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Jim Pittman joined BCI as Senior Vice President of Private Equity in April 2016. He leads the team, focusing on growing Private Equity’s total fund exposure while extending the program’s global reach and building out networks for deal flow to increase the number of direct investments. With $171.3 billion in managed assets and $16.4 billion in private equity AUM, BCI is one of Canada's largest institutional investors within the global capital markets.
Prior to joining BCI, Jim spent over 10 years as managing director at the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB). During this time, he co-led the implementation of the firm’s private equity strategy. Prior to PSPIB, Jim was the chief financial officer/chief operating officer for PAL Aerospace, Canada. Jim has a background in acquisitions, divestitures, and tax.
Jim holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.
He currently serves on the board for Refresco Group and Hayfin Capital Management and has been a board member on over ten Private Equity portfolio companies.
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.
Emma Biddles is the Portfolio Operations Director for Environment and Social at Navis Capital Partners. Emma partners with the portfolio companies to implement environmental and social initiatives that deliver measurable value and works with the inhouse ESG team to develop and strengthen internal ESG management capabilities and supports the investment professionals.
Emma has extensive experience in environmental and sustainability management spanning 20 years. She has worked in consulting, agribusiness and chemicals and food manufacturing and more recently was the Regional Environmental Sustainability lead for Kellogg Asia Pacific. Emma has a BSc from the University of Sydney and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
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.
Natasha Buckley joined HarbourVest in 2019 and is responsible for sustaining the Firm’s ESG strategy and partnering with our general partners, limited partners, and the Firm’s employees to embrace sustainable investing.
Natasha joined HarbourVest from Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), where she was responsible for their work in the private equity sector, developing tools and resources for PRI signatories to integrate ESG considerations into their investment processes. During her time at PRI, Natasha co-authored the organization’s guide for general partners, and guidance for LPs and GPs on ESG in fund selection, fund terms and fund monitoring/reporting.
Natasha received a BA in History from University College London, an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics, and has completed the University of Oxford Private Equity Programme at the Saïd Business School.
Tim Burroughs is managing editor of Asian Venture Capital Journal, having joined the publication in May 2011. He is responsible for all editorial content put out under the AVCJ brand, including Asian Venture Capital Journal, AVCJtv, AVCJ Awards and AVCJ.com. Tim previously spent five years at China Economic Review, serving as editor-in-chief and then editorial director. Located in Greater China since 2003, during which time he has lived in Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong, Tim has been a China-based contributor for publications including The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, BBC and China Daily. Prior to moving to China, he trained and worked as a journalist in the UK. He was honored at the Society of Publishers in Asia awards in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and at the State Street Institutional Press Awards - Asia in 2012.
Vivien joined NewQuest in 2018 and is a member of the Investor Relations team, responsible for investor relations, portfolio reporting, marketing and research. Prior to joining NewQuest, Vivien was the Investor Relations manager for Asia at Standard Chartered and an Assistant Vice President in Barclays’ equity research team focusing on the Hong Kong Property sector. She also practiced with Ernst & Young’s assurance group in Toronto, specializing in Financial Services.
Vivien is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Chartered Professional Accountant. Vivien received her Masters of Accounting and undergraduate degrees from the University of Waterloo, Ontario. Vivien is fluent in English and Cantonese.
Ms. Trista Chen is a Partner and M&A services lead for APAC. Trista has extensive experiences providing ESG advisory services supporting clients on M&A programs and Post-Merger-Integration. Recently, Trista has been advising a wide range of financial clients in ESG advisory services applying integrated ESG strategy into financial clients’ investment cycles. Key financial sectors she has worked with include Carlyle, KKR, Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, TPG, Permira, Triton, CVC Capital, Affinity, and Advantage Partners, 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.
Huai Fong is the Regional Lead for the East Asia & the Pacific PE Funds team of the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”) where she is responsible for leading investments into funds in the region.
Prior to joining IFC, Huai Fong spent five years with Deutsche Investitions-Und Entwicklungsgesellschaft MBH (“DEG”) where she had a primary coverage of Southeast Asia. She led fund investments and co-investments in the region as well as managed a portfolio of funds through her Advisory Committee positions. Before DEG, Huai Fong was with UOB Venture Management where she did direct equity investments into growth stage companies in Southeast Asia and China.
Huai Fong holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and in Economics (Honors and Dean’s list) from the Singapore Management University. She has also passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst program.
Angus Choi is a Partner at ERM with over 16 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.
Kim heads up the Risk Management Unit of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) from August 2015. He is responsible for all aspects of risk management relating to the investment portfolios of the HKMA. The role extends to compliance aspects of our investment transactions and also at the portfolio level. He is also responsible for performance measurement of the overall investment portfolio. His team is responsible for ESG research and implementation.
