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Prakash Kannan
Chief Economist and Director of the Economics and Investment Strategy Department at GICPrakash Kannan is Chief Economist and Director of the Economics and Investment Strategy Department at GIC. He is responsible for formulating the outlook for the global investment environment and asset allocation strategy for the firm. He serves as a member of GIC’s Investment Management Committee, Group Risk Committee and Currency Risk Management Group. His previous roles in the firm included Deputy Head of Total Portfolio Strategy as well as Head of Economics & Capital Markets.
Prakash joined GIC in 2012. Prior to joining GIC, he worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), and GTE’s Pension Fund. He is currently the Vice President and Chair of the Investment Committee of the Economic Society of Singapore. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Council of OMFIF, the Investment Committee of the Singapore Indian Development Association, and NTU’s Academic Advisory Board. He was formerly on the Advisory Board for the Centre for Asset Management Research & Investments (CAMRI) at the National University of Singapore Business School.
Prakash holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from MIT and a doctorate in Economics from Stanford University. He is also a CFA charterholder.
Chavalit Frederick Tsao
Chairman at Tsao Pao Chee (TPC)Chavalit Frederick Tsao is the fourth-generation steward of Tsao Pao Chee (TPC), a 120-year-old family shipping business. He was born in the East and educated in the West. After graduating from his master’s in engineering from the University of Michigan, he joined the family business at the age of 20. He took over the helm of the family shipping business from his father at the age of 36 and went on to become the Chairman of INTERCARGO, the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners at 42.
Today, the IMCPAA is a diversified multi-national conglomerate, under a Trust, governed by the well-being mandate; with the mission to “Serve the well-being of Life and create wealth at the same time”. In 1995, he founded the East West Centre for Cultural Research on Sustainability through which he commissioned and authored close to 40 books. He has great interest in Culture and has a non-profit with his wife on exploring Chinese Culture in the global context.
He believes that business must reform to serve the flourishing of Life in this new era. He has founded three non-profits under IMC Pan Asia Alliance, Octave Institute, No.17 Foundation and Restore Nature Foundation, to promote philanthropy in IMCPAA.
Ankur Meattle
Head, Asia Funds & Co-Investments Group, PE at GIC Special Investments Private LimitedAnkur Meattle is Head of Asia Private Equity Funds & Co-Investments at GIC. As part of this role, Ankur oversees our Asian private equity funds programme, as well as co-investment deals alongside GPs. In addition, Ankur co-chairs the ASEAN Business Group (ABG), which helps coordinate overall ASEAN investment strategy across GIC.
Ankur joined GIC in 2004 and has been part of various teams within the GIC Asia Private Equity organisation. Before joining GIC, he was a Manager with Arthur D Little, a strategy consulting firm, in Singapore. He has also worked with PwC and KPMG in India.
Ankur holds a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi) and a Master of Business Administration from Duke University.
Kok Yew Tang
Founding Chairman and Managing Partner at Affinity Equity Partners (S) Pte LtdMr. Tang is the Founding Chairman and Mangaging Partner of Affinity Equity Partnersfollowing 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.
Huai Fong Chew
Regional Head, East Asia & Pacific Funds at IFC Private Equity Funds GroupHuai Fong is the Regional Lead for the East Asia & the Pacific Private Equity Funds team of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where she is responsible for the funds program 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. Huai Fong is also a Board member on the SVCA where she is co-chair of the Professional Development Committee.
Ally Zhang
Managing Director of Siguler GuffAlly Zhang is a Managing Director at Siguler Guff and head of the Firm's Shanghai office. She is a member of the Investment Committees for the BRIC/GEM Opportunities Funds and oversees the Firm's investment activities in China. Ms. Zhang brings a valuable combination of skills to the Firm, including direct investment experience and extensive knowledge of the consumer industry in China and throughout Asia. She also has established relationships with fund managers, entrepreneurs, industry experts, local intermediaries and government officials within
China's investment community.
Prior to joining Siguler Guff in 2012, Ms. Zhang was a Managing Partner at Shanghai JH Investment Management Co., where she focused on high‐growth sectors in the Chinese markets such as consumer, pharmaceutical, technology, media and telecommunications. Previously, she was a Senior Director and Head of M&A for the Asia‐Pacific region at Anheuser‐Busch InBev where she led acquisition and divestiture transactions in China and throughout Asia. Notably, Ms. Zhang was
involved in the acquisition of Sedrin Beer, one of the largest brewery acquisitions in China to date, and led the divestiture of Oriental Breweries in South Korea during the financial crisis in 2009. Ms. Zhang began her career in corporate M&A at Heineken‐APB China as a Business Development Manager in the firm's Shanghai office. Before Heineken‐APB, she was a Management Consultant at Monitor Group in Beijing, where she focused primarily on the fast‐moving consumer goods sector and the pharmaceutical sector.
Ms. Zhang holds a B.A. from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. She was born and raised in China.
Hian Goh
Founding Partner at Openspace Ventures Pte LtdHian is a Founding Partner of Openspace. He has over 25 years of experience building companies, raising capital, as well as investing in and advising early-stage companies.
He has served on the board or as an observer for Gojek, Love Bonito, Kredivo, Kumu, Igloo, Nutrition Technologies, New Silicon, Chope, Oway, GRAIN and. At OSV, Hian is a member of the OSV IV and OSV+ II Investment Committees, Executive Committee, Pipeline Committee and Portfolio Committee.
Prior to co-founding OSV, he co-founded the Asian Food Channel, a 24-hour pay TV channel, which was subsequently sold to Scripps Networks Interactive in 2013. Before that, Hian was one of the members who established the TMT investment banking team at Salomon Smith Barney in Singapore from 1999 to 2001.
He serves on the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Portfolio Management Committee and Singapore Management University College of Integrative Studies Advisory Board. He was previously on the board of Singapore Science Centre, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD and a member of the deal review committee for Infocomm Investments in Singapore (a division of the Singapore government focused on technology investments).
