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Katie Schmitz Eulitt leads the ISSB SASB Standards Investor Advisory Group, comprising over 60 leading global asset owners and managers – with >$53 Trillion AUM – supporting a global baseline standard for the communication of corporate performance on ESG issues relevant to the assessment of enterprise value to investors. This reprises similar roles Katie has played at the Value Reporting Foundation, prior to its merger with IFRS in August 2022 and at the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board prior to that. She also co-leads market engagement in Asia Pacific markets, with an emphasis on Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Katie worked with investment bank Salomon Brothers for over a decade in the US, Japan, and Hong Kong. Her experience in project development and finance spans the energy sector (both fossil fuels and renewables), the protection of forested lands, and water disinfection in developing markets. She holds a BA in Japanese from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA from l’Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in Fontainebleau, France, an executive certificate in sustainability from the Presidio Graduate School of San Francisco, and a Global Competent Boards Designation
Dr. Virginia Alzina is a Managing Director of EmergeVest, where she is Head of Sustainability and is responsible for leading our ESG strategies. She is also the Chief Sustainability Officer of EV Cargo, an EmergeVest company with more than $1 billion of annual revenues and global operations.
Dr. Alzina has over 25 years of global experience across Environmental and Social Governance matters with a particular focus on sustainability, resource efficiency, climate change, sustainable production and pollution control. During her 12 years in Hong Kong and Myanmar, she successfully developed sustainability strategies and applied resource efficiency to improve company performance. Prior to EmergeVest, Dr. Alzina was Group Head of Sustainability at Yoma Strategic Holdings, Managing Director of Environ Myanmar, Managing Director of the UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production of Mediterranean countries, and Senior Environmental Specialist at the InterAmerican Development Bank.
Dr. Alzina has a Ph.D. in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering from George Washington University, a M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins University and a Licenciatura in Sociology and Political Sciences from Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca.
Patricia Astorga is the Chief Legal Officer of the Mintz Group, a global private investigation firm headquartered in New York, with offices in 18 cities across the world. Patricia oversees the company’s global legal, compliance and risk management functions and plays a critical role in the firm’s growth strategy, with a particular focus on ESG. Patricia also serves as the executive sponsor for the company’s women’s advancement initiative.Patricia joined Mintz Group from the U.S. Department of Justice, where she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division for the District of New Jersey and the Western District of New York. As a federal prosecutor, Patricia led several jury trials to conviction and conducted investigations and prosecutions of the Anti-Kickback Statute; health care fraud; misconduct by drug manufacturers, pharmacies, physicians and medical practitioners; organized crime; narcotics conspiracies and distribution; domestic and international money laundering; federal firearms offenses; human trafficking; and child sex exploitation crimes.Patricia was formerly a litigator at Milbank, and Weil, where she represented corporate clients in all aspects of litigation and across jurisdictions and industries, including financial services, banking, transportation, insurance, private equity, manufacturing, real estate, and media & entertainment. Patricia is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the U.S. Supreme Court. She served as a law clerk for the Honorable George B. Daniels in the Southern District of New York.Patricia earned her Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School, and her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from New York University.Patricia has been recognized as a 2022 Rising Star by the National Law Journal and the National Association of Women Lawyers, as well as a Women, Influence, and Power in Law Champion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by Corporate Counsel.
Lauren Blasco is a Principal – ESG at AC Ventures where she is responsible for the strategic direction and implementation of ESG principles across AC Ventures business operations and investments.
She is a seasoned sustainability and impact practitioner with over 10 years’ experience in the private, public and educational sectors. Lauren held multiple roles including Director of Sustainability at Potato Head Group, Executive Director at Clean the World, Guest Lecturer at National University of Singapore, Adjunct Professor at The University of Hong Kong, lead consultant on projects with The National Environment Agency in Singapore, Think Tank/Incubator participant at Asia P3 hub, Incubation Network, Second Muse, Responsible Business Forum as well as frequent ESG panel speaker across Asia Pacific.
She is on a mission to scale impact with technology by supporting our portfolio companies and digital disruptors.
Natasha Buckley joined HarbourVest in 2019 and is responsible for sustaining the Firm’s ESG strategy and partnering with our general partners, limited partners, and the Firm’s employees to embrace sustainable investing.
