Speaker Biographies
Senior Industry Professionals
James H. Boettcher
General Partner
Focus Ventures
Mr Boettcher was a founding partner of Focus Ventures in 1997.
He leads Focus Ventures’ business development efforts for its U.S. portfolio companies in Asia. Value-added activities include recruiting, finding manufacturing and sales & marketing partners and establishing new or joint-venture Asian entities. He established Focus Ventures Shanghai Representative Office in 2001. Jim led the Focus Ventures investment in and is on the Advisory Committee for Golden Sands River Ventures in Beijing, a successful early-stage venture fund. As a long-time senior advisor to the Cha Group in Hong Kong, he helped organize and is on the Investment Committee for the Beijing and Shanghai-based Mingly China Growth Fund, one of China’s leading private equity firms managing both U.S. dollar and RMB funds in a strategic partnership with the Jiangsu Provincial private equity fund, GOVTOR.
Mr. Boettcher has an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA (as an Arjay Miller Scholar) and MA degrees from Stanford University. He was a cofounder in 1986 and Managing Director of a successful investment banking boutique, Amsterdam Pacific Corporation (APC) along with CITIC (Beijing), which was purchased by a large European bank in 1994. Mr. Boettcher has many years of experience and a successful track record in expansion stage investing and was a General Partner of BBU Mezzanine Funds I and II. Successful investments include Alteon WebSystems (Juniper), CoSine Communications, Telera (Alcatel), ONI, NetScaler (Citrix), Starent Networks (CISCO), P.A. Semi (Apple), Teknovus (Broadcom), Pure Digital (Cisco) Deeptech, Hello Direct, US Filter (Vivendi), USA Waste (Waste Management Inc.) and Prism Radio Partners. Prior to forming APC, Jim worked at Ford Aerospace and was Vice President in the Telecommunications Section of the Bank of America’s Investment Banking Group where he had investment banking assignments in the telecom, media, and high technology fields. He has concluded numerous complex financings in the U.S., Europe, and the Far East while based in London and Hong Kong with Bank of America and Crocker National Bank.
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Shirley Chen
Managing Director & Head of Private Equity
China International Capital Corporation Limited
Shirley Chen is Managing Director, Vice Chairman of Investment Management Committee and head of private equity of China International Capital Corporation Limited (“CICC”), and CEO of CICC Investment Group Company Limited.
Ms. Chen has 16 years of experience in investment and investment banking. She joined CICC in 2003 and is leading the Private Equity investment for the Firm. Prior to joining CICC, she was Director of Credit Suisse First Boston and worked in its Investment Banking division in New York and Hong Kong for eight years. She has broad experience and expertise in investment and investment banking.
Ms. Chen holds an MBA degree from Yale University’s School of Management and a Bachelor of Laws degree in International Law and a Master of Laws degree from Wuhan University, China.
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Benjamin Cheng
Partner
Actis LLP
Mr. Cheng focuses on investments in China. Since joining Actis in 2003, he has been involved in nine transactions, including leading Actis's investments in Grentech, Suntech and Shunda. He has served on the board of several investee companies and is currently a Director of Inpac.
He started making private equity investments in China in the mid-1990s as an Investment Director at Citicorp China Investment Management. He was also a director at Emerging Markets Partnership and latterly helped China Development Industrial Bank in Taiwan develop a private equity business off-shore. Prior to this, he worked at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. where he helped establish the company's Asian presence. Mr. Cheng began his career at Lee & Li Attorneys in Taiwan, assisting MNCs establish local joint ventures.
He holds an MA in International Relations from Yale University and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Anna Cheung
Partner & Co-Head of China
3i
Anna joined 3i in 2001 as a founding member of the 3i's North Asia business. She is currently co-Head of 3i China based in Beijing, but has also worked in the 3i offices in London and New York. Anna focuses in growth capital investments with a sector focus on consumer and healthcare. Her key deals include CJ CGV, GST, Yellow Brick Road, PCD Stores, Little Sheep and John Hardy.
Prior to 3i, Anna worked for Intel Capital and JH Whitney focusing on telecommunications and IT investments in North Asia. Before that, she worked in investment banking with Salomon Brothers, New York and Bankers Trust, Hong Kong in the areas of corporate finance, capital markets and M&A.
Anna has a BA in Computer Science from University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
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Cadol Cheung
Founding Partner
Fuel Capital
For the past ten years, Cadol led Intel Capital's investments and direction in China, culminating in Intel Capital being awarded "Top 10" or "Top 50" VC in China consecutively 4 years from 2006-2009 by both China Venture and Zero2IPO and Cadol, himself, as a "Best 50 VC Manager in China" in 2009 by ChinaVenture. Among others, Intel Capital was also awarded "Green Investment - VC/PE Most Active Player Award" by the China Environment Association in 2009 and "VC of the Year" at the 2008 Asia M&A Forum.
Cadol was brought into Intel Capital from his role as General Manager, Intel Shanghai Software Lab at Intel Corporation following the departure of two key Intel Capital directors in 1999. He came in to head strategic investments for the entire Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan, and immediately rebuilt and expanded Intel Capital Asia Pacific to what it is today. Cadol took a skeleton team of two in
1999 and expanded that to about 20 by 2005. Under his direction Intel Capital invested over US$710 million in Asia Pacific with 31 IPOs, of which US$480 million are for Chinese enterprises.
From 2005 until June 2009, when Intel Capital's focus on investment shifted to balance strategic and financial goals, he became the Managing Director for China, Taiwan, and Korea and devoted focus to China. He managed two proprietary China Funds that were established at his direction: US$200 million Fund 1, vintage 2005, and US$500 million Fund 2, vintage 2008.
Prior to Intel Capital, Cadol spent 16 years at Intel Corporation holding various management positions in manufacturing, IT, sales & marketing operations, and general operations. His extensive China experience began in the early 1990s as Director of Business Development to develop relationships with new telecom service operators and he was the General Manager of Intel's pioneering Shanghai Software Lab for three and a half years (1996-1999).
Cadol is a Director of Monte Jade Science and Technology Association and a Coach in the Cradle Program of the Asia American MultiTechnology Association. He has an Engineering Degree in Production and Industrial Engineering from Hong Kong Polytechnic and an MBA from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
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Tim Demchenko
Managing Director, Global Head of Private Equity & Special
Situations
VTB Capital
Tim Demchenko has extensive experience in investment management and corporate investments in Russia and international markets. In 2006 Mr Demchenko started Deutsche Bank’s PE business in Russia and CIS. In 2008, Mr. Demchenko launched VTB Capital’s Private Equity and Special Situations business as the managing director. Previously Mr. Demchenko was a senior executive at IBM and Siemens, based in London where he managed multiple $100+MM corporate investment projects. Prior to that, Mr. Demchenko was an investment officer at TD Capital Partners private equity fund and focused on investments in the TMT sector in UK, Germany and Spain at based in London.
