Katsuya Baba
Partner, Chief Administrative Officer
ADVANTAGE PARTNERS
Katsuya Baba joined Advantage Partners in January 2002. He is responsible for Advantage Partners’ investor relations, ESG, and middle/back office administration functions and is a member of AP’s investment committee. Investment responsibilities to date include Polygon Pictures Inc., Nihonkaisui Co., Ltd., and Xacti Corporation. After graduating from university, Mr. Baba joined Bain & Company Japan Inc. and was engaged in various strategic and operational projects for clients across broad industry sectors (financial services, software, auto, electronics, and others). He subsequently transitioned into venture investment and incubation activities for e-commerce and software-related start-ups before joining Advantage Partners. Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, Asian Studies, University of Tokyo; Master of Business Administration (MBA), Harvard Business School.
Adam Black
Head of ESG & Sustainability
COLLER CAPITAL
Adam Black has worked in private equity for over 11 years and been involved in ESG for over 26 years. He has worked in the oil and gas industry, in consultancy and at a buy-out firm as an ESG Operating Partner.
He joined Coller Capital in 2016 and is responsible for embedding ESG into the investment management process.
During his career he has worked in over 50 countries worldwide and instigated ESG value creation and risk mitigation initiatives across most industry sectors, including during his time in private equity.
Mr. Black has a background in occupational health and safety, environmental science and law.
Karina Cady
Investment and Operations Director
CIRCULATE CAPITAL
Karina Cady is the Investment and Operations Director of Circulate Capital, an impact investment management firm based in Singapore dedicated to financing companies, projects and infrastructure that prevent the flow of plastic waste into the world’s ocean. She is responsible for evaluating impact of the multidisciplinary solutions to the challenges presented by ocean plastic pollution and waste in South and Southeast Asia.
Karina has worked in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development implementation for 15 years across Asia, Africa and Europe portfolios, where she has been recognised by government authorities and industry coalitions for leadership in environmental advocacy and public-private partnership. She is passionate about community capacity building and enabling the local entrepreneurship ecosystems to build their technical capabilities and strengthen the pipeline of future investable solutions.
Phil Davis
Head of Sustainability, EMEA
THE CARLYLE GROUP
Phil Davis is the Head of Sustainability in EMEA for The Carlyle Group, where he has oversight of regional Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities in Private Equity, Real Assets and Global Credit. These activities include the continued integration of ESG issue management into Carlyle’s investment processes and working with portfolio companies on the development and implementation of their sustainability strategies. His role also includes supporting the Investor Relations team on the reporting of ESG.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Phil was an Assistant Director in PwC’s Sustainability & Climate Change team, where he focused on the development and delivery of PwC’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) due diligence and portfolio company reviews. Prior to that, he was a technical Environmental Consultant at Amec Foster Wheeler.
Mr. Davis received a BSc in Environmental Management from the University of Birmingham and Safety Management Certification from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
Cornelia Gomez
Head of ESG and Sustainability
PAI PARTNERS
Cornelia Gomez is Head of ESG and Sustainability at PAI Partners.
With her team, Ms. Gomez acts as a Compliance and Sustainability expert and key intermediary between Investors, Deal Teams and portfolio companies to enable transformation and value creation for the portfolio. Ms. Gomez has 6 years of experience in CSR, Ethical Compliance and Supply Chain Risk Management in corporate and certification environments in Europe and Asia. In particular, she was Social Compliance Manager of Casino Group, leading the implementation of the Social Compliance strategy worldwide and building an integrated approach with Quality and Purchase departments.
David Katz
Director of Public Affairs, Asia Pacific
KKR
David Katz is Director of Public Affairs for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) Asia Ltd. based in Singapore. In this role Mr. Katz leads the corporate communications, government relations, corporate citizenship and environmental, social and governance functions for KKR across all markets in the Asia Pacific. Mr. Katz also sits on KKR’s Asia Pacific leadership team.
Previously he was the Deputy Head of Global Government Relations and Head of Asia Pacific Government Relations for PayPal Inc. and sat on PayPal’s Asia Pacific leadership team. Prior to PayPal Inc., he worked at eBay Inc., where he managed Asia Pacific GR for both eBay Marketplace and PayPal - then owned by eBay Inc. Before joining eBay, Mr. Katz worked at Visa Inc. where he served as their first head of GR for the Asia region.
