Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Michael Octoman Senior Partner NAVIS CAPITAL PARTNERS

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.

Jun Tsusaka CEO, CIO and Chairperson of the ESG Committee NSSK

Jun Tsusaka is CEO, CIO and Chairperson of the ESG Committee of Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko Ltd. (NSSK), an investment firm established in 2014 and focused on Japan’ s middle market. NSSK currently manages five investment funds (including its flagship fund and regional impact funds) on behalf of Japanese and international government and private sector pension plans, institutional investors, endowments and family offices.

Prior to Founding NSSK, from 2006, Jun Tsusaka was a Global Partner, Investment Committee Member and Partner Selection Committee Member for TPG Capital and was responsible for establishing and building up the Japan investment and operating team, which make up the core of NSSK today.

Jun Tsusaka is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School and has an Advanced Management Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from MIT. He is a former Business Trustee of Japan’s Bankruptcy Court, is a member of the Keizai Doyukai and Seiwajuku and the President of the Harvard Club of Japan.

Menno Veeneklaas Strategy & ESG Operating Partner ALLEGRO FUNDS

Menno is a Strategy & ESG Operating Partner with Allegro Funds, a mid-market private equity fund in Australia and New Zealand. Allegro has over $4 billion of AUM and manages a portfolio of 10 companies with a team of 16 investment professionals and 9 Operating Partners. At Allegro Menno specialises in developing and implementing value creation and ESG strategies working closely with portfolio company executives and he leads the integration of ESG across Allegro’s portfolio companies.

Prior to Allegro Menno had ten years in CEO and COO leadership roles and sixteen years in strategy consulting, business improvement and private equity roles.

Menno holds a Bachelor Degree (Hons) in Economics and World Politics from the University of York, UK and an MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University, USA. His interests include surf ski paddling, sailing, hiking in nature and travel with his family.

About Allegro Funds

Founded in 2004 by Chester Moynihan and Adrian Loader, Allegro is Australia’s most-awarded team in special situations, corporate carve-out and transformation investing. Allegro invests across a broad range of industries in Australia and New Zealand. Over the last 20 years, Allegro has made investments in 31 companies, along with over 50 bolt-on investments and realised 20 exits. The firm is current investing fund IV.

Lane Zhao Founder & Chief Executive Officer INNOVISION CAPITAL

Mr. Lane Zhao founded InnoVision Capital, a next-generation private equity firm in Asia, in 2016, and has been focusing on investing in the most promising future growth ESG space, primarily green energy / clean tech, food security and healthcare sectors in Asia for more than 20 years with strong and proven track records.

Since the founding of InnoVision Capital, Mr. Zhao has invested in many successful companies with globally advanced technologies, strong product capabilities, and leading market positions both in China and internationally, e.g. Beike, JD Logistics, Lvkon, Eswin, Neurophth, Channel Soft, CATUG Biotechnology, iCamuno Biotherapeutics, 58 Group, Butel, Kedu Healthcare, China Securities, WuXi AppTec, Wanhua Chemical, Kuaishou Technology.

Mr. Zhao has been dedicated to ESG investment since his time at KKR as one of the founding stage members of the Asia business from 2006 to 2016. In 2011, Mr. Zhao pioneered KKR’s first ESG investment in Asia, i.e. – United Envirotech, a leading Membrane-based Integrated Environmental Solutions Provider headquartered in Singapore. Prior to InnoVision Capital, Mr. Zhao has led or played significant roles in many successful investments including United Envirotech, Mengniu, Modern Diary, Far East Horizon, Ping An Insurance, BeLLE, CICC, etc.

Mr. Zhao Fu graduated from the Fundamental Science Experimental Class at Tsinghua University and was honored as an outstanding graduate.

Carl Guan Managing Director NIO CAPITAL

Carl Guan joined NIO Capital in 2017. Carl led the team to establish NIO Capital’s investment practice in new energy, battery tech, AR/VR, etc. He also executed the exit strategy of Ronbay (688005) and United Winners (688518).

Before joining NIO Capital, Carl had several entrepreneurial experiences and worked in the equity research division at BOCI Securities.

He holds a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering and Automation from Texas A&M University under the instruction from NAE member Mladen Kezunovic, and Bachelor’s degree from Zhejiang University. He has participated in several projects for US Department of Energy, American PSERC (Power System Engineering Research Center), ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas), etc.

Steven Sun Board Secretary ALPHAESS

Steven Sun has served as the Board Secretary of AlphaESS since 2014 and was promoted to Director in early 2021. He is mainly responsible for investment and financing, IPO, ESG affairs and further participates in strategic decision making and business development.

Mr. Sun graduated from Nankai University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and obtained a master's degree in leadership from Northeastern University in the United States. Before joining AlphaESS, he was employed at Huawei.

Hong Qiu Managing Director, Chairman and CEO and Workstream Leader, Sustainability-related Disclosures, Policy and Standards Working Group, Asset Owners & Asset Managers, HKGFA LAZARD GREATER CHINA

Hong Qiu serves as Managing Director, Chairman, and CEO of Lazard Greater China. Bringing over 25 years of rich experience in investment banking and private equity across Asia and the USA, Ms. Qiu has established a significant track record. Before joining Lazard, she was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, following her role as a Director at Citi. Additionally, she held the position of Senior Investment Officer at EMP Global, managing the AIG Asian Infrastructure Fund.

Ms. Qiu's advisory expertise spans numerous cross-border M&A transactions involving Asian companies, with a particular focus on sectors such as Power, Energy, Infrastructure, diversified industrials, and CleanTech. Her profound understanding of China's outbound M&A regulatory framework, combined with her extensive network among central and provincial state-owned enterprises, entrepreneur-owned enterprises, and financing banks, distinguishes her in the field. Moreover, Ms. Qiu represented multinational companies in their acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and divestitures.

A CFA Charter holder, Ms. Qiu actively contributes to the financial community, notably leading a panel at the Hong Kong Green Finance Association and sharing her insights at various forums on cross-border M&A and ESG transition investments.

Kazushige Kobayashi Managing Director MCP ASSET MANAGEMENT

Kazushige has approx. 30 years’ experience in private equity (PE) business. Kazushige is handling a couple of PE related business in parallel, including running a fund of funds program of Tokyo Metropolitan Government at MCP Asset Management and advisory roles as an independent consultant for global GPs.

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 Global PE Investment Committee and Executive Committee.

Prior to joining CD in 2010, he was President and CEO of Alternative Investment Capital (AIC), a private equity advisory firm in Tokyo. He joined AIC when it was established in 2002 and has grown AIC as globally recognized PE investor. Before AIC, he worked for Mitsubishi Corporation and handled various types of PE related business in Tokyo and London.

In addition, he is a board member of Social Investment Partners, the manager of Japan Venture Philanthropy Fund (JVPF), the first venture philanthropy fund in Japan.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Hitotsubashi University.

Charles Nguyen Managing Director, Head of ESG Asia NEUBERGER BERMAN

Charles Nguyen, CFA, Managing Director, Head of ESG Asia, joined the firm in 2006. Charles is responsible for ESG strategy and integration in Asia. He previously led the analysis of sustainability topics across Neuberger Berman’s public equities platform with a focus on climate and Net Zero. Prior to joining the ESG team at Neuberger Berman, Charles was a Senior Research Analyst for Neuberger Berman’s Long Short fund and Guardian Fund. Prior to joining the firm, Charles was an equity research associate at Goldman Sachs & Co. Charles began his career as an analyst for Merrill Lynch & Co.’s Investment Banking division. Charles earned a BS in Business Administration (magna cum laude) from Georgetown University. He has been awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and an executive sustainability leadership certificate from London Business School.

Calvin Lee Kwan Head of Sustainability & Risk Governance LINK ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Dr. Calvin Lee Kwan oversees Link Asset Management’s governance and strategy for sustainability and risk management, ensuring alignment with the Group’s long-term strategic objectives.

On the sustainability front, Dr. Kwan champions the adoption of advanced climate resilience measures and decarbonization strategies, aligning the Group’s operations with global sustainability standards. His proactive engagement with investors and business partners on ESG and stewardship issues enhances transparency and strengthens partnerships that support the Group’s sustainability objectives.

In overseeing risk governance, Dr. Kwan integrates comprehensive risk management practices with the Group’s strategic objectives. He ensures that operational strategies are underpinned by a robust risk management framework that adheres to defined risk appetites and facilitates effective risk mitigation. This strategic integration is essential for maintaining the organization’s stability and promoting growth.

With extensive experience across various sectors including oil and gas, automotive, academia, and real estate, Dr. Kwan brings a unique and valuable perspective to his dual roles. He holds a Doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, an Executive MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and HKUST, and a Juris Doctorate from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Sarah Pang Executive Director, Head of ESG and Sustainability AFFINITY EQUITY PARTNERS

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.

Jannie Tsuei Partner TVM CAPITAL HEALTHCARE

Jannie is a Partner at TVM Capital Healthcare focused on the SEA Fund.  Prior to joining TVM, she led Southeast Asia healthcare investment banking at Morgan Stanley.  She also served as Chief Operating Officer of Southeast Asia investment banking at Morgan Stanley from 2018 to 2020. Jannie has been integrally involved in c. US$70Bn of strategic and capital transactions across North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.  Previously, Jannie worked at Sears Holdings Corporation in a general management rotational program.

Jannie holds an A.B. in literature (magna cum laude) from Harvard College and holds an MBA in Finance (cum laude) from The Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania.

Josh Haacker Chief Investment Officer CLIMATE INVESTMENT

As Chief Investment Officer for Climate Investment, a specialist venture and growth decarbonization investor, Josh Haacker is responsible for providing leadership and direction to the overall CI investment function including the firm’s investment programs, and acting as chair for the firm’s investment committee. Josh joined Climate Investment in 2021 and is a Board member at CI portfolio company, GHGSat. Josh’s investment experience in the climate sector spans technology, growth and real asset platforms, as Managing Director with private equity firm US Renewables Group, CIO of a water sector-focused family office, and Managing Partner of his own firm, Muldrow Partners. Earlier career assignments included project development, financing, and operations roles with AES Corporation, Rocky Mountain Institute and Procter & Gamble. Josh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Josh is based in London, UK.

Valerie Kwan Director, Stewardship & Corporate Engagement AIGCC

Valerie oversees corporate and investor initiatives including the global investor engagement initiative, Climate Action 100+. Valerie and the team work alongside investors to engage with companies that are systemically important greenhouse gas emitters.

Prior to joining AIGCC, she was a manager in EY, Climate Change and Sustainability Services in Hong Kong and has advised clients on sustainability and risk management strategies.

Valerie’s career in sustainability started in 2013 when she worked as an ESG advisor and conducted environmental and social due diligence for private equity clients.

Prior to that she worked in public affairs and public relations in Hong Kong. Valerie holds a MSSc in Business and Community from the University of Bath and is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.

Edan Lee Managing Director OLYMPUS CAPITAL ASIA

Edan Lee is a Managing Director of Olympus Capital Asia and joined the Firm in 1998. The Firm is an independent private investment manager that has been successfully investing in middle market companies across Asia for over 20 years. Since its founding in 1997, Olympus Capital Asia has invested more than $2.6 billion of equity capital on behalf of its funds and co-investors in over 65 portfolio companies throughout Asia. The Firm’s private equity strategies center on elevating Sustainable Development objectives including investments in Sustainable Energy/Water, Sustainable Cities, and Sustainable Financial Services.

Prior to joining Olympus Capital Asia, Mr. Lee served as Project Director in China for The AES Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, in the mid-1990s, where he developed and financed some of the most significant foreign invested power projects at the time. Previously, Mr. Lee was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. in the US and in Australia. Mr. Lee holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and BS (Mechanical Engineering) and BA (Economics) degrees from Rice University. Mr. Lee is a member of the Rice School of Engineering Advisory Board and a member of the Executive Committee, Stanford GSB Chapter of Hong Kong.

Steven Pringle Head of Asia Pacific GRESB

As Head of APAC at GRESB, Steven is in charge of APAC region's commercial strategy. Prior to joining GRESB he worked in Real Estate funds management and banking for ten years.

Jonathan Tong Vice President PAG

Jonathan is a Vice President at PAG, a leading Asia-based alternative investment fund managing over USD55 billion in capital. He is responsible for formulating the sustainability / ESG strategy for the group. He works closely with the Private Equity team on integrating ESG considerations in the investment lifecycle, and with portfolio companies on tracking and reporting metrics to industry initiatives such as the ESG Data Convergence Initiative (EDCI).

Prior to joining PAG, he spent 10 years in the sustainability consulting focused on corporate sustainability strategy, reporting, carbon accounting, and supply chain risk assessment. He has experience with private and public companies in sectors such as food and beverage, e-commerce, quick service restaurants, apparel, pharmaceuticals, construction, property development, industrial and consumer goods manufacturing.

Jonathan holds a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Management from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Frankie Fang Founding Managing Partner STARQUEST GROUP

Frankie Fang is the founding managing partner of Starquest Capital, a private equity and fund of funds (FOF) firm based in China that focuses on the consumer, healthcare, and technology sectors. Mr. Fang oversees FOF investments, ESG integration, business development, and various other key 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 the AXA Private Equity Group in Singapore, where he focused on FOF and direct investment in the Pan-Asia region. Mr. Fang has 20 years of experience in the financial industry.

Mr. Fang has invested over USD 3 billion in the Chinese private equity market, including long-established GPs such as CITIC Capital, Hongshan, and Legend Capital, as well as VC 2.0 GPs such as Primavera Capital, Source Code Capital, and Gaorong Ventures. Mr. Fang holds positions on the Advisory Committees of over 20 funds in China and is a member of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission Expert Committee. He was also invited to be an expert judge for the Forbes China 2020 “30 Under 30” List.

Mr. Fang earned a bachelor’s degree from the Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, an MBA from INSEAD Business School, and an EMBA from the People’s Bank of China School of Finance at Tsinghua University. Additionally, Mr. Fang holds the Chinese CPA qualification and sits on the Future Forum Youth Council (“Chinese Nobel Committee”). His native language is Mandarin Chinese, and he is also fluent in English, French, and Cantonese, with conversational proficiency in German and Japanese.

George Aitken Managing Director, Head of Global Impact APAC KKR

George Aitken (Singapore) joined KKR in 2014 and leads the firm’s Global Impact strategy in the Asia Pacific region. He is actively involved in KKR’s investments in MYOB, GreenCollar, Education Perfect, EQuest and BBP. Prior to KKR he was at a family office managing principal investments across a broad range of sectors including agriculture, carbon, technology, natural resources and infrastructure. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business and a Bachelor's degree in Law (Honors) from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Masters of Applied Finance from Kaplan Professional.

Wai Chiew Chik CEO HERITAS CAPITAL

Wai Chiew has over 25 years of experience in global investment management and strategic business development, actively leading various companies on transformational growth strategies, fundraising and M&A. In his previous roles at Temasek and other funds, he has led and managed investments across multiple industries and geographies, deploying capital for institutions as well as multiple family offices.

Since joining Heritas Capital, Wai Chiew has expanded its private equity investment portfolio and initiated venture capital, fund-of-funds, and impact-first investments into healthcare, education, environment, and technology sectors globally. In line with Heritas’ “invest with purpose, impact across generations” investment philosophy, he has overseen the integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations and impact investment mandates while building up Heritas’ multi-fund impact investment platform.

Wai Chiew was awarded the Glaxo-EDB scholarship and holds a BA in Economics from University of Cambridge, UK; MA from Yale University, USA; and completed his EMBA (conducted in Mandarin) from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, China. He has served as Honorary Treasurer with the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA), and currently serves as a member of its ESG & Impact Committee. Wai Chiew also actively serves as a director on multiple boards to advocate sustainable growth and sound governance.

Doug Coulter Partner, Head of Private Equity, Asia-Pacific LGT CAPITAL PARTNERS

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.

Shivani Sahai Head of Impact & ESG QUADRIA CAPITAL

Shivani Sahai is the Head of Impact and ESG at Quadria Capital, Asia’s largest healthcare private equity firm with AUM exceeding US$3.5 Billion. She has over 12 years of work experience in sustainability and impact practices across sectors. 

At Quadria, Shivani leads the firm's approach to sustainability, ESG, and impact, working closely with investment colleagues and company management to build sustainable businesses that deliver measurable benefits to society and the planet. She is also responsible for articulating the impact thesis and implementing the Impact Management Framework across the investment process. 