As the head of VTB Capital’s PE business, Mr Demchenko built and runs a team of experienced PE professionals, who have completed 7 investments and special situations projects since 2008. Tim is Member of the Board of Lenta, leading hypermarket retail chain in Russia, Saint Petersburg Airport Management company and EPAM, leading IT outsourcing company.
Mr Demchenko graduated from London Business School with a Masters in Finance degree, holds a Ph D. in Economics from the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Social and Political Studies, and has financial qualifications from CIMA and SFA.
VTB Capital’s Private Equity group is the Principal Investment arm of the VTB Bank and offers a unique platform for private equity investing in Russia and CIS with its strong proprietary deal flow and best industry knowledge and deal analysis support via leveraging research and banking team expertise. Private Equity team is comprised of highly experienced team of investment professionals with extensive knowledge of local markets and completed over 7 investments since its creation in 2008.
Joseph W. Ferrigno III
Managing Partner
Asia Mezzanine Capital Group
Joseph Ferrigno is the Founder and Managing Partner of the Asia Mezzanine Capital Group, an independent specialist hybrid debt/equity capital direct investment fund management firm established in 2004 and based in Hong Kong. The Group manages the Asia Strategic Capital Fund, L.P., in which New York Life Insurance Company, Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company, the ORIX Corporation and other international institutional investors are limited partners. He is a member of the Advisory Board of MIR Investment Management of Sydney
Ferrigno has been a pioneer in investment management and banking in the Asia region since his arrival in Hong Kong in 1984 with Lehman Brothers Khun Loeb. He is involved principally with private equity and mezzanine direct investment fund management and with the development and financing of infrastructure, energy, telecom and Internet projects and businesses. He also served in Hong Kong with the Bechtel Group and Prudential Financial of the United States; and earlier in New York and London with the Chase Manhattan Bank and Bankers Trust Company.
In 1996, Ferrigno led the launch and was involved in the management of the first mezzanine capital fund in Asia, the US$246 million Asian Infrastructure Mezzanine Capital Fund, which was sponsored by Prudential Financial, in which the Asian Development Bank is a Core Investor, until 2003. He was Chairman of its Investment Committee. In 1990, he initiated the establishment of the US$780 million Asian Infrastructure Fund, the first of its kind, sponsored by Peregrine Capital, the ADB, the IFC, Frank Russell & Co. and the Soros Group.
Ferrigno is a graduate of the Wharton School and is the Founding President of the Wharton Club of Hong Kong. He is a member of the Hong Kong Forum (associated with the Council on Foreign Relations in New York), the Hong Kong Club, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, the Shek O Country Club, the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club and the New York Yacht Club.
Matt Fish
Managing Director
New Pacific Consulting
Matt has spent the last ten years consulting and research in Asia Pacific with a focus on China. Previously, he was the Head of the Synovate Business Consulting Shanghai practice, a practice he started and grew into one the region’s leading growth strategy firms. Matt has led over 100 China entry and expansion engagements and is one of Asia’s leading authorities in basic industrial sectors. Earlier in his career, Matt was Director of Business Development with Converscient Technologies and Market Intelligence. He also held consultant/analyst roles with NFO WorldGroup and Prudential Securities.
Frank Gong
Managing Director
Chairman, China Diversified Industry Clients
Vice Chairman, China Investment Banking
J.P. Morgan
Frank FX Gong is a Managing Director of J.P.Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Limited, Chairman of China Diversified Industry Clients and Vice Chairman of China Investment Banking, helping to lead and drive J.P.Morgan China investment banking business.
Previously Frank was Head of China Research/Strategy and Chief Economist, leading J.P. Morgan's China esearch team covering equity research, market strategy, macro and FX/rates. Frank also co-headed J.P. Morgan EM Asia market research and strategy. At his previous leadership position in J.P.Morgan, Frank had been consecutively and repeatedly rated the No.1 China analyst and strategist by Institutional Investor and Asia Money. Frank’s team has been also ranked the No.1 China research team by Institutional Investor polls for four consecutive years. Frank win the #1 position in the 'Worldwide Chinese Financial Elites Award for Outstanding Influence'", at the "2010 Summit of Worldwide Chinese Financial Elites”.
Before his career at J.P.Morgan, Frank was the Chief Strategist and Co-Head of global currency and rates research at Bank of America. Frank was an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 95–97, where his duties included research and policy submissions to the FOMC.
Frank holds a Ph.D. in Financial Economics from Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an M.S. in Physics from Temple University in Philadelphia and two degrees from Peking University (an M.A. in Operation Research and Economics and a B.S. in Physics).
Lixun Gong
Partner
Lunar Capital
Lixun Gong is a partner at Lunar Capital, where he heads the firm's deal sourcing and execution efforts and oversees investments in the mining and consumer sectors. Prior to Lunar, Lixun was a vice president at Citigroup's global special situations group in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for deal origination, analysis and execution. Previously, Lixun worked for China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), part of the central bank of China, where he was a senior analyst responsible for advising China's top economic policy makers on foreign exchange-related matters. Lixun is an MBA graduate of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and holds both a Bachelor and Master of Economics degree in International Finance from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.
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John Gu
Partner, China Tax
KPMG China
John is a tax partner of KPMG China and he focuses on regulatory and tax structuring aspects of various M&A transactions and foreign direct investments in the PRC.
John is specialized in the structuring of foreign investments in the PRC and M&A transactions from both regulatory and tax perspectives. He has advised on tax and regulatory issues concerning a wide range of transactions in the PRC in the areas of M&A, private equity fund structuring, real estate, structured finance, foreign investments and joint ventures in different sectors in the PRC. John has assisted a number of private equity firms in structuring their onshore and offshore private equity funds. He has led a large number of tax structuring and due diligence projects involving direct and indirect foreign acquisitions of PRC target companies in different sectors, including retail & distribution, advertising, e-commerce, real estate, infrastructure, mining, manufacturing, and financial services.
John has received a Bachelor of Business and a Master of Finance. John is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountant in Australia, and a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
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Fred Hu
Chairman of Greater China
Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC
Dr. Hu is a managing director and a partner at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 1997, Mr. Hu was a staff member at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C., where he was engaged in macroeconomic research and policy consultations for a number of member country governments including China.
Dr. Hu has since 1996 served as a professor and a co-director of the National Center for Economic Research (NCER) in Beijing, and he teaches a graduate course in international finance at Tsinghua University. Dr. Hu is a member of the Strategic Development Committee of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a member of on the Advisory Committee for the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and is also a member of the Asia Pacific Council of the Nature Conservancy.
Dr. Hu holds an MS in engineering science from Tsinghua University, and an MA and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.
