AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum – Southeast Asia 2022
The Westin Singapore and Online
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Kishore Mahbubani is widely considered to be one of Asia’s leading global public intellectuals, having appeared several times in Foreign Policy Magazine’s list of top 100 global thinkers. In 2014, he was also listed by The Financial Times as one of the 50 individuals who would shape the debate on the future of capitalism. Perhaps the best summary of Kishore’s contributions was made in the citation for the US Foreign Policy Association Medal he received in June 2004: “a gifted diplomat, a student of history and philosophy, a provocative writer and an intuitive thinker.”
Kishore has enjoyed three distinguished careers: in diplomacy, academia, and writing and speaking. In diplomacy, he served in the Singapore Foreign Service for 33 years (serving also as permanent secretary (CEO) of the foreign ministry and two stints as Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN). In academia, he was the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS which is deemed to be the premier school in Asia in its field.
He has spoken, written, and published in all corners of the world. He is the author of eight books including Can Asians Think? and Has China Won?. His TED talk has been viewed 2.2m times. Albert H. Gordon Lecture he delivered in Harvard has also been viewed on YouTube over 1.6m times. Over a dozen of videos have had over 100,000 views.
He has also received many awards. In 1967, he was awarded the President Scholar. He was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) by the Singapore Government in 1998. He was also given the 2003–2004 Dr Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award by the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) at Tufts University. In April 2019, he was the second Singaporean to be elected as an honorary international member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Trista leads the Finance Sector across the Asia Pacific region.
With over 15 years of experience in strategic sustainability consulting, Trista is a proven and trusted ESG advisor to clients on managing issues in transactions and enhancing value for post investment and loans.
She advises both listed and private corporate clients across industry sectors, as well as investors and private equities to effect secured investments, facilitate large-scale integration and advance ESG opportunities. Her advice on ESG risks, emerging ESG opportunities as well as potential financial impacts, equipped clients with in-depth insights on the viability and future sustainability of their investment plans. Trista also advises on EHS and Sustainability risks and opportunities associated with cross-boundary transactions involving 20+ countries.
In 2015, she was a delegate to the CEO-lead World Business Counsel for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Leader Program, to help identify the skills needed by future leaders of member companies, and to provide a unique platform for developing and testing skills in a real-world setting. Trista is currently based in Singapore. Prior to relocating to Singapore in 2021, Trista has worked extensively in Canada and in Greater China, transforming businesses to operationalise sustainability.
Huai Fong is the Regional Lead for the East Asia & the Pacific PE Funds team of the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”) where she is responsible for leading investments into funds in the region.
Prior to joining IFC, Huai Fong spent five years with Deutsche Investitions-Und Entwicklungsgesellschaft MBH (“DEG”) where she had a primary coverage of Southeast Asia. She led fund investments and co-investments in the region as well as managed a portfolio of funds through her Advisory Committee positions. Before DEG, Huai Fong was with UOB Venture Management where she did direct equity investments into growth stage companies in Southeast Asia and China.
Huai Fong holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and in Economics (Honors and Dean’s list) from the Singapore Management University. She has also passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst program.
Prior to joining Apex in 2015, Ashmita spent ten years building the business at Eurekahedge, a subsidiary of Mizuho Bank. As Director of Global Sales, she oversaw the entire sales function with teams based out of Singapore and New York. She was responsible for key relationships with global institutional investor groups, family offices, advisory firms, fund of funds, investment banks.
Ashmita has a Masters in Economics from the National University of Singapore and Bachelors in Business & Commerce from Delhi University, India. She also holds an Executive Programme Certification in Mastering Alternatives Investments from INSEAD.
Jon is the Managing Director, APAC at ONTRA. Jon is based in Singapore, where he manages the company’s relationships with its APAC-based clients. Jon holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Prior to joining ONTRA, Jon spent over 10 years as a practicing corporate lawyer across Singapore, London, and New York, most recently as a partner in the capital markets practice of an international law firm.
Thuy Dropsey is a Managing Director in the Southeast Asia team for Affirma Capital (formerly known as Standard Chartered Private Equity) since 2016. Prior to Affirma Capital, Thuy was a Vice President at Lombard Investments, establishing the fund’s office in Ho Chi Minh City and overseeing investment strategy, deal sourcing and portfolio management in Vietnam. Prior to joining Lombard in 2011, Thuy was at Mekong Capital, a Vietnam-based private equity fund manager. Earlier in her career, Thuy was at Bain Capital Credit. Thuy began her professional career at Ernst & Young in its Asset Management group in Boston.
Mr. Edwin Fua is a Partner of Navis based in Malaysia and an Investment Committee member. Mr. Fua joined Navis in 2006 and he is focused on deal origination and transactions in Malaysia, Indonesia and increasingly, in Philippines. He has been involved in evaluating investments across South East Asia including in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Australia. His investment experience spans across the consumer, retail, medical, manufacturing, education and the retirement sectors. He also sits on and works closely with the Board of Directors and Executive Committees of several Navis portfolio companies in Malaysia and Australia.
