meetme, iovation, and Besedo, Courtland Brooks has also helped companies with best-in-class products to approach the dating industry.

IDEA (www.IDEA.gp) exists to help the internet dating and online matchmaking industry grow. Mark and his team also run OSCA, the Online Social Community Association (www.OSCA.gp).

The press, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, have quoted Mark for over 250 times on the internet dating business. Mark has also keynoted at over 45 Internet Dating business conferences around the world and interviewed over 300 Internet dating executives for OnlinePersonalsWatch.com.

In 2014 Mark completed Harvard Business School's Personal Leadership Development (PLD) programme, which is the school's alternative to an Executive MBA.  From 2015-2017 Mark also completed an Executive MSc in Behavioural Science at London School of Economics.

MURUGA JANAKIRAMAN, FOUNDER & CEO, MATRIMONY.COM (BHARATMATRIMONY)

Murugavel Janakiraman is the Founder and CEO of Matrimony.com – whose flagship brand is BharatMatrimony, the top and most trusted matrimony service in India. The company is powered by 3000+

employees across 110+ branches in 20 major cities in India and global offices at Dubai and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Matrimony.com is India's first pure play Consumer Internet Company to be publicly listed.

In 1997, he pioneered the concept of online matchmaking that changed the way Indians marry. He was nominated twice by The Economic Times for the "Entrepreneur of the Year" award. He has been featured among Top Technology Leaders 2020 by Exchange4Media's Impact Magazine, recognised as a "Disruptor" in the Technology domain by Your Story besides awarded Digital Entrepreneur of the Year by WAT. He was also Chairman of the IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India).

He is a speaker at major summits including those hosted by Harvard School of Business, India Today, Business World, IAMAI, CII, TiE, Stanford India and FICCI.

VIOLET LIM, CO-FOUNDER, LUNCH ACTUALLY

Violet Lim is the heart and soul of Lunch Actually – a dating and matchmaking company that she co-founded with her then fiancé, now-husband, Jamie Lee back in 2004. Her inspiration came from observing her colleagues who did not have time to date, due to their busy lives around work.

Today, Lunch Actually is Asia's biggest lunch dating company with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Lunch Actually's philosophy is to help singles find love by being, meeting and choosing the right one.

Violet is the first Asian to be certified by the Matchmaking Institute in New York City, and today, she is an acknowledged expert in her field. She has appeared in over 4,500 media coverages such as FOX, Forbes, CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, CNA and CNBC Asia. Violet is a resident dating expert on Class 95 FM, Singapore's most listened to English radio station. She was also the dating guru on TV channel TLC dating show Travel for Love. Violet is a sought-after speaker. She has spoken at TEDxNTU in Singapore, PR Asia conference, Asian Women in Leadership Summit, Global Dating Insights Summit in New York and more.

Violet has a master's degree in Personnel Management from the London School of Economics and a law degree from the University of Manchester. Violet is passionate about nurturing relationships, mentoring youth and aspiring entrepreneurs and parenting her two teenagers Corum and Cara.

Having been blessed with a fulfilling marriage and enriching family life, Violet's life goal is to create 1 million happy marriages.

DR ANGELA SMITH, FORENSIC & BEHAVIOUR PSYCHOLOGIST

Dr Smith is one of the leading trainers of resilience in the UK. Angela is an award-winning psychologist who speaks extensively on positive psychology, resilience and corporate psychopaths.

As a researcher and lecturer Angela has developed the 4 Phases of Resilience™, a model of resilience which applies various practical skills to biological, psychological and physiological stages of behavioural change and growth after adversity. As a trainer of over 10,000 people in resilience Angela has designed her own resilience trainings to cover individual, team and organisational resilience.

In her role as a practising Forensic Psychologist, Angela has worked with Prisons, Police Authorities and Secure Hospitals to treat mentally-disordered offenders. She is a recognised lecturer on Corporate Psychopaths and Resilience at work, and consults with some of the largest and most prestigious organisations in the UK, from the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Royal Navy, to Chelsea Football Club, Toyota, and SONY.

TAITO KIMURA PROFESSIONAL MATCHMAKER & STEPHEN BANZ, SYSTEM AND MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPER, IBJ

Taito Kimura is a Professional Matchmaker at IBJ, Inc. He coaches over 100 dating/matching service providers with sales methods/strategies and dating event operation at IBJ which matches over 10,000 married couples all over Japan annually.

Stephen Banz is System and Mobile Application Developer at IBJ. He is involved in scaling the systems to handle user growth and ever-evolving business needs at IBJ.  IBJ is involved in matching 2% of married couples in Japan every year.

JAMIE LEE, CO-FOUNDER, LUNCH ACTUALLY

Jamie co-founded Lunch Actually in April 2004 together with his wife, Violet Lim. Lunch Actually is South East Asia's biggest dating group. He helped expand the businesses from Singapore to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand and also started Prizle.com which is an integrated contest platform.

Jamie is the business mechanic behind the business who has helped build up the systems and products from nothing to ensure that the matches and operations are efficiently accomplished and quality is assured. He loves to improve things and to strive for the perfect system in all his businesses.

Jamie graduated from University of Manchester with a degree in Economics, Accounting & Finance and his specialties include Start-Ups, Fund Raising, Product Development and Building Systems.

PARK SOO-KYUNG, CEO, DUO

Park Soo-Kyung graduated from the Department of Consumer Affairs at Seoul National University. She has a doctorate of Consumer Studies from the university. She is also the Director of the World Association of Women Directors along with being the current CEO of Duo Information Co., Ltd

Duo was founded in 1995 and is one of the largest Matchmaking companies in South Korea. Duo's matching system formed through research and development has grown the company into one of the leading players of the nation.

They have successfully matched over 44,000 couples. Their headquarters is located in Gangnam, Seoul and have offices located nationwide, such as Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju. Duo also has an overseas branch called, DUO USA.

VANESSA ANTONIO, FOUNDER, SINGLES EVENTS MANILA

With 8 years of experience in organising dating events and workshops, Vanessa founded the first ever US-certified professional Matchmaking company in Manila, Philippines.

Known for her science-based dating advice, Vanessa has 10 years of research experience and is the CEO of CTIG, a security research company in the US.

Vanessa will be leading the Dating Events & Workshops table session.