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Katsuya Baba
Partner, Chief Administrative Officer
ADVANTAGE PARTNERS
Joined Advantage Partners in January 2002. Katsuya has been responsible for Advantage Partners’ investor relations, ESG, and middle/back office administration functions since 2018 and is a member of AP’s investment committee for Japan buyouts. As an investment partner prior to assuming the role of CAO, he was responsible for investments including Polygon Pictures Inc., Nihonkaisui Co., Ltd., and Xacti Corporation. After graduating from university, he 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 investment management firm dedicated to incubating and financing companies that prevent the flow of ocean plastic waste and advance the circular economy in South and Southeast Asia. Circulate Capital is creating a new, blended financing mechanism to facilitate the allocation of public and private sources of capital.
Karina is responsible for evaluating the multidisciplinary solutions to the challenges presented by ocean plastic pollution. She 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.
Kushal Chadha
Partner, Deals Advisory
PwC
Kushal Chadha is a Partner in PwC's Deals Advisory business based out of Hong Kong. Over the past 18 years, Kushal has focussed on advising private equity and corporate clients on operational matters in their M&A transactions covering pre deal diligence (including ESG diligence) to post deal value creation opportunities. His experience spans across the Asia Pacific region with coverage of M&A transactions in a wide range of industries including Healthcare, Retail and Consumer and Industrial Products.
With an increasing level of awareness around the long-term impact of ESG factors on the financial performance and sustainability of an investment, more and more investors are embedding ESG considerations into their investment lifecycle process to assess risks and generate sustainable risk-adjusted returns.
Kushal has actively worked with a number of private equity funds to help drive the integration of ESG considerations into their investment process. This involves working closely with the fund operations teams to review, develop and implement their ESG related investment governance framework covering ESG policies and programs, definition of ESG standards, and ESG KPIs tracking and reporting.
Trista Chen
Partner
ERM
Trista Chen is a Partner with ERM leading the Transaction Services practice for Greater China. Trista Chen has over 13 years’ experience in Strategic Environmental Consulting, advising clients on M&A programs, Post-Merger-Integration, as well as operational compliance and HSE excellence. Her expertise lies in the evaluation of environmental liabilities and their impacts on industrial operations in the context of increasing regulatory complexity in China. Aside of the focus of due diligence services, her responsibilities in recent years also cover key clients management, in particular for clients in the chemical sector and financial sector.
Ms. Chen has been working with Private Equity and other financial sector clients in Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) services following international guideline, including Due Diligence, ESG policy and framework developments, ESG related training, etc. Key financial sectors she works with include Carlyle, KKR, Goldman Sachs, CVC Capital, Bain Capital, Actis, Morgan Stanley, Olympus Capital, NQ Capital, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank among others.
Trista received an Honours BSc in Science and Business from the University of Waterloo, and a MSc in Environmental Design from University of Calgary, Canada. In 2015, she was a delegate to the CEO- lead World Business Counsel for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Leader Program, which is designed 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.
Angus Choi
Principal Consultant
ERM
Angus Choi is a Principal Consultant at ERM with over 15 years of experience as Sustainability Financing professional. Angus is currently leading the Transaction Services in ERM China and Hong Kong on ESG advisory services and due diligence for financial clients, including private equity (PEs), equator principle financial institutions (EPFIs), and bilateral and multilateral development banks. Angus has advised on over 100 PE transactions for client in recent years, include: Advent, ADM, ADV, AIC, Angelo-Gordon, Blackstone, Bain Capital, Bridgepoint, Capital Group Private Equity, CAF, Carlyle, CDC, CVC, Cenova, Climate Fund Managers, DCP, Forebright, Gaorong, Goldman Sachs, GIP, KKR, Macquarie, Navis, Nexus Point, NewQuest, Proterra, Olympus, OTPP, TPG and many more. Engagements comprise due diligence support, incorporating sustainability improvements to 100-day plans, support on Responsible Investment /ESG management systems/policy development, and delivering resource efficiency and value enhancement within portfolio companies. Angus received a MSc in Environmental Impact Assessment, Auditing and Management System from University of East Anglia, UK and a BSc in University of Hong Kong.
Doug Coulter
Partner
LGT CAPITAL PARTNERS
Doug Coulter joined LGT Capital Partners in 2007 to lead its Asian private equity investment activities. Prior to LGT, Doug was a Senior Investment Officer at the IFC, responsible for direct investments in the TMT, retail & consumer and healthcare sectors. He previously worked at Nomura Securities in Hong Kong and as a lawyer at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin in Toronto. He holds an MBA from INSEAD, a M.Sc. from the LSE, a law degree from the University of Western Ontario and a B.A. from Queen’s University in Canada.