Prior to joining Navis, Mr. Fua was involved in investment research, financial analysis and auditing in JP Morgan and in PwC. Mr. Fua was raised in Malaysia and educated in Malaysia and Australia.
He holds Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Finance) from Monash University, is a qualified accountant with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder from 2009 to 2013.
Christy Fung is an Associate Director at LGT Capital Partners, involved in the firm's Asian private equity primary and secondary investment activities. She leads the firm's private equity investments in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Switzerland, LGT Capital Partners is a leading institutional alternative asset and fund of funds manager, currently managing over USD 85 billion in assets under management on a global basis with a team of over 650 professionals and 51 nationalities.
Prior to joining LGT Capital Partners in 2016, she worked in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley with a focus on M&A transactions.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Princeton University and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Hong Kong.
Nick Gainsley is a Partner at OneVentures and leads the credit practice of the firm. He also serves on the Investment Committee of the 1V Venture Credit Fund IV and the OneVentures Growth Fund V.
Nick has 15 years of debt experience both in direct lending and advisory, in Europe and Australia. Specifically he has over 8 years of venture credit experience having led investments to over 100 high growth technology companies.
Prior to joining OneVentures in May 2019, Nick was based in the UK and was a Principal at Kreos Capital, Europe’s largest growth debt fund. His experience there covered deal origination, execution and portfolio management for a significant number of transactions across European markets. He has wider sector experience across technology sub-sectors including FinTech, software, cybersecurity, hardware, e-commerce/DTC, AdTech and life science, investing in both private and public companies.
Prior to this, Nick was a Manager at KPMG in London within the Debt Advisory team where he was involved in managing and advising on a range of debt transaction from mid-market to large cap. Transaction experience covered leveraged finance, corporate refinancing, capital market issuance and strategic financing advice.
Nick holds an BSc (Hons) in Management from UMIST, UK. He is also an Associate member (AMCT) of the Association of Corporate Treasurers in the UK. He is a keen skier and loves to travel the world.
Purnima Gandhi has over 15 years of global experience in investment banking, private equity and public equity focused on energy and climate technologies. She has worked across cultures and countries such India, UK and Singapore.
She has been with the investments and portfolio development team at Temasek International, Singapore for 11 years. Prior to this she was in Citigroup in Energy Investment Banking in London.
Purnima has an MA from University of Oxford, UK and BA from University of Delhi, India.
Raj Ganguly is a Co-Founder and Partner at B Capital. He is based in B Capital’s Los Angeles office, and currently serves on the boards of Journera, InTurn, and Evidation Health. In addition, Raj is a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group.
Before his career in venture capital, Raj spent six years at Bain Capital, with a focus on conducting operational due diligence and driving growth and operational improvements in portfolio companies across the United States and Asia. During his time at Bain Capital, he had significant involvement in the diligence and boards of numerous investments, including Skylark, Genpact, and Burlington Coat Factory. He also served as the co-leader of the firm’s global technology initiative.
Raj also spent time at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he was a Senior Engagement Manager in the Technology, Media, and Telecom Practice of the firm. He has experience as an interim executive with British food and beverage giant Diageo, and was part of the early team of Miradiant, one of the first internet payments startups, which was acquired by Bank One Corporation, that later merged with J.P. Morgan Chase.
Raj earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, and summa cum laude honors as a BSE and BAS from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he graduated from the Management & Technology Program as a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and Joseph Wharton Scholar.
Utsav Garg is a Managing Director and Head of the Southeast Asia and Australia Business unit of Alvarez & Marsal. The Alvarez & Marsal businesses includes Private Equity services (CDDs, ODDs, FDDs and post-deal value creation, carveouts and PMI support), Corporate Performance improvement (with high results orientation and interim management services) and Restructuring and Turnarounds.
He brings more than 20 years of experience in large scale transformation programs, focused on sustained growth and profitability improvement across various industries, including consumer goods and retail, telecommunications, information and communications technology (ICT), healthcare, logistics and process industries.
Prior to joining Alvarez and Marsal, Utsav led Kearney’s ASEAN business across four offices of Singapore, KL, Jakarta and Bangkok, expanding the company’s business in the region. Prior to that, he worked with Unilever in sales and brand leadership roles across South Asia and Southeast Asia. Mr. Garg began his career at STMicroelectronics as a Semiconductor Design engineer.
Utsav earned an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He is a frequent speaker and fundraiser for charitable giving.
Jonathan supports the Primary Investment Team in all aspects of the investment decision-making process, including business due diligence, industry review, document negotiation, and portfolio management.
Prior to joining Adams Street, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as an Associate within the M&A Advisory Group. He was part of the Deals Advisory Cross Experience (ACE) program which seeks to provide broad-based learning and holistic exposure to the entire deal spectrum.
Mr. Stefanus Ade Hadiwidjaja is one of Indonesia’s leading investment executives with regional investing experience. Prior to INA, Mr. Hadiwidjaja was with Creador, a leading Southeast Asian private equity firm, where he was the Managing Director and Country Head of Indonesia and Singapore and member of the firm’s Investment Committee. He led and executed a wide range of investments in the healthcare, consumer, and financial service industries. He has a proven track record in turning around and improving the value of firms’ investments including acting as CEO and board member of investee companies.