Shivani joined Quadria in January 2022. Prior to this, she worked in the sustainability and ESG practice at KPMG and briefly at PwC.

Paul Santos Co-founder and Managing Partner WAVEMAKER PARTNERS

Paul Santos is Co-founder and Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners, Southeast Asia’s leading VC firm investing in early-stage Enterprise, Deep Tech, and Sustainability startups. Since 2012, Wavemaker has backed 210+ companies across the region, with over US$600 million in AUM and exits generating over US$1.8 billion in enterprise value. Notable portfolio companies include eFishery, Growsari, Lhoopa, and Silent Eight. Paul is also one of the founding partners of Wavemaker Impact, a US$60 million venture-building fund in Southeast Asia that co-founds climate-tech startups with proven entrepreneurs. Paul also chaired the investment committee of the Asian Development Bank’s inaugural venture fund, which focuses on climate tech. Prior to starting Wavemaker Partners, Paul was an entrepreneur who co-founded six companies and sold three. He started his career as a product manager at Procter & Gamble. He graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a B.S. in Management Engineering and a Joint Minor in International Management with the University of Antwerp.

Jessica Wong Senior Reporter, Renewables, Power & Energy Infralogic

Jessica has spent over five years as a journalist for ION Analytics in Hong Kong. She has reported on equity capital markets, M&A, and private equity, and currently covers energy infrastructure financing, with a focus on Southeast Asia. Prior to ION, she worked at an expert network in London and Hong Kong. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from University College London.

Alexander Chan Head of ESG, Asia Pacific, Co-Chair of the Sustainability-related Disclosures, Policy & Standards Working Group, HKGFA INVESCO

Alexander Chan is Invesco’s Head of ESG, Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong. He works with investment teams to develop ESG & impact investment capabilities and contributes to building ESG srategies and industry initiatives in the region. He also serves as a co-chair of Hong Kong Green Finance Association’s Sustainability-related Disclosures, Policy & Standards Working Group.

Prior to joining Invesco, Alexander was the Co-Director of Nan Fung Group’s The Mills Fabrica, a global sustainable & impact investing platform focused on consumer industries. Previously, Alexander also worked for Hillhouse Capital, Bain & Company’s financial investors & private equity group and UK Cabinet Office’s Social Investment team. Alexander holds a BEng from University of Hong Kong, a MPP from University of Oxford and a Masters of global affairs from Tsinghua University, where he was a Schwarzman Scholar. He holds a CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing, a CFA Institute Certificate in Impact Investing and is an EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst® (CESGA)

Erika Rodriguez Head of Sustainability APAC KKR

Erika Rodriguez (Hong Kong) joined KKR in 2021 to help implement the Firm’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) work across its investment portfolio, particularly for KKR’s portfolio’s in APAC. Prior to joining KKR, she was the Group ESG Director at FWD Group, a Pan-Asian insurance company based in Hong Kong, where she led development of their ESG programs. Erika has a diverse set of ESG and sustainability-focused experience, including at ERM, Patagonia Inc., International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., PVH Corp., and Eileen Fisher Inc. Erika also brings strong exposure to relevant NGOs and standard setting bodies such as Carbonfund.org, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the US Green Building Council. Erika holds a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA ESP) from Columbia University. Born and raised in the Philippines, Erika has lived and worked for multinational companies headquartered in Washington, D.C., New York, California, London, Manila, Tokyo, and Hong Kong

Keiichi Suzuki Partner, Head of Renewables and Sustainability ADVANTAGE PARTNERS

•Joined Advantage Partners in July 2021.

•Joined Mitsubishi Corporation in 1992 and spent 29 years involved with alternative investments.

•At Mitsubishi, involved in Japanese real estate development, buyout investment in the US, Japan, and Europe, and investment in power development (IPP) centered on renewable energy in Europe and the Middle East. Served as department head and president of the local subsidiary. Spent 14 years overseas.

•Served as president of a London-based electricity investment company from 2015 to 2020, leading efforts to develop renewable energy businesses in Western Europe and the Middle East.

•From 2020, served as General Manager of Corporate Investment Department, general management of domestic funds and Asian growth fund business, etc. B.E. in urban engineering from the University of Tokyo, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Licensed First-class Architect

Rashmi Kumar M&A Editor, Asia Pacific MERGERMARKET

Rashmi Kumar is an experienced financial journalist with over 12 years of reporting, writing and editing experience. She spent a decade at media and publishing house Delinian, previously called Euromoney Institutional Investor, last as Asia Editor of GlobalCapital and Editor of Asiamoney until the end of 2022. Her expertise spans fundraising, capital markets, investment banking, private banking and wealth management, and sustainability.

Pamela Fung Managing Director MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

Pamela is a partner and investment committee member for the Morgan Stanley Private Equity Solutions Team and has 18 years of industry experience. Prior to joining the firm, Pamela was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company's corporate finance practice in Hong Kong, responsible for investment opportunity identification, deal advisory, merger management and strategy development. Previously, she was a management consultant with Monitor Group, specializing in marketing strategy for clients across Asia, and a member of the corporate finance team with Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong. Pamela has a Law degree (first class honors) from the University of Hong Kong and an M.B.A. with honors in finance and management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Lydia Hao Managing Director HARBOURVEST PARTNERS

Lydia Hao joined HarbourVest’s primary partnership team in Hong Kong in 2021 and focuses on Asia-Pacific investments.

She was previously a Principal in Neuberger Berman’s private equity team, where she led the firm’s primary funds, co-investments, and secondary investments in the Greater China region. Prior to joining Neuberger Berman in 2017, Lydia spent seven years at CPP Investment Board in Hong Kong as one of the founding members of the Private Equity Asia team, building its direct investment portfolio across the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, she was based in New York where she worked at Apax Partners focused on US private equity buyouts in the consumer and TMT sectors, and worked at UBS Investment Bank in the Mergers and Acquisitions group advising clients across various industries.

Lydia received a Bachelor of Science (summa cum laude) in Hotel Administration, from Cornell University. She speaks fluent Mandarin.

Yuka Hata Senior Managing Director, Head of Fund Investments JAPAN INVESTMENT CORPORATION

Yuka Hata is a Senior Managing Director and heads Fund Investment Team at Japan Investment Corporation (“JIC”).

Ms. Hata joined JIC in July 2020 in order to build and support Japan’ private equity / venture capital ecosystem as well as to provide the risk capital with the investment funds which bring Japan’s industry to the next stage. Prior to joining JIC, as a co-head of private equity, Ms. Hata worked for Nissay Asset Management where she was mainly responsible for European small-mid buyout, GP stake investments, secondary and Japan’s VC funds. She also worked for Nomura Asset Management (or Nomura Private Equity Capital) and managed fund of funds focused on Asia market as a member of Investment Committee.

Ms. Hata is a Chartered Member of the Security Analysts Association of Japan., and received a B.A. in Environmental Information from Keio University and an M.B.A. from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales-HEC in Paris.

Nana Li Head of Sustainability & Stewardship, Asia-Pacific IMPAX ASSET MANAGEMENT

Nana joined Impax in 2022 and is responsible for leading Impax’s sustainability, stewardship and policy advocacies in Asia-Pacific. Nana researches, prioritizes and organizes ESG engagements with Impax’s investee companies and regulators, manages external sustainability and ESG-related inquiries, and assists in the ongoing development of the Impax proprietary ESG-analysis and methodologies.

Prior to joining Impax, Nana worked as the Research and Project Director at the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA). At ACGA, Nana published five significant reports relating to corporate governance research in Asia. Whilst there, she also presented to the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges and the Shenzhen Asset Management Association. Since 2018, Nana has been the Chair of ACGA’s China working group, a role she continues to fill today. Upon joining Impax, Nana remains a Specialist Consultant to ACGA. 

Nana has spoken at international conferences hosted by a number of financial institutions and international organisations including the OECD, EMIA, GRI, CLSA, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Macquarie, ACGA, ICGN, IEEFA, RI Japan, Forbes, AmCham Shanghai, BritCham Shanghai and the CFA Institute.Nana also sits on the Financial Capital Committee of the International Corporate Governance Network, the ESG Committee of the Women in Finance Asia and the Caixin China ESG30 Forum.Nana has an MBA from the University of Chicago (Honors), a Master of Finance from the University of Hong Kong (Dean’s List), and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales (Distinction). She is a CFA charterholder and has finished the HKICPA Qualification Program

Wendy Zhu Partner, Managing Director ALPINVEST

Wendy is a Partner, Managing Director and Global Head of AlpInvest Partners’ Primary Fund Investments team. She is also responsible for the Secondary and Portfolio Finance team in the Asia Pacific region and a member of the Operating Committee.

She joined AlpInvest Partners in 2007 from Macquarie Funds Management, where she was Senior Vice President of Asia-Pacific regional private equity fund investments and co-investments. Previously, Wendy was a Director with Deutsche Bank Asset Management and an Associate Director at MetLife.

Wendy received a BS in Business Administration and an MS in Accounting from the University of Southern California. She represents AlpInvest Partners on various Advisory Boards.

Peter Dunbar Principal, Responsible Investment STEPSTONE

Peter Dunbar is a Principal on the Responsible Investment team at StepStone, focusing on ESG integration across asset classes and investment strategies.

Prior to joining StepStone, Peter was Head of Private Equity at the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), where he led the PRI’s work on private equity and venture capital.

Previously, he was a Senior Manager at Capital Group, working in their emerging markets private equity business, focusing on ESG and investor relations.

 Mr. Dunbar received a BSc in Human and Physical Geography from the University of Reading.

Keat Siang Goh Director of Investments Monitoring, Stewardship & Sustainability KHAZANAH NASIONAL

KS is a Director of Investments Monitoring, Stewardship & Sustainability at Khazanah Nasional. His roles at Khazanah previously included coverage of Financial Services, Vietnam and Indonesia. Prior to Khazanah, his work experience includes McKinsey & Co., private equity investments in the education industry, and stints in the development sector and microfinance. KS completed his undergraduate studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Saima Rehman Senior Investment Officer, PE Funds, East Asia & Pacific IFC

Saima Rehman is an Investment Officer in the Private Equity Funds group of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), responsible for leading investments and managing portfolio in the East Asia Pacific region. Saima has fourteen years of investment experience. 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 a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from the University of Windsor and an MBA from INSEAD.

Jon Waite Senior Responsible Investment Manager, Asia Pacific APG ASSET MANAGEMENT

Jon is a Senior Responsible Investment Manager at APG, specializing in Real Assets investments across the APAC region, and is based in the Hong Kong office. He has been with APG for over four years and has lived and worked in Hong Kong for more than nine years. As a Chartered Engineer, Jon has a strong interest in real estate, sustainability, and technology.

Jon brings extensive experience in both designing and managing complex building projects, as well as developing and implementing ESG strategies at the corporate level. With over 15 years of experience in the real estate and sustainable design sectors in both the U.K. and Asia, he has a wide understanding of the industry.

In 2019, Jon completed a Master’s in Sustainability Leadership (MSt) at Cambridge University, where he focused on climate resilience and asset management in Asia.

Steven Okun Senior Advisor GLOBAL PRIVATE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION

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.

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Jeffrey Perlman Chief Executive Officer WARBURG PINCUS

Jeffrey Perlman is Chief Executive Officer of Warburg Pincus and is a member of the firm’s Executive Management Group. Prior to his current role, Jeffrey served as President of the firm.

During his tenure at Warburg Pincus, Jeffrey has successfully expanded the firm’s business in Asia Pacific, overseeing the firm’s private equity investing activities in Southeast Asia as well as its real estate business across Asia Pacific. In addition, Jeffrey co-founded and sponsored some of the largest real estate companies in the region, partnering with entrepreneurs to build successful and sustainable companies.

He currently serves or has previously served on the Boards of Directors for numerous leading companies including BW Industrial Development JSC, MoMo, StorHub, Princeton Digital Group Limited, and ESR Group Limited. In addition, Jeffrey is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the US-ASEAN Business Council, which works to create trade and investment opportunities in the economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Prior to joining Warburg Pincus in 2006, Jeffrey worked in the Real Estate Investment Banking group at Credit Suisse. He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA) from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Andy Wang Partner, Primary Investments, Singapore ADAMS STREET PARTNERS

Andy is responsible for the Primary Investment Team’s investments in Asia. He participates in all aspects of the fund investment decision-making process and manages relationships with several of Adams Street’s managers including sitting on advisory boards. He also is involved in the sourcing, decision-making, and execution of growth and buyout co-investments in Asia.

Prior to joining Adams Street, he was an Executive Director in charge of CICC wealth management division’s private market investment management in China.

Previously, Andy was a Vice President with GIC’s private equity division based in Singapore and Beijing, where he focused on Asia fund investments and co-investments in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia markets. He also worked with Swiss Reinsurance Company’s asset management division in Hong Kong with a focus on Asia private equity direct investments.

Mark Chiba Group Chairman & Partner THE LONGREACH GROUP

Mark Chiba is Group Chairman and Partner of The Longreach Group. The Longreach Group is an established independent private equity firm with offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo. The firm focuses on Japan and related Greater China control buyouts in the mature industrial and technology, consumer, business services and financial services sectors. The firm manages three Funds which have accumulated approximately US$2.1 billion of committed limited partner and co-investment capital.

Mark co-founded The Longreach Group in late 2003. Mark's lead responsibilities at Longreach include firm management, senior relationship driven deal sourcing and execution, investments in the financial services sector, and building the firm's capital base and global networks.

Before co-founding Longreach, Mark served as Chief Executive Officer and President of UBS Securities Japan, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Investment Banking Management Committee, Head of Japan Investment Banking and as a member of the UBS Global Investment Bank Board. Previous to this role in Japan, Mark headed the UBS Asia-Pacific Financial Institutions Group.

Mark is an Australian citizen, resident in Hong Kong. He holds First Class Honours degrees in Economics (University of Melbourne) and Law (University of Sydney). Mark is a Rhodes Scholar with a Master of Philosophy degree in International Relations (with Distinction) from Oxford University.

Steve Duncan Managing Director TPG CAPITAL ASIA

Steve Duncan is a Managing Director at TPG Capital Asia based in Melbourne and has been with TPG since 2020. Steve is the current Chairman of Made Group, one of Australia’s largest healthy food and beverage businesses. He also sits on the Board of iNova Pharmaceuticals and was previously a director of logistics software company Containerchain.

Prior to joining TPG, Steve worked with CPE Capital across their Australia and Singapore offices for approximately nine years.

Steve holds a B.Commerce (Hons) Finance & Accounting from the University of New South Wales and an MBA jointly issued by Columbia Business School and London Business School.

Alex Ovchar Managing Director PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS

Alex joined Pacific Equity Partners in 2011. Alex was an investor in the Private Equity strategy for the first decade, after which he joined the Partner & Client Group. Before joining PEP, Alex was an investment banker with Morgan Stanley in London and prior to then, a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in Sydney. Alex received a PLD from Harvard Business School, a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Adelaide, where he was the Valedictorian.

Scott Chen Managing Partner L CATTERTON

Mr. Chen is a managing partner at L Catterton, where he oversees the firm's Asia and RMB fund strategies.

Prior to joining L Catterton in 2020, Mr. Chen spent nearly 20 years at TPG investing across the broad consumer and healthcare landscape throughout Asia Pacific, most recently serving as a partner and managing director. During his second decade at TPG, he also led the firm’s investments in Greater China and drove the expansion of its China franchise. Before joining TPG, Mr. Chen worked in the Technology Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Lehman Brothers in New York.

Mr. Chen received a BS in Business Administration with honors from the University of Colorado.

Irene Koh Executive Director JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT

Irene Koh, Executive Director, Ms. Koh joined JP Morgan Asset Management Private Equity Group in 2008. Prior to joining the Group, Ms. Koh was with JPMorgan's real estate structured finance group, originating and structuring commercial mortgage backed securities for REITs in Asia Pacific ex-Japan. Previously, Ms. Koh was a senior application engineer with Soluris Inc. She holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and a MS in Financial Engineering from the National University of Singapore.

The Private Equity Group is one of the largest global private equity investment managers with assets comprising of over 350 partnerships, direct and secondary investments.

Henry Cai Chairman & Founding Partner AGIC CAPITAL

HenryCaiistheChairmanandFoundingPartnerofAGICCapital.Boastinganotablecareerthat extends over twenty years in investment banking, Henry has occupied significant roles at top financial institutions, such as BNP Paribas and UBS, and most recently as the Executive Chairman of Investment Banking Asia Pacific at Deutsche Bank. His profound experience has played a crucial role in advising more than 200 Chinese companies on their overseas IPOs, successfully raising in excess of US$100 billion in total. 