LGT Capital Partners is a leading alternative investment specialist with over USD 60 billion in assets under management and over 150 private equity professionals worldwide. Headquartered in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland, the firm has offices in New York, Dublin, London, Paris, Vaduz, Dubai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney. LGT Capital Partners was selected as Alternatives Manager of the Year in Asia in 2016 and 2017 and Alternatives Fund House of the Year in 2018 by AsianInvestor and was named Fund of funds of the year in Asia in both 2018 and 2019 by Private Equity International.
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).
Frankie Fang
Managing Partner
STARQUEST CAPITAL
Frankie Fang is the founding managing partner of Starquest Capital, a leading China focused private equity and fund of funds (FoF) firm with initial AUM of around RMB 30 billion. Mr. Fang oversees the FoF investment, ESG integration, business development and various activities. Mr. Fang is also serving as a mentor for graduate students in School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University.
Prior to founding Starquest Capital, Mr. Fang served as the Head of LGT Capital Partners in China for 12 years. In addition, he also initiated the ESG development across the LGT Pan-Asia team. LGT Capital Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with USD 60 billion of AUM sponsored by Princely Family of Liechtenstein.
Mr. Fang has invested over USD 1.5 billion in Chinese private equity market, including long-established GPs such as CDH investment, CITIC Capital, Sequoia Capital and Legend Capital, as well as VC 2.0 GPs such as SourceCode, Joy Capital, and Banyan Capital. Mr. Fang is the member of Advisory Committees for over 20 funds in China and a member of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission Expert Committee.
Before joining LGT Capital Partners in early 2007, Mr. Fang worked for AXA Private Equity Group in Singapore focusing on FoF and direct investment in Pan-Asia region. Prior to that, Mr. Fang served as project manager for Burger King, responsible for the opening of the first restaurant in China. Mr. Fang began his career as a auditor and senior consultant in Andersen Consulting.
Mr. Fang obtained Bachelor of Accounting at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, with total of 20 years experience in finance industry. He obtained MBA from INSEAD Business School and Finance EMBA from People’s Bank of China School at Tsinghua University.
Mr. Fang holds the Chinese CPA qualification. His native language is Mandarin. He is also fluent in English, French， Cantonese and proficient in German.
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.
Jie Gong
Partner
PANTHEON VENTURES (HK) LLP
Jie Gong is a Partner at Pantheon, and a member of the firm’s Asia Regional Investment Committee and the Global Co-investment Committee. Jie joined Pantheon from Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners' private equity fund of funds group, where she was head of Asia, and before that she worked at JP Morgan in leverage finance. Previously she worked at the International Finance Corporation on emerging market debt and equity investments. Jie received a Masters in Finance from London Business School, an MA in Economics from University of Miami and a BA in Economics and International Trade from Shanghai International Studies University. Jie is Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HKVCA) and serves on its board. She founded and chairs HKVCA’s ESG committee, and co-chairs its LP committee. She is also a committee member of United Nation Principle of Responsible Investment Private Equity Advisory Committee (UNPRI PEAC).
Gerran Ho
Director
EQT
Gerran Ho joined EQT in 2010. He is currently a Director of the EQT Mid Market investment team focusing on private equity investment and portfolio management activities in Asia. He is also EQT Asia's Sustainability Ambassador, responsible for driving ESG initiatives across portfolio companies in Asia. Prior to joining EQT, he was with Credit Suisse in Hong Kong. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering & Management Science from Northwestern University.
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 (CDPQ) 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).
Mikio Kumada
Global Strategist
LGT CAPITAL PARTNERS
Mikio Kumada is an Executive Director at LGT Capital Partners (Asia-Pacific) Limited. He represents Asia-Pacific in the firms' global ESG committee and oversees LGT related activities in the region.
Mr. Kumada joined LGT Group in Liechtenstein in 2002 as a market analyst for the group’s treasury department, and later transferred to asset management. Based in Singapore from 2007 to 2012, he moved to Hong Kong in 2013. He currently works for the Asset Allocation & Research team, communicating strategy and advising a wide range of clients. He also regularly appears on CNBC and Bloomberg as a commentator.
Mr. Kumada is a Certified International Investment Analyst, CIIA, and holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Vienna. Prior to joining LGT, among others, he had worked for a Tokyo-based policy think-tank of Japan’s former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.
Chris Leahy
Managing Partner
BLACKPEAK
A Managing Partner of Blackpeak, Chris has more than 25 years of leadership experience in risk advisory, banking, and finance in the Asia–Pacific region. Based in Singapore, Chris has led risk projects across the region. He has extensive industry knowledge and contacts within the financial and corporate communities in Asia, gained from his various leadership roles in the finance industry.