Mr. Hadiwidjaja spent a few years working at global consulting firm the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), serving clients in financial services and telecommunication industries, across both private and state-owned enterprises. Prior to that, Mr. Hadiwidjaja worked at boutique management consulting firms, Arghajata and Skha Consulting, and spent a year with IBM Indonesia as Territory Services Leader.
He holds an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania as a Fulbright-Sampoerna Scholar and bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Universitas Pelita Harapan.
Partner, joined CVC in 2006. Based in Hong Kong, Brian is co-head of CVC's private equity business in Southeast Asia and also leads our regional industry groups.
Prior to joining CVC, Brian spent nine years working in JP Morgan's M&A department in New York, Hong Kong and Korea offices,
advising on a wide range of M&A and corporate finance transactions. Brian holds a BA degree in business economics and political science from Brown University, US.
Dr Amit Kakar joined Novo Holdings Asia in August 2020 as Head of Asia to lead investments and partnerships across the region, focusing primarily on the markets in China, Southeast Asia and India.
Dr Amit Kakar has more than 25 years of healthcare experience with several senior management roles across the globe and having worked in India, China, Singapore, Denmark and the USA. Previously, he has been with Everlife Asia based in Singapore as Head of M&A and Business Development, with the Avenue Capital Group as Head of healthcare investments for Asia and with GE Healthcare in several senior leadership positions.
Dr Amit Kakar is a Medical Doctor with a postgraduate degree in Radiation and Nuclear Medicine from Tata Memorial Hospital and Cancer Centre in Mumbai, India.
Tom Kidd is a partner in our Private Equity and Healthcare practices, based in Singapore.
As an active member of our Private Equity Group, Tom advises investors and their portfolio companies on strategy, commercial due diligence, and portfolio company value creation.
Tom also has deep experience in corporate M&A – his M&A work ranges from inorganic growth strategy and due diligence to joint venture design and merger integration.
Prior to joining us, Tom worked for an education-technology firm in Beijing as a product manager.
Tom holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in international studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He also earned a B.A. in History from Yale University.
Ethan Koh is the Asia Research Director at GPCA, where he manages the overall Asia data and leads the production of all Asia-related research reports and presentations. Ethan is also responsible for communicating key findings and themes to members and presenting GPCA research results at conferences and events. With a dual role as the Head of the Asia Headquarters based in Singapore, Ethan supports GPCA’s broader programming and advocacy efforts in the region.
With over a decade of experience, Ethan held managerial positions in Singapore and Hong Kong, delivering strategic values to corporate decision-makers and global institutional clients. Prior to joining GPCA, Ethan was Senior Manager for Real Capital Analytics, where he led the firm’s research efforts in Asia Pacific. Before that, he was Senior Investment Writer for Partners Group and Research Manager for PEI Media.
Ashish Kotecha is a Partner at Bain Capital Private Equity, having joined the Firm in 2010. He leads their consumer and retail investments in India and Southeast Asia.
Ashish is a member of Bain Capital Asia’s investment committee and Asia Operating committee which oversees larger operating decisions for the fund. Ashish also leads Bain Capital’s Portfolio Group in Asia – a group, responsible for Bain’s value creation efforts within portfolio companies. As part of this, he actively works with many consumer companies across the region including India, Australia, China and Korea on strategy, operations and performance transformation topics.
Over the last 13 years, he has been personally actively involved in 12 of Bain Capital’s investments across Asia including Axis Bank, L&T Finance Holdings Limited and Hero Motocorp in India. Camp Australia, Only About Children in Australia. Hugel in Korea. Gymboree China, Rise Education and APMG in China.
He was also a Board Member of Axis Bank – India’s 3rd largest private bank. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Mr. Kotecha was the acting Chief Operating Officer at Tourneau, in New York – then the world’s 2nd largest luxury watch retailer and a Leonard Green & Partners portfolio company. He replaced the CEO of the business and successfully led a turnaround of the business through the global financial crisis in 2009. Earlier, he was an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company, in San Francisco, where he led engagements in Retail, Consumer and Private Equity. He also co-founded their Retail Private Equity Service Line and spent time with McKinsey’s economic think tank (MGI), where he was part of a team that analyzed the impact of FDI in emerging economies, including India. Some of his work at McKinsey has been published in the McKinsey Quarterly and quoted in several external publications, including the Economist. Prior to that, he worked at Goldman Sachs and the Kotecha Group.
He received an MBA with Honors, from The Anderson School at UCLA, a Master of Commerce (Banking and Finance) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Accounting and Auditing) from Sydenham College, University of Mumbai.