Mr. Katz was also Chief of Party of a USAID program in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat in Singapore, where he advanced policy and capacity building. Mr. Katz served in the Executive Office of the President for eight years as a Senior Director at the United States Trade Representative (USTR) with responsibility for Southeast Asia, APEC, and China trade policy. Prior to USTR, Mr. Katz was an economic officer in the U.S. diplomatic service, with tours in Taiwan, Mongolia, and Singapore, and he was a special assistant to U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell. Mr. Katz earned an MBA from the University of Edinburgh and his BA from the University of California at Berkeley.
Ralph Keitel
Principal Investment Officer and Regional Lead East Asia, Private Equity Funds
IFC
Ralph Keitel is Principal Investment Officer and Regional Lead for PE funds in Asia-Pacific in the Private Equity and Investment Funds group of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. Since joining IFC in early 2006, he has been responsible as Regional Lead for IFC’s private equity fund activities in Eastern Europe/Russia (2006-2008), Africa (2008-2011), Latin America (2011-2014) and East Asia (since 2014).
Prior to joining IFC, Ralph was with Caisse de Dépot et Placement de Québec (CDP) in Montréal, where he managed a portfolio of VC funds in North America and Europe. Previously, he spent five years with Technologie-Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft mbH (“TBG”, now part of the KfW Group, Frankfurt), providing early-stage venture capital financing for technology start-up companies before assuming responsibility for TBG’s funds portfolio.
Ralph holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Bonn (Germany) as well as a post-graduate degree in Finance and Management (Dean’s Honour List and recipient of the American Express Award for outstanding academic achievements) from McGill University in Montreal (Canada).
During his 17 years in the funds industry, and working for 3 different institutional investors, Ralph has lead more than 30 investments in funds across all regions (both developed and emerging markets), stages and industries and sat on more than two dozen advisory boards. In addition, Ralph has been involved with both secondary- as well as numerous co-investment transactions. He also served as trustee on the World Bank Pension Fund’s board of trustees between 2013 and 2015 and currently serves as a board member of the SVCA (Singaporean Venture Capital Association).
Therése Lennehag
Head of Sustainability
EQT
Therése Lennehag is Head of Sustainability at EQT since 2014. Since joining EQT Partners in 2009, she has worked closely with the organization on integrating responsible investment and ownership practices to capture the investment and business opportunities the sustainability agenda offers. Therése has been involved in Invest Europe's Professional Standards Committee (2011-2014), contributing to the development of the Invest Europe Professional Standards Handbook, and is a member of Invest Europe’s Responsible Investment Roundtable (Chair 2013-2014). Therése is also a member of the board of directors of EPER, the large private equity platform of Invest Europe. Other experience, prior to joining EQT Partners, includes investment banking at Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley in London. Therése holds a M.Sc. in Economics and Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Ronnie Lim
Senior Engagement Specialist
ROBECO HONG KONG
Ronnie Lim is the senior engagement specialist at Robeco Hong Kong, responsible for active ownership and sustainable investment in the Asia Pacific. Ronnie’s role in active ownership includes engagement with portfolio companies to improve their ESG performance, with a focus on corporate governance and shareholder value creation. This includes corporate actions and special situations.
Ronnie works closely with the investment and governance teams, to catalyse corporate change by influencing governance, strategy and capital management. He conducts constructive engagement with an escalation process that is aligned with fundamental investment combined with sensitivity to cultural norms.
He also represents Robeco in public forums, advocating for good corporate governance with regulators and other key stakeholders, especially other asset managers. He also contributes to non-profit boards as a Council Member of the Asian Corporate Governance Association (“ACGA”), and was a director of the Association of Sustainable & Responsible Investment Asia (“ASRIA”) from 2014 until 2017.
Prior to joining Robeco in 2014, Ronnie held a number of global investment roles based in Asia and London. From 2003 to 2007, he was Head of Sustainable Investment Research at Aviva Global Investors London, where their SRI team were #1 ranked by Extel for four years. He later joined investment boutique Climate Change Capital in London (2007-2010) as portfolio manager for the Global Environmental Opportunities Fund, where his team raised capital, structured funds, and managed both absolute return and long-only portfolios.
Ronnie has 17 years’ experience of institutional Asian equities at Cazenove, CLSA and RBS where he held several senior roles, including leading equity sales teams.
Ronnie was educated in England and holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Salford, and an MSc in Environmental Science from the University of East Anglia. Mr. Lim is also an associate of CFA UK.