Education :
Hian has a Degree in Jurisprudence (Law) from Trinity College, Oxford, and an MBA from INSEAD Singapore. He is also a Kauffman Fellow (Class 20)
Wai San Loke
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Novo Tellus Capital Partners Pte LtdWai San is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Novo Tellus Capital Partners. He has led the investment activity of the fund since its founding in 2011. Wai San was the chairman/ board member of Fund 1 portfolio companies AEM Holdings, MFS, Amsino International, Luma Investments and Novoflex Pte. Ltd, and currently represents the fund on the boards of Sunningdale Technology, Grand Venture Technology, and Tessolve Semiconductors. Wai San started his career as an R&D engineer with Motorola’s Cellular Infrastructure Group and subsequently joined management consultants AT Kearney in their High Technology practice group. Prior to founding Novo Tellus Capital Partners, Wai San was a Managing Director with Baring Private Equity Asia in their Silicon Valley and Singapore offices where he led investments in IT hardware, SaaS, semiconductor capital equipment, and industrials. As Executive Chairman of AEM Holdings, Wai San led the transformation of AEM Holdings from a sub S$100m regional business to a global enterprise with over S$500m in revenue, and with 7 tuck-in acquisitions across the US, EU and Asia.
Wai San holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BSEE from Lehigh University. He was the former Chairman and President of the Singapore American Business Association in San Francisco.
Shashank Mathur
Managing Director of Harvard Management CompanyShashank Mathur is based in Singapore as Managing Director for HMC APAC Pte. Ltd. He joined the Harvard endowment (HMC) in 2008, and previously covered a range of asset classes including private equity, absolute return, and public equities from HMC’s Boston office. Previously, Mr. Mathur worked at Morgan Stanley in New York with their Mergers and Acquisitions and Principal Investing divisions. Mr. Mathur received a BS in molecular biology from Princeton University in 2003 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2008.
Nge Kong Lai
Head at Far East CapitalNge Kong is the Head of Far East Capital, the family office and investment vehicle of Far East Organization, one of the largest private real estate developers in Singapore. In this role, Nge Kong leads the strategic direction and oversees the operations of the family office's investment activities into global equity investments. With a deep understanding of finance and investment management, Nge Kong brings almost 20 years of experience to his role.
Nge Kong’s career in investment began at Macquarie Bank in the Investment Banking Group before he moved to Temasek Holdings, where he played a key role in their Corporate Finance team.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with Honours in Finance, from the University of Melbourne. During his studies, Nge Kong received numerous accolades, including the Melbourne Honours Scholarship, the Macquarie Bank Prize for Investments, and recognition on the Dean’s Honours List.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Nge Kong is deeply involved in community engagement efforts. He actively contributes his time and expertise to organize events that foster collaboration and strengthens the bonds within the local neighbourhood.
Sean Low
CEO & CIO of Golden Vision Capital (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.Sean Low, CFA is CEO and CIO of Golden Vision Capital (Singapore), which manages a Global Fund of funds and co-invest program and makes direct PE investments in Southeast Asia. He was also Senior Advisor to Yangzijiang Financial Holdings, a listed asset manager in Singapore with over US$3b NAV which is actively building up its PE and Private Debt funds and directs portfolio. Sean has 25 years of deal sourcing, investment experience, including 17 years in the PE & Infrastructure department of GIC, Singapore's SWF, where he helped to manage GIC's PE, Infra, Private Debt & VC investments in US, Europe and Asia at different times, and led 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.
Sean began his career in Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), after he received the EDB Scholarship in 1993. He served first as Assistant Head of InfoComms & Media group, and then as Director of Chicago Centre. Sean has been on the board of CFA Singapore since 2020, and currently chairs the Investment Committee at CFA Singapore. He 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).
Frewen Lam
Managing Partner at Roc Partners Pte LtdFrewen Lam is a Managing Partner where he leads Roc Partners' multi-strategy business and is responsible for deal sourcing and execution across primary funds, secondaries, and co-investments. Frewen is also a member of Roc Partners' investment committee and management committee.
With nearly 20 years of experience in private markets, Frewen is one of the founding partners of Roc Partners following the management buy-out of Macquarie Group’s private markets business unit (“MIMPM”) by its senior executives in June 2014.
Frewen holds a Bachelor of Applied Finance (First Class Honours) with a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting).
Kazushige Kobayashi
Managing Director of MCP Asset ManagementKazushige has over 30 years of experience in private equity (PE) business. Kazushige is handling a couple of PE-related businesses in parallel.
He joined MCP Asset Management in 2020 and manages 2 fund of funds programs of Tokyo Metropolitan Government including a climate tech VC program.
In addition, he serves as an advisor for a couple of GPs including Rhone, a global mid-market PE fund, as an independent consultant.
Until 2020, he was Managing Director – Head of Primary Investments at Capital Dynamics (CD), a global private asset management company. He oversaw CD’s PE investments in Asia and also served as a member of Global PE Investment Committee and Executive Committee.
Before joining CD in 2010, he worked for Mitsubishi Corporation, and as a part of that, he served as President and CEO of Alternative Investment Capital (AIC), a private equity advisory firm in Tokyo. AIC was established in 2002 and has grown AIC as a globally recognized PE investor.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Hitotsubashi University.
Willson Cuaca
Founding & Managing Partner at East Ventures Advisory Pte. Ltd.Willson Cuaca is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at East Ventures, a pioneering and leading sector-agnostic venture capital firm in Southeast Asia. Willson transformed East Ventures into a multi-asset platform, managing multiple funds from seed to growth with over 300 portfolio companies across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia that is the firm’s central focus. Under Willson’s leadership, East Ventures captured Indonesia’s early wave of digital transformation and is an early backer of some of the largest tech companies in Southeast Asia, such as Tokopedia, Traveloka, Ruangguru, Waresix, ShopBack, Xendit, 99.co.