Natasha joined HarbourVest from Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), where she was responsible for their work in the private equity sector, developing tools and resources for PRI signatories to integrate ESG considerations into their investment processes. During her time at PRI, Natasha co-authored the organization’s guide for general partners, and guidance for LPs and GPs on ESG in fund selection, fund terms and fund monitoring/reporting.
Natasha received a BA in History from University College London, an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics, and has completed the University of Oxford Private Equity Programme at the Saïd Business School.
Tim Burroughs is managing editor of Asian Venture Capital Journal, having joined the publication in May 2011. He is responsible for all editorial content put out under the AVCJ brand, including Asian Venture Capital Journal, AVCJtv, AVCJ Awards and AVCJ.com. Tim previously spent five years at China Economic Review, serving as editor-in-chief and then editorial director. Located in Greater China since 2003, during which time he has lived in Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong, Tim has been a China-based contributor for publications including The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, BBC and China Daily. Prior to moving to China, he trained and worked as a journalist in the UK. He was honored at the Society of Publishers in Asia awards in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and at the State Street Institutional Press Awards - Asia in 2012.
Donald joins CDP with over twenty years of work experience including seven years as a co-founder of two successful companies. He joined from Temasek where he established the internal capabilities to setup and operationalise new ventures and businesses. Prior to this, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Clifford Capital, a project and structured finance company, and also, led the international business for Circles.Life, Asia’s leading digital telecommunications company including its successful launch into Indonesia and Taiwan, China markets. He brings his entrepreneurship to grow CDP as well as his investment experience in Singapore, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. In addition to his private sector experience, Donald has also worked with the governments of Australia and Singapore to develop and execute strategies to achieve national objectives and economic outcomes.
Donald holds a Masters of Business Administration from Macquarie University as well as Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney.
Trista leads the Finance Sector across the Asia Pacific region.
With over 15 years of experience in strategic sustainability consulting, Trista is a proven and trusted ESG advisor to clients on managing issues in transactions and enhancing value for post investment and loans.
She advises both listed and private corporate clients across industry sectors, as well as investors and private equities to effect secured investments, facilitate large-scale integration and advance ESG opportunities. Her advice on ESG risks, emerging ESG opportunities as well as potential financial impacts, equipped clients with in-depth insights on the viability and future sustainability of their investment plans. Trista also advises on EHS and Sustainability risks and opportunities associated with cross-boundary transactions involving 20+ countries.
In 2015, she was a delegate to the CEO-lead World Business Counsel for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Leader Program, to help identify the skills needed by future leaders of member companies, and to provide a unique platform for developing and testing skills in a real-world setting. Trista is currently based in Singapore. Prior to relocating to Singapore in 2021, Trista has worked extensively in Canada and in Greater China, transforming businesses to operationalise sustainability.
Jacob Chiu is a Managing Director responsible for Asian PE manager research and co-investments for HQ Capital, a leading global independent alternative investment manager with $8 billion AUM in private equity. Previously, he was a Partner with FLAG Squadron Asia; a Managing Director with Search Investment Group; and held senior operating and financial roles with Glaxo, Kraft and TigerPack. He holds an MSc in Financial Management from the University of London.
Mr. Cook joined Bain Capital Double Impact in 2017 as a Managing Director after having been a member of the Bain Capital Private Equity team since 1996. He serves as Managing Partner of Bain Capital Double Impact.
Prior to his current role, he was a Managing Director on the North American Private Equity team in the Industrial & Energy Vertical. Prior to joining Bain Capital Private Equity, Mr. Cook was a consultant at Bain & Company.
Doug Coulter joined LGT Capital Partners in 2007 to lead its Asian private equity investment activities. Prior to LGT, Doug was a Senior Investment Officer at the IFC, responsible for direct investments in the TMT, retail & consumer and healthcare sectors. He previously worked at Nomura Securities in Hong Kong and as a lawyer at Fasken in Toronto. He holds an MBA from INSEAD, a M.Sc. from the LSE, a law degree from the University of Western Ontario and a B.A. from Queen’s University in Canada.