Deborah Ng
Director, Strategy and Head of Responsible Investing
OTPP
Speaker bio is coming soon.
Oliver Niedermaier
Chairman & CEO
TAU INVESTMENT
For more than 20 years, Oliver Niedermaier has worked to accelerate solutions in supply chains with a global team of operational experts that specialize in bespoke transformation plans in the areas of customer upgrade, process technology, vertical integration, and sustainability.
A perennial investor and technology entrepreneur, Oliver has led and co-lead more than 50 investments and acquisitions from early stage to billion-dollar buyouts.
Most recently, he founded TAU, a New York and Hong Kong-based investment firm with deep expertise in the global apparel and textile value chain. He currently serves as TAU’s Chairman and CEO, overseeing its investment programs that aim to achieve TAU’s vision of creating the manufacturers and brands of the future, which is increasingly becoming the strength of Southeast Asia.
Early in his career, Oliver founded a big data company and led global P&Ls for multiple FinTech businesses with up to 10,000 employees. As a sought-after thought-leader, Oliver has taught strategic management and has spoken at high-profile events including the World Economic Forum, BSR Conference, The Deal Economy (New York), Clinton Global Initiative, and more.
A long-standing board member of the World Policy Institute, Oliver recently led the management-buyout of the organization’s assets to refresh and relaunch the world leading think-tank through new public-facing vehicles such as “Broaden” - a unique mix of experiential events and media aimed at engaging the impact community.
Oliver received a PhD in Strategic Management (magna cum laude) and a Master of Business Administration-equivalent degree (first in his class) from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, where he today serves as the Advisory Board Chairman of the LMU Entrepreneurship Center. Oliver was appointed a Young Global Leader (YGL) of the World Economic Forum in 2010, and continues to be an active member of the community.
Michael Octoman
Senior Partner and COO
NAVIS CAPITAL PARTNERS
Michael Octoman is a Senior Partner and COO of Navis Capital Partners and an Investment Committee member.
Navis was founded in 1998 to make private equity investments in buyouts, recapitalisations and financial restructurings in Asia, particularly on enterprises with a strong presence in Southeast Asia, Australia and China/Hong Kong. The firm manages several private and public equity funds totalling USD 5 billion. Navis acquires control of its portfolio companies, and since its founding in 1998, has made over eighty controlling investments. Navis when it invests has direct strategic involvement alongside an incentivized management teams, focused on growth, margin enhancement, organizational systems/structure/governance strengthening and cash management. Navis is committed to improving the ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ (“ESG”) practices of its portfolio companies, and has proven ESG to be an important lever for value creation. Navis’ investment model places a low reliance on leverage to drive its equity returns.
Mr. Octoman joined Navis in 2000. He originates transactions, oversees the Navis Portfolio activities and works with companies across Asia with a focus primarily on SE Asia. Mr. Octoman is directly involved with a number of companies including Alliance Cosmetic, B Medical Systems, HGPT and the BIG Group.
Prior to joining Navis, Mr. Octoman worked with Price Waterhouse Coopers with a primary focus on capital market transactions and financial due diligence. Mr. Octoman also worked for KPMG in Australia and Canada in Business Advisory. Mr. Octoman is a lifetime resident of Asia, 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.
Steven R. Okun
CEO, APAC Advisors & ASEAN Representative
EMPEA
The Founder and CEO of APAC Advisors, Steven Okun is a leader in the private equity industry on ESG, sustainability and stakeholder engagement in Asia Pacific, having lived and worked in the region since 2003.
In September 2017, EMPEA appointed Mr. Okun as its ASEAN Representative, where he works with the members to increase private capital deployment and fundraising across Southeast Asia. In addition, he serves as a member of EMPEA’s global ESG and SDG Community.
EMPEA is the global industry association for private capital in emerging markets. An independent, non-profit organization, the association’s membership comprises 300+ firms representing institutional investors, fund managers and industry advisors who together manage more than US$5 trillion in assets across 130 countries.
As global investment firm KKR’s first Director of Asia Public Affairs from 2011-2017, his responsibilities encompassed government affairs, communications, stakeholder engagement, ESG and impact investing and supporting such efforts for its portfolio companies.
His work on ESG initiatives spans due diligence through the investment phase. His expertise includes developing ESG policies, determining critical considerations for specific deals taking into consideration market, sector and level of investment, engaging directly in due diligence, and working with investment teams to document the findings of due diligence and develop reports for a fund’s investors.