Huiting Koh
Founding Managing Partner at Blueprint VenturesHuiting is the Founding Managing Partner of Blueprint Ventures, a regional Southeast Asian seed stage venture capital firm. The Fund invests next-generation consumer and consumer tech businesses for the region's new economies - Women and “youth” economies.
Blueprint started investing in Jan’24 and has led investments into AYA, a sparkling turmeric drink which sells in Singapore and Thailand, and most recently NativeX, an english-language learning platform for working professionals in Vietnam.
Huiting has more than a decade of relevant experience in building and investing in consumer-first businesses. She spent almost a decade as a brand manager and 5 years, as a Partner at Altara Ventures leading investments in Consumer and Fintech companies such as Tonik, Stashfin and SATURDAYS.
Huiting started her career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in New York, before going to Stanford Graduate School of Business. She received her Bachelors from Amherst College.
Chalinda Abeykoon
Managing Partner at nVenturesChalinda is the Managing Partner for nVentures, an early-stage VC fund focusing on B2B startups. He has worked with startups for 15 years, leading investments and growth in over 50 startups across South & Southeast Asia. Chalinda is a recipient of the prestigious Chevening Fellowship from the University of Oxford and an Australian Award for Business Incubation Management from the University of Queensland, Australia.
Nitish Agarwal
CEO & CIO of Orion Credit Capital Asia Pte. Ltd.Mr. Nitish Agarwal is the CEO & CIO at Orion Capital Asia, a Singapore based private credit investment manager. He has 30 years of experience in private debt markets across Asia. He started Orion in 2013 to focus on performing credit to middle market companies in Asia Pacific – the platform has completed more than US$1.5 billion of private loans. Prior to Orion, he was Managing Director at Barclays Capital in Singapore. He started his career with Bank of America in Mumbai and later relocated to Hong Kong.
Yee Hean Teo
Principal Investment Specialist at Asian Development BankYee Hean Teo joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as an Investment Specialist in 2015. As part of the Private Sector Operations Department, he is responsible for sourcing and executing private equity (PE) fund investments for ADB. Additionally, Mr. Teo is also responsible for monitoring ADB’s existing portfolio of PE fund investments, as well as evaluating potential co-investment opportunities.
Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Teo spent more than 10 years at GIC Private Limited and Temasek International Private Limited, where he evaluated private equity, real estate and infrastructure deals as part of the risk management team. His responsibilities included the strategic review of the PE strategies, advising on portfolio construction issues, assessing large and/or complex deals sourced globally, and quantifying the value-creation opportunities of underlying portfolio companies. As a national of Singapore, Mr. Teo has also spent 2.5 years in the Singapore Armed Forces.
Amit Anand
Founding Partner & Managing Director of Jungle Ventures Pte LtdAmit Anand is the Founding Partner & Managing Director of Jungle Ventures.
Amit has spent 25 years in South and Southeast Asia as a pioneer and leader in the development of the region's venture capital and technology industry. He served as the Vice Chairman of Business Angels Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA), the oldest and largest angel investment network in Asia.
Under his leadership, Jungle has grown to manage over $1B in assets, a 100-fold increase in the last decade since inception.
Iain Anderson
Partner at Maples and Calder (Singapore) LLPIain is a partner of Maples and Calder's Funds & Investment Management team in the Maples Group's Singapore office. He specialises in fund formations, down-stream fund transactions, including acquisitions, co-investments and joint ventures and general partner arrangements and fund regulatory work. His clients include large global and regional private equity and hedge funds, boutique managers, smaller start-up funds and investee companies.
Iain joined the Maples Group in 2015 and was promoted to partner in 2021. He previously worked for another international firm in Singapore and the Channel Islands. Prior to that he trained with Brodies LLP in Edinburgh.
Crystal Chen Ting
InvestorMs. Chen Ting began her career in investment-related work in 2005, serving in sovereign wealth fund, asset management companies, and brokerage institutions.
During Sept2020 to August 2023, Ms. Chen was appointed as the General Manager of Citadel Private Fund Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. to oversee the onshore Chinese business exploration for Citadel Securities.
During Feb 2014 to June 2020, Crystal was appointed as the Chief Representative for BlackRock Beijing Representative Office in 2014; General Manager of BlackRock Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in August 2015, and General Manager of BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd, overseeing the private fund management business (PFM), the Qualified Domestic LP (QDLP) program and other business initiatives in China.
Previously, Ms. Chen worked as Chief Representative for Russell Investments based in Beijing. Before relocating to Beijing in 2011, she was based in Russell Singapore office and responsible for business development in China. During her tenure with Russell, she helped the company to set up a joint venture in Shanghai and establish a Representative Office in Beijing. Apart from the efforts to set up the local presence, Ms. Chen also led in the institutional sales approach, and QFII/QDII business in China.
Prior to joining Russell, Ms. Chen worked for the National Council for Social Security Fund P.R. China (NSSF), where she helped NSSF to establish the international communication network and consulting projects.
Divya Thakur
Partner at Morgan Lewis Bockius LLPDivya Thakur is a partner at Morgan Lewis Bockius LLP and is leading the firm’s investment management practice in Singapore. She has an extensive background in advising both established and first-time fund sponsors and managers in the formation of a broad range of investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds, and other structured fund products. She is also highly skilled in advising institutional investors on their fund investments. Her practice includes counseling clients on carried interest plans, co-investment arrangements, structuring business and ongoing operational, management, and compliance issues. Divya is a also member of the firm’s India Initiative Advisory Committee. Divya is qualified in New York and England and Wales and brings her deep knowledge of international fund offerings and market terms to her representation of an array of clients, including sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, investment banks, multinational companies, and US, European, and Asian companies.
Joel Seow
Partner at Linklaters Singapore Pte. Ltd.Joel is a private investment funds lawyer with close to two decades of experience in top-tier investment funds practices in London and Singapore. He has extensive experience advising institutional and non-institutional LPs from Asia, Europe and the US, including sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, pension funds, corporations, family offices and fund of funds, on their investments into private funds.