LGT Capital Partners is a leading alternative investment specialist with over USD 80 billion in assets under management and over 230 private equity professionals worldwide. Headquartered in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland, the firm has offices in New York, Dublin, London, Paris, Frankurt, Vaduz, Dubai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney. LGT Capital Partners was selected as Alternatives Manager of the Year in Asia in 2016 and 2017 and Alternatives Fund House of the Year in 2018 by AsianInvestor, was named Alternatives House of the Year in 2020 and 2021 by Asia Asset Management and was named Fund of funds of the year in Asia in 2018 and 2019 by Private Equity International.
Marcia Ellis is the Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Private Equity Group, a member of our global board of directors, and a member of our global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Steering Committee. Her practice focuses on private equity transactions and complex mergers and acquisitions involving companies, real estate, and other assets located in Asia. Marcia also assists PE clients in integrating ESG considerations throughout their entire investment cycle, including deal selection, pre-investment diligence, investment documents, and portfolio management.
Having practiced in Asia for more than a quarter of a century, Marcia is one of the most experienced M&A lawyers active in the Asian market. In the past three years, she has advised clients on deals with a total aggregate value well in excess of US$265billion.
Marcia has extensive experience advising leading investors on M&A transactions, , including SoftBank Vision Fund, Alibaba, GLP, Bain Capital Credit, BlackRock, Farallon Capital, Ascendent Capital Partners, Silver Crest Acquisition Corp., Macquarie Asset Management, Hillhouse, Hony Capital, and Celadon Partners. In addition, she is experienced in representing U.S., UK and Asia based institutional investors in the acquisition, financing and disposition of real estate in China, Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia, including numerous logistics and internet data center projects, and investment in and acquisition of real estate developers.
From 2008–2011, she was the Chief Legal Officer for Asia of D. E. Shaw, where she assisted various group entities in making, restructuring, and exiting investments in various countries in Asia, including a number of significant and highly structured investments in China and India.
Marcia has recently been awarded by the Financial Times as the Most Innovative Legal Practitioner in the Asia-Pacific region at the FT Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers 2023 Awards. She has been named to Law360’s 2022 and 2023 Private Equity Editorial Board and elected as the Co-Chair of AmCham Hong Kong’s Women of Influence Committee. Clients consider her as “a lawyer whose judgement you trust and who knows how far they can push the boundaries” and a “super skilled technical lawyer” who offers “incredible problem-solving skills on all aspects of matters, both legal and commercial.”
Mark Errington is the Chairman of Asia Pacific for ERM, the world’s largest pure-play sustainability consultancy. He also leads the M&A advisory service across the 13 countries in the Asia Pacific region.
With over 30 years of experience in technology enablement, mergers & acquisitions advisory, and ESG strategy, Mark has driven outstanding business growth and oversees large-scale decarbonization partnerships to help clients address their global sustainability challenges.
Prior to his APAC role, he was the Global Managing Partner of Digitization & Commercialization, and lead ERM’s Global Transaction Services Practice based in New York. Before joining ERM, he worked at Deloitte Consulting in London. He has lived and worked extensively in Hong Kong, Sydney, New York and London, transforming businesses to operationalize sustainability.
Mr. Fang is the founding managing partner of Starquest Capital, a China based private equity and fund of funds firm with investment strategy focused on consumer, healthcare and technology sector. Mr. Fang oversees the FoF investment, ESG integration, business development and various activities. Starquest Capital is the first Asian recipient of the UNPRI Awards 2019 Emerging Markets Initiative of the Year.
Prior to founding Starquest Capital in 2018, Mr. Fang served as the Head of LGT Capital Partners in China for 12 years. Before joining LGT Capital Partners in early 2007, Mr. Fang worked for AXA Private Equity Group in Singapore focusing on fund of funds and direct investment in Pan-Asia region. Mr. Fang has a total of 20 years' experience in the finance industry.
Mr. Fang has invested over USD 1.5 billion in Chinese private equity market, including long-established GPs such as CDH Investments, CITIC Capital, Sequoia Capital and Legend Capital, as well as VC 2.0 GPs such as Primavera Capital, Source Code Capital and Gaorong Capital. Mr. Fang is the member of Advisory Committees for over 20 funds in China and a member of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission Expert Committee. He is also invited to be expert judge of Forbes China 2020 "30 Under 30" List.