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Xiaodong Jiang
Managing Director
NEA
Xiaodong joined NEA in 2005 to focus on investments in the rapidly growing China markets. In December 2005, he launched New Enterprise Associates (Beijing) Ltd. and opened its Beijing and Shanghai offices. Xiaodong currently helps manage and support China related investment activities. Xiaodong's areas of interest include consumer, healthcare and growth equity opportunities. He is on the board of Lianlian Pay, Redbaby, Uni-Power Group, Novast Pharmaceuticals, NexChem Pharmaceuticals, and HYGEIA Medical Services. In addition, Xiaodong has worked with many NEA portfolio companies including Leadtone, Baihe.com, LineKong, CITIC Pharmaceuticals, Cathay Biotech, and Availink. Xiaodong was recently honored by Entrepreneur magazine in China as one of China’s most influential venture capitalists under age 40.
Xiaodong received a Master's degree from the University of Illinois and a bachelor's degree from Nanjing University in China. He was a doctoral candidate in computer science at University of California, Berkeley as a United Nations Fellow and a Mayfield Fellow.
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Tina Ju
Founding & Managing Partner
KPCB China
Tina Ju is the Founding and Managing Partner of KPCB China. She is also the Founding and Managing Partner of TDF Capital.
Tina brings a combined 20 years experience in venture capital, investment banking and operation. She joined VTDF in 1999 as Managing Director and Co-founder of VTDF China Fund, and founded TDF Capital China in 2005.
Tina's focus areas of investment include TMT, consumer services and green tech. Her board participation includes Alibaba, Hurray, Huizhong, Yicha, Oriental Wisdom, UAA, DHGate, etc. Since 2000, she has been involved in 20+ investments, including:
• Alibaba (HKG: 1688)
• Focus Media (NASDAQ: FMCN)
• Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)
• Hurray (NASDAQ: HRAY)
• Cgen, sold to Focus Media
Tina has been awarded Top Ten Active Venture Capitalist by Zero2IPO in 2005, China Best Venture Capitalists by Forbes China in 2006 and 2007, and the Best VC Investor by China Business News in 2008.
Prior to venture capital, Tina served as the CFO/COO for PrivyLink, a portfolio company of TDF. She spent 11 years in investment banking at Deutsche Bank (Head of TMT and Transport Asia), Merrill Lynch (Head of Asia Technology and Corporate Finance Execution Team), JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
Tina is the Chairperson of WIL (Women In Leadership), the premier organization for women entrepreneurs & VC investors in China. She is also the Vice President of Shanghai Venture Capital Association, and governor of CVCA.
Tina holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley.
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Peter Kennedy
Managing Director
CLSA Capital Partners
Mr. Kennedy is currently heading CLSA’s Clean Resources Private Equity Fund. The fund is targeting growth stage investments in clean technology/resource efficiency opportunities throughout Asia.
Prior to joining CLSACP in 2008, Peter was the founding partner of Fulcrum Funds, a fund targeting opportunities focused on the environment and companies addressing significant improvements in healthcare for underserved segments of the population. At Fulcrum, he sourced over 300 new investment opportunities (over US$500 million in potential investments) and closed ten transactions between 2003 and 2008. He was an Advisor to PG&E on their Smart Meter Strategy and has been a guest speaker and lecturer on sustainable venture investing at Berkeley, Stanford and Columbia.
Prior to Fulcrum, he led Morgan Stanley’s research efforts in New York and London, evaluating early-stage technology and telecommunications companies. At Morgan Stanley, Peter brought 11 initial public offerings IPOs to market in an aggregate amount of over US$1 billion and was a top Institutional Investor ranked equity analyst. Beyond his public market research, he was retained by many large private equity firms to evaluate new investments and restructuring opportunities.
Peter also brings substantial experience evaluating and structuring international investments. Before entering the financial services sector, Peter managed new business development for NYNEX International and directed over US$500 million of investment into new Asian and European businesses. These investments were up over 300% when Peter left NYNEX in 1994 to join Morgan Stanley, where he worked until 2002.
Peter is a member of Net Impact and was a board member of the clean technology investment committee for Keiretsu (the largest angel investor group globally). He is also a founding member and advisor of Renewable Analytics, a research group focused on providing market data on the clean technology industry to financial and corporate clients.
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John E "Jack" Lange
Partner
Paul Weiss
Jack Lange is a partner in the Corporate Department, based in the firm's Hong Kong office.
Mr. Lange is a leading practitioner in the fields of private equity and mergers and acquisitions in Asia. He regularly represents major private equity funds in connection with precedent-setting transactions in the Asian region, including KKR in its investments in Tianrui Cement, Ma Anshan Modern Farming and Far Eastern Leasing; Morgan Stanley in its privatisation of Sihuan Pharmaceuticals, its investments in China Mengniu Dairy, China Paradise Electronics, Belle International, China Dongxiang Sports Development, Shanshui Cement, China Flooring, E Sun Financial Holding Co., Chinatrust Financial Holding Co. and numerous other private equity investments in Asia; The Carlyle Group in its bid for ASE, its acquisition of a controlling interest in Ta Chong Bank and other investments in Greater China; Oaktree Capital in its acquisition of Fu Sheng Industrial Co., the first LBO of a listed company in Taiwan; and Olympus Capital in its investment in China Zhongwang Holdings.
Mr. Lange, and the Paul, Weiss Asian private equity practice, have been consistently recognized as market leaders. Chambers Asia ranks Mr. Lange as a "Band 1" leading individual in private equity and has recognized him as "top of the market" and "a deal doer who is very commercial and transaction focused"; the IFLR 1000 Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms lists Mr. Lange as a top tier leading lawyer in private equity; and the PLC Cross-Border Private Equity Handbook and PLC Which lawyer? Yearbook lists Mr. Lange as a top tier "Highly Recommended" private equity lawyer. Asialaw's "Leading Lawyers 2009" identified Mr. Lange as a leading lawyer in venture capital and private equity, and corporate governance. Mr. Lange is also listed in the Euromoney Guide to the World's Leading Private Equity Lawyers and Who's Who in Private Equity – China, and in the Asia Pacific Legal 500 as a leading private equity lawyer in Hong Kong. Paul, Weiss was named as Private Equity Team of the Year by International Financial Law Review in the IFLR Asian Law Awards 2008.
Mr. Lange is admitted to practice in New York, the District of Columbia and Hong Kong.
Mr. Lange graduated from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 1981 and from Princeton University, summa cum laude, in 1977. Prior to joining Paul, Weiss in 1988, he served in the Office of the Legal Advisor of the U.S. Department of State.