He has also advised sponsors in Asia on the establishment of private investment funds across various asset classes and jurisdictions, with a particular focus on private equity, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, hedge and special situations funds. Joel has worked on various non-traditional private investment fund setups such as platform structures, hybrid funds, club deals and open-ended illiquid funds.
He has also advised institutional and non-institutional LPs from Asia, Europe and the US, including sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, pension funds, corporations, family offices and fund of funds, on their investments into private funds.
Aside from transactional work, Joel also advises clients on the licensing and ongoing regulatory requirements of operating a fund management business in Singapore, as well as assisting with the submission of fund management licence applications to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Samson Cheng
Head of Corporate Development at Micro Connect Group- From early stage to growth: sweet spots across Asia (Chatham House Rule Applies)
- (Em)Powering MSMEs through revenue-based financing
Samson is Head of Corporate Development at Micro Connect, responsible for managing the group’s firmwide strategic initiatives and corporate finance activities. He is also a Director of Micro Connect (Macao) Financial Assets Exchange (MCEX) and leads the exchange platform’s market development efforts. Prior to joining Micro Connect, Samson worked at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) from 2018 to 2021, where he was Senior Vice President and held positions across the Chief Executive’s Office and Group Strategy. Before HKEX, Samson worked at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong from 2014 to 2018, where he was Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division, responsible for the origination and execution of capital markets and M&A transactions for real estate developers and investors in Asia ex-Japan. Previously, Samson co-founded a venture focused on the development of vertical farming and sustainable agriculture in Hong Kong. Samson started his career with Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong as an analyst in Private Wealth Management from 2007 to 2010.
Samson received a BA in Economics and Government from Cornell University and an MBA from INSEAD.
Jenny Lee
Senior Managing Partner at Granite AsiaJenny Lee, is a senior managing partner at Granite Asia. She leads global investor relations and strategy, and was instrumental in setting up GGV’s first China office in 2005 and re-opening the Singapore office in 2019.
A self-starter, an investor and an entrepreneur, Jenny spent the last 23 years overseas and is frequently the first to invest in new innovative applications and products. She is best known for investments in sectors like Edtech, Fintech, Food and Agritech, Metaverse, and Energy Sustainability and Automation Technologies. Her portfolio includes 21 companies valued at over $1 billion each. She has had nine IPOs in the last five years, including one in 2023 and two in 2021 across five different global exchanges, and numerous portfolio companies exits via M&A. Jenny’s global investment track record over two decades and early operation and finance work experience with Singapore Aerospace in Singapore; Morgan Stanley, and JAFCO Asia in Hong Kong enhanced her role as a preferred board member with deep domain expertise and global investment experience.
Born and raised in Singapore, Jenny is highly respected in the Asia business community and serves as a board member of Temasek and SATS Ltd (SGX: S58). She serves on the governing boards of both Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Duke-NUS Medical School. In addition, she is a member of Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), chaired by Singapore’s Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong, as well as a member of the Asia Business Council, and Future Economy Advisory Panel chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Mr Heng Swee Keat.
Jenny has been a member of the Forbes Global 100 VC Midas list since 2012 and was the first woman to break the top 10 in 2015. She was also recognised by Forbes as one of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2023 and 2022 and in 2019 was named to the Forbes Asia Power Businesswomen 25 list and received the Business Times’s Outstanding Overseas Executive Award. In 2016, she was named to the Vanity Fair New Establishment list, Fast Company Most Creative People in Business list, and is consistently recognised by The New York Times and CB Insights among the top 100 venture capital investors worldwide, ranking #8 among top venture capitalists in Asia.
Jenny graduated from Cornell University with an M.S. and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
James Ong
Chief Strategy Officer at TPC (Tsao Pao Chee)As Chief Strategy Officer of TPC (Tsao Pao Chee), James oversees strategy, M&A, and investments for the Group. His responsibilities include managing IMCPAA’s real estate portfolio, which spans industrial, commercial, and hospitality assets in Asia; leading IMC Ventures, the corporate venture arm of IMC Industrial Group; and spearheading the OCTAVE Well-being Economy Fund, OCTAVE Group's impact-focused investment arm.
Additionally, James leads the Branding and Communications teams to shape and share the organisation’s story of innovation and sustainability in the well-being era.
James has more than 23 years of experience across various fields, including private banking, private equity, and investment banking in institutions like DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, Oppenheimer Investments, and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services.
While at Oppenheimer Investments, James was the Head of Asia for 5 years and was instrumental in starting and growing the business for the group in Asia. He has successfully closed Project Finance deals in excess of USD500 million across various industries like infrastructure, consumer goods, and real estate. In addition, James also ran a family office which invested in healthcare, consumer goods, aged care, engineering, renewable energy, and childcare.
James graduated with a master’s in Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting and Corporate Finance, from the University of Western Australia.
James is a Certified Public Accountant (Australia). He sits on the Board of Management of SPD (formally known as Society for the Physically Disabled) and has been an independent director of a listed entity.
Keith Toh
Partner at Novo Tellus Capital Partners Pte LtdKeith is a Partner with Novo Tellus Capital Partners. Keith has served as a technology investor, partner and board director for global companies for the last 17 years, partnering to build businesses including TD Connex (precision manufacturing), ISDN Holdings (industrial automation), SP Manufacturing (electronics manufacturing), AEM Holdings (semiconductor equipment), Aconex Inc (enterprise software), Source Photonics Inc (communications), Numonyx BV (semiconductors), Mincom Pty Ltd (enterprise software), and FX Solutions (financial technology).
Prior to joining Novo Tellus, Keith was a Principal investor with Francisco Partners, a leading global technology-focused private equity fund, where he invested in sectors including advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, enterprise software, communications, and internet platforms. Earlier in his career, Keith was a software product lead at Trilogy, and held engineering research roles at Stanford University and at the Ministry of Defense of Singapore in the fields of optics, artificial intelligence and operations research.
Keith holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering degree from Stanford University, where he enrolled at age 16 and graduated winning the combined faculty Deans’ Award for Academic Achievement.
