Suzanne Tavill Global Head of Responsible Investment, Partner STEPSTONE

Ms. Tavill is the global head of responsible investment, leading all ESG and impact initiatives across all businesses and investment strategies at StepStone Group, a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to some of the most sophisticated investors in the world. With more than US$548 billion of private markets allocations, including over US$127 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2021, StepStone covers the spectrum of opportunities in private markets across the globe. Ms. Tavill is also a member of the private equity team.

Prior to StepStone, Ms. Tavill was responsible for AMP Capital’s global alternative investment platform that included private equity, infrastructure and real assets. Before that she spent five years at Van Eyk Research in Sydney, the last four as head of research. Before moving to Australia, she was an executive director at Goldman Sachs Investment Management, responsible for their UK small-and mid-cap portfolios.

Ms. Tavill received a MSc in finance and economics from the London School of Economics, in addition to a BBS with honors in economics and honors in finance from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Brian Lau Managing Director SHAWKWEI & PARTNERS

Mr. Lau is a Managing Director and Partner at ShawKwei & Partners. He is involved in all aspects of deal flow & investments and leverages his operating, sales and strategy background to manage portfolio companies at the board level.  He is a member of the investment committee of ShawKwei and sits on the boards of portfolio companies Beyonics and ICONS Beauty Group. 

Brian has more than 30 years of strategy, sales and operations experience across the industrial supply chain and investment banking industries including with multinational corporations Celestica and Texas Instruments.

Brian received an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University and a BA from the University of Waterloo and holds the CPA designation (Chartered Professional Account) from Canada.  

Manas Tamotia Managing Director ALVAREZ AND MARSAL

Manas Tamotia is a Managing Director at Alvarez and Marsal Southeast Asia & Australia. He heads the firm’s Private Equity Performance Improvement practice in the region. He brings 20 years of strategy and M&A experience across ASEAN, Americas and Australia, New Zealand both as an adviser but also as an operator.

Manas has worked extensively with private equity, venture capital, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices, as well as corporate buyers undertake pre-deal diligence and target identification, and post-deal value creation efforts. His main sectors are consumer & retail, technology, industrials and social infrastructure e.g., healthcare and education. Prior engagements have involved buy-side commercial due diligence and sell-side “storytelling” on 120+ transactions including >40 completed transactions.

In addition to support transactions, Manas has worked with PE-owned portfolio companies and corporates on >50 strategy assignments. These include answering critical questions on “where to play”, “how to win”, and “how to organize”.

Prior to A&M, Manas was Chief Strategy Officer at a Southeast Asia e-commerce company and before that was instrumental in building L.E.K. Consulting’s Southeast Asia practice as head of its Singapore office.

He has an MBA from the Wharton School and bachelor’s degree in finance and information systems from the University of New South Wales.

Heiko von Dewitz Partner, Head of Europe AGIC Capital

Prior to co-founding AGIC, Heiko served as an Investment Director with Intel Capital for 13 years, with responsibility for all investment activities in Western Europe and Israel. Before Intel Capital, he was a consultant with A. T. Kearney for nearly four years, where he specialized in High-Tech and Telecommunications. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Munich, where he has also been a guest lecturer.

Simon Pearson Managing Director EMERGEVEST

Simon Pearson is a Managing Director of EmergeVest, where he has led the development of the EmergeVest Operating System (EVOS).  He is also the Chief Strategy Officer of EV Cargo, an EmergeVest company with more than $1.5 billion of annual revenues and global operations.

Mr. Pearson has more than 30 years of logistics industry experience as an international supply chain executive, consultant and investor, operating at every stage of the global retail value chain across product categories and multiple geographies.  Starting at a mid-size UK transport business in 1990, Mr. Pearson then joined NFT Distribution, a leading UK temperature-controlled logistics provider, where he rose through the organization to a board position.  He then spent 10 years in senior supply chain leadership roles at ASDA Stores (Walmart UK), with a remit spanning global inbound logistics, freight procurement, outbound transport and DC operations, network optimization, and supply chain planning and strategy, while also working on global leverage projects across the international Walmart business. In 2012, Mr. Pearson relocated to Shanghai to join Cargo Services, a global logistics business, as Group Strategy and Development Director.  He also founded a boutique supply chain consulting business, Simon Pearson & Associates, advising many leading fashion brands and retailers on optimization of their international supply chain operations. 

Mr. Pearson joined EmergeVest in 2013, initially as an Operating Partner and then as a Managing Director based in Hong Kong.

Mr. Pearson’s current and previous board service includes logistics and technology companies across Asia and Europe.  Mr. Pearson received his Honours degree in Business Management from Coventry University.