Mr. Fang holds a Bachelor degree in Accounting from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, MBA from INSEAD Business School and EMBA from People’s Bank of China School of Finance of Tsinghua University. Mr. Fang also holds the Chinese certified public accountant qualification. He is the member of Future Forum Youth Council. His native language is Mandarin. He is also fluent in English, French, Cantonese and can use conversational German and Japanese.
Amy is Managing Director as well as the Chair of ESG Committee at FountainVest Partners (Asia) Limited. FountainVest Partners was founded in 2007 and is a leading Asian private equity fund with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. Prior to joining FountainVest in late 2019, Amy worked for 4 years as the CEO of Save the Children Hong Kong.
Before Save the Children, Amy spent nearly two decades in financial services with institutions including JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, and Merrill Lynch, working in the US and Asia, having worked as an investment banker, head of strategy, COO and Head of Regulatory Change Management. Amy is a Board Member of Langdi Pharmaceutical and serves on the ESG Committee of Amer Sports, and the Board of Rädda Barnen Service AB, a Swedish social enterprise focusing on Child Rights in business. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and has an MBA from Columbia University and she was also a Certified Public Accountant qualified in the District of Columbia, USA. Amy is a Hong Kong native and has a 21-year old daughter and a 16-year old son. She is a spiritual practitioner and teaches meditation as a volunteer on a regular basis.
Purnima Gandhi has over 15 years of global experience in investment banking, private equity and public equity focused on energy and climate technologies. She has worked across cultures and countries such India, UK and Singapore.
She has been with the investments and portfolio development team at Temasek International, Singapore for 11 years. Prior to this she was in Citigroup in Energy Investment Banking in London.
Purnima has an MA from University of Oxford, UK and BA from University of Delhi, India.
Jie Gong is a Partner at Pantheon, and a member of the firm’s Asia Regional Investment Committee and the Global Co-investment Committee. Jie joined Pantheon from Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners' private equity fund of funds group, where she led Asian investment activity and was a member of the Global Investment Committee. Before that she was a Vice President at JPMorgan responsible for leverage finance deal origination, structuring and execution in Greater China. Previously she worked at the International Finance Corporation on emerging market debt and equity investments. Jie received a Masters in Finance from London Business School, an MA in Economics from University of Miami and a BA in Economics and International Trade from Shanghai International Studies University. Jie is Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HKVCA) and serves on its board. She founded and chairs HKVCA’s ESG committee, and co-chairs its LP committee. She is also a committee member of United Nation Principle of Responsible Investment Private Equity Advisory Committee (UNPRI PEAC).
Melissa Kang has over 20 years of private equity investment experience in Asia. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of JI Capital Partners an investment firm founded by a team of seasoned private equity investment professionals that focuses on sustainable and high impact investments in Southeast Asia. Ms. Kang is also the Founder of Jasmine Sustainability Research Institute, a social enterprise that focuses on specialized market research in ESG and high impact investment opportunities in Asia. Previously, Ms. Kang was a Portfolio Manager and the dedicated ESG Officer of Integro, the global impact fund at Morgan Stanley.
Prior to Morgan Stanley, Ms. Kang worked at IFC, the private sector arm of World Bank Group, where she was a Principal Investment Officer and Regional Lead for East Asia Pacific, responsible for private equity fund investments, based in Indonesia. In that role, she was responsible for new business that covered 15 countries and oversaw $1 billion of portfolio investments, and sat on several advisory boards. In addition, Ms. Kang was also the Global Lead for gender investment for funds at IFC.
Before embarking on impact investing, Ms. Kang was the CEO for a private equity fund of funds business in Asia, a joint venture between ING Investment Management and Pomona Capital, based in Hong Kong. Before that, Ms. Kang had held senior positions at 3i and DBS Bank, responsible for direct investments in Asia. Prior to her private equity career, Ms. Kang spent 8 years in equity investment research and SME finance.
Ms. Kang graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, major in Economics and Political Science. She subsequently earned a Master degree in Applied Finance from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Ms. Kang was a participant at the YMP 2000 program at Insead. Ms. Kang is a frequent speaker at private equity conferences in Asia focusing on ESG, sustainability and impact investing.
David Katz is Managing Director of Public Affairs for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) Asia Ltd. based in Singapore. In this role Mr. Katz leads the corporate communications, government relations, corporate citizenship and environmental, social and governance functions for KKR across all markets in the Asia Pacific. Mr. Katz also sits on KKR’s Asia Pacific leadership team.