Widely regarded as the leading specialist for international listings, Henry excels in refining business models, restructuring operations, and devising growth strategies for expansion into European and U.S. markets. His deep understanding of global markets and strategic acumen make him a key advisor to businesses seeking to navigate complex financial landscapes and achieve international success.

Mark Chiba Group Chairman & Partner THE LONGREACH GROUP

Mark Chiba is Group Chairman and Partner of The Longreach Group. The Longreach Group is an established independent private equity firm with offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo. The firm focuses on Japan and related Greater China control buyouts in the mature industrial and technology, consumer, business services and financial services sectors. The firm manages three Funds which have accumulated approximately US$2.1 billion of committed limited partner and co-investment capital.

Mark co-founded The Longreach Group in late 2003. Mark's lead responsibilities at Longreach include firm management, senior relationship driven deal sourcing and execution, investments in the financial services sector, and building the firm's capital base and global networks.

Before co-founding Longreach, Mark served as Chief Executive Officer and President of UBS Securities Japan, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Investment Banking Management Committee, Head of Japan Investment Banking and as a member of the UBS Global Investment Bank Board. Previous to this role in Japan, Mark headed the UBS Asia-Pacific Financial Institutions Group.

Mark is an Australian citizen, resident in Hong Kong. He holds First Class Honours degrees in Economics (University of Melbourne) and Law (University of Sydney). Mark is a Rhodes Scholar with a Master of Philosophy degree in International Relations (with Distinction) from Oxford University.

Joycelyn Ong Managing Director SHAWKWEI & PARTNERS

Joycelyn is a Managing Director at ShawKwei & Partners responsible for accelerating the firm's global expansion in clean energy investments.

Joycelyn has over two decades of leadership experience in banking and fintech.  During her banking career at Morgan Stanley and UBS, she spearheaded the establishment of new businesses in the APAC region within Global Capital Markets (providing balance sheet solutions for clients), Global Markets (pioneering derivative solutions for Asian currencies and securitized products), and Global Wealth Management (playing a foundational role in the APAC Global Family Office team at UBS).  Joycelyn was previously head of global markets for ADDX, a Singapore platform for private market investments.

Over the past eight years, Joycelyn has actively contributed to non-profit organizations focused on philanthropy and sustainability.

Joycelyn is a CPA with a Master’s in Finance from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Commerce from Monash University.

Lorna Chen Co-Managing Partner of Greater China, and Regional Co-Head of Funds and Asset Management A&O SHEARMAN

Lorna Chen is A&O Shearman’s Co-Managing Partner of Greater China, and Regional Co-Head of Funds and Asset Management.

Lorna has 28 years of experience across the United States, Europe and Asia in the corporate law area, including 24 years in the investment funds and private equity field. She advises clients in the structuring, restructuring, formation and operation of alternative investment products, including private equity funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds, real estate funds, funds of funds, project funds and co-investment structures.

Lorna has extensive experience in representing investors in making investments in private funds and co-investment projects around the globe. Lorna is also respected by clients as an expert on regulatory and compliance matters related to investment funds and their managers.

Alex Shum Managing Director TPG NEWQUEST

Alex joined NewQuest in 2011 and is responsible for sourcing, executing and managing investments across the Greater China region. Alex has nearly 15 years of experience in finance, primarily focusing on investments, capital raising, M&A and corporate advisory.

Prior to joining NewQuest, he was an Associate at Credit Suisse’s Investment Bank based in Hong Kong, where he worked in corporate finance and equity capital markets. Alex received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Duke University in Durham, NC.  Alex is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Rodney Muse Managing Partner NAVIS CAPITAL PARTNERS

Rodney Muse. Mr. Muse is one of two Managing Partners of Navis and an Investment Committee member. At Navis, Mr. Muse leads investment teams in making, monitoring and exiting investments and sits on the boards and/or executive committees of several Navis portfolio companies. He has been active in many of Navis’ investments in consumer goods, food, business services, industrial goods and services.

Mr. Muse co-founded Navis in 1998 with Mr. Bloy and Mr. Foyston, with whom he worked while at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). At BCG, he worked in Sydney and Kuala Lumpur, where he gained experience in a number of industries including consumer goods, retail, oil and gas, distribution, primary resources and more. He started his career with Chase Manhattan Bank in 1985 in New York and Hong Kong.

Mr. Muse has been a resident in Asia since 1993, having been raised and educated in the US. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Hons degree from St. Lawrence University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Fi Dinh Managing Director, Head of Fund Finance APAC MUFG INVESTOR SERVICES

Fi Dinh is Managing Director, Head of Fund Finance APAC at MUFG Investor Services where she leads the expansion of the firm’s fund financing business across Asia Pacific, as well as supporting the growth of the asset servicing and fund administration business globally to assist private capital funds with their liquidity and operational needs. She is member of the APAC Senior Management Committee and Singapore Location Committee.

Formerly Director, Fund Finance APAC at Citi, Fi was responsible for the North Asia fund finance business, including originating, structuring and managing the then Asia’s largest fund finance portfolio in terms of AUM. She was also the ESG lead for the fund finance product globally.

Fi previously worked at ING Bank where she started and built out the fund and insurance finance businesses in Asia Pacific. She also worked at Barclays in London and Dubai, where she was Director in the Financial Institutions Group and helped build a successful Private Equity coverage franchise supporting financial sponsors and alternative asset managers in EMEA and the US. Her earlier banking career spans across credit analysis, operational risk and project management in the investment banking and corporate banking divisions.

She serves on the APAC Executive Committee of the Fund Finance Association, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Financial Centre Advisory Panel (FCAP) – Green Finance working group for the fund management industry; and is also co-chair of the Women in Fund Finance APAC.

Niklas Risberg Director LEXINGTON PARTNERS

Niklas Risberg is a Director of Lexington Partners primarily engaged in the evaluation of secondary purchases of non-U.S. private equity and alternative investments. Prior to joining Lexington in 2016, Mr. Risberg was an associate in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Risberg graduated from the University of Warwick with a BSc in management.

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Weijian Shan Executive Chairman & Co-Founder PAG

Weijian Shan is the executive chairman and co-founder of PAG – an Asia-based and focused private equity firm with more than USD50 billion in capital under management.

Between 1998 and 2010, he was co-managing partner of the private equity firm Newbridge Capital (now known as TPG Asia) and a partner of TPG. Shan was a managing director of JP Morgan, where he was concurrently the chief representative for China between 1993 and 1998. He was an assistant professor at the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania between 1987 and 1993. He also worked at the World Bank in 1987 as a member of its Young Professionals Program.

Shan is a Trustee of the British Museum. He is also a member of the International Advisory Council of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, and an independent director of Alibaba Group.

Shan is the author of Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America (2019), Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea's Most Iconic Bank (2021) and Money Machine – A Trailblazing American Venture in China (February 2023). He has published commentaries in the likes of The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Economist and Foreign Affairs.

Shan holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco. He graduated with a major in English from the Beijing University of International Business and Economics.

Victor Ho Partner A&O SHEARMAN

Victor is a global M&A partner, Global Co-Head of the firm’s Technology practice, and partner lead on Asia/China coverage of the firm’s Middle East practice, based in A&O Shearman’s Hong Kong office. He has extensive experience of working on Asian and PRC-related transactions, having lived and worked in the region since 1991.

Victor represents clients including private equity investors, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors as well as multinational corporates on their China-related matters, and Chinese clients investing globally. As a strategic adviser to his key clients, Victor’s corporate and M&A practice encompasses a wide range of cross-border transactions, as well as sensitive, significant regulatory and compliance issues.

Victor has spearheaded the build-out of A&O Shearman’s multidisciplinary China platform, including actively leading the development of the group’s antitrust, data, IP, regulatory and compliance offerings. Increasingly, this has involved advising clients on the development of their China-related strategies, in which M&A, antitrust, data, digitalisation, partnerships and IP play key and integrated roles. Victor speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Teck Loon Goh Managing Director & Partner WARBURG PINCUS

Teck Loon Goh joined Warburg Pincus in 2020, and is a Managing Director & Partner in the Fundraising & Investor Relations group. Prior to joining Warburg Pincus, Teck Loon was the Head of Investor Relations at Granite Asia / Notable Capital, responsible for their LP relationships globally. Prior to joining GGV in 2016, Teck Loon was a member of the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs for 12 years, and a founding member of Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Asia Private Equity Fund of Funds business in 2006 where he focused on fund investments, secondary transactions and co-investments. Teck Loon graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2004 on the Dean’s List and earlier served in the Singapore Armed Forces as an Armour Infantry Combat Medic for two and a half years.

Alexis Maskell Partner, Global Head of Investor Relations BC PARTNERS

Alexis joined BC Partners in 2021. He is responsible for the fundraising and business development efforts for the firm across strategies. Previously, Alexis worked at Citigroup, where he was a Managing Director and Head of the Financial Sponsors Group. Alexis brings over two decades of investment banking experience having spent the first decade of his career as an M&A practitioner advising across a broad range of industries & geographies and latterly advising private equity firms, sovereign-wealth funds, pension funds and family office clients across a broad range of M&A and capital markets transactions. Prior to Citigroup, Alexis held leadership positions at HSBC, where he was Global Head of the Financial Sponsors Group, and Deutsche Bank. Alexis holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and is a qualified Chartered Accountant by the ICAEW.

Patrick No Managing Director LAZARD

Patrick No is a Managing Director in Lazard – Private Capital Advisory (PCA), based in Singapore. He has regional Asia-Pacific responsibilities, overseeing Lazard’s primary fundraising and secondary advisory activities in the region. He has more than 20 years of experience and has previously worked at Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan and UBS, across Hong Kong & Australia.

Jake Fisher Head of Sales, Hong Kong & Global Head of FX Solutions APEX GROUP

Jake Fisher is the Head of Sales for Hong Kong and the Global Head of FX Solutions at Apex Group. Based in Hong Kong, Jake is responsible for driving the growth of fund administration and asset servicing for private equity, hedge fund and real asset funds across North Asia. Jake is also responsible for leading Apex’s global FX offering, providing global treasury solutions to Apex’s clients. 

Jake was formerly the Director and Head of China Cross-Border Sales at BMO Capital Markets, based in Hong Kong. In his role he was responsible for Foreign Exchange and Fixed Income Sales to institutional investors seeking access to China’s bond market and supporting international corporations requiring foreign exchange, trade finance and cash management in Mainland China. 

Over the 15 years that Jake has covered the China market, Jake has spoken at Tsinghua University in Beijing, advised China SOEs (i.e. COFCO Trust), the Canadian Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Canada as well as the US Department of Treasury on China crossborder trade and macroeconomic policy. Jake has also lectured at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON.

Pratibha Jain Head of Strategy and Group General Counsel EVERSTONE GROUP

Ms. Pratibha Jain is the Head of Strategy and Group General Counsel at Everstone Group. Prior to Everstone, Pratibha was a Partner at Nishith Desai Associates where she founded their New Delhi office, and lead their Funds and Regulatory practice. She’s an alumnus of Harvard Law School, Oxford University and Delhi University. She brings with her a breadth of international and Indian experience having worked with Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong, with Skadden Arps Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP in Hong Kong and Goldman Sachs in Mumbai.

She has worked on some of the most challenging projects in financial services and regulatory sector globally and in India, including representing Ministry of Finance in setting up of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and designing USD 1.3 billion special ‘window for funding stalled affordable and middle income housing projects’ as an AIF fund, listing of companies on US exchanges, representing private equity investors in some of the biggest investments into India such as Mubadala’s investment in Reliance Jio and reliance Ventures, Softbank’s in its investment of USD 1.4 billion in PayTM, , representing investors for facilitating listing of stock exchanges in India including BSE, IEX and NSE, representing investors in investigations by the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and Reserve Bank of India.

She enjoys working and writing on public policy issues and is regularly quoted in news on various public policy issues. She sits on various important committees including IVCA Executive Committee, FICCI Capital Markets Committee and CII Financial Markets Committee.

She is a Fellow of the Seventh Generation Class of Ananta Aspen’s Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellowship and member of Aspen Global Leadership Network. She received the “Woman Lawyer of the Year Award 2019” by Business World magazine. Recently, she has been recognized as a Top Individual Lawyer by Forbes Legal Power list 2020

Brian Lee General Counsel FOUNTAINVEST PARTNERS

Brian Lee is the general counsel of FountainVest, a leading Asia-based private equity firm with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Singapore. FountainVest’s investments are long-term oriented and target high-growth industry leaders both in China and in businesses having a strong China nexus. Its core focus is to invest in the consumer, healthcare, industrial and business services sectors. FountainVest works closely with management teams to create value in the areas of strategy, operations, human resource management, finance, industry consolidation and governance.

Prior to joining FountainVest, Brian was working in the Hong Kong office of a well-known offshore law firm. His legal experience includes (i) corporate finance and corporate restructuring matters such as fundraising transactions for venture and private equity investments, mezzanine and pre-IPO financing, IPOs on global stock exchanges such as Hong Kong, Nasdaq, NYSE, China A-share, Singapore and London, note and bond issuances of listed and unlisted entities, mergers and acquisitions, takeovers and privatisations, backdoor listings and company reorganisations; and (ii) fund-related matters such as the structuring and establishment of offshore private equity and venture investment funds. He had also previously worked in the investment banking and legal fields in Singapore and as a venture capitalist in Shanghai focused on China-related investments. He received a Bachelor of Laws (honours) degree from the University of Bristol.

Euzane Lee Deputy General Counsel TPG NEWQUEST

Euzane Lee is a Deputy General Counsel of TPG NewQuest based in Hong Kong. Euzane joined TPG NewQuest in 2019 and is responsible for assisting the General Counsel in overseeing legal, compliance, and execution for the business. Prior to TPG NewQuest, Euzane practiced law in Hong Kong as an Associate with Morrison & Foerster LLP. She received her law degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan. Euzane is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Jackson Chan CEO & Co-Founder THRIVE

As one of the co-founders of Thrive, Jackson focuses on helping alternative asset managers open up to new markets and achieve their next wave of growth.

Jackson was the co-head of Asia for Eaton Partners and at that time he worked hand in hand with the other co-founders of Thrive. Together they built one of the most successful and award-winning GP advisory businesses in the region. Prior to joining Eaton Partners, Jackson built the Asia business for Hamilton Lane and headed business development for the firm.

Jackson has been a pioneer and first mover in Asia’s alternative industry in the last 25 years. He has helped many institutions start their alternative investment programs, and has worked with numerous prominent global players building their Asia presence. He is also known for his success in assisting a number of first-time funds launch their business and for his innovation in creating different structures and solutions for both LPs and GPs in complicated transactions.

Ben Hart Partner & Head of Investor Relations (Asia) ADAMS STREET PARTNERS

Ben focuses on the development of institutional client and consultant relationships and works with other members of the investor relations team to serve the needs of Adams Street Partners’ clients.

Prior to joining the firm, Ben worked at Capital Dynamics as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Asia, overseeing the firm’s business development efforts in Asia and North America.

Before Capital Dynamics, Ben served as Managing Director at Aircom International, focused on improving regional business performance. He also held senior business development positions at Convergys Corporation, Alliance Digital, Inc., and the JM Network.

Education:

University of Colorado, BBA

Investment/operational experience: 21 years

Languages: English, Mandarin Chinese

Carol Kim Head of the Institutional Client Solutions Group in Asia BLACKSTONE

Carol Kim is a Senior Managing Director and Head of the Institutional Client Solutions Group in Asia and is based in Hong Kong. Since joining Blackstone, Ms. Kim has been involved with investor relations and new business development in Asia. Before joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Kim was based in New York as a Vice President in the Absolute Return Strategies Group at Lehman Brothers, where she was responsible for client communications and reporting to its hedge fund and fund of hedge funds clients. Prior to joining Lehman, she was Director of Marketing at Continuity Capital, LLC and a Marketing Associate at P. Schoenfeld Asset Management. Ms. Kim began her career in investor relations at LG Electronics in Korea and Allied Properties in Toronto. Ms. Kim received a BA in Urban and Economic Studies from the University of Toronto. She is a Co-Founder and Board member of 100 Women in Finance.