Donald Lacey is Chief Investment Officer at Ping An Global Voyager, an investment manager formed by Ping An Group to pursue growth stage venture opportunities in fintech and digital health. In this capacity he oversees certain investments by Ping An Group as well as Ping An Voyager Partners, a third party fintech and digital health fund backed by global institutional investors. Mr. Lacey joined Ping An from Citigroup, where he worked as a managing director in a variety of corporate and investment banking roles. He currently sits on the boards of Snapsheet and iCapital. Mr. Lacey commenced his career as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York. He has an SB from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a JD from Harvard Law School.
Dr. Lanyi is a senior Private Equity professional with 19 years of experience. Based in Singapore, he currently serves as a Managing Director at CDH Investments, where he co-leads CDH's Southeast Asian and global 'Cross-border' investment activities.
Established in 2001, CDH is one of the most well-established alternative assets fund management companies in China, managing close to US$20billion in client assets across different strategies and funds. The firm specializes in investment opportunities in the consumer and healthcare sectors.
Prior to joining CDH, Dr. Lanyi held senior roles at Mekong Capital and Templeton Private Equity. Dr. Lanyi lived in Vietnam between 2007-2012 and continues to manage CDH's office in HCMC.
Dr. Lanyi is the Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (SVCA).
Desmond is currently a Managing Director at TPG NewQuest, based in Singapore. Desmond joined NewQuest in 2015 and is responsible for sourcing, execution and portfolio management of the firm’s investments across Southeast Asia. Desmond has 20 years of private equity experience in the Asia region and prior he was Managing Director of Fosun, where he led the Southeast Asia investment team.
Desmond’s private equity experience also includes prior roles with Morgan Stanley and Arctic Capital in Hong Kong, and CIMB Private Equity and Navis Capital Partners in Malaysia. Desmond started his career as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen in Malaysia. Desmond is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and holds an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Sheffield, England.
Adrian is Founder & Managing Partner at AC Ventures, formerly Convergence Ventures. ACV is an early stage Indonesia focused technology venture capital fund. ACV managed 3 funds with a portfolio of over 80 businesses. Notable investments include, Payfazz, Koinworks, Julo, Carsome and M17.
Previously, he co-founded several ventures in China and Indonesia. Adrian’s 1st Internet venture was Idapted where as CEO & cofounder he raised 2 rounds of venture financing and led the company to be the largest live 1:1 online English test preparation service in China. Idapted was acquired by Eleutian in 2011. He then joined Rocket Internet as a Managing Director where he worked on new technology ventures in China and South East Asia. At the end of 2014 he launched Convergence Ventures.
Adrian is also involved in non-profit work. He founded and chairs a UK Charity called CNYTrust, which supports children in rural China continue schooling. He is a business mentor at several organisations including Endeavour, Founders Institute and Antler. He has served on the board of Entrepreneurs Organisation is several roles including Beijing Chapter President and Regional Communications Director. He is also a member of Young Presidents Organisation (YPO) in Indonesia.
Michael is a partner at Golden Gate Ventures. He joined the firm in 2013 and is currently leading the Growth venture fund. His entrepreneurial journey began in 2000 when he co-founded an IT managed services startup that was acquired in 2006. In 2007, Michael founded a venture fund focused on Dutch small- and medium-sized enterprises to help them with capital financing, business development, and strategy. During the same period, he was invited to join the Economic Development Board Rotterdam as vice-chairman. In that role, he launched the Young Economic Development Board. He brought together a highly influential Dutch network to increase public-private relationships to ensure business leadership invested in local while leveraging the public infrastructure.
Michael was introduced to Golden Gate Ventures in 2013 and relocated with his family to Singapore to join as a Venture Partner in 2013, helping with fundraising, strategic partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions. Since then, Michael has helped to raise over USD $60M for Golden Gate Ventures and its portfolio companies, including helping to raise later stage rounds from external investors as well as leading two early strategic acquisitions.
Sport is an essential part of Michael’s life. He is a former member of the Dutch karate team and the former ambassador for Treknology ( Trek bikes distributor in Singapore). Michael actively participates in Ironman 70.3 races and marathons. Besides sport, Michael is an active writer and writes articles regarding life, balance and venture capital on michaellints.com
Michael Liu is the Head of Asia Secondary at Portfolio Advisors, a global private asset manager with over $75 billion in AUM. Michael brings 17 years of experience in the private equity industry. Prior to joining Portfolio Advisors in 2013, he was a Vice President in the UOB Investment Management Division, where he was actively involved in investing in Asian private equity through primary, secondary and co-investments. Michael is a graduate of Nanyang Technological University.
Golden Vision Capital (Singapore) is a new Single Family Office set up in Aug 2021 to make PE and VC direct investments in Southeast Asia, leveraging on the family and team’s strong business connections in the region. It also invests in leading PE Funds, and co-invests alongside them. Its CEO Sean Low, CFA is an industry veteran with 25 years of deal sourcing, investment and business development experience, including 17 years in the PE & Infrastructure department of GIC, Singapore's SWF, where he helps to oversee GIC's PE, Infra, Private Debt & VC investments in US, Europe and Asia at different times, and took part in some of GIC’s landmark deals in each region. He played a leading role in expanding GIC’s private debt program, and last served as an active member in GIC Credit Business group which help review GIC’s overall credit investment strategy across public and private markets. Sean was also senior advisor to Yangzijiang Financial Holdings Limited (ww.YZJFIN.com), an investment management Firm listed on SGX with NAV in excess S$4b. He advised its Investment Committee on PE and Private Credit portfolio construction, funds and deals selection and risk management.