Previously he was the Deputy Head of Global Government Relations and Head of Asia Pacific Government Relations for PayPal Inc. and sat on PayPal’s Asia Pacific leadership team. Prior to PayPal Inc., he worked at eBay Inc., where he managed Asia Pacific GR for both eBay Marketplace and PayPal - then owned by eBay Inc. Before joining eBay, Mr. Katz worked at Visa Inc. where he served as their first head of GR for the Asia region.
Mr. Katz was also Chief of Party of a USAID program in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat in Singapore, where he advanced policy and capacity building. Mr. Katz served in the Executive Office of the President for eight years as a Senior Director at the United States Trade Representative (USTR) with responsibility for Southeast Asia, APEC, and China trade policy. Prior to USTR, Mr. Katz was an economic officer in the U.S. diplomatic service, with tours in Taiwan, Mongolia, and Singapore, and he was a special assistant to U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell. Mr. Katz earned an MBA from the University of Edinburgh and his BA from the University of California at Berkeley.
Nav joined Novo Holdings Asia in August 2021 as Principal. He focuses on deal sourcing and execution as well as in managing and developing the growing portfolio of investments, focusing primarily on the markets in China, India, and Southeast Asia.
Prior to joining Novo Holdings Asia, Nav was a Director in Quadria Capital, a mid-market private equity firm focusing on healthcare investments in India and South East Asia. Before joining Quadria Capital, Nav was the Managing Director at Fosun, where he worked on both private and public healthcare investment opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region. Nav started his investment career with Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong and moved to UBS Global Asset Management in Singapore before joining Fosun.
Nav holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, in India and Bachelor of Technology from Indian institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur in India.
Kazushige has over 30 years of experience in the private equity (PE) business. Kazushige is handling a couple of PE-related businesses in parallel.
He joined MCP Asset Management in 2020 and manages 2 fund of funds programs of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government including a climate tech VC program.
In addition, he serves as an advisor for a couple of GPs including Rhone, a global mid-market PE fund, as an independent consultant.
Until 2020, he was Managing Director – Head of Primary Investments at Capital Dynamics (CD), a global private asset management company. He oversaw CD’s PE investments in Asia and also served as a member of the Global PE Investment Committee and Executive Committee.
Before joining CD in 2010, he worked for Mitsubishi Corporation, and as a part of that, he served as President and CEO of Alternative Investment Capital (AIC), a private equity advisory firm in Tokyo. AIC was established in 2002 and has grown AIC as a globally recognized PE investor.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Hitotsubashi University.
Gerry Mattios is the co-director of our Global Sustainability Innovation Center (GSIC) in Singapore, an ESG-focused center established to help companies accelerate the time to impact their sustainability strategies and path to a low-carbon economy.
Gerry is also a leader in our Performance Improvement practice with deep expertise in the Supply Chain Management sector, as well as a member of our Advanced Manufacturing and Services and Consumer Products practices.
With more than 20 years of industry and management consulting experience across the globe, serving clients primarily in the broader APAC region, Gerry specializes in advising multinational corporations in the automotive, industrial, FMCG and hi-tech sectors on supply chain and sustainability issues at both strategic and tactical levels.
Gerry is a member of Singapore’s Future Economy Council (FEC) Resource and Environmental Sustainability (RES) Sub-Committee and works to unlock the potential of emerging sustainability sectors into new growth engines. He is a regular thought leadership contributor in the fields of supply chains, global trade and sustainability for publications such as the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC and Forbes. He co-authors the annual Global Enabling Trade Report published by the World Economic Forum.
Prior to joining us, Gerry worked in the automotive and technology industry in China and Europe.
He earned an MBA from City University CASS Business School and an M.St. from Cambridge University. He holds a B.Sc. in Transport Management and Logistics from Aston University.
Katharina is Head of ESG, EMEA & APAC. She focuses on developing ESG integration and sustainable investments strategies in Carlyle’s flagship funds and partners with portfolio companies to drive value through ESG initiatives.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Katharina was at British International Investment, where she developed and integrated enhanced impact and ESG practices within equity, debt and fund of funds investment teams. Kat also led value creations initiatives across BII’s portfolio.