Richard Kunzer Founding Partner INTEGRUM HOLDINGS

Richard Kunzer is a Founding Partner of Integrum Holdings and member of the Investment Committee.

Previously, Richard was a Partner and Co-Head of Investor Relations for the transatlantic private investment firm BC Partners, based in New York, which he joined in 2009. Whilst at BC Partners, Richard spearheaded and was involved in the raising of over $33 billion in equity and debt capital across funds, co-investments and separately managed accounts.

Richard has led or was involved in the syndication of almost $10 billion in equity and debt co-investment in over 20 companies across the TMT, business and financial services, healthcare, consumer and retail and industrial sectors.

Other companies he previously worked at include Credit Suisse in New York and London, Paribas, and Singer & Friedlander in London, where he helped facilitate the sale of the bank to another financial services institution.

Richard has strong links across the global investor and financial sponsors community globally where he is close to senior decision makers to these organizations.

Before working in finance, Richard spent four years in the British Army as a Captain in an Armored Reconnaissance regiment. Postings included Canada and Germany, as well as an active-duty tour of Bosnia.

Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne in the north of England, Richard is a U.S. and British Citizen and has lived in New York since 2004.

He holds a B.A. Honours degree from University College London.

Henry Ward Chief Executive Officer CARTA

Henry Ward is the CEO and co-founder of Carta. The company is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 7,000 investment funds and SPVs, and over two million equity holders to manage cap tables, compensation, valuations, liquidity, and more. Carta’s tender offer solutions have returned $14B to shareholders in secondary transactions. The company has been included on the Forbes World’s Best Cloud Companies, Fast Company’s Most Innovative list, and Inc.’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies.

Prior to Carta, Henry was founder and CEO of Secondsight, a portfolio optimization platform for retail investors. He also held leadership positions at software companies including Reddwerks Inc. and BetweenMarkets.

Henry graduated from University of Michigan with a BGS in Mathematics and Computer Science and holds a MSC in Market Finance from EDHEC Business School.

Gary Leung Head of Alternatives, APAC Clients JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT

Gary Leung is the Head of Alternatives, APAC Clients at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, responsible for developing the firms’ Alternative Investment franchise across the region.

His experience spans across alternative investments, asset management, investment banking and private banking. Previous roles include Head of Alternative Investments & Managed Solutions at Bank of Singapore based in Hong Kong, Alternative Investment Specialist at BlackRock covering APAC, HSBC Private Banking as the Head of Alternative Investments in Hong Kong, Private Equity investments at RimAsia Capital Partners, and Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank.

Gary graduated from Imperial College London in Masters of Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Management, and was awarded the Lee Memorial Prize.

Ed Huang Head of APAC BLACKSTONE PRIVATE WEALTH

Ed Huang is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific (APAC) for Blackstone’s Private Wealth Solutions Group based in Hong Kong.

Mr. Huang joined Blackstone in 2012, and Private Wealth Solutions in 2024. Prior to his current role, Mr. Huang was COO of Asia Private Equity, Head of BCP Asia Acquisitions, and led Greater China and Korea for Blackstone’s Private Equity Group. Mr. Huang has led or been involved in Blackstone’s investments in Ennovi/Interplex, Geo-Young, SHP Packaging, Global Sources, Pactera, and Simone.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Huang was previously a Managing Director for China investments at Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch in New York and Hong Kong.

Mr. Huang received a B.A. from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Huang serves as a director on the boards of Ennovi/Interplex, Geo-Young and SHP Packaging. He is also director on the boards of the China and Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Associations, and member of the Yale Asia Development Council.

Edwin Chan Managing Director, Head of Client Solutions, Asia iCAPITAL

Edwin Chan joined iCapital in 2021 as Head of Asia and Head of Client Solutions APAC. He has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, including a strong track record in private markets in the Asia Pacific region.

Before joining iCapital, Edwin successfully founded and spent a decade building the Probitas Partners business in Asia. He has worked with many private market firms across different alternative investment strategies as well as with institutional and family office investors in the Asia Pacific region. Previously, Edwin worked with AIG Global Investments, Citi, and HSBC based out of Hong Kong in various regional roles covering clients across the broad Asian geography.

He holds a MBA and a BA from the University of South Australia and is a Certified Practicing Accountant of CPA Australia.

Markus Egloff Managing Director and Head of Global Wealth Solutions – International KKR

Markus Egloff (Singapore) joined KKR in 2021 and is a Managing Director on the Global Client Solutions team. He leads the Global Wealth Solutions business for EMEA & Asia Pacific. Mr. Egloff and his team work with private banks, wealth management platforms and family offices to understand and meet their investment needs and deliver KKR private market investment solutions. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Egloff spent 25 years with UBS Asset Management and Wealth Management and held various leadership and sales positions across Europe and Asia. In his last role with UBS, he served as chairman and head of UBS Asset Management, Hong Kong and led their wealth distribution business across Asia Pacific. Mr. Egloff holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Zurich University of Applied Science, Switzerland.

Peter Beske Nielsen Global Head of Private Wealth EQT PARTNERS

Peter Beske Nielsen joined EQT Partners in Copenhagen in January 2021 as Global Head of Private Wealth.

Prior to joining EQT Partners, Peter was from 2006 to 2021 a Managing Director at BlackRock working in a number of roles, most recently as EMEA Head of the Strategic Partner Program and Global Head of Alternatives distribution. In the 15 years at BlackRock he worked in the New York, London and Copenhagen offices.

Peter holds a Master of Law degree from the University of Copenhagen and a MBA degree from the University of Bath. From 2000 to 2004 Peter was a M&A Lawyer at Bech Bruun Law Firm in Copenhagen.

Samson Wong Chief Investment Officer (Private Markets) HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY

Mr. Samson Wong is responsible for managing all private markets investments at the Exchange Fund Investment Office of the HKMA.  Mr. Wong currently leads a team of more than 40 professionals covering investments across private equity and real estate.

Mr. Wong has more than 20 years’ experience in the financial and investment industry.  Prior to the HKMA, Mr. Wong held various positions at major investment banks, including RBS, UBS and JPMorgan.

Mr. Wong is a graduate from the Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA program and received his B.S. in Finance and Information System from Boston College.

Harvey M. Schwartz Chief Executive Officer CARLYLE

Harvey M. Schwartz is the Chief Executive Officer of Carlyle and member of the Board of Directors. He has served in such capacity since February 15, 2023, and is based in New York.

Mr. Schwartz formerly worked at Goldman Sachs from 1997 to 2018, with his last position being President and Co-Chief Operating Officer. He also held numerous senior leadership positions including Chief Financial Officer and Global Co-Head of the Securities Division. Mr. Schwartz started his career at J. B. Hanauer & Co., and then moved to First Interregional Equity Corporation. In 1989, he joined Citigroup, where he worked in the firm's credit training program and developed a specialty in structuring commodity derivatives.

He serves as the Group Chairperson and Non-Executive Director of The Bank of London, a clearing and payments bank with operations in London and New York City. Mr. Schwartz also serves on the board of SoFi Technologies, Inc., a San Francisco-based fintech company, and One Mind, a nonprofit that accelerates collaborative research and advocacy to enable all individuals facing brain health challenges to build healthy, productive lives. He is involved in a range of investment and philanthropic endeavors that include a focus on mental health and developing future business leaders, including women and young people seeking a career in finance.

Mr. Schwartz earned his BA from Rutgers University, where he is a member of the university’s Board of Governors and its Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He received his MBA from Columbia University. 

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Jeffrey Perlman Chief Executive Officer WARBURG PINCUS

Jeffrey Perlman is Chief Executive Officer of Warburg Pincus and is a member of the firm’s Executive Management Group. Prior to his current role, Jeffrey served as President of the firm.

During his tenure at Warburg Pincus, Jeffrey has successfully expanded the firm’s business in Asia Pacific, overseeing the firm’s private equity investing activities in Southeast Asia as well as its real estate business across Asia Pacific. In addition, Jeffrey co-founded and sponsored some of the largest real estate companies in the region, partnering with entrepreneurs to build successful and sustainable companies.

He currently serves or has previously served on the Boards of Directors for numerous leading companies including BW Industrial Development JSC, MoMo, StorHub, Princeton Digital Group Limited, and ESR Group Limited. In addition, Jeffrey is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the US-ASEAN Business Council, which works to create trade and investment opportunities in the economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Prior to joining Warburg Pincus in 2006, Jeffrey worked in the Real Estate Investment Banking group at Credit Suisse. He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA) from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Andy Wang Partner, Primary Investments, Singapore ADAMS STREET PARTNERS

Andy is responsible for the Primary Investment Team’s investments in Asia. He participates in all aspects of the fund investment decision-making process and manages relationships with several of Adams Street’s managers including sitting on advisory boards. He also is involved in the sourcing, decision-making, and execution of growth and buyout co-investments in Asia.

Prior to joining Adams Street, he was an Executive Director in charge of CICC wealth management division’s private market investment management in China.

Previously, Andy was a Vice President with GIC’s private equity division based in Singapore and Beijing, where he focused on Asia fund investments and co-investments in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia markets. He also worked with Swiss Reinsurance Company’s asset management division in Hong Kong with a focus on Asia private equity direct investments.

Scott Chen Managing Partner L CATTERTON

Mr. Chen is a managing partner at L Catterton, where he oversees the firm's Asia and RMB fund strategies.

Prior to joining L Catterton in 2020, Mr. Chen spent nearly 20 years at TPG investing across the broad consumer and healthcare landscape throughout Asia Pacific, most recently serving as a partner and managing director. During his second decade at TPG, he also led the firm’s investments in Greater China and drove the expansion of its China franchise. Before joining TPG, Mr. Chen worked in the Technology Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Lehman Brothers in New York.

Mr. Chen received a BS in Business Administration with honors from the University of Colorado.

Mark Chiba Group Chairman & Partner THE LONGREACH GROUP

Mark Chiba is Group Chairman and Partner of The Longreach Group. The Longreach Group is an established independent private equity firm with offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo. The firm focuses on Japan and related Greater China control buyouts in the mature industrial and technology, consumer, business services and financial services sectors. The firm manages three Funds which have accumulated approximately US$2.1 billion of committed limited partner and co-investment capital.

Mark co-founded The Longreach Group in late 2003. Mark's lead responsibilities at Longreach include firm management, senior relationship driven deal sourcing and execution, investments in the financial services sector, and building the firm's capital base and global networks.

Before co-founding Longreach, Mark served as Chief Executive Officer and President of UBS Securities Japan, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Investment Banking Management Committee, Head of Japan Investment Banking and as a member of the UBS Global Investment Bank Board. Previous to this role in Japan, Mark headed the UBS Asia-Pacific Financial Institutions Group.

Mark is an Australian citizen, resident in Hong Kong. He holds First Class Honours degrees in Economics (University of Melbourne) and Law (University of Sydney). Mark is a Rhodes Scholar with a Master of Philosophy degree in International Relations (with Distinction) from Oxford University.

Steve Duncan Managing Director TPG CAPITAL ASIA

Steve Duncan is a Managing Director at TPG Capital Asia based in Melbourne and has been with TPG since 2020. Steve is the current Chairman of Made Group, one of Australia’s largest healthy food and beverage businesses. He also sits on the Board of iNova Pharmaceuticals and was previously a director of logistics software company Containerchain.

Prior to joining TPG, Steve worked with CPE Capital across their Australia and Singapore offices for approximately nine years.

Steve holds a B.Commerce (Hons) Finance & Accounting from the University of New South Wales and an MBA jointly issued by Columbia Business School and London Business School.

Alex Ovchar Managing Director PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS

Alex joined Pacific Equity Partners in 2011. Alex was an investor in the Private Equity strategy for the first decade, after which he joined the Partner & Client Group. Before joining PEP, Alex was an investment banker with Morgan Stanley in London and prior to then, a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in Sydney. Alex received a PLD from Harvard Business School, a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Adelaide, where he was the Valedictorian.

Andrew Harline Partner in Charge COOLEY LLP

Andrew Harline is based in Cooley’s Singapore office, he represents both public and privately held companies in a wide range of corporate and securities matters, including private financings, mergers and acquisitions and public offerings. He also represents venture capital and private equity funds in connection with financings and other transactions. Andrew is counsel to companies across a broad range of industries and ranging from start-ups to well established companies. He is ranked as a leading start-up and venture capital lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining Cooley, Andrew was a corporate associate at a leading law firm in Southern California. Prior to attending law school, he held various positions in the investment and finance industries, including as an equity trader and an investment banking analyst. While attending Vanderbilt University Law School, he was a member of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law. 

Andrew received his JD from the Vanderbilt University Law School, and BA from Brigham Young University. He is admitted to practice in California.

Ian Zhu Managing Partner NIO CAPITAL

Mr. Zhu has vast experience in investment and business operations, focusing on finding and building companies that reshape the automotive, energy and technology industries in both China and around the world.

A member of the investment committee, he currently is managing partner of NIO Capital as well as managing the fund's daily operations.

Prior to NIO Capital, he was managing partner of Tsing Capital and led many investments in new energy vehicles, connected vehicles, artificial intelligence, new materials, smart grid and energy storage. As one of the first investors who foresaw the opportunities within new energy and intelligent cars in the Chinese market, he led his team to invest in Atieva (Lucid), Jing-Jin Electric, Jidou, Horizon, Enevate, iView, Phononic, and various others. Many of these companies have become star enterprises in their respective fields. At NIO Capital Mr. Zhu is also responsible for fund raising, industry research, social responsibility assessment and various other tasks related to the management and supervision of the fund's operations.

Mr. Zhu has ample experience in business and management. Previously he held roles at AT&T in America and led an advanced technical team to develop enterprise-class intelligent business systems. He was also in charge of the Chinese branch of Destinator, an international navigation software company to develop markets and sales channels and build navigation network alliances.

Mr. Zhu graduated with a double degree in Physics and Economics from Peking University and has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

Shane Chesson Partner OPENSPACE VENTURES

Shane Chesson is Founder and Partner of Openspace Ventures (formerly NSI Ventures), a Singapore-headquartered VC focused on Series A and B investments in Southeast Asia-based technology companies. Selected Openspace investments overseen by Mr. Chesson include Go-Jek, Chope, Tradegecko, CXA, Topica, Oway, HaloDoc, Sale Stock and Pathao. Mr. Chesson was previously Managing Director and Co-Head (Technology Investment Banking, of Citigroup Asia-Pacific.

Mr. Chesson has an MBA with distinction from INSEAD Singapore where he was a recipient of the IAA Asian Campus scholarship.

Emre Hidekazu Yuasa General Partner GLOBIS CAPITAL PARTNERS

Emre is General Partner at Globis Capital Partners, leading investments in IT startups targeting digital transformation of various industries. His portfolio includes Photosynth (TSE 4379), GLM (electric vehicle startup, acquired), Sensyn Robotics (drone software), MFS (mortgage technology platform), New Standard (digital media agency), Global Mobility Service (auto loan, IoT), Shippio (digital freight forwarder), CADDi (procurement platform for manufacturing parts), Matsuri Technologies (vacation rental operator), Estie (commercial real estate database), Leaner Technologies procurement and spend management SaaS）, Ascend (vertical SaaS for trucking companies), and Facilo (vertical SaaS for real estate brokers).

Prior to joining Globis Capital Partners, Emre worked for Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting (Tokyo) and KPMG Management Consulting (Tokyo), where he specialized in overseas expansion and Post Merger Integration.

He teaches at Globis University Graduate School of Management (MBA). Emre graduated from Harvard Business School (MBA) and Ohio State University.

Roderick Purwana Managing Partner EAST VENTURES

Roderick Purwana is a Managing Partner at East Ventures, focusing on growth-stage technology investments in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Roderick is an active investor with a diverse background in operations and investments in the venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) industries. Prior to East Ventures, he founded and ran SMDV, a technology venture firm affiliated with the Sinarmas Group, one of the leading conglomerate business groups in Indonesia. He spearheaded the creation of EV Growth (which has been merged with East Ventures since 2021) for SMDV, working closely with East Ventures and Yahoo Japan Capital in 2018.

Before SMDV, Roderick was with Quvat/Principia, where he played an active role in corporate finance (including M&A and IPO) for one of the firm’s portfolio companies. He was also co-founder of Bobobobo, a pioneer in the lifestyle commerce space in Indonesia.
Previously he worked in Silicon Valley, where he started his career following his education in the area.

Roderick received his Master’s from Standford University and his Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. In 2022, he was listed in the Fortune Indonesia 40 Under 40.