Sean began his career in Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), after he was awarded the EDB Scholarship in 1993. He served first as Assistant Head of InfoComms & Media group, and then as Director of Chicago Centre. Sean currently chairs the Investment Committee at CFA Singapore, and was elected the Treasurer of Singapore's VC & PE Association in 2021. He graduated from Trinity College, University of Cambridge with BA (1st Class Honours), MA and M Eng. (Honours). He completed National Service in Singapore as a commander of a Brigade Reconnaissance Team in the Singapore Army.
Winston Mandrawa is Co-Head of ASEAN for Affirma Capital, based in Singapore.
Prior to Affirma Capital, Winston worked at the predecessor firm Standard Chartered Private Equity (“SCPE”), joining in June 2015. Prior to that Winston worked in the investment banking division of Deutsche Bank Australia, originating and executing over USD 60 billion of M&A, equity and debt transactions in the natural resources, utilities and infrastructure sectors.
Winston actively manages and is a Non-Executive Director of the following Affirma portfolio companies: Tat Hong, Phoon Huat, Travira Air, Greathorse Chemical and Paddington Enterprise
Winston has a Masters of Applied Finance from Macquarie University, a Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace) / Bachelor of Business (Business Administration) from RMIT University and is a CFA Charterholder.
Dyota Marsudi is the President Director of PT Bank Aladin Syariah Tbk. (“Aladin Bank”), the first sharia digital bank in Indonesia. Under his leadership, Aladin Bank is steered towards reaching the vision of making digital-based financial solutions more accessible to all levels of societies in the country.
Dyota started his career as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. During his tenure at BCG, he has had the opportunity to serve the region’s largest banks, TMT and private equity firms crafting their strategy, executing organizational restructuring and their M&A initiatives. Dyota’s entrepreneurial drive was subsequently manifested through Happy5, a Software-as-a-Service company focused on performance management which he built together with his co founders to profitability.
Prior to Aladin Bank, Dyota was the Senior Executive Director for Vertex Ventures, a global venture capital firm with USD 5bn assets under management with offices in 6 countries. At Vertex, Dyota was responsible for investments in SEA with an Indonesia focus. During his time at Vertex Dyota supported and led investments in Sunday Insurance, Binance Singapore, Tanihub, RateS, RPG Ventures and Daily Co.
Dyota has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Indonesia and an MBA from INSEAD.
Luc has over 20 years of experience as a financial journalist in Asia covering fixed income, credit derivatives and distressed debt markets. He joined Debtwire in 2006 as Managing Editor for the Asia-Pacific region and now is responsible for a team of 14 journalists and five analysts that cover primarily the stressed/distressed debt, high yield and primary debt markets. Luc first started covering distressed debt markets in 1989 as a reporter for IFR in Japan. In 1998 he initiated and developed coverage of the Asian distressed debt markets for IFR Asia.
Sean Murphy is a fund formation partner in Cooley’s Singapore office. Sean’s practice focuses on the formation and operation of private funds across venture capital, growth equity, buy-out, special situations, real estate and infrastructure strategies. First resident in Singapore in 2004, he has advised fund sponsors and investors for more than a decade from offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and New York. Sean also regularly advises clients on co-investments, managed accounts, feeder funds for HNWIs, carried interest plans, strategic partnerships and US securities and investment advisory laws.
Sean has a JD from the George Washington University Law School with honors, and a BS from University of Pennsylvania.
Dr Bernard Ng serves as the Chief Scientific Officer of Milltrust Ventures Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Milltrust International Group.
He is an angel investor and a successful professional in the field of medical and clinical affairs globally. He have had leadership roles with global and regional experience in the healthcare industry, leading teams in US, Europe and Asia. He was previously the Chief Medical Officer, Head of Medical Strategy and Clinical Development for Bayer Consumer Healthcare and an active proponent of leveraging digital technologies and data to create disproportionate value for healthcare professionals, patients and consumers with experience in leading digital transformation initiatives and due diligence for M&A.
Dr Ng was on the Investment Advisory Committee for the British Innovation Fund (BIF), partnering with the leading Universities and Centres of Innovation in the UK to build a successful portfolio of early-stage companies. Notable successes include Vaccitech, the University of Oxford AZ vaccine company which listed on NASDAQ in 2021. He also serves on the investment committee of Future Health fund, seeking to tap into the secular growth trends in healthcare by investing in high potential companies with a focus on the science of ageing and technology that enables early detection and management of illness, leading to better outcomes in the key areas of immunization, diagnostics, telehealth, medical devices, mental health, artificial intelligence and sustainable food & proteins
In addition to his Milltrust affiliations, Dr Ng is also the Chief Executive Officer Meta Health Ltd, a listed company on the Singapore exchange who has recently diversified into healthcare technology and services. He is also a visiting lecture with the Dept of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine at King’s College London. He sits on the advisory boards of promising startups like Oncoshot and Safespace.