Edan Lee
Managing Director
Olympus Capital Holdings Asia
Edan Lee is a Managing Director of Olympus Capital Holdings Asia, responsible for investment activities in China. Olympus Capital is a leading Asian private equity firm focusing on the middle market and managing approximately US$1 billion of committed capital, with offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, New Delhi and New York. Mr. Lee holds a number of directorships in Olympus Capital portfolio companies. Prior to joining Olympus Capital, Mr. Lee served as Project Director for AES China Generating Co., where he developed and financed some of the largest direct investment projects in China at the time for the US-listed company; he currently is an Advisory Director for AES in China. Previously, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. in the US and in Australia. Mr. Lee holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and BS and BA degrees from Rice University.
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Robert Yi Li
Partner
Bioveda China
Dr. Li has over fifteen years of Life Sciences experience in venture investment and management, R&D, and corporate development in the China and the U.S. Prior to joining BioVeda China Fund, Dr. Li was Vice President of Sinogen International, Ltd., (Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China), a biotechnology investment holding company of H&Q Asia Pacific, a venture capital firm with US$1.8 billion under management. Prior to Sinogen, Dr. Li was one of the first scientists to join one of the most successful genomics companies in the U.S., Human Genome Sciences, Inc. where he held positions as Associate Director, Protein Therapeutics, and Group Leader, Drug Target Development. Dr. Li has been advisor to several Chinese and U.S. biotechnology companies including Sibiono Biotechnology Company (China) and Abmaxis, Inc and Genpharm, Inc. (SF Bay Area U.S.). He has served on the Board of Directors of Egen Corporation (San Diego, CA), and Shenzhen Kexing Biotech Co. (Shenzhen, China). Dr. Li is a former Board member of the Sino-American Pharmaceutical Association (SAPA). He is also an inventor of thirty five issued US patents. Dr. Li came to the U.S. in 1985 as part of the CUSBEA program. Dr. Li received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard University, his M.S. in Cell Biology from Baylor College of Medicine, and B.S. in Biochemistry from Nanjing University. Dr. Li is the recipient of the Harvard University Graduate Scholarship and Howard Hughes Graduate Scholarship. Since 1996, he has been an overseas member of the China National Advisory Committee for New Drug Development. Dr. Li is a member of the Board of Directors of CITIC Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) and NOD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Biolaxy Shanghai).
André Loesekrug-Pietri
Managing Partner
CEL Partners
André cofounded CEL Partners and has more than ten years of private equity and M&A experience. CEL is a European growth capital fund dedicated to PR China focused on Cleantech, healthcare and Chinese outbound investments. André previously set-up and managed Burelle Participations (PE fund in France) and developed Jaccar Capital Fund (PE fund for Vietnam and China). He is a graduate of HEC School of Management, International MBA Program of the Michigan Business School (Ann Arbor, USA) and attended Sup’Aéro aerospace engineering school (Toulouse, France). Former board member of ET Solar Group (solar company with operations in Nanjing and Taizhou, Jiangsu Province), he is visiting Professor in Finance at Renmin University (Beijing) and Chairman of the Private Equity and Strategic M&A Working Group of the European Chamber of Commerce in China. He writes in Chinese and English-speaking publications on cleantech and outbound investment, and speaks regularly at conferences on these topics. Andre is a private pilot and colonel with the French Air Force People’s Reserve.
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Tony C. Luh
DFJ DragonFund China
Founding Managing Partner
Tony C. Luh is one of the founding managing directors at DFJ DragonFund. He possesses experience in investments at all stages of development in the Greater China region.
Born in Japan, raised in Thailand, and possessing profound knowledge of the Chinese language and culture, Tony spent his professional career in both Asia and the US. Tony has over 20 years of experience in capital markets, sales, strategic alliances and business development. Prior to DFJ DragonFund, Tony was a managing director with DragonVenture which he co-founded in 1999. Before DragonVenture, Tony was a senior executive at InfoWave Communications, an early-stage, first-generation Chinese Internet company. At the time, Infowave was one of the pioneers in the internet portal business. His position at Infowave brought Tony in close contact with Yahoo! and EBay, communicating closely with both companies on strategic direction in the international markets. In many ways, Tony influenced the early developments of Internet in Taiwan and China. In the mid- to late-1980s in Taiwan as the corporate fund manager for Kosheng Enterprises, Tony accumulated public investment expertise in sectors ranging from information technology to high volume manufacturing in Asia. In 1999 Tony and his partner Bobby Chao co-founded DragonVenture, an investment advisory and seed fund management firm specializing in Greater China regions. Tony later became the seed investor and advisor of OSA Technologies and InphoMatch (a.k.a. Mobile365). Both companies were very successful with OSA acquired by Avocent (Nasdaq: AVCT) and Mobile365 acquired by Sybase (NYSE: SY). With his partner Bobby, Tony also advised on eFriendsNet – one of the first social networking companies in China later acquired by French SNS Giant Meetic. Tony attended three different high schools in three different countries. Tony also attended three different universities in three different states (Washington, Texas and California) in the US.
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Robert H. McCooey, Jr.
Sr. Vice President & Head of International
The NASDAQ OMX Group
Robert H. McCooey, Jr. is the Senior Vice President of New Listings and the Capital Markets Group as well as the Head of International for the NASDAQ OMX Group. In this role, Mr. McCooey manages NASDAQ’s listings efforts both domestically and in the Americas and Asia Pacific region as well as leads the Capital Markets Group. Formed in 2006, the Capital Markets Group is primarily responsible for private equity, investment bank and other Wall Street constituent outreach and works to further NASDAQ OMX’s mission to support their business goals and growth plans. Mr. McCooey joined NASDAQ in December 2006.
Prior to joining The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., Mr. McCooey served as the Chief Executive Officer of The Griswold Company, an agency he founded in 1988 which served prominent and developing buy-side institutions. He also served on the New York Stock Exchange Board of Executives from 2003 – 2006 and was a New York Stock Exchange Floor Official for eight terms. Mr. McCooey served on the NYSE’s Market Performance Committee and was chairman of the NYSE’s Technology and Planning Oversight Committee. In addition, he served on the Board of the NYSE Foundation, which he joined in 2003; the board of the Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC), the technology subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange; and on the Committee for Review, part of NYSE Regulation.
Mr. McCooey has been a regular guest on CNBC and has often been quoted in national news publications regarding stock market activity. He is a director of Iona Preparatory School, as well as St. Vincent’s Hospital in Westchester, NY. Mr. McCooey attended the College of Holy Cross and resides in Rye, NY.
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James Mi
Managing Director
Lightspeed Venture Partners
James joined Lightspeed in 2008 and focuses on the firm's investment efforts in China across multiple sectors, including Internet, media, cleantech and consumer services. James brings sixteen years of operating experience to his role at Lightspeed.
Prior to Lightspeed, James was Director of Corporate Development in Greater China for Google, responsible for the company's strategic investment and M&A efforts in Greater China and pan-Asian region. He also served as Head of Asia Products at Google, and spearheaded Google's early China efforts while serving as Chief Representative of the Google China Representative Office.