Jie Zhang Partner COOLEY LLP

Jie Zhang is based in Cooley’s Hong Kong office. Her practice focuses on advising corporate clients and investment banks on capital markets transactions, such as initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, and convertible bond offerings. She also advises corporate and private equity clients on mergers and acquisitions, private equity financings and privatizations. In addition, Jie represents clients listed in the U.S. and Hong Kong on general corporate and securities regulatory compliance matters.

Jie holds an LLM from Columbia University Law School, as well as both an LLM and an LLB from the University of International Business and Economics.  She is admitted to practice in New York and Hong Kong.

Eddie Thai Co-founder & General Partner AVV

Eddie Thai is a co-founder & general partner of AVV, an early-stage VC firm with a mission to help exceptional teams in Vietnam and elsewhere in building iconic companies. He is particularly on the lookout for breakthrough approaches in fintech, edtech, and enterprise SaaS. Eddie also continues to steward the Vietnam-focused fund of 500 Global, the early-stage VC firm and ecosystem builder headquartered in Silicon Valley. As a co-founder & general partner of 500VN he led more than 30 investments, including pre-seed / seed round investments in Axie Infinity (a16z-backed NFT gaming unicorn), ApplyBoard (Fidelity-backed edtech unicorn), Trusting Social (Sequoia-backed fintech centaur), and Base.vn (enterprise SaaS; acquired). He received degrees from Harvard University and Yale University. He also volunteers in advisory board roles with the World Bank (Vietnam 2045 project), UNICEF Vietnam, and the UNDP (business integrity project).

Wally Wang Founding Managing Partner SCALE ASIA VENTURES

Wally Wang is the Founding Managing Partner of Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture fund SAV(Scale Asia Ventures), focused on Enterprise Software and AI-enabled Vertical Industries. Fund backers include prominent family offices, and publicly traded conglomerates in the U.S. as well as S. Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore. Selected fund portfolios include Argilla(acq. by Hugging Face), CloudVector(acq. by NASDAQ: IMPV), Array(Unicorn), Feedzai(Unicorn), Scale AI(Decacorn), VastData(Decacorn) etc.

Before SAV, Wally led Asian conglomerate Fosun International(AUM $100B) and an Asian family office(AUM $10B) in venture investments in the U.S. and served on the boards of portfolios with over $300M in capital deployed and successful exists include Digital Ocean(NYSE: DOCN), Reposify(acq. by NASDAQ: CRWD) etc.

Wally started his career as a PM at Microsoft Bing. He later built data platforms at Pebble(Y Combinator) and Misfit in Silicon Valley, both of which were merged as critical infrastructure into Google’s Wear OS. Wally has spent over a decade in enterprise software and A.I. space as a product and business executive, including Lattice Engines in MarTech(acq. by NYSE: DNB) and DataVisor in FinTech(Sequoia & NEA-backed).

Wally graduated from Tsinghua University with a Bachelor's in Computer Science and studied in the Ph.D. program at NYU Stern School of Business and was a visiting scholar at CMU School of Computer Science. He is also an advisor of NYU EFL, UC Berkeley SkyDeck, and named by Forbes as Top 100 Global Outstanding Chinese.

Manish Singhal Founding Partner PI VENTURES

Manish Singhal, a 1992 graduate from IIT Kanpur, is a technologist turned entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. He is Founding Partner of pi Ventures, a deep tech fund based out of India. He brings 30+ years of experience across diverse sets of fields - building cutting edge deep technology products at global scale, mentoring startups, investing in them and building a deep tech venture fund. He is on the board of several companies like Agnikul, Wysa, Pixis etc.

King Leung Global Head of Financial Services, Fintech & Sustainability INVESTHK

As the Global Head of Financial Services, Fintech & Sustainability at InvestHK, the department of the Hong Kong SAR Government responsible for attracting Foreign Direct Investment, Mr. Leung’s mission is to attract investment and boost job creation in the financial services, fintech, and sustainability sectors in Hong Kong. Moreover, Mr. Leung and his teams also help enrich the ecosystem and contribute to raising the long-term competitiveness and innovation of the related sectors in Hong Kong. Mr. Leung achieves this goal through collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders – policy bureaus, regulators, financial institutions, investors, fintech and sustainability companies, associations, etc. in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and other major international financial, fintech, and sustainability hubs.

Prior to joining the government, Mr. Leung had a diverse private sector background as a serial tech entrepreneur, angel investor, fintech lecturer where his first data-related startup was established through seed investment from Credit Suisse. His startup served numerous world-renowned financial institutions in wealth management, insurance, personal finance, etc. Prior to embarking on his entrepreneurial journey, King was a management consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton and KPMG Consulting in the US, as well as a venture capitalist at Innovate@, a technology fund jointly managed by Booz Allen & Hamilton and Lehman Brothers in the US.

King received his MBA in Finance and Strategy (honors) from the University of Chicago and BSc in Mechanical Engineering (honors) from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Weijian Shan Executive Chairman & Co-Founder PAG

Weijian Shan is the executive chairman and co-founder of PAG – an Asia-based and focused private equity firm with more than USD50 billion in capital under management.

Between 1998 and 2010, he was co-managing partner of the private equity firm Newbridge Capital (now known as TPG Asia) and a partner of TPG. Shan was a managing director of JP Morgan, where he was concurrently the chief representative for China between 1993 and 1998. He was an assistant professor at the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania between 1987 and 1993. He also worked at the World Bank in 1987 as a member of its Young Professionals Program.

Shan is a Trustee of the British Museum. He is also a member of the International Advisory Council of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, and an independent director of Alibaba Group.

Shan is the author of Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America (2019), Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea's Most Iconic Bank (2021) and Money Machine – A Trailblazing American Venture in China (February 2023). He has published commentaries in the likes of The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Economist and Foreign Affairs.

Shan holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco. He graduated with a major in English from the Beijing University of International Business and Economics.

Ferish Patel Partner COOLEY LLP

Ferish Patel provides strategic advice to clients in the US, Europe, Asia and MENA, across the full-spectrum of corporate matters – including private equity and other private financings, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance matters. Ferish has helped clients raise over US$150 billion in public and private capital and to achieve liquidity and other exit transactions. This includes advising on several, landmark deals in the technology and life sciences sectors – for example, representing Coupang on its $5 billion US IPO (the second largest US IPO by an international company); Freshworks on its $1 billion US IPO (the largest US IPO by an India-originated company); Flipkart on its $16 billion sale to Walmart (the second largest M&A exit by a technology company); and Opthea on its US IPO (the largest US IPO by an Australian new economy company). Ferish is ranked as a Band 1 lawyer for Startups & Emerging Companies by Chambers Asia Pacific, and a leading Start-up and Venture Capital lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. Ferish represents clients from Cooley’s New York, Singapore and London offices.

Sanjay Nath Co Founder & Managing Partner BLUME VENTURES

Sanjay Nath is Co-founder and Managing Partner at Blume Ventures, one of India's leading early-stage venture funds. Blume focuses on Seed to Pre-Series A stages of funding and has made over 100 investments across its 10-year history across multiple funds. Sanjay leads SaaS and cross-border investing amongst other verticals at Blume. He has invested in and advises a wide portfolio of startups including GreyOrange Robotics, Dataweave, Locus, Tricog, Yulu, Lambdatest, Pixxel, Sprinto, Nektar.ai and Obviously.ai amongst others.

Prior to Blume, Sanjay held consulting and management roles at Sun Microsystems, PwC and IBM Global Services (all in Silicon Valley). Sanjay got his start in venture capital as an active angel investor through Mumbai Angels. His angel investments include InMobi, LittleEye Labs (acquired by Meta / Facebook), Tonbo Imaging and Svasti Microfinance amongst others. Sanjay holds an undergraduate degree from BITS Pilani and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Sanjay is based in San Francisco.

Nitin Nayar Managing Partner and Co-Founder FILTER CAPITAL

Nitin is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Filter Capital, a growth investment firm which partners with India’s tech entrepreneurs from inflection point to industry leadership. The firm invests in SaaS, IT services, and technology-led businesses across consumer, B2B and financial services. Filter Capital’s current portfolio companies include Capillary (loyalty software), Chalo (mobility), Loadshare (e-commerce logistics), and THB (healthcare software).

Prior to launching Filter Capital, Nitin spent 14 years at the India office of global private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC, including six years as Managing Director where he led the firm’s investment advisory activities in the technology sector in India. In his role as Managing Director, Nitin evaluated close to 300 opportunities in technology-led businesses including Internet and e-commerce, software and IT services, payments, logistics, education and health.

Nitin graduated with an AB from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Tarun Davda Managing Director Z47 (FKA MATRIX PARTNERS INDIA)

Tarun is a Managing Director at Z47 (fka Matrix Partners India), an early stage investment firm targeting companies in the Indian consumer and enterprise market. Z47 invests across a variety of sectors including Consumer Tech, B2B Commerce, Enterprise, Fintech, among others. Z47 is an investment firm with ~$1.5B under management, across four dedicated India funds. For more info please visit www.z47.com.  

Tarun leads early stage (Seed to Series-B) investments in Consumer Internet at Z47. Specific verticals of interest and expertise include eCommerce, Travel & Mobility and Media/Social/Gaming. Prior to joining Z47, Tarun was the India Country Manager and Board Member at StepOut.com, a venture-backed startup. Under his leadership, StepOut became India's #1 online dating site with over 4 Million users. He setup the India operations, built the team, transformed the product and brand to suit the Indian market and eventually took it to a stage where it could be monetized. StepOut was acquired by IAC / Match.com (NASDAQ:IACI) in September 2013. Before that, Tarun established BigRock.com (incubated by the Directi group) - India's #1 provider of domain name registration and other web services. As business head, he built the business ground-up including setting up the product, striking important offline partnerships, running a hugely successful TV-ad campaign and scaling the team. BigRock and other Directi entities were acquired by Endurance International (NASDAQ:EIGI) for $100M in January 2014.

Ritesh Banglani Partner STELLARIS VENTURE PARTNERS

Ritesh Banglani is a partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, where he invests in technology companies in Financial Services, Healthcare, Automotive/EVs, and Travel & Mobility. His current investments include Propelld, Kiwi, Ayu Health, Turno, Credflow, BeepKart, Punch and Truva.

Ritesh has a strong interest in companies solving uniquely Indian problems, especially those applying new technologies to their industry for the first time.

Prior to Stellaris, Ritesh was a Partner at Helion, where he invested in companies like Taxiforsure, Lifecell, and Trulymadly. Before moving to venture capital in 2007, he was a product manager for online and mobile consumer products.

He has a B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Delhi and an MBA from INSEAD and has served as Adjunct Faculty at IIM Bangalore.

Pang Lee Partner COOLEY LLP

Pang Lee is based in Cooley’s Hong Kong office, his practice includes all areas of partnership, corporate and securities law with a concentration on the organization and investment in private funds and strategic investments in the tech industry. Pang has worked closely with members of the Hong Kong start-up community cultivating its emerging companies ecosystem, with a particular focus in healthcare and emerging technology companies. Pang regularly advises private fund managers and institutional investors on United States and Hong Kong regulatory and compliance matters.

Pang brings a global perspective in his work, having worked in New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Shanghai in over two decades of legal practice. Pang regularly speaks at regional industry conferences in China and Southeast Asia, including serving as a moderator at the AVCJ for well over a decade. He is a member of the firm’s pro bono committee.

He is ranked as a leading investment funds lawyer by Chambers Greater China, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and IFLR1000 Asia Pacific.

Pang received his JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a BS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is admitted to practice in New York and is a solicitor of Hong Kong.

Kunal Sood Managing Director PANTHEON

Kunal is a Managing Director at Pantheon and a member of the Asia Investment Committee. Pantheon is a leading global private markets firm across Private Equity, Venture Capital, Infrastructure, Private Debt and Real Estate with c. US$68bn in AuM. Kunal is responsible for investment activity across Asia-Pacific markets across primary, secondary and co-investment opportunities and sits on the Limited Partner Advisory Board for several private equity and venture capital funds across Asia. Prior to Pantheon, Kunal was at a middle-market direct private equity investment firm and previously at CITI Group and ICICI Bank. He has a Masters from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and chairs the Limited Partners Council for India Venture Capital Association (IVCA). Kunal was previously based in Hong Kong and is now based in Singapore.

Edward J. Grefenstette President, CEO & CIO THE DIETRICH FOUNDATION

Edward J. Grefenstette serves as President/CEO and Chief Investment Officer of The Dietrich Foundation, a ~$1.5 billion charitable foundation that was formed following the passing of William S. Dietrich II in October 2011. The Dietrich Foundation primarily supports higher education institutions and other civic and charitable organizations in Western Pennsylvania. Ed previously served as Treasurer/Chief Investment Officer of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Prior to CMU, he co-founded a small-cap private equity fund, following a career in investment banking and law. He earned his AB in Economics and Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, as well as an MBA in Finance and Strategy from CMU. He currently serves as a trustee and IC member of CMU; he previously served as trustee and IC chair at the University of Pittsburgh and The Hillman Family Foundations. He serves as a IC advisory board member at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He is a past director of The Hillman Company and a former advisory board member of Commonfund Capital.

Sangmyung Lee Director, Private Equity Group KIC

Sangmyung Lee is a Director at the Private Equity Group of KIC. Since joining KIC in 2013, he took responsibility for Venture Capital and Growth Equity investments in the Private Equity Group. 

Sangmyung Lee also serves as a Strategist for the Private Equity Group.Since 2022, he has been a lecturer at the Korea Venture Capital Institution (KVCI), where he teaches Overseas VC investment to junior staff of local VC firms in Korea. In 2023, he was invited as a panelist to the Nobel Prize Dialogue in Seoul, where he discussed "AI and Future Learning."

Mr. Lee has a bachelor’s degree in Economics with honors Summa Cum Laude from the University of California Berkeley.

Xun Zeng Partner COOLEY LLP

Xun Zeng is based in Cooley’s Beijing office, her practice focuses on the formation, structuring and operation of a wide variety of investment funds, including venture capital, private equity, hybrid, and co-investment funds. She advises fund sponsors on the marketing, formation, and operation of their funds, as well as upper-tier arrangements, carried interest plans, strategic joint venture arrangements and various governance matters. Xun also has extensive experience in representing institutional investors in connection with investments in private funds. Xun is recognized as a leading investment funds lawyer by Chambers Greater China and Legal 500 Asia Pacific. She is also a member of Cooley’s partnership nominating committee.

Xun is a lecturer in Law on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She teaches Private Investment Funds.

Xun is admitted to practice in New York and Hong Kong, and a member of New York State Bar Association. She received her JD and LLM from University of Pennsylvania Law School, and her LLB Sun Yat-sen University School of Law with honors. Xun is a native Mandarin speaker and is fluent in English.

James Cameron Partner AIRTREE VENTURES

James is a Partner at Airtree, a leading venture capital firm backing Aussie and Kiwi founders building the iconic technology companies of tomorrow. James has a particular interest in software, infrastructure and fintech and led Airtree's investments in A Cloud Guru, Constantinople, DroneDeploy, Zepto, Buildkite and Secure Code Warrior. Prior to joining Airtree, James spent 15 years working overseas. He was Vice President at Accel Partners, the VC fund behind Slack, Dropbox, Facebook and Spotify.

Rafael Ratzel Managing Partner TH CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL

Rafael Ratzel has been an integral part of TH Capital (华控基金) in Beijing since 2016, spearheading the firm's international initiatives as the head of TH Capital International. His strategic leadership resulted in the successful establishment of the firm’s inaugural USD Fund in 2023, extending opportunities for international investors to access growth capital investments in Chinese high-tech sectors. The international team at TH Capital also supports portfolio companies in introducing innovative Chinese technologies to a global customer base. 

Before his tenure at TH Capital, he held several operational roles at Siemens and Bosch in Europe and as a consultant with Roland Berger in Beijing. He further enhanced his cross-border investment expertise at CMIG Investments in Shanghai.

Rafael holds dual degrees in Engineering (Industrial and Systems Engineering) and Business Administration (Management) from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has also acquired MBA degrees from Tsinghua University in Beijing and the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

His strategic insight and leadership are also recognized in his role as a board member of the German family office and industrial holding group AEQUITA.

Adrian Li Founder & Managing Partner AC VENTURES

Adrian Li is an entrepreneur and veteran investor in the Indonesian and Southeast Asian tech industry. As Founder and Managing Partner of AC Ventures, he has invested in over 80 businesses in the past decade, including category leaders such as Stockbit, Shipper, Xendit, Koinworks, Julo, Carsome, and others.