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 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 200 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, was named Alternatives House of the Year in 2020 by Asia Asset Management and was named Fund of funds of the year in Asia in 2018 and 2019 by Private Equity International.
Mr. Fang is the founding managing partner of Starquest Capital, a China based private equity and fund of funds firm with investment strategy focused on consumer, healthcare and technology sector. Mr. Fang oversees the FoF investment, ESG integration, business development and various activities. Starquest Capital is the first Asian recipient of the UNPRI Awards 2019 Emerging Markets Initiative of the Year.
Prior to founding Starquest Capital in 2018, Mr. Fang served as the Head of LGT Capital Partners in China for 12 years. Before joining LGT Capital Partners in early 2007, Mr. Fang worked for AXA Private Equity Group in Singapore focusing on fund of funds and direct investment in Pan-Asia region. Mr. Fang has a total of 20 years' experience in the finance industry.
Mr. Fang has invested over USD 1.5 billion in Chinese private equity market, including long-established GPs such as CDH Investments, CITIC Capital, Sequoia Capital and Legend Capital, as well as VC 2.0 GPs such as Primavera Capital, Source Code Capital and Gaorong 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. He is also invited to be expert judge of Forbes China 2020 "30 Under 30" List.
Mr. Fang holds a Bachelor degree in Accounting from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, MBA from INSEAD Business School and EMBA from People’s Bank of China School of Finance of Tsinghua University. Mr. Fang also holds the Chinese certified public accountant qualification. He is the member of Future Forum Youth Council. His native language is Mandarin. He is also fluent in English, French, Cantonese and can use conversational German and Japanese.
Gerran Ho joined EQT in July 2010. He is a Managing Director based in Hong Kong, focusing on making private equity investments in the Asia Pacific. He also serves as Sustainability Ambassador for the firm in the region. Prior to joining EQT, Gerran was an investment banker at Credit Suisse. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering & Management Science from Northwestern University.
17+ years of experience in private equity investment and transaction service. Former director at C.V. Starr, responsible for private equity investments in Greater China from 2010 to 2018.
Ms. Liu Xiaodan is the founder of Firstred Capital, a private equity firm established in 2019 and currently manages funds in total of 7bn RMB
Prior to starting her own business, Ms. Liu served as the CEO and Chairwoman of Huatai United Securities from 2012 to 2019, and she has been sitting on the board of AssetMark (NYSE:AMK) as Chairwoman from 2016 to 2020
Ms. Liu is a well-known figure in Chinese investment banking industry and orchestrated dozens of landmark transactions in the M&A field over the past 20 years. She was elected as the “Investment Banker of the Year” by China Business News in 2014 and the “Top 10 Investment Banker” by over 1000 public companies’ representatives in 2019
She also served as a member of the M&A and Restructuring Committee of China Securities Regulatory Committee from 2012 to 2016
Ms. Liu was instrumental to Huatai Securities’ international market expansions and acquisitions, and personally led the implementation of several capital market strategies for the group in China and abroad
Huatai United had made outstanding achievements in recent years under her lead, especially in the M&A advisory business. Huatai United ranks No.1 on the M&A league table in China for the last 5 consecutive years and is a frontrunner in equity underwriting business. And the firm’s investment banking business has been well recognized by the market and given titles such as “China Best Investment Bank”, “Best M&A Advisor”, “Best TMT Industry Investment Bank ”, etc., for several times
Ms. Liu herself participated in drafting and revising a number of regulations and rules regarding M&A and restructuring practices in China
Ms. LIU graduated from Peking University with a master degree in law
Natasha Morris is Director, Responsible Investing at Adamantem Capital.
Natasha has over fifteen years of experience across the social and private sectors in both Australia and the UK. Prior to joining Adamantem Capital, Natasha spent nearly 10 years in the social sector, working across impact investing, operations, strategy and venture philanthropy (at Social Ventures Australia and The Centre for Evidence and Implementation). Prior to that Natasha worked in infrastructure funds management, including deal execution and asset management (at Hastings Funds Management) and project finance (at King & Wood Mallesons in Australia and Norton Rose in the UK).
Natasha holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales and a Graduate Certificate in Social Impact from the University of New South Wales.
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.
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 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.
Ms. Qiao currently serves as executive director and Head of IR at Firstred Capital.
Prior to joining Firstred, she was the Representative of Capital Market Affairs at Huatai Securities. She also worked as vice president of corporate strategy department at Huatai United Securities and research analyst at China Institute of Finance and Capital Markets.