Previously, Mr. Okun led UPS Asia’s public affairs practice, and served in the Clinton Administration as Deputy General Counsel at the US Department of Transportation.
Often representing and advocating the views of the business community, Mr. Okun often guest hosts on CNBC and frequently appears on the BBC and Channel NewsAsia.
He received his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Ana Lei Ortiz
Managing Director
HAMILTON LANE
Ana Lei Ortiz is a Managing Director at Hamilton Lane, based in the firm’s London office, where she leads the Relationship Management Team in London and is responsible for all aspects of European client relations including portfolio construction and strategic planning.
Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2008, Ana was an Associate Director in the Corporate, Investment Banking & Markets Division of HSBC, covering European Corporate and Institutional clients. Previously, she worked in HSBC’s Reserve Managers Sector in Hong Kong working with Central Banks and Sovereign Wealth Funds.
Ana received a degree from the University of Edinburgh. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of the UK.
J. Chris Razook
Corporate Governance Lead for East Asia & Pacific
IFC
J. Chris Razook is the IFC Corporate Governance Lead for the East Asia and Pacific region. Chris has over 20 years of experience providing advisory services globally to companies, banks, and other organizations globally in the areas of corporate governance, risk management, and strategic planning. Chris supports IFC’s investment transactions in emerging markets across all industry sectors and has delivered extensive training for board directors. He has provided assistance to central banks, capital market authorities, and other regulatory bodies in drafting corporate governance codes, laws, and listing rules. Chris has published numerous articles and publications to raise awareness of the business case for good governance. Chris has an undergraduate degree in Engineering, an MBA in International Finance, and a Masters in Corporate Law.
Greg Shell
Managing Director
BAIN CAPITAL DOUBLE IMPACT
Greg Shell joined Bain Capital as a Managing Director in 2016. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Mr. Shell served as a Lead Portfolio Manager of a concentrated Global Equity product at GMO. Previously, Mr. Shell was a Senior Equity Analyst at Columbia Management Group and a Consultant at Bain & Company in its Strategy and Private Equity practice areas. He has owned and done deep diligence on many businesses throughout his career, and demonstrated a commitment for discovering and creating value.
Greg has also distinguished himself through visionary leadership in civic service. He currently sits on the Board of The Boston Foundation, where he has led the Program Committee's grant-making process. He has Chaired the Board of a high performing Charter School as it planned to triple its student population, and has been a Founding Board member of Compass Working Capital, a growth non-profit focused on Family Self Sufficiency.
Greg received a Bachelor of Science from MIT, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. A native of New Bedford, Mass., Greg believes deeply in the transformative power of education and the innovative capacity of the private sector to help provide solutions to society's most pressing problems.
Anders Strömblad
Head of Alternative Investments
AP2
Anders Strömblad is since 2001 in charge of alternative investments at the Second Swedish National Pension Fund – AP2 (Total assets approx. 40 billion USD). The alternative investment portfolio includes investments in private equity, real estate, timber- and farmland, credit strategies and China A-share investments. The alternative portfolios NAV is today approximately 23% of the total AP2 portfolio and is expected to growth further.
In alternative investments Mr. Strömblad, have designed the investments strategies and business plans and are responsible for portfolio implementation as well.
Since 2007 Mr. Strömblad is also responsible for all public assets that are managed externally. These assets are mainly global equities, global credits, emerging markets equities and debt and global tactical mandates.
As well-known globally for well thought through strategies, successful implementation and portfolio management. Mr. Strömblad have been a very important “brick” in the building of the well-known AP2 brand.
Before he become head of alternative investments in AP2 he had more than 10 years of senior management positions (in the management team) in the manufacturing/food industry.
Mr. Strömblad started his career as an auditor of corporations at the Swedish Tax Office.
Due to expertise and experience Mr. Strömblad is an advisory board member for several fund investments. As responsible for the alternative portfolio he is also a board member in a couple of portfolio companies.
Mr. Strömblad is since many years active in the” global private capital industry”. He speaks and attend panels on conferences globally. He is also active in responsible investments strategies and are a member of the UN PRI Advisory Board for Private Equity.
Mr. Strömblad was the first non-US / Canada board member of the ILPA board. He is still very active in ILPA as a board member and a member in their Public Affairs Committee.
Mr. Strömblad holds a BSc in Business & Administration.