With co-founding experience in both China and Indonesia, Adrian brings a unique perspective and valuable insights to any business. His first startup became the largest live online English training service in China before being acquired in 2010. Adrian then joined Rocket Internet as a Managing Director, building ventures in China and Southeast Asia. In 2014, he launched Convergence Ventures, which later became AC Ventures in 2019.

Adrian graduated from Cambridge University with a BA and MA in Economics and was elected a Hawk in recognition of his contributions to university and national-level judo. He obtained his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

He is a business mentor at Endeavor, The Founders Institute, and Antler, and is a member of YPO. Adrian is also an endurance race enthusiast having completed over 15 70.3 events and as well as a Full Ironman.

Michael Zhang CEO TTGG VENTURES

Michael Zhang is the CEO of TTGG Ventures. With 15 years of experience in venture capital, Michael focuses on investment opportunities in deep tech, manufacturing, and new materials. He has received numerous recognitions, including being listed among the Top 100 Best Private Equity Investors by China Venture from 2021 to 2023.

Michael holds dual bachelor's degrees in law and economics from Peking University and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Gary Leung Head of Alternatives, APAC Clients JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT

Gary Leung is the Head of Alternatives, APAC Clients at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, responsible for developing the firms’ Alternative Investment franchise across the region.

His experience spans across alternative investments, asset management, investment banking and private banking. Previous roles include Head of Alternative Investments & Managed Solutions at Bank of Singapore based in Hong Kong, Alternative Investment Specialist at BlackRock covering APAC, HSBC Private Banking as the Head of Alternative Investments in Hong Kong, Private Equity investments at RimAsia Capital Partners, and Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank.

Gary graduated from Imperial College London in Masters of Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Management, and was awarded the Lee Memorial Prize.

Ed Huang Head of APAC BLACKSTONE PRIVATE WEALTH

Ed Huang is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific (APAC) for Blackstone’s Private Wealth Solutions Group based in Hong Kong.

Mr. Huang joined Blackstone in 2012, and Private Wealth Solutions in 2024. Prior to his current role, Mr. Huang was COO of Asia Private Equity, Head of BCP Asia Acquisitions, and led Greater China and Korea for Blackstone’s Private Equity Group. Mr. Huang has led or been involved in Blackstone’s investments in Ennovi/Interplex, Geo-Young, SHP Packaging, Global Sources, Pactera, and Simone.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Huang was previously a Managing Director for China investments at Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch in New York and Hong Kong.

Mr. Huang received a B.A. from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Huang serves as a director on the boards of Ennovi/Interplex, Geo-Young and SHP Packaging. He is also director on the boards of the China and Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Associations, and member of the Yale Asia Development Council.

Edwin Chan Managing Director, Head of Client Solutions, Asia iCAPITAL

Edwin Chan joined iCapital in 2021 as Head of Asia and Head of Client Solutions APAC. He has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, including a strong track record in private markets in the Asia Pacific region.

Before joining iCapital, Edwin successfully founded and spent a decade building the Probitas Partners business in Asia. He has worked with many private market firms across different alternative investment strategies as well as with institutional and family office investors in the Asia Pacific region. Previously, Edwin worked with AIG Global Investments, Citi, and HSBC based out of Hong Kong in various regional roles covering clients across the broad Asian geography.

He holds a MBA and a BA from the University of South Australia and is a Certified Practicing Accountant of CPA Australia.

Markus Egloff Managing Director and Head of Global Wealth Solutions – International KKR

Markus Egloff (Singapore) joined KKR in 2021 and is a Managing Director on the Global Client Solutions team. He leads the Global Wealth Solutions business for EMEA & Asia Pacific. Mr. Egloff and his team work with private banks, wealth management platforms and family offices to understand and meet their investment needs and deliver KKR private market investment solutions. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Egloff spent 25 years with UBS Asset Management and Wealth Management and held various leadership and sales positions across Europe and Asia. In his last role with UBS, he served as chairman and head of UBS Asset Management, Hong Kong and led their wealth distribution business across Asia Pacific. Mr. Egloff holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Zurich University of Applied Science, Switzerland.

Peter Beske Nielsen Global Head of Private Wealth EQT PARTNERS

Peter Beske Nielsen joined EQT Partners in Copenhagen in January 2021 as Global Head of Private Wealth.

Prior to joining EQT Partners, Peter was from 2006 to 2021 a Managing Director at BlackRock working in a number of roles, most recently as EMEA Head of the Strategic Partner Program and Global Head of Alternatives distribution. In the 15 years at BlackRock he worked in the New York, London and Copenhagen offices.

Peter holds a Master of Law degree from the University of Copenhagen and a MBA degree from the University of Bath. From 2000 to 2004 Peter was a M&A Lawyer at Bech Bruun Law Firm in Copenhagen.

Samson Wong Chief Investment Officer (Private Markets) HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY

Mr. Samson Wong is responsible for managing all private markets investments at the Exchange Fund Investment Office of the HKMA.  Mr. Wong currently leads a team of more than 40 professionals covering investments across private equity and real estate.

Mr. Wong has more than 20 years’ experience in the financial and investment industry.  Prior to the HKMA, Mr. Wong held various positions at major investment banks, including RBS, UBS and JPMorgan.

Mr. Wong is a graduate from the Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA program and received his B.S. in Finance and Information System from Boston College.

Harvey M. Schwartz Chief Executive Officer CARLYLE

Harvey M. Schwartz is the Chief Executive Officer of Carlyle and member of the Board of Directors. He has served in such capacity since February 15, 2023, and is based in New York.

Mr. Schwartz formerly worked at Goldman Sachs from 1997 to 2018, with his last position being President and Co-Chief Operating Officer. He also held numerous senior leadership positions including Chief Financial Officer and Global Co-Head of the Securities Division. Mr. Schwartz started his career at J. B. Hanauer & Co., and then moved to First Interregional Equity Corporation. In 1989, he joined Citigroup, where he worked in the firm's credit training program and developed a specialty in structuring commodity derivatives.

He serves as the Group Chairperson and Non-Executive Director of The Bank of London, a clearing and payments bank with operations in London and New York City. Mr. Schwartz also serves on the board of SoFi Technologies, Inc., a San Francisco-based fintech company, and One Mind, a nonprofit that accelerates collaborative research and advocacy to enable all individuals facing brain health challenges to build healthy, productive lives. He is involved in a range of investment and philanthropic endeavors that include a focus on mental health and developing future business leaders, including women and young people seeking a career in finance.

Mr. Schwartz earned his BA from Rutgers University, where he is a member of the university’s Board of Governors and its Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He received his MBA from Columbia University. 

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Jeffrey Perlman Chief Executive Officer WARBURG PINCUS

Jeffrey Perlman is Chief Executive Officer of Warburg Pincus and is a member of the firm’s Executive Management Group. Prior to his current role, Jeffrey served as President of the firm.

During his tenure at Warburg Pincus, Jeffrey has successfully expanded the firm’s business in Asia Pacific, overseeing the firm’s private equity investing activities in Southeast Asia as well as its real estate business across Asia Pacific. In addition, Jeffrey co-founded and sponsored some of the largest real estate companies in the region, partnering with entrepreneurs to build successful and sustainable companies.

He currently serves or has previously served on the Boards of Directors for numerous leading companies including BW Industrial Development JSC, MoMo, StorHub, Princeton Digital Group Limited, and ESR Group Limited. In addition, Jeffrey is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the US-ASEAN Business Council, which works to create trade and investment opportunities in the economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Prior to joining Warburg Pincus in 2006, Jeffrey worked in the Real Estate Investment Banking group at Credit Suisse. He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA) from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Andy Wang Partner, Primary Investments, Singapore ADAMS STREET PARTNERS

Andy is responsible for the Primary Investment Team’s investments in Asia. He participates in all aspects of the fund investment decision-making process and manages relationships with several of Adams Street’s managers including sitting on advisory boards. He also is involved in the sourcing, decision-making, and execution of growth and buyout co-investments in Asia.

Prior to joining Adams Street, he was an Executive Director in charge of CICC wealth management division’s private market investment management in China.

Previously, Andy was a Vice President with GIC’s private equity division based in Singapore and Beijing, where he focused on Asia fund investments and co-investments in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia markets. He also worked with Swiss Reinsurance Company’s asset management division in Hong Kong with a focus on Asia private equity direct investments.

Scott Chen Managing Partner L CATTERTON

Mr. Chen is a managing partner at L Catterton, where he oversees the firm's Asia and RMB fund strategies.

Prior to joining L Catterton in 2020, Mr. Chen spent nearly 20 years at TPG investing across the broad consumer and healthcare landscape throughout Asia Pacific, most recently serving as a partner and managing director. During his second decade at TPG, he also led the firm’s investments in Greater China and drove the expansion of its China franchise. Before joining TPG, Mr. Chen worked in the Technology Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Lehman Brothers in New York.

Mr. Chen received a BS in Business Administration with honors from the University of Colorado.

Mark Chiba Group Chairman & Partner THE LONGREACH GROUP

Mark Chiba is Group Chairman and Partner of The Longreach Group. The Longreach Group is an established independent private equity firm with offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo. The firm focuses on Japan and related Greater China control buyouts in the mature industrial and technology, consumer, business services and financial services sectors. The firm manages three Funds which have accumulated approximately US$2.1 billion of committed limited partner and co-investment capital.

Mark co-founded The Longreach Group in late 2003. Mark's lead responsibilities at Longreach include firm management, senior relationship driven deal sourcing and execution, investments in the financial services sector, and building the firm's capital base and global networks.

Before co-founding Longreach, Mark served as Chief Executive Officer and President of UBS Securities Japan, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Investment Banking Management Committee, Head of Japan Investment Banking and as a member of the UBS Global Investment Bank Board. Previous to this role in Japan, Mark headed the UBS Asia-Pacific Financial Institutions Group.

Mark is an Australian citizen, resident in Hong Kong. He holds First Class Honours degrees in Economics (University of Melbourne) and Law (University of Sydney). Mark is a Rhodes Scholar with a Master of Philosophy degree in International Relations (with Distinction) from Oxford University.

Steve Duncan Managing Director TPG CAPITAL ASIA

Steve Duncan is a Managing Director at TPG Capital Asia based in Melbourne and has been with TPG since 2020. Steve is the current Chairman of Made Group, one of Australia’s largest healthy food and beverage businesses. He also sits on the Board of iNova Pharmaceuticals and was previously a director of logistics software company Containerchain.

Prior to joining TPG, Steve worked with CPE Capital across their Australia and Singapore offices for approximately nine years.

Steve holds a B.Commerce (Hons) Finance & Accounting from the University of New South Wales and an MBA jointly issued by Columbia Business School and London Business School.

Alex Ovchar Managing Director PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS

Alex joined Pacific Equity Partners in 2011. Alex was an investor in the Private Equity strategy for the first decade, after which he joined the Partner & Client Group. Before joining PEP, Alex was an investment banker with Morgan Stanley in London and prior to then, a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group in Sydney. Alex received a PLD from Harvard Business School, a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Adelaide, where he was the Valedictorian.

William Yea Principal COLLER CAPITAL

William is an Investment Principal responsible for origination and execution and is based in the firm’s Hong Kong office.

Prior to joining Coller Capital in 2011, William was a Financial Accountant at Thames Water.

William has a BA (Hons) from the University of Manchester, an MSc in Finance from London Business School, and an MBA from the University of Oxford. He is a Chartered Management Accountant.

Josh Stern Managing Director, Private Investments ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION

Josh Stern joined the Investment Office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in January 2012. At the Foundation Mr. Stern is part of the group overseeing all private investments. Mr. Stern came to the Foundation from Rockefeller University where he was responsible for the private investment portfolio. In that role he oversaw a portfolio of Venture Capital, Buyout and Growth Capital and Real Assets investments. Previously he worked at Standard & Poor's as a director in the Higher Education and Not-for-Profit Group, which was part of the Public Finance Department. At S&P Mr. Stern worked closely with a large number of universities and foundations across the United States. Over the course of his career he also worked as an investment banker, focusing on higher education institutions. Mr. Stern received an M.P.A. in public finance from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, an M.S. in non-profit management from New York University and a B.A. in history and sociology from Binghamton University.

Dovaldas Buzinskas Senior Director, Private Equity CDPQ

Based in Singapore, Dovaldas is a Senior Director within CDPQ’s APAC private equity team and is responsible for direct investments and co-investments in India and Australia.

Dovaldas joined CDPQ in 2017 and has 15 years of experience in Private Equity and M&A.

Previously, Dovaldas worked at Antin Infrastructure Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments with over €31 billion assets under management. He started his career at Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking division.

 Dovaldas holds a Master in Finance from HEC Paris.

John Huo Managing Director MANULIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

John focuses on private equity fund commitments and equity co-investments of Manulife’s affiliates including the general account across the Asia-Pacific region. He joined the firm in 2009 and has worked in the private equity group since 2011. John holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Paul Mace Managing Director, Investment Office Williams College

Paul Mace serves as Managing Director at Williams College Investment Office, focusing on private equity (buyouts, venture capital, and real estate). Prior to joining the Investment Office in 2023, Mr. Mace was a Director of Investments at Tufts University Investment Office. Before he was at Tufts, he was a Senior Associate at Regent Associates International. Mr. Mace holds his M.B.A. from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and his B.S. in Business Administration from Trinity University. He is also a CFA charter holder.

Ben Hart Partner & Head of Investor Relations (Asia) ADAMS STREET PARTNERS

Ben Hart is a Partner and Head of Investor Relations (Asia) at Adams Street Partners, where he focuses on the firm’s institutional and private wealth relationships across the region. Ben is a 25-year Asia resident with over 20 years’ experience in the venture-backed tech and private equity markets.

Prior to joining Adams Street, Ben worked at Swiss-based private equity firm Capital Dynamics, where he served as Managing Director and COO, Asia, overseeing the firm’s business development efforts in Asia and North America.

Before joining Capital Dynamics, Ben spent over a decade working with VC and PE-backed tech firms in China and across Asia on their market development strategies. He served as Managing Director, Asia, at Aircom International, and also held senior positions at Convergys Corporation, Alliance Digital, Inc., and the JM Network.

Education:

University of Colorado, BBA

Investment/operational experience: 21 years

Languages: English, Mandarin Chinese

Doug Bell Director, Investment Strategy NZ SUPER FUND

Doug joined the Guardians of NZ Super in 2018 and is the strategy lead for a variety of asset classes including Private Equity and Hedge Funds as well as having a particular focus on climate solutions. His role straddles asset allocation and portfolio management, with the application of a total portfolio approach being a key focus. 

Doug’s career spans over 24yrs where he has held a variety of buy-side and sell-side investment roles. He was Head of Equities for ANZ Private Bank (NZ) before moving to Hong Kong with HSBC (2013-2018) where he spent much of his time in the Global Research division (part of Global Banking & Markets) helping to establish and run their research offering to wealth clients. Originally from the UK, Doug started his career in the technology field.

Doug holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Physics from the University of Manchester, UK and an MBA (dist.) from the University of Canterbury.

Bei Saville Chief Investment Officer Advance Treasury and Fingerboard Family Office

Bei is the Chief Investment Officer of Advance Treasury and Fingerboard Family Office, where she is responsible for the investment of the single-family office, the family foundation as well as the Advance corporate liquid assets. Headquartered in New York City, Advance is a private, family-owned enterprise for the past 100 years, with businesses spanning across media, entertainment, communications, technology and education globally. Advance’s portfolio of exceptional companies includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, and POP. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Warner Bros. Discovery and Reddit. Bei has established a reputation as a long-term investor with a significant background in portfolio management, alternative investments and strategic planning. Prior to Advance, Bei was the CIO for Endowments and Foundations at Northern Trust, where she was the Chairwoman for the Endowments and Foundations Investment Committee and a voting member of the Investment Oversight Committee of the OCIO program of $130B+. Previously, she was the Director of Alternatives at Helmsley Charitable Trust. Before that, she held senior investment and management positions at Pfizer, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan. Bei is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Victoria Foundation and the Knowles Foundation. She is a member of the Advisory Council for Alternative Investments at the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity.