Before joining Google, James co-founded a venture-backed startup called iTelco Communications, which provides VOIP-based global communication products and services. Prior to that, James was with Intel, where he held management positions in engineering, marketing, product management and business development. He also co-invented MLC NOR Flash technology, which developed into Intel's billion-dollar StrataFlash business.
James received an MS in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University, BS in Physics from Fudan University and received Executive Management Training at Stanford University. James holds 12 US patents in flash memory, communications, Internet security and commerce.
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Nicholas Parker
Executive Chairman
Cleantech Group
Nicholas Parker co-founded the Cleantech Group, introducing the cleantech concept to the investment and business community in 2002. Previously Nicholas accumulated over 15 years experience starting and investing venture funds worldwide through limited partnerships, family offices, corporate funds and endowments. During this time, he pioneered the first "sustainability" driven private equity funds and participated in one of the first solar IPOs. In the 1990s, he also founded, built and sold an environmental finance firm. He has served as an advisor to multilateral agencies and major corporations.
Nicholas earned a BA Hons. in Technology Studies (Carleton University, Ottawa) and an MBA (City University, London), and has authored or edited more than ten publications related to cleantech, finance and international business, starting with Investing in Emerging Economies in 1993. He served as Chairman of E+Co, a public purpose investment company for clean energy enterprises in developing countries, and is on several boards, including: Government of Singapore Cleantech Advisory Board, Canadian Centre of Excellence for Commercialization of Research and the X PRIZE Energy & Environment Council. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). Nicholas has lived and worked in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America and currently resides with his two children in Toronto.
Stephen Peel
Managing Partner & Group Head - Greater China, Eurasia, India & SEA
TPG Capital
Mr. Stephen Peel is a Managing Partner at TPG Capital based in Hong Kong and heads the firm's investing activities in Greater China, South East Asia, India & Russia. Mr. Peel was a founder of Texas Pacific Group's (now TPG Capital) European office in 1997. He subsequently set up the firm's activities in Eastern Europe and Russia before assuming responsibility for the emerging Asia businesses in 2008. Before joining TPG Mr. Peel was an Executive director of Goldman Sachs International in Europe from 1989 to 1997.
Mr. Peel serves or has served on Boards of Directors including; Grohe AG, British Vita Unlimited, Mey Alkollü Içkiler, Punch Taverns, Spirit Group Limited, Findexa Limited and Pivovarni Ivana Taranova. Mr. Peel has also served on the Boards of Right to Play UK and the Private Equity Foundation.
Mr. Peel received a master's degree from Cambridge University graduating in 1987. Mr. Peel represented Great Britain in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
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Mark Qiu
CEO & Managing Director
China Renaissance Capital Investment Inc. (CRCI)
Mark QIU is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of China Renaissance Capital Investment Inc. (CRCI). The firm manages China Harvest Funds and China Spring Fund.
Mark QIU was the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of CNOOC Limited. Before joining CNOOC, Dr. QIU worked for the investment bank, Salomon Smith Barney, last as the head of its Asia Oil & Gas Investment Banking Group. He previously held several management positions at Atlantic Richfield Corporation (ARCO) of United States. He started his career as a consultant with the leadership succession planning consulting firm of RHR International.
Dr. QIU received an MBA degree from the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Sloan Fellow. He earned his Master and Doctoral degree in Decision Science from the University of Texas at Arlington.
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Gary Rieschel
Founder and Managing Director
Qiming Venture Partners
Gary has over 25 years of operating and investing experience in the information technology and cleantech industries. He has been widely recognized as a leading venture capitalist in both the U.S. and China and is a founder of Qiming Venture Partners, a $500m USD fund focused on early stage investments in China. Prior to Qiming, Gary was the founder or lead investor in several major venture capital firms in the U.S. and China including SOFTBANK Venture Capital, Mobius Venture Capital, SAIF Partners (China), and Ignition Partners (U.S.). Gary served on Softbank’s Board of Directors. He currently serves on the board of THQ, a NASDAQ listed public company, and Bank of China Investment Management, a joint venture between Blackrock and the Bank of China. Prior to being a venture capitalist, Gary held senior executive positions at Cisco Systems, Sequent Computer Systems and Intel. He and his family live in Shanghai since 2004.
Education
B.S. from Reed College
M.B.A from Harvard Business School
Directorships and Primary Qiming Involvement
TouchMedia – mobile media
ICE Entertainment – on line gaming
AllTech Medical – high field MRI systems
Yeelion/Koowo – on line music
Nurien – on line gaming
Tigermed – clinical research outsourcing
LP Amina – coal fired power plant efficiency and emissions
Asia Society
CleanTech Forum, China Greentech Initiative
JUCCCE (Joint US China Cooperation on Clean Energy)
Reed College (Trustee)
Successful IPOs and M&As of former portfolio company experience
Infinera
UTStarcom
Concentric Networks
Verisign
USWeb
Net2Phone
Puma Technology
Digimarc
Intertrust
Critical Path
Geocities (Yahoo!)
Art.com (Getty Images)
Datapower (IBM)
Comergent (ATT)
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Jean Eric Salata
Founder & CEO
Baring Private Equity Asia
Mr. Salata has been responsible for the investment activity of Baring Asia since 1997 when he established the regional Asian private equity investment program for ING’s Baring Private Equity Partners Ltd. Mr. Salata later led a buyout of Baring Asia from ING in 2000 to establish as an independent firm as it remains till today. Before that, Mr. Salata was a Director of Hong Kong based AIG Investment Corporation (Asia) Ltd., the Asian private equity investment arm of AIG. Also he was the Executive Vice President of Finance of Shiu Wing Steel, a Hong Kong based industrial concern, and prior to that a management consultant with Bain & Company based in Hong Kong, Sydney and Boston. Mr. Salata is a long time resident of Asia having lived and worked in Hong Kong since 1989. He graduated with magna cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Finance and Economics. Mr. Salata was the recipient of the Asian Venture Capital Journal’s 2009 Private Equity Professional of the Year award.
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Johannes Schoeter
Founding Partner
China New Enterprise Investment
Johannes Schoeter is a Founding Partner of China New Enterprise Investment (CNEI), a China focused growth capital fund. CNEI is a pioneer in successfully operating a foreign invested, onshore registered private equity fund in China. Mr. Schoeter has been making private equity investments in China since 1996. Before forming CNEI, Mr. Schoeter co-founded Victoria Capital Limited, a Hong Kong based private equity investor and financial advisory firm, arranging mezzanine financing for portfolio companies of a number of large private equity funds. Prior to founding Victoria Capital, Mr. Schoeter spent over twenty years in senior leadership positions with Deutsche Bank in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Germany. As the Chief Representative of Deutsche Bank China during 1983-1987, Mr. Schoeter was a pioneer among foreign bankers and private equity professionals in China, playing a leading role in several landmark business transactions. Mr. Schoeter is a member of the Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HKVCA) and the Chairman of the HKVCA China Committee.