Ian Clark
Partner at Maples and Calder (Singapore) LLPIan Clark is a partner of Maples and Calder's Asia Funds & Investment Management team in the Maples Group's Singapore office. He specialises in advising clients on Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands fund products (hedge and private equity) and regulation in addition to advising on general corporate matters. Ian has particular expertise in the ever-growing digital asset space. He advises digital asset managers and investors in respect of fund set-ups, token / NFT issuances, play-to-earn gaming and connected regulatory applications.
Ian joined the Maples Group in 2023. He previously worked for another offshore law firm in Hong Kong and the Channel islands. Ian is noted as "a name to watch" by The Legal 500 for his work advising clients on Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands fund products.
Brendan Chua
Portfolio Manager at TPC (Tsao Pao Chee)Brendan Chua is currently a Portfolio Manager at TPC (Tsao Pao Chee), a Singapore headquartered investment holding company with global businesses spanning investment management, real estate, shipping operations, resources and wellness & lifestyle.
At IMC, Brendan leads the Group’s investment portfolio activities and is responsible for the financial investments deployed from balance sheet capital to generate capital gains and investment income over the medium to long term. The investment portfolio includes leading external funds and direct investments across private equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate and public markets.
Prior to IMC, Brendan has had 10 years of investment experience, most recently at Temasek, an investment holding company for the Government of Singapore, in the Portfolio Strategy and Risk Group providing strategic portfolio direction and capital allocation strategies to enhance portfolio returns. Prior to Temasek, Brendan was a member of the investment team in a large family office based in Singapore.
Louisa Chiam
Managing Director & Head Of Portfolio Management Group of Affinity Equity Partners (S) Pte LtdLouisa currently heads the Portfolio Management Group at Affinity Equity Partners, a Pan-Asia buyout firm with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Beijing and Australia. The Portfolio Management Group is the risk management function of the Firm, and her scope of responsibilities includes independent review of transactions at the pre-investment stages, post-investment monitoring of all portfolio companies’ business and financial performance, review of the quarterly valuations used for the valuation process. During her 12 years with the Firm, she has reviewed transactions across the five offices and in various industries, including consumer & retail, B2B, healthcare, F&B, etc. Louisa is also involved in the Firm’s investor relations related events, including preparation of the annual general meeting and various marketing materials. Louisa also oversees the Firm’s ESG programme, which includes integration of ESG in the investment process and during ownership. Prior to joining Affinity, Louisa spent over five years at Deloitte and Touche M&A Transaction Services Division, where she undertook financial due diligence engagements for financial sponsors and corporate clients in Asia.
Chris Flosi
General Counsel & Head of Compliance at Northstar Advisors Pte LtdChris is General Counsel & Head of Compliance for the Northstar Group, a Singapore headquartered private equity firm managing more than US$2.5 billion in equity capital dedicated to investing in growth companies in Southeast Asia. Chris has lived in Asia for nearly 25 years (10 in Hong Kong and 15 in Singapore). Before joining Northstar, Chris was MD & Regional General Counsel at Barclays Bank where he managed a team of 60 lawyers across seven Asia offices. Chris joined Barclays in 2001 from Bank of America in Hong Kong where he was a member of the Capital Markets legal team. Chris started his legal career in the San Francisco office of Pillsbury Winthrop where he advised clients on private equity, public securities offerings and M&A transactions. Chris attended university and law school at the University of California Los Angeles. In his spare time Chris enjoys swimming and golf.
Neil Fong
Managing Director of Burda Principal Investments Pte. Ltd.Neil is Managing Director and Head of Asia for Burda Principal Investments, a global growth equity investor with stakes in NordVPN, Vinted, Carsome, NinjaVan and Skillshare.
Neil started his career at BlackRock in New York City, where he held various roles in both the Official Institutions and Private Equity Groups. Prior to joining BPI, Neil led growth and pre-IPO investments for Sinarmas Gear Innovation Network, where he managed a portfolio that included GoJek, Tokopedia, Traveloka and Airbnb.
Neil completed his MBA at INSEAD and BSc at NYU’s Stern School of Business with dual degrees in Finance and Economics.
Masanori Fukushima
Senior Advisor at Fiducia MedicalDr. Fukushima is Japan’s foremost expert in translational research in medicine. He helped the government of Japan to develop and implement a national strategic framework for building translational research capabilities across academia and ran the Translational Research Institute (TRI) in Kobe City to deliver the benefits of the new regulatory framework for progress in medicine, aiding in the formation of extensive national R&D pipelines and the actual introduction of medical products targeted at specific populations. After retiring from TRI, Dr. Fukushima joined forces with Fiducia to help find investment targets with a greater probability of success.
Percy Hung
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Choco UpPercy Hung is an entrepreneur and investor based in Singapore. He is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Choco Up, one of Asia Pacific's largest revenue-based financing and growth platforms that offers fast-track, data-driven funding to fast-growing companies that require rapid capital deployment. Percy leads the sales, marketing and business strategy at Choco Up, aspiring to bring this innovative funding solution to the Asia Pacific.
Kanchan Jain
Head at BPEA Credit Pte. LimitedMs. Kanchan Jain has 29 years of experience across corporate and structured finance, private credit, loan markets and debt capital markets across Europe and Asia. She has worked across origination, structuring, underwriting and risk. As Head of BPEA Credit Group, Ms. Jain is responsible for the overall business across all its investment & non-investment functions. Over the last 11 years, Ms. Jain, along with leadership team, has led the creation and build-out of BPEA Credit into one of the leading private credit management groups in Asia, focused on the fast growing mid-market corporate sector. Before moving to India in 2008, Ms. Jain worked for 10 years in London as Managing Director at HSBC, and before that as Director at Barclays Capital in the Structured Credit business. Prior to that, Ms. Jain worked in the Asian debt capital markets across debt syndication, loan trading & risk, based out of Hong Kong and in project finance based out of India. Ms. Jain has lived and worked in India, Asia & the UK and holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering from VNIT and MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.