She has multi-year experiences in the field of corporate governance and capital market transactions for Chinese public companies, such as overseas listing and cross-boarder M&A
Ms. Qiao holds a Master‘s degree in Public Administration from Columbia University.
Vikram Raju is the Partner responsible for emerging markets and impact investing for AIP Private Markets where he also serves on the Investment Committee and Executive Committee. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he was a Principal Investment Officer and Climate Funds Lead at the International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group. Previously, was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and worked with a range of clients including US private equity firms and Indian NGOs. Vikram has also been a portfolio manager with the emerging markets team at Lazard Frères & Co. Vikram received a B.A. in economics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and an M.S. in finance from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute, Mumbai. He also received master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Vikram serves on the Advisory Committees of private equity funds in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. He is a member of the MSIM Sustainability Council and the Chair for the Impact Investing Council at the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association.
Shanaz Rauff leads PG Impact Investments' direct equity investments in Asia. Prior to joining PG Impact Investments, she was in healthcare private equity at LCP Partners in Singapore, RHJ International in London, Ripplewood and McKinsey and Company in New York. She holds a dual degrees in Finance/Management from Wharton and in Biomedical Science from the University of Pennsylvania and was a fellow at Stanford University.
James 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.
David Russell heads the Responsible Investment (RI) Team of USS Investment Management, the fund manager for Universities Superannuation Scheme, where he has worked since 2001. USS is one of the largest pension funds in the United Kingdom, with assets in excess of £68 billion and over 350,000 members. USS has a RI team of five and a RI strategy which focuses on integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into its investment processes across asset classes (including private assets), and on engaging with public equities and other assets where these issues pose a risk to the fund’s investments.
David is a former Board member of the PRI Association and is an advisor to the Board of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), which USS set up in 2001. He is also on the Board of the International Centre for Pensions Management. David was involved in the establishment of the PRI Private Equity Advisory Committee of which he has twice been a member, and was also an inaugural member of the BVCA RI Advisory Board. David has previously worked as an Environmental Manager for a UK retail company, and was for five years a University lecturer in Environmental Management. He has a Masters Degree in Environmental Impact Assessment.
Komal serves as Chief of Sustainable Finance at AVPN. She leads AVPN’s engagement with family offices, HNWIs, private wealth holders, corporations and financial institutions across Asia. In this capacity, she helps these stakeholders achieve their objectives of investing within a framework of impact and sustainability.
Komal brings over two decades of diverse work experience in Europe and Asia to her role. She began her career as an investigator with the British Civil Service and was focused on the SME sector in London. She subsequently worked for KPMG where she specialized in the fund management industry. Komal has completed numerous assignments at top tier banks and insurance companies in the UK. She has tax expertise in structuring entities and funds and taking companies and funds to listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Over the last decade, Komal has provided support to a number of social enterprises and charities across Asia. She is an angel investor and an LP in early and late stage funds. Many of her investments have focused on generating societal good. Komal has served as a mentor at a number of incubators and accelerators and has worked with startups including at A Star, a Singapore government led accelerator for science and technology companies that are improving lives through innovation and discoveries.
Komal is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Accountants and Associate of the Institute of Taxation. She has an FT certification as a Non-Executive Independent Director. She has a BA Honors in Economics.
Jaclyn Seow is Head of ESG & Impact at Openspace Ventures. Openspace manages over US$350mn of total committed capital across three funds focused on Series A/B technology opportunities in Southeast Asia. Openspace also operates OSV+, an Opportunity Fund addressing the mid-stage technology opportunity in Southeast Asia with a focus on follow-ons from existing portfolio and new situations relevant to Openspaces’ technology operations and regional value-add. Selected Openspace investments include Gojek, HaloDoc, Whispir, Biofourmis, Finnomena and Tanihub Group. As of June 2020, a total of US$6.5 bn follow-on capital had been raised by Openspace portfolio companies. Openspace's first and second funds, launched in 2014 and 2017 respectively, are both seeing top quartile performance against global peers according to Cambridge Associates and Preqin benchmarks, with Fund I performing in the top 5%
At Openspace, Jaclyn oversees ESG and impact strategies as part of Openspace's responsible investment approach (Openhand) including macroeconomic sensing, deal sourcing, investor relations and due diligence. She also works with portfolio companies to operationalize ESG risk/opportunity assessments towards sustainable growth.
Jaclyn has a decade of experience in public policy across the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Health in Singapore. She also represented Singapore in negotiations on global economic growth and development issues as part of ASEAN and G77 at the United Nations in New York. Thereafter, she was Associate Director of Corporate Development at Raffles Medical Group, a public-listed regional healthcare group with a presence in 14 cities in Asia. Here she expanded the health insurance portfolio from B2B into the B2C space, generating 7-figure revenues in the first year, and accelerated digital health initiatives including teleconsultation.