Shawn Wischmeier Chief Investment Officer MARGARET A. CARGILL PHILANTHROPIES

Shawn Wischmeier joined Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies in March 2012 as chief investment officer of the grantmaking entities under the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies umbrella. Shawn manages an internal team of investment professionals responsible for the investment strategy of all portfolios.

Shawn previously was chief investment officer of the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer, where he was responsible for approximately $90 billion in assets under management. Before joining NCRS, he was chief investment officer of the $17 billion Indiana Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (Indiana PERF). Prior to joining Indiana PERF, Shawn was with Eli Lilly and Company’s Global Treasury group, where he held a variety of roles focused primarily on low-duration fixed income investments, asset-liability management, global working capital management, and pension management.

Shawn earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He has an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, where he majored in analytical finance, and a master's degree in manufacturing management from Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Shawn is a member of the Board of Directors for Camp Fire Minnesota and a Member of the Investment Advisory Council for the Minnesota State Board of Investment.

Ravien Sewtahal Senior Investment Manager PENSIOENFONDS ZORG EN WELZIJN (PFZW)

Ravien Sewtahal is the Senior Investment Manager at Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), the EUR 240 billion private pension fund for the Dutch healthcare sectors. He previously held investment roles at Shell Asset Management and ABN AMRO Bank. Ravien holds a master's degree in Macro Economics from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Weijian Shan Executive Chairman & Co-Founder PAG

Weijian Shan is the executive chairman and co-founder of PAG – an Asia-based and focused private equity firm with more than USD50 billion in capital under management.

Between 1998 and 2010, he was co-managing partner of the private equity firm Newbridge Capital (now known as TPG Asia) and a partner of TPG. Shan was a managing director of JP Morgan, where he was concurrently the chief representative for China between 1993 and 1998. He was an assistant professor at the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania between 1987 and 1993. He also worked at the World Bank in 1987 as a member of its Young Professionals Program.

Shan is a Trustee of the British Museum. He is also a member of the International Advisory Council of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, and an independent director of Alibaba Group.

Shan is the author of Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America (2019), Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea's Most Iconic Bank (2021) and Money Machine – A Trailblazing American Venture in China (February 2023). He has published commentaries in the likes of The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Economist and Foreign Affairs.

Shan holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco. He graduated with a major in English from the Beijing University of International Business and Economics.

Vish Ramaswami Head of Asia-Pacific Private Investments CAMBRIDGE ASSOCIATES

Vish Ramaswami is the Head of Asia-Pacific Private Investments and a Partner at Cambridge Associates.

Based in the Singapore office, Vish heads the firm’s private investments team for Asia. His main responsibilities include evaluating private equity and venture capital funds in the Asia-Pacific region and building bespoke private investment portfolios for Asian and global clients.

Before joining Cambridge Associates in 2008, Vish was in strategy and software consulting roles before and after his MBA.

Vish received his MBA from Stern School of Business at New York University and his Bachelor of Engineering at National University of Singapore.

Steve Byrom Founding Partner POTENTUM PARTNERS

Steve is a Founding Partner of Potentum Partners. Formed in 2019 by senior members of Future Fund’s private equity team, Potentum Partners offers a new way for institutional investors to access and build world-class private equity programs. 

Prior to Potentum Partners, Steve spent 11 years as Head of Private Equity and Investment Committee member at Future Fund, Australia’s sovereign wealth fund. He led the team that created Future Fund’s private equity strategy, building a A$27.5bn investment program that returned over 17% p.a. (hedged, in Australian Dollars) over 10 years. As an Investment Committee member, he was involved in the whole of portfolio strategic and tactical decision making. 

Steve has over 30 years of private equity and corporate finance experience across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. His previous experience includes establishing a private equity program at the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Co-Head of ANZ Private Equity, financial sponsors with SG Hambros in London and corporate finance at Ernst & Young in London and Auckland.

Steve is a graduate of the University of Auckland and holds a Masters of Commerce in Finance.

Kelvin Yap Managing Director HARBOURVEST PARTNERS (ASIA) LIMITED

Kelvin Yap joined HarbourVest’s London office in 2006 to focus on growth equity and buyout co-investments in Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2009, Kelvin transferred to HarbourVest’s Hong Kong team to focus on primary partnership fund investments and direct co-investments in Asia Pacific, Kelvin relocated to Singapore in 2021 to assist with the opening of that office.

Kelvin joined HarbourVest from Deloitte in London, where he managed merger and acquisition (including demergers and IPOs) due diligence for both private and public transactions. Prior to that, Kelvin was a senior associate at PwC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He received a BC with a double major in Accounting and Finance from Monash University in Australia in 2001. Kelvin is a Chartered Accountant with The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. In addition, he received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2007 from the CFA Institute. He speaks fluent Cantonese, Indonesian, and Malay.

Sarah Farrell Head of Private Equity for Europe and Asia ALLSTATE INVESTMENTS

Sarah is the Head of Private Equity for Europe and Asia at Allstate Investments, covering primary fund commitments and co-investments alongside growth equity and buyout managers. Prior to joining Allstate Investments, Sarah was running the international private equity platform of a large American family office based out of Switzerland. Sarah is originally from a direct investing and investment banking background and has worked in private equity for more than 20 years. She is a Chartered Accountant.

Gary Leung Head of Alternatives, APAC Clients JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT

Gary Leung is the Head of Alternatives, APAC Clients at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, responsible for developing the firms’ Alternative Investment franchise across the region.

His experience spans across alternative investments, asset management, investment banking and private banking. Previous roles include Head of Alternative Investments & Managed Solutions at Bank of Singapore based in Hong Kong, Alternative Investment Specialist at BlackRock covering APAC, HSBC Private Banking as the Head of Alternative Investments in Hong Kong, Private Equity investments at RimAsia Capital Partners, and Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank.

Gary graduated from Imperial College London in Masters of Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Management, and was awarded the Lee Memorial Prize.

Peter Beske Nielsen Global Head of Private Wealth EQT PARTNERS

Peter Beske Nielsen joined EQT Partners in Copenhagen in January 2021 as Global Head of Private Wealth.

Prior to joining EQT Partners, Peter was from 2006 to 2021 a Managing Director at BlackRock working in a number of roles, most recently as EMEA Head of the Strategic Partner Program and Global Head of Alternatives distribution. In the 15 years at BlackRock he worked in the New York, London and Copenhagen offices.

Peter holds a Master of Law degree from the University of Copenhagen and a MBA degree from the University of Bath. From 2000 to 2004 Peter was a M&A Lawyer at Bech Bruun Law Firm in Copenhagen.

Markus Egloff Managing Director and Head of Global Wealth Solutions – International KKR

Markus Egloff (Singapore) joined KKR in 2021 and is a Managing Director on the Global Client Solutions team. He leads the Global Wealth Solutions business for EMEA & Asia Pacific. Mr. Egloff and his team work with private banks, wealth management platforms and family offices to understand and meet their investment needs and deliver KKR private market investment solutions. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Egloff spent 25 years with UBS Asset Management and Wealth Management and held various leadership and sales positions across Europe and Asia. In his last role with UBS, he served as chairman and head of UBS Asset Management, Hong Kong and led their wealth distribution business across Asia Pacific. Mr. Egloff holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Zurich University of Applied Science, Switzerland.

Ed Huang Head of APAC BLACKSTONE PRIVATE WEALTH

Ed Huang is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific (APAC) for Blackstone’s Private Wealth Solutions Group based in Hong Kong.

Mr. Huang joined Blackstone in 2012, and Private Wealth Solutions in 2024. Prior to his current role, Mr. Huang was COO of Asia Private Equity, Head of BCP Asia Acquisitions, and led Greater China and Korea for Blackstone’s Private Equity Group. Mr. Huang has led or been involved in Blackstone’s investments in Ennovi/Interplex, Geo-Young, SHP Packaging, Global Sources, Pactera, and Simone.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Huang was previously a Managing Director for China investments at Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch in New York and Hong Kong.

Mr. Huang received a B.A. from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Huang serves as a director on the boards of Ennovi/Interplex, Geo-Young and SHP Packaging. He is also director on the boards of the China and Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Associations, and member of the Yale Asia Development Council.

Edwin Chan Managing Director, Head of Client Solutions, Asia iCAPITAL

Edwin Chan joined iCapital in 2021 as Head of Asia and Head of Client Solutions APAC. He has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, including a strong track record in private markets in the Asia Pacific region.

Before joining iCapital, Edwin successfully founded and spent a decade building the Probitas Partners business in Asia. He has worked with many private market firms across different alternative investment strategies as well as with institutional and family office investors in the Asia Pacific region. Previously, Edwin worked with AIG Global Investments, Citi, and HSBC based out of Hong Kong in various regional roles covering clients across the broad Asian geography.

He holds a MBA and a BA from the University of South Australia and is a Certified Practicing Accountant of CPA Australia.

Samson Wong Chief Investment Officer (Private Markets) HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY

Mr. Samson Wong is responsible for managing all private markets investments at the Exchange Fund Investment Office of the HKMA.  Mr. Wong currently leads a team of more than 40 professionals covering investments across private equity and real estate.

Mr. Wong has more than 20 years’ experience in the financial and investment industry.  Prior to the HKMA, Mr. Wong held various positions at major investment banks, including RBS, UBS and JPMorgan.

Mr. Wong is a graduate from the Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA program and received his B.S. in Finance and Information System from Boston College.

Harvey M. Schwartz Chief Executive Officer CARLYLE

Harvey M. Schwartz is the Chief Executive Officer of Carlyle and member of the Board of Directors. He has served in such capacity since February 15, 2023, and is based in New York.

Mr. Schwartz formerly worked at Goldman Sachs from 1997 to 2018, with his last position being President and Co-Chief Operating Officer. He also held numerous senior leadership positions including Chief Financial Officer and Global Co-Head of the Securities Division. Mr. Schwartz started his career at J. B. Hanauer & Co., and then moved to First Interregional Equity Corporation. In 1989, he joined Citigroup, where he worked in the firm's credit training program and developed a specialty in structuring commodity derivatives.

He serves as the Group Chairperson and Non-Executive Director of The Bank of London, a clearing and payments bank with operations in London and New York City. Mr. Schwartz also serves on the board of SoFi Technologies, Inc., a San Francisco-based fintech company, and One Mind, a nonprofit that accelerates collaborative research and advocacy to enable all individuals facing brain health challenges to build healthy, productive lives. He is involved in a range of investment and philanthropic endeavors that include a focus on mental health and developing future business leaders, including women and young people seeking a career in finance.

Mr. Schwartz earned his BA from Rutgers University, where he is a member of the university’s Board of Governors and its Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He received his MBA from Columbia University. 

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Tim Burroughs Managing Editor Global Private Funds, and Managing Editor, AVCJ MERGERMARKET

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.

Yana Morris Chief Content Officer ION Analytics

With over 20 years of experience in the financial media and information industry, Yana Morris a passionate and innovative leader who thrives on creating and delivering high-quality content and solutions to global clients. As the Chief Content Officer she is responsible for the content strategies, distribution and compliance of ION Analytics core service brands: Debtwire, Dealogic, Mergermarket and Infralogic. 

Marc Rowan Co-Founder and CEO APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT

Mr. Rowan is a Co-Founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management, Inc. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Apollo Global Management, Inc. and Athene Holding Ltd.. Currently, Mr. Rowan is Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he is involved in public policy and is an initial funder and contributor to the development of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan research initiative which provides analysis of public policy’s fiscal impact.

An active philanthropist and civically engaged, Mr. Rowan is Chair of the Board of UJA-Federation of New York, the world’s largest local philanthropy helping 4.5 million people annually while funding a network of nonprofits in New York, Israel, and 70 countries. He is also a founding member and Chair of Youth Renewal Fund and Vice Chair of Darca, Israel’s top educational network operating 47 schools with over 27,000 students throughout its most diverse and under-served communities.

Mr. Rowan graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with a BS and an MBA in Finance.

Gavin Geminder Global Head of Private Equity KPMG INTERNATIONAL

I am honored to serve as both the Global PE Sector Leader and US PE Advisory Leader at KPMG. For nearly 30 years, my journey has taken me to London, Hong Kong, and the U.S., providing me with a wealth of experience in the private equity space.

As Global PE Sector Leader, I focus on driving KPMG’s Private Equity sector globally. I aim to advance the firm’s growth ambitions by enhancing client experiences, delivering value across the full deal lifecycle, and fostering strong collaboration across KPMG’s global network.

As the US PE Advisory Leader, I lead our Private Equity advisory services in the United States, supporting clients from deal origination through portfolio value creation, to ultimate exit.

In these roles I am also committed to maximizing value for our private equity clients through collaboration with our Consulting and Tax practices and Alliance Partners.

Previously, I was the National Managing Principal, Growth & Strategy, working alongside the Vice Chair to drive growth initiatives for KPMG, focusing on innovation, building trust, and delivering quality service. I have also served as the Head of the US Private Equity Practice and Head of Corporate Responsibility for the San Francisco office, overseeing volunteer and philanthropic events.

I also served as the Global Lead Partner for KKR for 15 years, a position that never previously existed, which I commenced in 2007.  In this role I led the build out and maintenance of key relationships, as well as supervised a team of KPMG professionals across the world serving KKR and its portfolio companies, with a focus on delivering a differentiated yet valuable client experience. 

 I am proud to be on the Executive Leadership Team for the Bay Area Heart Walk, part of the American Heart Association.

David Gross Co-Managing Partner BAIN CAPITAL

David Gross is the Co-Managing Partner of Bain Capital, a leading private investment firm with offices on four continents and approximately $185 billion in assets under management.  He also serves as Asia Managing Partner.  He joined the firm in 2000.

Mr. Gross is a founding member of Bain Capital’s Asia business, having launched and managed the Tokyo office in 2006. He was instrumental in the expansion of the Asia business in the region covering the firm’s activities across the private equity, private credit, special situations, life sciences, and technology businesses. David has led a number of the most prominent transactions in the region over that period including Kioxia (former Toshiba Memory, where he currently serves on the Board), Genpact (NYSE: G), Hero MotorCorp (NSE: HEROMOTOCO), Japan Wind Development, Macromill, Jupiter Shop Channel, Domino’s Pizza Japan, and Uniview Technologies. Prior to that, Mr. Gross was a key member of the team that formed the firm’s industrial and technology investment verticals, having worked on several transactions including UGS PLM Software, Innophos, US Internetworking, and MEI Conlux.

Mr. Gross also led the creation of Bain Capital’s Macro team which provides macroeconomic insights and investment strategies to benefit the broader platform in investment theme development as well as portfolio and risk management.

Prior to Bain Capital, Mr. Gross was a consultant with Bain & Company from 1998-2000 and worked with NEC Corporation in Tokyo from 1992 to 1996.

Mr. Gross received an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar and a B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Gross serves on several non-profit boards including the Berklee College of Music, Boston Children’s Hospital Trust Board, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences Board of Overseers, and the advisory boards of the Kelly Writer’s House and the Center for the Advanced Study of India, both at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a Board member of Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio S.p.A.

Kristiaan Nieuwenburg Partner and Head of Performance for Private Capital Europe & North America EQT

Kristiaan Nieuwenburg is a Partner and joined EQT Partners in March 2013. Kristiaan is Chairman of the Private Equity Portfolio Review Committee and of the EQT Foundation Investment Committee. He is a member of the Equity Partners Investment Committee.
Kristiaan has an M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Delft University of Technology and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Prior to joining EQT Partners, Kristiaan was a Partner at IK Investment Partners in London. Kristiaan started his career at Lehman Brothers in London.

Tagar Olson Founder INTEGRUM

Tagar Olson is a Founder of Integrum and Chairman of the firm’s Investment Committee.

Tagar has over twenty-five years of investment experience. Prior to founding Integrum, Tagar was a partner at KKR & Co., where he led the firm’s financial services investing practice and was involved in transactions valued at more than $50 billion in the aggregate over the course of nearly two decades. During his time leading KKR’s financial services practice, KKR was one of the most active private equity acquirers of financial services and business services companies. Tagar was involved in investments including Alliant Insurance Services, Apple Leisure Group, First Data (now Fiserv), Focus Financial, Mr. Cooper Group, Nephila, PURE, Resolution Life, Santander Consumer USA, Sedgwick, and USI. Tagar was a member of KKR’s Investments, Markets, and Distribution Committee, which was the firm’s most senior governance body. He also participated on the Investment and Portfolio Management Committees within KKR’s Americas Private Equity business and on the firm’s Inclusion & Diversity Committee. Tagar was involved in building a number of KKR’s businesses, including its credit business, its capital markets business, and its insurance strategy. Prior to joining KKR, Tagar was with Evercore Partners, where he was involved in a number of private equity transactions and mergers and acquisitions.