Dr Ng obtained his Doctor of Medicine from the National University of Malaysia and his MBA from the University of Melbourne. He is a strong believer of the Disruptive Strategy model by the Clayton Christensen from Harvard Business School He also was in IMD, Lausanne for a digital transformation course to better understand the disruptive power of platforms in today’s competitive environment
Jonathan joined Tower Capital Asia in 2021. He has over 12 years of strategy and operational experience in Southeast Asia with McKinsey, most recently serving as chief executive of McKinsey’s Digital Capability Centre. He has deep experience in leading and driving innovation and transformational change, having served a broad range of clients in the infrastructure, energy, industrial and public sectors. Prior to this, he had 9 years of public sector experience in various leadership roles across key government agencies.
He has an Master of Electrical Engineering from Imperial College London and a Master of Business Administration from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Mr. Octoman is a Senior Partner at Navis and an Investment Committee member.
Mr. Octoman joined Navis in 2000. His primary responsibility is to manage the Navis Asia Credit Fund, as a senior member of the team, and to ensure that synergies with Navis’ Private Equity platform are optimized. He also oversees the ESG Portfolio Operations team and drives the strategic focus of ESG at Navis. He has extensive private equity investment experience across multiple Navis funds investing in the ASEAN region and was previously the Chief Operating Officer of Navis, overseeing the Navis Private Equity Funds’ Investment Committee decision-making process, the Portfolio Operations group, human capital, and Navis’ strategic banking relationships.
Prior to joining Navis, Mr. Octoman worked with Price Waterhouse Coopers with a focus on capital market transactions and financial due diligence in emerging markets. Mr. Octoman also worked for KPMG in Australia and Canada in Business Advisory services.
A lifetime resident of Australasia, having been raised and educated in Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accountancy from the University of South Australia and is an Australian qualified Chartered Accountant. He is also a member of the UNPRI PEAC committee.
Steve Okun has served as GPCA’s Southeast Asia Senior Advisor since 2017. Steve is Founder and CEO of Singapore-based APAC Advisors and is a seasoned private equity professional. Steve supports member relations and expanding GPCA’s industry stakeholder network in the region. He is also responsible for establishing GPCA’s Singapore and regional presence as well as training the local team. As KKR’s former Director of Asia Public Affairs, Steve also advises GPCA on public affairs and industry advocacy in Southeast Asia.
Rob Petty is Co-CEO and Co-CIO of Fiera Capital (Asia). Since founding the Clearwater Funds in 2001 along with Amit Gupta, they have invested profitably across credit market cycles, investment sectors and geographies, building an Asia-focused business that is one of the oldest and largest credit investing firms in the region. Today, Rob leads an Asia-dedicated credit investment team, with broad expertise in Asia incorporating strategies across direct lending, secondary credit and special situations through multiple pools of capital.
Rob is responsible for Fiera Capital’s Asian Credit business, along with Amit Gupta. Prior to founding Clearwater, for fifteen years, Rob worked as a capital committer for international and Asian credits at Lehman Brothers, Peregrine Fixed Income, and with Marc Lasry at Amroc Investments.
Rob lives in Hong Kong and holds a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science from Brown University. Rob has served on multiple for-profit and non-profit boards over his 35-year career and currently sits on the board of two China-based portfolio companies and EngenderHealth, a non-profit organization that focuses on women’s health worldwide.
Speaker bio coming soon
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.
Sam Robinson is Managing Partner of North-East Private Equity Asia, which focuses on Asia private equity funds. Mr. Robinson is based in Singapore and has worked in private equity since 1998, initially joining Schroder Ventures in the UK. In 2001, he was one of the founder members of SVG Advisers, a fund of funds business, where he managed the global investment team. SVG Advisers was acquired by Aberdeen Asset Management in 2013, whereupon Mr. Robinson became Head of Asia Private Equity Fund Investment until his departure in 2015.
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
Kyle is the Founder and Managing Partner of ShawKwei & Partners, a private equity investment firm established in 1998. ShawKwei & Partners has offices in Hongkong, Singapore, Shanghai and San Francisco managing investments in Asia, Europe, and the USA. Kyle’s private equity experience before ShawKwei & Partners included managing Asian private equity businesses for Security Pacific National Bank and then the Tudor Group. Kyle has served as a director of several Asian and European industrial and service companies including as founder and director of Flex Ltd. (formerly known as Flextronics International Ltd).
Kyle received an MBA from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, a BS in Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, as well as studied Mandarin Chinese at Taiwan’s National Normal University.
Samir Soota co-founded Falcon House Partners in 2011 and has more than 30 years of professional experience, including more than 15 years of experience in private equity. Prior to Falcon House Partners, Mr. Soota was a Managing Director of EMP-Daiwa Private Equity, overseeing investments in Indonesia, India, Singapore, and Malaysia. Previously, he was the co-founder of Principia Management, a spin-out of KPMG’s financial advisory services business in Indonesia, which provided management and advisory services to leading Indonesian and regional private equity firms.