Alex Jiang
Founding Partner at Antler Dragon FundAt Antler, Alex leads Antler Dragon Fund and backs global unicorns which leverage China strengths. Before Antler, Alex co-founded China’s leading early stage VC fund - Alpha Startup Fund as Founding Partner. He was Co-General Partner at Sinovation Ventures, a leading VC with AUM$3B. He was voted as China’s Top 100 Investors by Forbes China in 2021 and 2019. He is the early lead investor in three unicorns and two IPOs.
Alex holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and serves as Global Entrepreneurship Advisor at Harvard Business School Arthur Rock Center for Innovation since 2019.
Navjeewan Khosla
Partner at Novo Holdings Equity Asia Pte. Ltd.Nav joined Novo Holdings Asia in August 2021. He focusses on deal sourcing and execution as well as in managing and developing the growing portfolio of investments, focusing primarily on the markets in China, India, and Southeast Asia.
Prior to joining Novo Holdings Asia, Nav was a Director in Quadria Capital, a mid-market private equity firm focusing on healthcare investments in India and South East Asia. Before joining Quadria Capital, Nav was the Managing Director at Fosun, where he worked on both private and public healthcare investment opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region. Nav started his investment career with Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong and moved to UBS Global Asset Management in Singapore before joining Fosun.
Nav holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, in India and Bachelor of Technology from Indian institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur in India.
Fong Ming Koh
Principal at LYFE CapitalDr Fong Ming Koh is a Principal at LYFE Capital, a global healthcare investment platform dedicated to advancing the healthcare landscape through strategic value creation. LYFE’s diverse investment portfolio spans the entire healthcare sector, encompassing therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and emerging sub-sectors across North America and Asia. Prior to joining LYFE, Fong was the Head of Life Sciences at Heritas Capital, a Singapore-based healthcare-focused impact fund manager. A developmental biologist by training, he has extensive research experience spanning pluripotent stem cells, epigenetics and cancer. Dr Koh received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, San Francisco.
Alex Lee
Managing Partner at Axiom Asia Private Capital Pte LtdAlex Lee is a Managing Partner at Axiom Asia (www.axiomasia.com), an independent fund management firm focused on investing in the Asia Pacific region. Established in 2006, Axiom Asia is a pioneer and leader in primary fund investing, secondaries and co-investing in Asia. It currently manages more than US$8 billion of committed capital.
Alex leads Axiom's secondary investment strategy across Asia, covering a broad range of transactions from plain-vanilla LP stakes to more complex secondary directs and GP-led fund restructurings. He is also involved in primary fund investments and co-investments, particularly in Japan and Southeast Asia.
Prior to Axiom Asia, Alex was with the global secondaries firm Coller Capital from 2003 to 2009. He also worked at Temasek-linked companies, first as an engineer with Sembcorp Industries, then as an investment manager with venture capital firm Vertex.
Alex has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from INSEAD.
Desmond Lee
Managing Director of TPG NewQuestDesmond Lee is a Managing Director of TPG NewQuest based in Singapore. Desmond joined TPG NewQuest in 2015 and is responsible for sourcing, execution and portfolio management of investments across Southeast Asia. Desmond has more than 20 years of private equity experience in the Asia Pacific region and prior to TPG NewQuest, 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 Li
Founder and Managing Partner of AC VenturesAdrian Li, an entrepreneur and seasoned investor in the Indonesian and Southeast Asian tech sector, has spearheaded numerous successful ventures as the Founder and Managing Partner of AC Ventures. With over 80 investments under his belt, including prominent names like Stockbit and Xendit, Adrian's expertise extends across various category-leading businesses.
With a diverse background in co-founding ventures in both China and Indonesia, Adrian offers invaluable insights to businesses. His entrepreneurial journey, from building the largest live online English training service in China to launching Convergence Ventures (now AC Ventures), reflects his commitment to innovation and growth. Adrian's academic achievements, coupled with his extensive mentorship roles and passion for endurance races, underscore his multifaceted approach to success in both business and personal pursuits.
Alex Lim
Vice President at AlpInvest Partners LimitedAlex Lim is a Vice President in AlpInvest Secondary Investment team focused on evaluating and executing Asia Pacific transactions. He started in the firm’s Hong Kong office and is currently based in Singapore.
Prior to joining AlpInvest in 2021, he worked at Apollo Global Management, where he was a Private Equity Associate focused on evaluating and executing real estate transactions across the capital structure. Previously, he worked at Gaw Capital Partners focused on Asia Pacific real estate acquisitions. Alex started his career in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs focused on M&A and corporate finance advisory. He graduated with First Class Honors in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Jeremy Lim
CEO of AMILIAssoc Prof Jeremy Lim is CEO of AMILI, a Singapore-based microbiome post-Series A startup serving the region. In the investment space, he is advisor to Verge Capital Management, HEAL Partners and is a seed investor in several health tech companies around the world.
In academia, Jeremy is adjunct faculty in the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and focuses on health systems financing and universal health coverage.
In advisory, he is a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group and has served in policy consultations with Singapore's Ministry of Health, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the World Health Organization.
He trained in surgery and public health, attaining post-graduate qualifications in both from the UK and US.
Sharon Lim
Content Director of Singapore Venture & Private Capital Association (SVCA)Sharon leads content at SVCA and has been responsible for building conference agendas since 2019.
She started her own company, Interest Alignment Management in 2012, initially as an investor communications practice and since expanded to provide content, research and roundtables facilitation. Sharon also built content for She Loves Tech conferences from 2021 through 2023.
The former journalist has covered beats from private equity, venture capital, energy and shipping before she started IAM.