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Homer Sun
Managing Director
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia
Homer Sun is a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley and leads Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia’s China Investments. Mr. Sun has spent over 10 years at Morgan Stanley and serves on the Firm’s China Management Committee, which is comprised of the Firm’s senior business leaders within China. Mr. Sun is a director of China Shanshui Cement Group, Sihuan Pharmaceutical and Nature Wood Flooring. Mr. Sun previously spent six years with Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group in Hong Kong where he worked on a wide range of mergers and acquisitions in Greater China. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Sun practiced as a mergers and acquisitions attorney with the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York and Hong Kong.
Mr. Sun received a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering magna cum laude from the University of Michigan and a J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.
Brett Tucker
Partner
Baird Capital Partners Asia
Brett Tucker is a Partner at Baird Capital Partners Asia. Prior to joining Baird in 2003, Brett spent three years in Shanghai with Pacific Rim Resources, providing investment advisory and market entry strategy services to U.S. and European multinational clients seeking to expand their business in Asia. Brett also spent three years in operating, management and business development roles at a California-based technology company, Telephia Brett earned a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. He also earned an MBA from the Wharton School and an MA in International Studies with a focus on East Asia from the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks Mandarin Chinese.
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Nengguang Wang
Managing Director & CFO
Legend Capital
Mr. Wang joined Mr. Zhu in founding Legend Capital in 2001 and has served as CFO since its inception. He is responsible for fund-raising, the exit strategies of the portfolio companies and the financial management of the company. He oversees the growth capital investment activities. Mr. Wang is a member on the Investment Committee.
Mr. Wang has been with Legend Group since 1992. He has over 20 years of experience in financial management and corporate finance. As the Head of the Finance Dept. of Legend Group, he was responsible for corporate finance, and internal control both for Legend Group and its affiliates. He played a very important role in the injection of Legend Beijing’s assets and business into Legend Group – the listed vehicle on HKSE in 1997 and in Digital China’s spin-off and listing endeavor in 2001. He has accumulated a wealth of experience in corporate finance and a wide network in the investment circles.
Mr. Wang sits on the Boards of China Greens, Covics, iFlyTek (002230.SZ), New Sihe Wood, Power Genius (acquired by Index), Shanghai Luxin Packaging Evotech, Sinocom (0299.HK), Sunshine Paper (2002.HK) , Sures Technology and Beauty in Fashion. He has been deeply involved in the investment of Solarfun Power (Nasdaq: SOLF).
He holds a Master's degree in Economic Management. He is a senior accountant and a CPA of China.
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Hao Wu
Partner
Sino-Century China Private Equity Partners, LLC
Dr. Wu is a co-founder and partner of Sino-Century China Private Equity Partners, a private equity firm that invests in high-growth private companies in China. Prior to Sino-Century, Dr. Wu worked at a number of financial service firms, including AIG Global Investments where he advised AIG companies in Asia and in Europe on investment strategies and was a member of AIG Derivatives Committee, and Radian Asset Assurance where he was a Managing Director and Head of Global Financial Products.
Dr. Wu received his B.S. in Physics from Fudan University and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and MBA in Finance both from University of Southern California. He also attended Executive Education Programs at Harvard Business School. Dr. Wu holds Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Dr. Wu is President-elect of The Chinese Finance Association (TCFA).
Yibing Wu
President
CITIC Private Equity Funds Management Co., Ltd
Dr. Yibing Wu is the President of CITIC Private Equity Funds Management Co., Ltd.
Prior to joining CITIC PE, Dr. Wu worked as Managing Director of Legend Holdings, responsible for overall business operations and oversees its direct investment business. During his tenure at Legend Holdings, he successfully led the equity investments in financial, energy and consumer sectors as well as a number of growth capital investments in new energy and high-tech arena.
Prior to that, Dr. Wu spent 3 years full time leading the entire process of IBM PCD acquisition, serving as Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Integration Officer, Chief Transformation Officer / Chief Information Officer of Lenovo Group. He directly led the team in deal negotiation, transaction execution and the post-investment integration and transformation.
Before Legend Holdings, Dr. Wu was Senior Partner of McKinsey, Head of Asia Pacific M&A and General Manager of McKinsey Beijing, in charge of mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and IPO advisory for large Chinese enterprises. He advised a number of leading Asian companies international expansion effort, as well as advised a dozen top Chinese SOE’s restructuring and overseas IPO.
Dr. Wu is non-executive director of Lenovo Group and sits on board of China Social Entrepreneur Foundation. He holds a PhD from Harvard University and a BSc. from University of Science and Technology of China.
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Andy Xie
Independent Economist
Dr Andy Xie is an independent Economist specializing in the Asia region whois based in Shanghai.
Current positions are (1) director, Shenzhen Development Bank, (2) director, Boqi Environmental Sciences, (3) guest columnist, South China Morning Post, (4) guest columnist, The New Century Weakly Dr Xie is one of the few economists who has accurately predicted economic bubbles including the Southeast Asian Financial Crisis (1997) and the US Subprime Financial Crisis (2008).
Dr Xie joined Morgan Stanley in 1997 and held the role of Managing Director and Head of the firm’s Asia/Pacific economics team until 2006. Prior to that he spent two years with Macquarie Bank in Singapore, where he was an associate director in corporate finance.
He also spent five years as an economist with the World Bank, which he joined through the Young Professionals Program. Dr Xie was respon sible for the World Bank programs in industry and finance in Indonesia and telecom and power programs in other Asia-Pacific countries.
Dr Xie earned a PhD in economics in 1990 and an MS in civil engineering in 1987 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Andy Yan
Managing Partner
SAIF Partners
Mr Andrew Yan is the Managing Partner of SAIF Partners. Prior to joining SAIF, he was the Managing Director and Head of the Hong Kong office of the Emerging Markets Partnership from 1995 until 2001. From 1994 to 1995, he worked at Sprint International Corporation as the Director of Strategic Planning and Business Development for the Asia Pacific Region. From 1990 to1994, he worked in the World Bank and the Hudson Institute as an Economist and Research Fellow respectively in Washington, DC. From 1982 to 1984, he was the Chief Engineer at the Jianghuai Airplane Corp..
Mr Yan received his Bachelor degree in Engineering from the Nanjing Aeronautic Institute in the PRC; and a Master degree in Sociology from Beijing University in 1986; and a second Master degree from Princeton University in International Political Economy in 1989. Mr. Yan also studied the MBA courses at the Wharton School of Business from 1996 to1997. Currently, Mr Yan is the Independent Non-executive Director of China Resources Land Ltd and Fosun International Ltd; Non-executive Director of Digital China Holdings Ltd and MOBI Development Co., Ltd; and Director of Acorn International Inc., Giant Interactive Group Inc., ATA Inc. and Eternal Asia Supply Chain Co Ltd (all 8 companies are listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, NYSE, NASDAQ or Shenzhen Stock Exchange).