Prior to that, Katharina worked in public policy reform and supported companies and investors in community engagement and impact-led value creation. She holds an Executive MBA from London Business School and an MSc from London School of Economics as well as a BA in Cultural History.
Rikke Nielsen joined EQT Partners in April 2010 and is a Partner in the Copenhagen office. Prior to joining EQT Partners, Rikke worked for The Royal Bank of Scotland (previously Alfred Berg ABN AMRO) in the Mergers & Acquisitions department, latest as Assistant Director in the Copenhagen office. She holds a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School. Rikke is a member of the Mid Market Partners Investment Committee.
Mr. Octoman is a Senior Partner at Navis and an Investment Committee member.
Mr. Octoman joined Navis in 2000. His primary responsibility is to manage the Navis Asia Credit Fund, as a senior member of the team, and to ensure that synergies with Navis’ Private Equity platform are optimized. He also oversees the ESG Portfolio Operations team and drives the strategic focus of ESG at Navis. He has extensive private equity investment experience across multiple Navis funds investing in the ASEAN region and was previously the Chief Operating Officer of Navis, overseeing the Navis Private Equity Funds’ Investment Committee decision-making process, the Portfolio Operations group, human capital, and Navis’ strategic banking relationships.
Prior to joining Navis, Mr. Octoman worked with Price Waterhouse Coopers with a focus on capital market transactions and financial due diligence in emerging markets. Mr. Octoman also worked for KPMG in Australia and Canada in Business Advisory services.
A lifetime resident of Australasia, having been raised and educated in Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accountancy from the University of South Australia and is an Australian qualified Chartered Accountant. He is also a member of the UNPRI PEAC committee.
Steve Okun has served as GPCA’s Southeast Asia Senior Advisor since 2017. Steve is Founder and CEO of Singapore-based APAC Advisors and is a seasoned private equity professional. Steve supports member relations and expanding GPCA’s industry stakeholder network in the region. He is also responsible for establishing GPCA’s Singapore and regional presence as well as training the local team. As KKR’s former Director of Asia Public Affairs, Steve also advises GPCA on public affairs and industry advocacy in Southeast Asia.
Sarah is the Head of ESG and Sustainability at Affinity Equity Partners. She is responsible for ESG integration, training, and disclosures and helps the firm manage its sustainability and climate related risks and opportunities. She is passionate about ESG as a value creation lever and actively engages with portfolio companies to develop initiatives that will help them create long term sustainable value. As a member of the SVCA ESG committee, she believes that knowledge sharing, and partnerships will help accelerate sustainability solutions that build a better world for the next generation.
Prior to her role at Affinity Equity Partners, she was a founding member of Temasek Holdings’ sustainability team. She started her career as a lawyer, and after 10 years took hold of an opportunity to transition into sustainability. She graduated from Bristol University with an LLB and Bachelor of Business at Nanyang Technological University. Outside work, she enjoys spending time with loved ones and a variety of hobbies including road cycling, skiing, food, travel, reading.
Upasana Rao is a Partner in the Corporate practice, with a focus on mergers & acquisitions, private equity, venture capital and corporate restructuring. Her transactional experience includes a number of share and asset acquisitions, debt/equity investments, joint ventures and distress assets acquisitions. She regularly advises on regulatory matters, corporate governance and conflict management in investments.
Upasana has advised on transactions across various sectors, including energy and infrastructure, alternate real estate assets such as data centres, financial services, retail, logistics, as well as venture capital and private equity in SaaS and technology start-ups including mobility, e-commerce, healthcare and financial services.
In recent years, Upasana has advised on several impact investments in the areas of microfinance, affordable housing, sustainable agriculture, clean energy and waste management. Upasana regularly provides inputs to industry associations and government for policy deliberations and advocacy. She was part of the drafting team for India’s Bankruptcy Code, has contributed inputs to the Ministry of Commerce on the issue of liberalising foreign investment in retail, and prepared a research report for the Ministry of Civil Aviation on developing aircraft leasing and financing in India. She is engaged in policy advocacy with the impact Council of India for creating an ecosystem for sustainable investing.
