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 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 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 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 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.