Debra Tan
Director and Head
CHINA WATER RISK
Debra Tan heads China Water Risk (CWR), a non-profit think tank that aims to create a world where water and climate risks are embedded in business & finance. She built the CWR brand from an idea into the ‘go-to’ resource on water issues in Asia and a leader in the water risk conversation globally. For the past eight years, Tan has worked to “mainstream” water risk into financial decision-making and corporate strategies on both a macro-level through the concept of “water-nomics” and on a micro-level through the quantification of water risk in credit/equity valuations. Today, CWR works with government-related bodies on both these fronts. Reports she has written for and with financial institutions analyzing the impact of water risks on the Power, Mining, Agricultural and Textiles industries have been considered groundbreaking and instrumental in understanding not just China’s but future global water challenges. Tan is a prolific speaker on water risk delivering keynotes and panels at water award seminars, investor & industry conferences as well as policy & academic forums. Before venturing into the water world, Tan worked in finance, spending over a decade as a chartered accountant and investment banker specializing in M&A and strategic advisory. She spends her spare time exploring Himalayan glaciers in Asia.
Megan Tang
Senior Director, Corporate Finance
SFC
Megan Tang is a Senior Director of the Corporate Finance Division. She joined the SFC after 18 years in private practice and has been involved in many listing policy initiatives in recent years, including the development of the SFC’s “front-loaded” approach, and the new weighted voting rights and biotech listing regimes. Ms. Tang is a Member of the SFC/HKEX Listing Policy Panel. Ms. Tang was previously a partner at a Wall Street law firm and has been recognized as a leading lawyer for capital markets by Chambers Asia-Pacific and for China corporate and equity by The IFLR 1000 Guide.
Vivien Teu
Managing Partner
VIVIEN TEU & CO.
Vivien Teu is the founding and managing partner of Vivien Teu & Co LLP.
She has extensive and in-depth experience as a corporate and commercial lawyer specialising in the financial services sector, funds and wealth management.
Vivien carries diverse legal practice experience with top tier and magic circle firms in the areas of tax, trusts, banking and financial services, investment funds, securities regulatory and corporate commercial matters. Having been based in Greater China including Hong Kong and Shanghai, Vivien has focused on investment funds, asset management, and the securities and financial services markets and regulatory framework in this region, with in-depth knowledge especially on the legal and regulatory issues relevant to investment funds and managers establishing or operating in Hong Kong or China and on investments in China and Hong Kong.
Prior to establishing Vivien Teu & Co LLP, Vivien was senior in-house counsel at a well-known global investment management firm, with responsibilities over the legal and regulatory affairs of the firm’s investment management businesses in the Greater China region, including across business lines of retail securities investment funds, mandatory provident fund schemes, China securities investment fund joint ventures, private equity funds and real estate investment funds, as well as the firm’s institutional investment management and advisory businesses.
Vivien is admitted as a solicitor of Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and of England and Wales.
Vivien has been named “Asialaw leading lawyer” for the investment funds practice area and for corporate and mergers & acquisition.
Hannes Valtonen
Compliance Director
BARING PRIVATE EQUITY ASIA
Hannes Valtonen is Compliance Director at Baring Private Equity Asia, one of the largest independent alternative asset management firms in Asia, with a total committed capital of over USD18 billion. Hannes is responsible for regulatory compliance, internal controls, operational risk management and ESG program development. Previously Hannes was head of overseas compliance at a Japanese financial services group developing a global anti-bribery compliance program, and before that head of compliance at a Pan-Asian fund manager, where he helped develop an ESG program covering funds in private equity, hedge fund, distressed assets and real estate. Prior to that he was head of risk and compliance at a leading fund manager in Vietnam with London-listed investment funds.
Hannes has also worked in Japan, Korea and the U.K. in the real estate finance, retail and automotive industries in internal audit and control functions. His qualifications include an MBA, MSc in financial law, certifications in financial analysis, risk management, internal audit, anti-money laundering, ESG and he has also taken securities licensing regulatory exams for Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. He is active in supporting the Hong Kong CFA/HKSFA in financial regulations advocacy.
Sharon Yang
Director, Global Impact
KKR
Sharon Yang (Hong Kong) joined KKR in 2009. She is currently a member of the Global Impact team focusing on investment activities in Asia. Previously, she has been involved in the Firm's capital raising and capital markets activities across private equity, growth equity and real estate, and also held responsibilities across various portfolio, strategy and operating roles within KKR Asia. Prior to joining KKR, she was with J.P. Morgan in New York. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Columbia College, Columbia University.