Saima Rehman is responsible for leading investments in private equity and venture capital funds, and managing portfolio in the East Asia Pacific region. Before joining the Funds group, her experience covered principal investments, syndications and structured finance covering South Asia with IFC and prior to that with IDLC Bangladesh. She has an MBA from INSEAD.
Jo Saleeba is the Head of Sustainability for New Forests, primarily responsible for overseeing the management, execution, and continuous improvement of New Forests’ responsible investment-related policies, systems, reporting and procedures. Jo has a distinguished career in responsible investment as an institutional investor. She was the inaugural CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) in Australia, and has extensive experience with some of the most progressive superannuation funds, and with corporate and investment clients in her own consulting business.
Avina Sugiarto is a Partner at East Ventures. She has over 12 years of experience in investing across alternative assets including venture capital, private equity, private credit, and special situations across industries from technology, property, logistics, to financial services and consumers. Prior to joining East Ventures, Avina was a Senior Vice President at an asset management firm. She was responsible for deal sourcing, analysis, execution, and fundraising across the firm’s investment products. She was also a key member of an investment partnership with a global alternative investment firm headquartered in the United States.
Avina leverages her extensive experiences to invest in seed to growth stage technology companies and drive sustainability and integration of ESG practices in East Ventures’ investments.
Michael is the head of Listing Policy & Product Admission at Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo), a subsidiary of Singapore Exchange (SGX) that undertakes frontline regulatory functions. He oversees listing policy and rules development and has oversight of the listing admission of securities products, including debt securities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. Michael graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor of Laws degree and is admitted to the Singapore bar. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the NUS Business School’s Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS), a Management Committee member of Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS) and a member of the Environmental, Social and Governance Committee of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID). Michael leads efforts to promote sustainability across stakeholder groups.
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.
Petter Weiderholm joined EQT in Feb 2016 as the CIO and in June 2018 became the Global Head of IT Strategy.
Prior to joining EQT, Petter worked as Vice President of Business IT at Spotify for five years and before that at SapientNitro (NASDAQ:SAPE), a global e-commerce consulting company. He also spent several years in different tech startups in Stockholm and Linköping. Petter has more than 15 years of experience managing teams and delivering a wide range of IT projects, with a focus on supporting back-office automation and business intelligence.
Petter Weiderholm holds a M.Sc degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Linköping's Tekniska Högskola.
Claudia Zeisberger is a Senior Affiliate Professor of Entrepreneurship & Family Enterprise at INSEAD, and the Founder and Academic Director of the school’s private equity centre (GPEI). Before joining INSEAD in 2005, she spent 16 years in investment banking in New York, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Singapore.
Professor Zeisberger is a founding investor of ‘INSEAD Alum Ventures’ (IAV), the business school’s first dedicated seed fund and she actively mentors early-stage companies and first-time entrepreneurs. At INSEAD, she launched ‘Managing Corporate Turnarounds’ a popular MBA elective known for its intensive computer-based simulation involving an iconic car brand and its struggle with bankruptcy. As a natural extension, she teaches INSEAD’s Risk management elective. She has frequently been nominated for the MBA ‘Best Teaching Award’ in her PE elective and has been awarded the “Dean’s Commendation for Excellence in MBA Teaching” annually since 2008.
Professor Zeisberger is known for her extensive research on PE in emerging markets, and her output is a function of her close working relationships with private equity firms and their investee companies, institutional investors, Family Offices and Sovereign Wealth Funds.
She is the author of ‘Mastering Private Equity – Transformation via Venture Capital, Minority Investments & Buyouts’ and ‘Private Equity in Action – Case Studies from Developed & Emerging Markets’. (http://masteringprivateequity.com/)
Full CV: https://www.insead.edu/faculty-research/faculty/claudia-zeisberger
Tang Zongzhong is the Head of Sustainability for BPEA EQT. He is responsible for the overall sustainability strategy, and works with portfolio companies across multiple industries on sustainability risk mitigation and value creation. He is also currently serving on the ESG Committees at several global portfolio companies. Prior to joining BPEA, Mr. Tang was at Partners Group, where he was the regional head for ESG integration and impact investing in Asia Pacific. Before that, he was an Associate Director at Blackpeak in Singapore, where he oversaw fraud, bribery and corruption assignments, focused on Southeast Asia and Greater China. Mr. Tang holds an MA Global Affairs from Yale University and a BSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.