Tagar is on the boards of Integrum portfolio companies USI, Evertree, SRS, and Program Productions, and previously served on the board of MerchantE. He is also on the board of Mr. Cooper Group. Tagar is co-founder of the DHPS Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to the research and treatment of rare genetic diseases. He holds a BS and BAS, summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ivan Vercoutere Managing Partner, CIO LGT CAPITAL PARTNERS

Ivan Vercoutere is a Managing Partner at LGT Capital Partners Ltd and co-founder of its private equity activities in 1998.

Bringing over 30 years of private equity investment experience, Mr Vercoutere is responsible for leading and coordinating the global private equity investment activities of LGT Capital Partners and chairs its global investment committee. Prior to LGT, Mr Vercoutere worked at Pacific Corporate Group in La Jolla, California where he was responsible for U.S. and European private equity investments on behalf of institutional investors including CalPERS, State of Oregon, World Bank pension fund among others. Mr Vercoutere serves on the advisory boards of a number of private equity funds globally and is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

Josh Stern Managing Director, Private Investments ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION

Josh Stern joined the Investment Office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in January 2012. At the Foundation Mr. Stern is part of the group overseeing all private investments. Mr. Stern came to the Foundation from Rockefeller University where he was responsible for the private investment portfolio. In that role he oversaw a portfolio of Venture Capital, Buyout and Growth Capital and Real Assets investments. Previously he worked at Standard & Poor's as a director in the Higher Education and Not-for-Profit Group, which was part of the Public Finance Department. At S&P Mr. Stern worked closely with a large number of universities and foundations across the United States. Over the course of his career he also worked as an investment banker, focusing on higher education institutions. Mr. Stern received an M.P.A. in public finance from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, an M.S. in non-profit management from New York University and a B.A. in history and sociology from Binghamton University.

Rebecca Xu Co-Founder and Managing Director ASIA ALTERNATIVES

Rebecca Xu is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Asia Alternatives.  Ms. Xu splits her time between Asia Alternatives’ Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong offices. Ms. Xu is on the Firm’s Investment Committee and co[1]leads Asia Alternatives’ investments in growth and venture capital funds, focusing most of her time on Asia Alternatives’ China investments.

Prior to starting Asia Alternatives, Ms. Xu was a Senior Investment Officer at the Funds Group of the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group. There, she had the primary responsibility of leading IFC’s fund investing and portfolio supervision in Asia for over six years. Previously, Ms. Xu also worked at McKinsey & Co, Inc. (Washington D.C.) and HSBC (Hong Kong).

Ms. Xu received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Foreign Affairs College in Beijing, China. Ms. Xu is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Ms. Xu currently serves on the Advisory Boards for a number of Asia Alternatives’ China and India private equity funds. In addition, she serves as the Chairwoman of the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HKVCA) and on the Board of the Chun Hui Bo’ai Children’s Foundation.

Kok Yew Tang Founding Chairman and Managing Partner AFFINITY EQUITY PARTNERS

Mr  Tang  is the Founding Chairman and Managing Partner of Affinity Equity Partners following its spin-off from UBS in 2004.  Prior to that, he was the Chairman of UBS Capital Asia Pacific, the private equity arm of UBS since 1999.   Before  UBS Capital, he was the Chief Executive for Investment Banking, East Asia at Union Bank of Switzerland since 1995.    Following the merger of Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corporation to form UBS, Mr Tang became Chief Executive, Hong Kong, of UBS Group and Asia Regional Head of Investment Banking for UBS Investment Bank.  Prior to Union Bank of Switzerland, he served as President and CEO of Banque Indosuez’s Asian investment bank and Chairman of WI Carr (Far East) Limited, one of the leading stockbroking firms in Asia.  Mr. Tang began his financial career with Chase Manhattan Bank.  During his 17 years at Chase, he served in a number of senior roles in Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Ganen Sarvananthan Asia Managing Partner, Co-Head of Asia & Head of the Middle East, TPG

Ganen Sarvananthan is Managing Partner, Co-Head of Asia, Head of the Middle East, Co-Managing Partner of TPG Capital Asia, Co-Head of Southeast Asia and a member of the TPG Inc Board and Executive Committee. Prior to joining TPG in 2014, Ganen served as Head of Investments at Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Government of Malaysia’s strategic investment fund, for almost a decade. He also worked at UBS Investment Bank based in London, Hong Kong and Singapore for more than seven years. He is a Barrister-at-Law (England and Wales) and read Law at University College London.

Marcia Ellis Global Co-Chair, Private Equity Group MORRISON FOERSTER

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.”

Colin Dunne Partner NAVIS CAPITAL PARTNERS

Colin Dunne is a Partner based in the Singapore office. He leads the Singapore team in making, monitoring and exiting investments and sits on the Boards of Directors and Executive Committees of several Navis portolio companies. Colin is also a member of the Navis investment commitee.

Prior to joining Navis, Colin was an investment professional at Warburg Pincus. Earlier in his career, he worked in investment banking and in operations as an engineer. Colin graduated from University of Galway with a Bachelor of Engineering and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Saurabh Chatterjee Managing Director CHRYSCAPITAL ADVISORS

Saurabh Chatterjee is a Managing Director at ChrysCapital where he leads the Fundraising function, and is also a voting member of the firm’s investment committee. Prior to joining ChrysCapital in 2016, he was with Providence Equity Partners’ investment team, where he covered the TMT sectors. Before Providence, he worked at the Boston Consulting Group and CIVC Partners, a Chicago-based middle market private equity firm. Saurabh received an MBA from Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Economics from Carleton College.

Chulmin Lee Managing Partner VIG PARTNERS

Chulmin Lee is a founding member of VIG Partners, where he joined in 2005. Mr. Lee worked as a Senior Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (“BCG”) for five years, engaged in numerous post-merger integration, operational improvement, strategy development, commercial due diligence, and corporate restructuring projects. Mr. Lee managed most of BCG’s M&A and post-merger integration projects in Korea, including overseas strategic investments and cross-border post-merger integrations. Mr. Lee’s experience spans various industries, including industrial goods, financial services, consumer electronics, and telecommunications. Mr. Lee holds an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and graduated with a BS in Computer Science and Statistics from Seoul National University.

Andrew Thompson Asia Pacific, Head of Deal Advisory, Head of Private Equity KPMG

Background

Andrew has 23 years of experience with KPMG principally focused on major IPO and corporate M&A transaction deal execution and project management in multiple major locations including London, New York, Sydney and Singapore.

His principal sector experience is on transactions in the Private Equity and Services sectors.

Andrew has acted as Lead Partner for KPMG on more than 350 significant transactions with an aggregate deal value of more than $150 billion. He has led many of the more complex and demanding projects KPMG has been involved with in Asia over the last ten years.

Professional and industry experience

Private Equity: As Head of Private Equity, Andrew has led projects with most leading financial sponsors including KKR, Blackstone, CVC, Carlyle, TPG, Northstar, CHAMP, CHAMP Ventures, L Capital, Catalyst, TA Associates, Goldman Sachs PIA, TH Lee, and Macquarie Bank Principal Investments.

Complex transactions: Andrew has led the project management and due diligence for many landmark public and private transactions including KKR’s acquisition of Goodpack (SGX), the Seven / Westrac Merger, KKRs acquisition of GenesisCare, the CPPIB acquisition of Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group, Macquarie Media Group IPO, DUET’s IPO, AUSTAR’s refinancing, the global consortium acquisition and listing of Dyno Nobel, the global consortium acquisition of Boart Longyear, the consortium acquisition of the DBNGP, the acquisition by AGL of both Southern Hydro and Powerdirect.

Direct / co-investments: Andrew has assisted SWF, major pension funds and fund of funds on direct or co-investments including CPPIB, Temasek, GIC, Ontario Teachers, CalPERS, CalSTRS and HarbourVest.

Location experience: His major location experience include: London (5 Years), Sydney (13 Years) , New York (2 Years) and Singapore. In addition he has led transaction teams in across South East Asia, China, Japan, India, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Leon Meng Chairman and CEO ASCENDENT CAPITAL PARTNERS

Mr. Meng is the Chairman and CEO of Ascendent Capital Partners, a private equity firm managing capital for globally renowned institutional investors since 2011. Prior to Ascendent, Mr. Meng was a Managing Director of D. E. Shaw & Co., where he was a global partner and the leader of the firm's Asian investment office. He also founded and was the CEO of its private equity business in Greater China. Previously, Mr. Meng was Managing Director and Co-Head of China Investment Banking at JPMorgan, in charge of its Asia M&A and China investment banking activities. Mr. Meng began his career in 1997 as an M&A specialist at Credit Suisse First Boston based in New York. Mr. Meng received his M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management, where he is a Donaldson Fellow, the Co-Chairman of the school’s Greater China Advisory Board and a member of the Yale Center Beijing Global Advisory Committee. Mr. Meng is also an Advisory Board member of the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center, and a founding Council Member of the Future Forum in China.

James Dubow Managing Director, Head of North Asia ALVAREZ & MARSAL ASIA

Jim Dubow is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal, splitting his time between Hong Kong and San Francisco. He leads A&M North Asia, one of the firm’s most dynamic and rapidly growing areas.

Mr. Dubow and the Asia team bring A&M’s hands-on and action-oriented approach to private equity, banking and corporate clients in all our disciplines, including pre-acquisition due diligence, performance improvement, restructuring, fraud investigations and data analytics.

Mr. Dubow assists companies and their stakeholders to grow revenue, increase profits and enhance cash return on assets. When control is important to driving change, he has taken Chairman, CEO, CFO, CRO, CTO and Director roles at private equity-owned local companies, multinationals and a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE). He has handled operating transformations and assisted companies in raising capital, restructuring debt, navigating regulatory and compliance issues, and completing trade sales. His industry experience spans retail, commodity trading, energy, healthcare and financial services.

Mr. Dubow’s key Asian engagements includes serving as Executive Chairman of a commodity trader following a major debt restructuring; serving as China CEO of a multinational retailer undergoing a comprehensive transformation of product and operations; as CEO of a distressed forestry and wood products company, leading to a sale to a strategic investor; as CFO of an Asia energy company, where he grew the company and guided it to a trade sale to a large SOE, which asked him to lead the post-merger integration; and as CTO of one of the largest Chinese luxury auto dealership groups, where he transformed operations and trade financing.

Prior to joining A&M Asia to establish its China operations, Mr. Dubow was with A&M’s U.S. corporate restructuring practice. There he helped companies improve performance while preparing to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection or sell their assets under court protection, often taking officer positions during the process. Mr. Dubow started his career assisting multinationals in negotiating joint ventures and establish operations in China.

Mr. Dubow earned a bachelor's degree in history (China emphasis), from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA (finance concentration), from the NYU Stern School of Business. He studied at Beijing University during his undergraduate program and is fluent in written and spoken Mandarin.

Eric Xin Senior Managing Director and Managing Partner TRUSTAR CAPITAL

Eric Xin is the Senior Managing Director and Managing Partner of Trustar Capital. Previously,  Mr. Xin was a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. in Shanghai and Washington, D.C. Mr. Xin  has an MBA from Harvard Business School, with Honors, and a BA from Peking University.

Frank Tang Chairman and CEO FOUNTAINVEST PARTNERS

Mr. Frank K. Tang is the Chairman and CEO of FountainVest Partners, a leading Asia-based private equity firm with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Singapore. FountainVest actively invests in the consumer, healthcare, industrial and business service sectors.

Prior to co-founding FountainVest, Mr. Tang was with Temasek Holdings as Senior Managing Director, Investments & China, where he simultaneously led China investments as well as global telecom, media and technology investments. As a member of the senior leadership team at Temasek, Mr. Tang sat on both firmwide Senior Management Committee and Senior Investment & Divestment Committee.

Mr. Tang worked at Goldman Sachs for nearly 11 years, first in New York, and then relocated to Hong Kong. Mr. Tang worked in both investment banking and Principal Investment Area, the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs. He was Managing Director and Head of Telecom, Media and Technology investment banking in Asia Pacific for Goldman Sachs prior to joining Temasek.

Mr. Tang is a board member of Amer Sports, BMTS, and previously served on the board of Accenture (a Global Fortune 500 company), Key Safety System Technology, IMAX China, Weibo, and Pacific Pension & Investment Institute, among others. Mr. Tang has been a member of the World Economic Forum, a governor of the China Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, a trustee of Donghua University, and a board member of Columbia Business School’s Board of Overseers. He was born in Shanghai, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Donghua University in Shanghai and a MBA degree from Columbia Business School in New York.

Alex To CEO CDH INVESTMENTS

Alex TO joined CDH as CEO of the Firm and assumed the managerial functions of the firm in November 2022. Prior to joining CDH, TO was the Co-head of Asia Pacific Investment Banking at Bank of America Securities, where he has been instrumental in building the Bank of America investment banking franchise (formerly Merrill Lynch) into one of market leaders across the Asia Pacific region. From 2006 to 2014, TO was Co-head and later Chairman of China Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley. TO has originated, led and executed many of Asia’s landmark and most profitable transactions including equity, debt, derivative and cross-border M&A transactions for both state-owned and private sector clients. Prior to the career in investment banking, TO practiced law in Hong Kong and advised clients in China on capital markets and M&A transactions. TO received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California – Los Angeles. He is a qualified lawyer in Hong Kong and the U.S.

Andrew Li Managing Director, Head of Greater China ADVENT INTERNATIONAL

Andrew Li joined Advent in 2012 and is a Managing Director in Shanghai. He advises on investments in the consumer, healthcare, and industrial sectors. Andrew has advised on 16 investments during his career, nine while at Advent.

Prior to joining Advent, Andrew worked at Warburg Pincus, Solera Capital, and Credit Suisse throughout China and the US, where he focused on the energy, healthcare, industrial, and retail and consumer sectors.

Andrew holds a BA from Middlebury College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Will Cai Partner COOLEY LLP

Will Cai is based in Cooley’s Hong Kong office, he is the head of Cooley’s Asia capital markets practice and co-chair of Cooley’s China Corporate practice. He represents issuers and global investment banks in US and Hong Kong capital market transactions. He also advises private equity funds and multinationals in their investments in Asia region, as well as Asia companies in their cross-border M&A activities.

Will has worked on over 70 successful IPOs in the US and Hong Kong capital markets in the last decade, with a focus on technology and new economy companies. In addition, Will has represented a significant number of leading new economy companies in their M&A transactions, including a number of landmark deals. The deals he has worked on over the years have garnered a number of rankings and accolades including "M&A Deal of the Year - Premium" by Asian Legal Business China Law Awards 2024, “Equity Securities Deal of the Year 2022” by China Law & Practice Awards, "Best IPO of 2017" by FinanceAsia Magazine, "Equity Deal of the Year for 2017" by the IFLR Asia Awards, the largest technology IPO in Hong Kong in 2017,  "Deal of the Year 2015, 2016 and 2023" by China Business Law Journal, and "Deal of the Year 2015" by Asian-MENA Counsel magazine.

From 1997 to 2003, Will worked for the Supreme People’s Court of China, where he acquired extensive experience and knowledge of the Chinese judiciary.

Will received his JD from Stanford Law School and LLB from China University of Political Science and Law. He is admitted to practice in California and Hong Kong. Will is a native Mandarin speaker and is fluent in English. He is admitted to practice in California and is a solicitor of Hong Kong.

Shinichi Takamiya Managing Partner GLOBIS CAPITAL PARTNERS

Shin is Managing Partner at GLOBIS Capital Partners. Shin leads GLOBIS’s digital and healthcare investments. Ranked by Forbes Japan’s “Midas List Most Influential Venture Investor”1^st in 2018, 7^th in 2015, 10^th in 2020.

His track record includes: IPO iStyle, Aucfan, Kayac, Pixta, Mercari, and Lancers; M&A Shimauma Print System (acquired by CCC), nanapi (acquired by KDDI), and Coubic (acquired by hey). His current portfolio includes Timers, Mirrativ, FastDOCTOR, TANP, alu, Alp, Josys, AnotherBall, and newmo etc.

Prior to Globis, Shin led management consulting projects at Arthur D. Little. He received BA in Economics from University of Tokyo (graduation thesis with Honor), and MBA from Harvard Business School (Second Year Honor). Shin has 8+ years of overseas experience in England, Holland, and the US.