As the head of Blackpeak’s Southeast Asia business, Chris manages complex due diligence, investigations, business intelligence and dispute cases in the region. In addition to client and project work, Chris oversees Blackpeak’s growth and strategic initiatives together with the other partners.
Prior to founding Blackpeak, Chris was the Asia–Pacific head of Kroll, the global risk advisory business, and built the firm’s Southeast Asia practice. He was also the former head of investment banking in Asia for Crosby and, prior to that, was an executive director of BNP Peregrine Capital. Chris is an authority on corporate governance in Asia and has been a member of the secretariat of the Asian Corporate Governance Association since 2004.
International media (including the BBC, Reuters, the Strait Times and the Asian Venture Capital Journal) frequently invite Chris to comment on market and regional issues in Asia. Chris is a highly sought-after as a speaker at conferences and trainings, and as a contributor to industry-related articles and publications.
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 & Risk, Head of Responsible Investing
ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN
Deborah Ng is a Director, Strategy & Risk and Head Responsible Investing at the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Deborah leads the Plan’s responsible investing initiatives, working internally with all investment teams to integrate environmental, social and governance considerations in their investment processes and externally with global peers and organizations to engage with corporations and promote sustainability in investments. Areas of focus for the plan include: corporate governance, climate change, supply chain, cyber security and ESG disclosures.
Prior to this Deborah was part of the Strategy & Asset Mix team where she focused on the research, evaluation, and introduction of innovative asset allocation strategies that are designed to help meet the Plan’s long-term liability objectives. She also provided input and support for the annual strategic investment plan and medium-term risk management.
Deborah is a member of the board and past Chair of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark’s Infrastructure Advisory Board, and a member of the Bloomberg ESG Advisory Committee.
Prior to joining Teachers’, Deborah founded Acuity Communications, assisting investment firms such as UBS Securities, CIBC WM, and Desjardins Securities with their investment research requirements. Deborah was awarded with Directors Award from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto where she obtained her Master of Finance. She is also a CFA charter holder.
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 PricewaterhouseCoopers 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.
James Robertson
Head of Asia (ex-China & Japan), Global Networks & Outreach
PRINCIPLES FOR RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT
James Robertson joined the PRI team in 2015 as Project Manager to help establish the organisation’s Hong Kong office, following the merger of the Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA) and the PRI leading to the establishment of the Asia (ex-Japan) Network.
In the roles of Network Manager and then as Head of Asia (ex-China & Japan), James is responsible for managing relationships with the PRI’s Asia signatory base as well as leading outreach to potential new signatories, supporting project and policy activities in the region, and working closely with investors, partner organisations and stakeholders to support the development of responsible investment across local markets.
Prior to joining the PRI James worked with regional body ASrIA, an organisation dedicated to promoting SRI across the region, with responsibilities across operations, projects, communications and membership.
James has previously worked and volunteered with a range of organisations in the non-profit sector across education, poverty, human rights and international development. James holds a BA in Law and a Masters in International Politics - International Relations from the University of Manchester.
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.
Elaine Siu
Managing Director, Asia Pacific
THE GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE
Elaine Siu leads GFI’s work in Asia Pacific. Elaine has over 10 years experience at global law firms and financial institutions specialising in corporate and finance law, from IPO and M&A to structured products and investment funds. She then spent 5 years immersing herself in social entrepreneurial pursuits, before joining GFI to put her mixed skillset in law, finance, and startup ventures in service of accelerating the alternative protein sector and transforming the food system. Elaine holds a M.S. in Entrepreneurship from Foster School of Business, University of Washington, a M.S. in International Animal Welfare Ethics and Law from University of Edinburgh, and an LLB Laws degree from King’s College London.
Anders Strömblad
Head of Alternative Investments
AP2
Anders Strömblad has been in charge of alternative investments at the Second Swedish National Pension Fund – AP2 (Total assets approx. 40 billion USD) since 2001. 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 has designed the investments strategies and business plans and is 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.
Well-known globally for his well thought-through strategies, successful implementation and portfolio management, Mr. Strömblad has been a very important “brick” in the building of the well-known AP2 brand.
Before he became 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 his expertise and experience Mr. Strömblad is an advisory board member for several fund investments. Aside from being responsible for the alternative portfolio, he is also a board member in a couple of portfolio companies.
Mr. Strömblad has been active in the global private capital industry for many years. He speaks and attend panels on conferences globally. He is also active in responsible investments strategies and is a member of the UNPRI Advisory Board for Private Equity.
Mr. Strömblad was the first non-US / Canadian board member of the ILPA board. He is still very active in ILPA as a board member and is 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 is responsible for the supervision of listed corporations and for listing policy initiatives. 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 LLP
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.