Mr. Yan was voted by the China Venture Capital Association as
“The Venture Investor of the Year” in both 2004 and 2007. He was also selected as one of the “Fifty Finest Private Equity Investors in the World” by the Private Equity International in 2007; “No. 1 Venture Capitalist of the Year" by Forbes (China) in 2008 and 2009; and he was the “Venture Capital Professional of the Year” by Asia Private Equity and Venture Capital Award 2009. Under Mr. Yan’s leadership, SAIF was voted as “VC firm of the Year” in 2004 and 2007 and the Private Equity International named it as “The Best Performing Fund in Asia” by Private Equity International in 2005, 2006 and 2008, “The best Growth Investor of the Year” in 2009.
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Jeff Jie-Ping Yao
Founding & Managing Partner
Prax Capital
Jeff Yao has led Prax’s investment team in successful deals including Suntech Power (NY: STP), Tianneng Power (HK: 0819), Little Sheep Group (HK: 0968) and China Sunergy (NASDAQ: CSUN). Also under his guidance, the Prax Real Estate Fund has invested in residential projects in Tianjin, Wuhan, Xi’an, Wuhu and Chengdu. Jeff serves on the board of Prax’s portfolio companies prior to their listing and his experience managing companies in China and the rest of Asia allows him to actively participate on an operational as well as a strategic level in company management.
Jeff was recognized amongst the Top Investment Professionals of the Year in 2008 and 2009 by China Venture and was awarded China’s Best Venture Capitalists of the Year for three consecutive years in 2007, 2008 and 2009 by Forbes China.
Prior to founding Prax, Jeff was the Director and Executive Vice President of Texpack Group, where he was responsible for its Asian operations. During his 15 year tenure, Jeff led Texpack’s entry into the Mainland China market through three greenfield start-ups and the acquisition of an existing operation. Jeff was also responsible for the entry into the Indonesian and Indian markets as well as the management and expansion of an existing operation in Taiwan. Jeff began his career in Taiwan with over 15 years of progressively senior management positions with General Electric & RCA. He holds a BA and an MBA from Central University.
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Sherry Yin
Partners (Beijng)
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Sherry Xiaowei Yin is a partner in the Beijing office, specializing in a range of commercial matters, including corporate planning and business strategies in China, corporate restructuring and structuring, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital and securities matters. She has advised both multinational and Chinese clients involved in a broad range of industries, such as telecommunications, e-business, technology, energy, retail and logistics.
Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Ms. Yin was a partner at a leading international firm in Beijing and worked on a number of award winning transactions, including representing Sinopec Beijing Yanhua Petrochemical Company Limited in its US$500 million privatization by China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation. International Financial Law Review wrote the transaction “stood out for the level of legal complexity and innovation” and “pioneered a new way for PRC companies to privatize overseas listed companies.” Ms. Yin also led the team that advised underwriters in an IPO for Shandong Chenming Paper Holding Limited, the first Chinese company with three categories of shares issued – A and B shares (listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange) as well as H shares (listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange). This unprecedented transaction won the 2008 “Deal of the Year” award from China Law & Practice, in association with IFLR1000.
Ms. Yin received her LL.M. and LL.B. degrees from China University of Political Science and Law, 1984 and 1987, respectively. She attended the post graduate studies program at the Université de Paris II – Panthéon-Assas and attended an advanced U.S. law program sponsored by the Fulbright Foundation.
Ms. Yin served as a lecturer and researcher at the Civil Law Institute of China University of Political Science and Law from 1987 to 1989.
Ms. Yin is qualified to practice in the People’s Republic of China. She is a native Mandarin speaker and fluent in English and French.
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Xiaoyang Yu
Founding Partner
China New Enterprise Investment
Xiaoyang Yu is a Founding Partner of China New Enterprise Investment (CNEI), a China focused growth capital fund. CNEI is a pioneer in successfully operating a foreign invested, onshore registered private equity fund in China.
Before founding CNEI, Ms. Yu co-founded Victoria Capital Limited, a Hong Kong based investment and financial advisory firm, which is engaged in private equity investment transactions in China, and longterm debt and mezzanine financing for portfolio companies of a number of large private equity funds.
Ms. Yu has over 20 years of banking and investment experience. She was among the first mainland Chinese to embank on a professional career with major international financial institutions. She served at Banque Paribas in Geneva, Dresdner Bank in Frankfurt, London and New York, and Salomon Brothers in New York. Ms. Yu also worked at Kissinger Associates, responsible for the firm’s China business, reporting directly to Dr. Kissinger.
Ms. Yu advised the Chinese government on the drafting of China’s venture capital rules, which regulates the formation and operations of foreign invested onshore RMB venture capital and private equity funds.
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Sammuel Zhao
Partner
Jun He Law Offices
Mr. Zhao joined Jun He in 2001 and is a partner of Jun He Law Offices. He currently practices in the Beijing Office.
Practice Area
Mr. Zhao specializes in domestic and overseas listing, M&A, private equity, establishment and operation of RMB industrial investment funds and general corporate practice.
Professional experience
Mr. Zhao has assisted various clients from different industries in accomplishing IPOs that have produced significant effects. He has also advised on various aspects of private equity projects for more than 30 private funds. As for the capital market area, Mr. Zhao has particular expertise in designing investment structures and drafting legal documents.
Mr. Zhao was one of the first lawyers involved in RMB fund projects. He advised on the preparation, establishment and post-establishment investment of the first industrial investment fund, the first non-legal person venture fund and the first group of limited partnership funds as both leading counsel and participating counsel.
Mr. Zhao acts as the counsel to Sina and other domestic and overseas listed companies in their operation, information disclosure, etc.
Mr. Zhao has participated in revising and advising legislative drafts on M&A, investment and financing of small-medium sized enterprise, company law and securities law as organized by MOFCOM, CSRC, SAFE and SASAC. He has been invited by many internationally renowned investment institutes to give CPT trainings. Mr. Zhao has been accredited as a specialist with extensive theory and practice in capital running in Jun He.
Education
LL.B., Peking University Law School, 1995
Jonathan Zhu
Managing Director
Bain Capital Asia, LLC
Mr. Jonathan Zhu was born in Shanghai and educated both in China and in the United States. He joined Bain Capital in February 2006 based in Hong Kong, focusing on Bain Capital’s private equity activities in Asia.