Prior to this, Mr. Soota was a partner of KPMG Indonesia and CEO of its financial advisory services business. He started and grew the KPMG’s corporate finance team into a leading mid-market advisory businesses, including work on many landmark Indonesian transactions; he later became overall CEO of the financial advisory services business, with responsibility for restructuring, corporate finance, and transaction services. Previously, Mr. Soota was a Managing Director of Danareksa, at the time Indonesia’s largest investment bank, where he oversaw M&A and principal investments. Over the course of his career, Mr. Soota has originated and executed more than 100 investments and other transactions with an aggregate disclosed value of approximately US$22 billion. Originally from India, Mr. Soota earned a BComm from St. Xavier’s College and is a Chartered Accountant; he speaks Bahasa Indonesia
Tommy Teo serves on the Venture Capital team at Cercano and leads the Southeast Asia investment team based in Singapore.
Prior to Cercano, Tommy was an Executive Director with Northstar where he focused on growth and technology opportunities in Southeast Asia. Previously, Tommy was an investment banker with Citigroup in Singapore, and with Perella Weinberg Partners and Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. in New York. Tommy was also an analyst at hedge fund sponsor Capital Z Asset Management.
Tommy received his BBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
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.
Mark Valadao is a Managing Director of ORI Capital, a venture capital firm with offices in Hong Kong and Boston, which invests in innovative early-stage biotech companies globally. Mark has over 25 years of investment industry experience with a deep knowledge of investments and strategies across multiple asset classes as well as extensive experience working collaboratively with institutional investors around the world. Prior to joining ORI Capital, Mark held senior roles at Pagoda Capital, GL Capital, and Skymont Capital. He was previously the Head of Portfolio Strategy at State Street Global Advisors where he represented investment solutions to institutional investors in the Asia region. Mark received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Finance from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Jing Vivatrat is president and chief operating officer of Franklin Templeton's Global Private Equity. Ms. Vivatrat is responsible for expanding the firm's investment offerings and client reach in the Asia Pacific region, with a particular focus on private equity, venture capital and other alternative asset investment capabilities. Additionally, Ms. Vivatrat plays a leading role in Franklin Templeton's China business. Ms. Vivatrat is a member of Franklin Templeton's Management Committee, and is Deputy to Ben Meng, executive vice president and chairman of Asia Pacific.
Ms. Vivatrat has more than two decades of experience in investment banking, corporate M&A, and private equity, working across two continents, including extensive experience in Asia Pacific. Ms. Vivatrat has previously served in senior management roles in technology, media, and public policy firms. She also served as a Limited Term Appointee at the Federal Communications Commission. Before joining Franklin Templeton, Ms. Vivatrat was an operating executive and head of Asia strategy at Golden Gate Capital.
Ms. Vivatrat holds a B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College. She is a member of the Global Advisory Board of Darden School of Business.
PV Wang currently serves as Managing Director of Legend Capital and is responsible for assisting CEO and CIO in charge of investor relation, business development and other related work for the company.
Prior to Legend Capital, Mr Wang was the Co-Chief Investment Officer of Noah Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. and was responsible for its private market investments. Mr Wang was a Partner at Adams Street from 2002 till December 2015. He was involved in formulating the firm’s private equity fund investment strategy for Asia and was a member of its Primary Investment Committee.
Raymond is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestSummit Capital, the leading global technology growth capital firm with global team and investment across China, Silicon Valley and Europe.
In the ten years since its establishment, WestSummit Capital has invested in a series of successful technology companies and unicorns, including GigaDevice (China #1NOR flash storage chip design company, IPO in 2016), and AnJi ( China #1 Semiconductor manufacturing high-end chemical materials, IPO in Sci-Tech Innovation Board 2019), United Optech(China #1 optical lens and sensors system, IPO in GEM 2017), Segway-Ninebot (World #1 last mile robot service Platform), Ximalaya (China #1 mobile audio social platform), Silicon Valley portfolios like Unity (World #1 game engine and real-time 3D development platform), Twitch (World #1 online gaming video live platform), and Europe portfolios like Movidius (Wolrd #1 AI visual image processing technology), Decawave (World #1 UWB-based technology chip supplier) and so on.
Prior to WestSummit, Raymond was the Founding Partner of Taishan Invest AG, one of the pre-eminent institutional angel investment funds in China, where he led the first round in several successful investments in the Internet, new media and mobile space. Prior, Raymond was the Managing Partner of Navi Capital Partners, a VC fund dedicated to growth stage companies in China, and a Venture Partner at Northern Light Venture Capital, a leading technology venture capital fund in China. Raymond Yang is best known for leading the turnaround of Linktone, a Shanghai-based wireless value-added services company.