Jaclyn graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University with a BA in Economics as a Singapore Government Scholar.
Megan Starr is the Global Head of Impact for The Carlyle Group. She is based in New York. In her role, Ms. Starr works to design and execute Carlyle's cohesive, long-term impact strategy. She also oversees the dedicated ESG team, which leads the firm's investment diligence and portfolio company engagement work on material ESG issues.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Ms. Starr was within Goldman Sachs' Investment Management Division, where she helped build the ESG and impact investing business. Previously, Ms. Starr served in roles at The JPB Foundation, a $3.8B private family foundation based in New York City.
Ms. Starr received an M.B.A. and a Certificate in Public Management and Social Innovation from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, where she was an Arbuckle Leadership Fellow, and an A.B. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, where she graduated magna cum laude with highest honors in field of concentration.
Mr. Sun is TPG’s Managing Partner for China. Prior to joining TPG, he was chairman and founder of Black Soil Group, an agriculture investment holding company. From 1995 to 2015, Mr. Sun was a partner at Warburg Pincus Asia and served as chairman of Asia Pacific for the firm and a member of the firm’s Executive Management Group. Mr. Sun has also worked as an Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division and the Principal Investment Area of Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., at Lepercq, de Neuflize & Co as an investment banking associate, and at the United Nations as a translator.
Mr. Sun holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Beijing Foreign Studies University and a joint degree of MA/MBA from the Joseph Lauder Institute of International Management and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Sun is the founder and current honorary Chairman of the China Venture Capital Association (CVCA) and the founder and current Executive Vice Chairman the China Real Estate Developers and Investors’ Association (CREDIA). He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Lauder Institute at the Wharton School, and a board member of the China Entrepreneurs Club (CEC).
Suzanne Tavill is the global head of responsible investing at the StepStone Group, a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to some of the most sophisticated investors in the world. With more than US$296 billion of private markets allocations, including over US$67 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2020, StepStone covers the spectrum of opportunities in private markets across the globe. Ms. Tavill leads StepStone’s Responsible Investment initiative across all businesses and investment strategies. She is also a member of the private equity team.
Prior to StepStone, Ms. Tavill was responsible for AMP Capital’s global alternative investment platform that included private equity, infrastructure and real assets. Before that, she spent five years at Van Eyk Research in Sydney, the last four as head of research. Before moving to Australia, she was an executive director at Goldman Sachs Investment Management, responsible for their UK small-and mid-cap portfolios.
Ms. Tavill received an MSc in finance and economics from the London School of Economics, in addition to a BBS with honors in economics and honors in finance from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
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.
Chee-Wei Wong leads the Asian efforts of KKR’s Global Impact Fund. Prior to KKR, he was at EQT in Singapore and New York and subsequently Tailwind Capital, serving as an investor and board member of sustainability-focused technology enterprises and healthcare companies. He started his career as a Justices’ Law Clerk in the Supreme Court of Singapore and was a consultant at Bain & Company.
Liam is responsible for business development & sales across Asia. After nearly a decade with the world’s leading fund service providers in Europe & Asia, he brings an extensive knowledge of the hedge fund industry and its participants. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst
Eric Xin is the Senior Managing Director and Managing Partner of CITIC Capital China Private Equity. Previously, Mr. Xin was a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. in Shanghai and Washington, D.C. Mr. Xin has an MBA from Harvard Business School, with Honors, and a BA from Peking University.
Throughout her career, Alexa Yiğit has focused on bridging corporate and investor perspectives on sustainable long-term business performance and financially material ESG issues across the capital markets. Alexa advises corporates and financial institutions on the evolving sustainable finance market and engages with corporate executives to align their ESG strategies with stakeholder expectations. She also provides valuable insights on signaling long-term sustainable performance to investors through her thought leadership.
Alexa was part of Morgan Stanley’s Global Sustainable Finance Product & Solutions division, where she delivered innovative sustainable investing products and solutions for the firm’s clients. She designed and implemented sustainability strategies that considered environmental, social and governance factors, while seeking to achieve market-rate financial returns.
Alexa leverages her background in Capital Markets, Global Corporate Investment Banking and Credit Risk through her work as Relationship Manager for Santander Bank N.A.’s Telecom, Media, and Technology sector and as a Business Manager in DCM Fixed Income Strategy for the Royal Bank of Canada in New York.
Throughout her advisory and banking career, Alexa has specialized in ESG integration and disclosure strategy, as well as product development. She speaks English, Spanish, and French, and in 2020 Reuters named her as one of the 'Thought Leaders Leading the New World Order'.