David Low
Partner at Albourne Partners (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.David Low is a Partner at Albourne and the Head of Private Markets in Asia. Based in Singapore, he leads Albourne’s Investment Due Diligence coverage of private equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate and real asset funds in the region and also supports clients on the management of their Private Markets portfolio. Before joining Albourne in 2014, David spent five years managing the direct investment portfolio for an Asian family office. Prior to that, David was an entrepreneur for several years and co-founded multiple companies in the consumer services and FMCG space. David began his career at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting before joining General Electric in a variety of finance roles. David holds an MBA from the Melbourne Business School, a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance), from Monash University in Melbourne and the CPA Australia designation. He is also a Board member of the Singapore Venture and Private Capital Association.
Eric Marchand
Managing Partner at Collyer CapitalEric is a founding Partner of Collyer Capital, a Singapore-based asset manager with a particular focus on ASEAN delivering intermediated as well as direct investment solutions. Prior to founding Collyer Capital, he spent just over two years at Campbell Lutyens supporting the APAC team on originating and structuring deals across the platform. He also spent eight years at Unigestion, where he led the firm’s Asia Pacific private equity program. Prior to that he was at CDC Group, where he focused on Asian investments, having started his career at General Electric.
Eric holds a master’s degree in business from EM Lyon and an economics undergraduate degree from Paris Dauphine.
Sunil Mishra
Partner at Adams Street Partners Singapore Pte. LtdSunil specializes in fund selection, due diligence, negotiations, and monitoring of Asian investments ex-China, specifically in India, Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Korea. He also actively participates in all fund investment decisions and is involved in the sourcing, screening, execution, monitoring, and exiting of growth and buyout co-investments.
Sunil manages relationships with several of Adams Street’s managers and sits on advisory boards of more than a dozen private equity firms within the Adams Street Partners portfolio. He is currently Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA) and has been a member of the SVCA Board since 2016.
He is also a member of Adams Street’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Committee.
Joseph Mocanu
Co-founder & Managing Partner of Verge Capital Management Pte LtdJoseph is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Verge HealthTech Fund focusing on early-stage healthcare technology companies that make an impact on global health. Prior to this, Joseph was a scientist researching new cancer therapies, a medical device entrepreneur, and a management consultant for Oliver Wyman where he led life sciences and digital health across Asia. He has 19 scientific publications, 3 patents, and has made investments in 29 healthcare technology companies to date.
Joseph has a PhD from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.
Daryl Ng
Vice President at HarbourVest Partners (Singapore) Pte LtdDaryl Ng joined HarbourVest in 2018 and focuses on sourcing, reviewing, executing, and monitoring primary fund investments in the Asia Pacific region.
Daryl joined the Firm from Cambridge Associates in Singapore, where he was an associate investment director focused on advising Asian institutional investors on asset allocation, portfolio construction, and fund investment opportunities. Prior to this, he was an analyst at RBS Markets and International Banking in Singapore and Sydney, Australia.
Daryl received a BSc in Mathematics from Imperial College London in 2012. He speaks fluent Mandarin.
Jonathan Ng
Managing Director, Value Creation of Tower Capital Asia Pte. Ltd.Jonathan is Managing Director Value Creation at Tower Capital Asia (TCA). He joined TCA in 2021 and works extensively with TCA’s portfolio companies to formulate and execute growth and transformation plans. 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 nine years of public sector experience in various leadership roles across key government agencies.
Jonathan has a Master of Electrical Engineering from Imperial College London and a Master of Business Administration from MIT Sloan School of Management. He is also a Director on the board of Cap Vista Pte Ltd, the strategic investment arm of Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), a statutory board under Singapore’s Ministry of Defence. Outside of work, Jonathan is an active national serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces and a volunteer with SHINE Children and Youth Services.
Daniel Oehling
Partner at The Boston Consulting Group Pte. Ltd.Daniel Oehling is a Partner with BCG’s Singapore office. Daniel leads BCG’s ESG work with investors across Asia-Pacific. His experience spans across ESG due diligences, ESG value creation accelerators, and ESG impact investment.
Sze Yunn Pang
Chief Executive Officer at NeurowyzrSze Yunn is the Chief Executive Officer at Neurowyzr. Previously, she was the Head of Population Health Management for Philips ASEAN Pacific. She was also a council member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on the Future of Longevity.
A healthtech pioneer in Asia, Sze Yunn led the Population Health Management unit in Philips ASEAN Pacific, where she was part of many Asian healthcare “firsts” in telehealth and remote disease monitoring. She has broad and deep expertise in healthcare, technology and diplomacy, and a career spanning different organization types in US, China and Southeast Asia in Philips, NTUC Health, Microsoft, Siebel Systems, and the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She sat on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Longevity.
She holds a BSc (Econs) from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
Ivo Philipps
Founding Partner & COO at Affirma Capital Managers (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.Ivo Philipps is a Founding Partner at Affirma Capital and the firm’s Chief Operating Officer. He is based in Singapore.
Affirma Capital is an independent emerging market private equity firm owned and operated by the long-standing senior leadership of Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE). The firm manages over US$3 billion of AuM for leading global limited partners and sovereign wealth funds. Ivo has worked for Affirma Capital and its predecessor firm, SCPE, since 2009
Prior to joining SCB, Ivo spent 7 years at Barclays in the UK, where he held senior management roles in Barclays Wealth, the Barclays mortgage business, and the Barclays risk function. Before Barclays, he was an executive Board Director at a division of Misys Plc in London. Ivo started his career in advertising and subsequently worked for the United Nations in East Africa.
Ivo has an MBA from INSEAD and a BSc in Politics and Economics from Bristol University in the U.K.
Saima Rehman
Investment Officer at IFC Private Equity Funds GroupSaima Rehman is responsible for leading IFC’s investments in private equity funds, and managing portfolio in the East Asia Pacific region. Before joining the Funds group, her experience covered principal investments, syndications and structured finance covering South Asia with IFC and prior to that with IDLC Bangladesh. She has an MBA from INSEAD.