From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Yang served as Linktone’s CEO, growing the company from $16 million to $71 million in revenue, and to a successful IPO on the NASDAQ. Linktone was the 1st to list on NASDAQ from the mobile entertainment industry in China, a milestone industry IPO, and marked the 8th company from China to ever list on NASDAQ. Raymond was awarded as a “Top 10 CEO” in China from CPMC, “Top 10 Chinese IT Leaders” from the China Business Post and “2005 China New Economy Entrepreneur” by the China Ministry of Science and Technology. Linktone was awarded as the “Best Employer in China” by Fortune China and Watson Wyatt Worldwide in 2005.
Previously, Mr. Yang was the Founder and CEO of RivalWatch, a Silicon Valley-based, venture-backed online market intelligence company, and the Founder and CEO of Saratoga Technology, a Beijing-based voice messaging services firm that was funded by a NASDAQ-listed technology company. Prior, Raymond worked at technology leader ABB Group and Centigram Communications in Silicon Valley, and at the Ministry of Energy in China.
Raymond is a distinguished Delegate to the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council.1 Raymond is also former Chairman of the prestigious Tsinghua University Entrepreneur and Executive Club (TEEC)，Vice Chairman of China Venture Capital & Private Equity Association, Chairman of SVEIF (Largest Chinese entrepreneur organization in Silicon Valley), Head of Tsinghua North America Education Foundation etc.
Raymond led WestSummit’s investment in Twitch Interactive, Inc. (acquired by Amazon for $1.1B in 2014, 8.3x return and 615% IRR for WSC) and Maginatics (acquired by EMC for $175 million, 80% IRR for WSC). Raymond also serves on the Boards for WestSummit companies: Unity Technologies, Couchbase, Ximalaya and Ninebot. Prior to WestSummit, Raymond’s notable investments included Lashou, VIPStore, Hudong, Innofidei, Xishiwang, C-Platform and ChineseAll.
Raymond graduated with a Bachelors of Science from Tsinghua University and Masters of Science from the Graduate School of the China Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
Stanley Yang is Associate Director of First Pacific and oversees the group’s corporate development and investment activities including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other portfolio company initiatives. Prior to joining First Pacific in 2013, Mr. Yang worked at Deutsche Bank where he led investment banking coverage for the diversified industrials sector in Asia. He also previously served as a director in Deutsche Bank’s mergers and acquisitions department, where he advised clients on transactions in Asia and the United States. Mr. Yang began his career in New York where he gained transaction experience in principal investments and investment banking. He received a BSc degree in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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.
Wee Yap is responsible for investments in private credit fund and acts as member of investment committee for private credit fund and private capital fund. He has more than 28 years of extensive experience in the Asian financial industry. Prior to joining SeaTown, Wee Yap was CEO of Fullerton Investment Management Pte Ltd (part of Fullerton Financial Holdings Pte Ltd). He was previously Head of Mezzanine Capital of UOB Bank, focusing on Asia Pacific private debt opportunities, as well as the Chairman of Investment Committee of United Orient Capital Fund. Before that, Wee Yap was with JP Morgan covering pre-IPO financing and other form of private financing. Wee Yap was leading DBS Private Equity unit covering Greater China and South-East Asia, managing both private equity and private debt strategies, before joining JP Morgan. From 1994-2003, Wee Yap worked in the corporate lending team at DBS Bank.
Wee Yap, a CFA charterholder, holds a Bachelor of Business from Nanyang Technological University (Second Upper).
Mr. Zhang is a Managing Director at Blackstone Credit, responsible for origination and execution of credit investments across capital structure in Asia. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Zhang was the Head of Private Debt Asia at Partners Group, responsible for senior and mezzanine debt investments in private equity sponsor-backed companies across Asia-Pacific. Mr. Zhang holds a MBA from New York University Stern School of Business.
Ian Zhu is a founding partner of NIO Capital and played a key role in building the firm’s investment team, setting up RMB and USD funds, and establishing its operations since 2016. His investment focus includes smart electric vehicle, low carbon energy network, mobility and logistics services and manufacturing innovations. He led NIO Capital’s investments in CATL (300750), Ronbay (688005), Black Sesame Technology (HKEX: 02533), EVTECH (SZSE: 301607), Momenta, Pony.ai, Newlink, Inceptio, Seyond, etc.
Ian is among the earliest ESG investors in China with 15 years’ relevant experience since his work at Tsing Capital. He has participated in the transformation of relevant industries and evolvement of the community, and has accumulated extensive experience in integrating ESG considerations into the investment practice. Led by Ian, NIO Capital has established systematic ESG mechanism and identified decarbonization as a main direction to pursue in its investments. Ian was awarded China Top 10 CleanTech Investors in 2019 and China TOP10 Carbon Neutrality Investors in 2020.
Prior to joining NIO Capital, Ian was a Managing Partner and Investment Committee member of Tsing Capital, where heled investments in Lucid (LCID),JJE (688280) and Horizon Robotics. Ian also worked in both start-ups and large technology company like AT&T, where he managed diverse functions including sales, business development, engineering and R&D.
Ian holds a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business and dual bachelor’s degrees in physics and economics from Peking University.