Ralitsa Rizvanolli
Partner and Head of Investments at Sarona Asset Management- Debate: This time is different (again) (Chatham House Rule Applies)
- Climate tech and Agri-tech: the hottest impact themes
Ralitsa Rizvanolli (Rali) is Partner and Head of Investments at impact asset management firm Sarona and heads the Singapore office. Rali is accountable for investment selection, execution and monitoring of investments for Sarona’s funds and impact mandates on behalf of third-party clients such as governments and non-profit organizations. Rali ensures that ESG and impact are embedded into the investment process. Rali is passionate about deepening the gender lens and climate risk assessment capabilities at Sarona, believing that investing with both lenses leads to better financial and sustainability outcomes. Prior to Sarona, Rali was an investment manager at Triple Jump. Rali built a portfolio of private equity and fixed income investments primarily in Africa and MENA for a fund of funds (Dutch Good Growth Fund) funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that Rali was a Portfolio Manager with responsibility for credit risk analysis and top-down allocation for microfinance funds. She started her career in microfinance. Rali holds a B.A. in International Relations from Pomona College in California and an M.A. in International Development from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Rali was born and raised in Bulgaria and has spent extensive time working and living in emerging markets.
Paul Robine
Founder and CEO of TR Capital Advisors (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.Paul Robine founded TR Capital in 2007 and has over 15 years of private equity experience. He has been responsible for all investment and divestment decisions made at the firm, as well as its strategic direction, since the Firm’s founding. Mr. Robine currently serves as a board member of several of TR Capital's investee companies. Prior to founding TR Capital, Mr. Robine was Founder and CEO of the Link Group in Asia. Mr. Robine holds a Master's degree from EDHEC Business School.
Sam Robinson
Managing Partner at North-East Private Equity Asia Pte. Ltd.- Navigating Businesses (MSMEs to Family Businesses) through Stormy Seas
- Fundraising for Southeast Asia
Sam Robinson is Managing Partner of North-East Asset Management Singapore, which focuses on Asia private equity funds. Sam 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 Sam became Head of Asia Private Equity Fund Investment until his departure in 2015.
Ganen Sarvananthan
Managing Partner, Head of Asia and the Middle East at TPG Capital (S) Pte. Ltd.Ganen Sarvananthan is Managing Partner, Head of Asia and 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.
Kunal Sood
Managing Director of Pantheon Ventures (Singapore) Pte LtdKunal is a Managing Director at Pantheon and a member of the firm’s Asia Investment Committee. Kunal is involved in all aspects of Pantheon’s activities in Asia and is responsible for primary (fund), secondary and co-investment opportunities across Asia-Pacific markets and sits of the LP Advisory boards for several funds in the region. 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 a Bachelors in Engineering from Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology. Kunal is the co-Chair of the Limited Partners Council and member of Secondaries Special Interest Group for India Venture Capital Association (IVCA). Kunal was previously based in Hong Kong and is now based in Singapore
Axel Tan
Venture Partner at TPC (Tsao Pao Chee)Axel is currently Venture Partner at TPC (Tsao Pao Chee), a corporate venture capital fund that invests in the maritime and logistics sectors. He also looks after the newly set up Octave Wellbeing Economy Fund which invests in start-ups in the Agrifood, Wellbeing and Sustainability space. He has made 6 new investments across these two funds.
As Innovation Lead at IMC, Axel is responsible for organising and scouting for new technologies for the various business units such as shipping, logistics, real estate, wellbeing, and others. He manages the funding for proof-of-concepts and the partnership with Studio 30 50, a maritime venture studio.
Prior to IMC, Axel has had 10 years of investment experience, most recently managing Momentum Venture Capital, a transport-focused corporate VC where he made over 20 investments in start-ups and funds globally. The fund successfully catalysed strategic outcomes such as the formation of a cross-border joint venture, a test bed and new venture launch, and an industry-led national innovation challenge.
Virginia Tan
Founding Partner at Teja VenturesVirginia Tan is founding partner of Teja Ventures (www.tejaventures.com), a consumer
technology VC focused on the emerging middle class in South East Asia. She backs
next-generation category leaders in the verticals of food, retail, health and the female economy,
and is a pioneer in gender lens investing in Asia.
She is also founder and chair of She Loves Tech (www.shelovestech.org), a global startup
platform which houses the world‘s largest startup competition for women and technology, held
across 70+ countries in 2023, where finalist startups have raised more than 560M USD
post-competition.
Virginia’s background was in law and banking, focusing on investments in emerging markets
and corporate restructuring, covering more than USD 30 billion worth of investments in her
career. She moved to China in 2013 to work on strategic investments related to China’s One
Belt One Road policy. While in China, she founded and led Lean In China, which became one
of China’s leading grassroot organisations for women with more than 100,000 members.
Fast Company has called her “The Hua Mulan of the business world”. She is an Asia 21 Leader
at the Asia Society and was also named as one of Singapore 100 Women in Tech’s inaugural
list in 2020.
Tommy Teo
Managing Director of CercanoTommy Teo leads Cercano’sSoutheast Asia investment team in Singapore.
Prior to joining Cercano, Tommy was an Executive Director with the NorthstarGroup, a Singapore headquartered private equity firm where he focused on growth and technology opportunities in Southeast Asia. Previously, Tommy was an investment banker with Citigroup in Singapore, and with PerellaWeinberg 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.
Kylee Zhu
Investment Funds Counsel, Singapore at Linklaters Singapore Pte. Ltd.Kylee has over a decade of experience in advising investment fund managers on the structuring, establishment and operation of hedge, private equity and mutual funds. She also advises fund managers on ongoing regulatory requirements, including U.S. regulatory and compliance matters.
Kylee is uniquely positioned to advise clients having served as Deputy General Counsel of the hedge fund business of an alternative investment management firm in Singapore. Prior to that, she worked in top-tier investment funds practices in Hong Kong SAR and London.
Kylee has extensive experience in the investment funds practice. Her work experience includes advising:
• Several Hong Kong and Singapore fund managers on the establishment and operation of private funds, including hedge funds, private equity funds and debt funds.
• Several Chinese asset managers on the development of their asset management business, including the formation of private equity funds and segregated portfolio companies.