Prior to joining Bain Capital, Mr. Zhu was a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley and CEO of Morgan Stanley China. In that capacity, he led Morgan Stanley’s investment banking as well as sales and trading and direct investment activities in China. Mr. Zhu received a J.D. from Cornell Law School and an M.A. from Nanjing University.
Mr. Zhu currently serves on the boards of Feixiang Chemicals, Tralin Pak, SinoMedia and Gome Electrical and Sunac China. He is also a board member of Nanjing University and The Hong Kong Ballet.
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Limited Partners and Institutional Investors
Markus Ableitinger
Director, Head Asia Investment Management
Capital Dynamics
Markus is a Director and heads the Investment Management Asia team at Capital Dynamics. He has over 12 years of private equity direct and fund of funds investment experience. Prior to joining Capital Dynamics he was a senior manager at RMF’s private equity division and held various senior positions at INVESCO CEAM, Clifford Chance Puender in Moscow and OMV AG and GRT Price Waterhouse in Vienna. Markus holds a degree in Business Economics from the University Innsbruck, and wrote his master’s thesis at St. Gallen Graduate School of Business Administration.
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Fritz Becker
CEO & Managing Director
Harald Quandt Holding GmbH
Fritz Becker has been the CEO and Managing Director of Harald Quandt Holding in Bad Homburg/Germany since 2002. Mr. Becker has more than 28 years of experience in the finance and insurance business. Before joining Harald Quandt family, he was executive board member (CIO/CFO) in charge of finance and capital investments at the listed AMB Generali Holding in Aachen, Germany. Prior to AMB Generali, Mr. Becker worked for the Basler Versicherungen in Switzerland and Germany, ultimately serving as a member of the executive management team of the listed holding company in Bale. Mr. Becker began his career as a consultant/project manager focusing on financial services with McKinsey in Frankfurt. He studied business administration at Mannheim University and completed his Doctorate in 1981.
Harald Quandt Holding is managing the international portfolios of the family itself and beside that monitoring a group of financial services companies for third party money with special exposure to alternative assets (AuM ~ $ 14 bn):
Auda International (Cayman, New York, London, Stockholm, Hong Kong, Bad Homburg) for global Private Equity and Hedge Fund of Funds.
Real Estate Capital Partners (New York, Washington D.C., Dallas, San Francisco) for Real Estate in the USA.
Penjing (Hong Kong), an Asian Hedge Fund of Funds.
Equita Management (Bad Homburg, Zürich) is investing in mid-sized companies in German speaking countries.
HQ Trust (Bad Homburg) is a private investment office for wealthy families and foundations, who like to co-invest with the Harald Quandt family.
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Monte Brem
CEO
StepStone
Monte Brem oversees the management of StepStone Group and its client relationships. StepStone manages and/or advises on over $15 billion of private equity allocations, focusing on fund commitments, secondary purchases and co-investments. StepStone’s clients are leading sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and foundations and endowments. The firm has offices in California, New York and Beijing.
Mr. Brem is a highly experienced private equity investor. Over the course of his career he has overseen investment teams that have invested over $30 billion into the private equity market. He is a prominent figure in private equity media activities, including TV appearances and expert references for CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Business Week.
Prior to StepStone, Mr. Brem was the President of Pacific Corporate Group (“PCG”) an Investment firm which oversaw over $20 billion of private equity commitments. At PCG, Mr. Brem established a market leading research and investment team, complemented by specialized investment groups in areas such as global emerging markets, clean energy and distressed debt.
Mr. Brem was trained as an attorney and practiced corporate law with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP where he focused on complex corporate transactions and corporate governance matters.
Mr. Brem received both his JD and MBA from the University of San Diego, where he was Valedictorian of the Law School.
Patricia M. Dinneen
Managing Director
Siguler Guff & Company LLC
Patricia M. Dinneen is a Managing Director of Siguler Guff and Company, LLC. She has primary responsibility for managing the BRIC Opportunities Funds, focusing on private equity investments in Brazil, Russia, India, China. Prior to joining Siguler Guff in 2004, she was at Cambridge Associates, an independent financial consulting firm, where she led the emerging markets private equity advisory business, including asset allocation planning, market research, manager searches and due diligence. In collaboration with the major International Finance Institutions, she created the first comprehensive emerging markets private equity database to measure performance and to help professionalize the asset class. Prior to joining Cambridge Associates, she founded a consulting firm specializing in telecommunications, working with start-up ventures. Previously, she worked for ten years at British Telecommunications in London where she held a variety of positions, involving investments and joint ventures in the US, Europe and Asia. She has also held positions at Hughes Communications, The RAND Corporation, and the White House. Dr. Dinneen received her B.A. in Economics and Russian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, her M.Sc. in Soviet Economics from the London School of Economics, and her Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specializing in regulatory economics and technology.
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Jie Gong
Vice President
Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners
Ms. Gong joined Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners in early 2007 and is responsible for its Asia Pacific private equity fund investment and co-investment activities. Prior to Morgan Stanley, she was a vice president in leveraged finance at JPMorgan Hong Kong. Before that, she worked for the International Finance Corporation (the direct investment arm of the World Bank Group) in Washington, DC.
Ms. Gong received a B.A. in economics from Shanghai International Studies University, an M.A. in Economics from the University of Miami, and a Master in finance from the London Business School.
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Kelvin Liu
Director
Invesco Private Capital
Kelvin joined Invesco Private Capital in 2006 and is involved in the quantitative and qualitative analysis of prospective partnership fund investments.
Prior to joining IPC, Kelvin was the Director of North American Operations for TIF Ventures, a Singapore government fund of funds with $1.3 billion under management. In this capacity, Kelvin represented TIF Ventures’ investment efforts in the United States. Being a member of TIF Ventures’ founding team, Kelvin was instrumental in establishing its presence and industry network in the US. Prior to TIF Ventures, Kelvin was the Director of the National Science and Technology Board (NSTB) based in Redwood City, CA. NSTB is a governmental agency providing financial assistance for the development of science and technology in Singapore, interacting with start-up companies as well as Fortune 500 enterprises. Kelvin serves on the advisory boards for ClearLake Capital, Relativity Fund, Rembrandt Ventures, Barings Private Equity Asia and Navis Asia Funds.
Kelvin received an MBA (Finance) with Honors from The Wharton School. He also earned a B. Eng (1st Class Honors) and an M.S. degree in Management, both from the National University of Singapore. Kelvin Liu is also a CFA charterholder.
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Edmond Chi-Man Ng
Managing Director & Co-Founder
Axiom Asia Private Capital
Mr Ng is Managing Director and Founder of Axiom Asia Private Capital (“Axiom Asia”), a private equity fund of funds focusing on Asia. Prior to the setting up of Axiom Asia, Edmond was formerly a director at Kennen Investment Holdings, a boutique advisory firm with a focus on sourcing private equity and real estate investment opportunities for international investors, and Y Beauty, a HK based beauty product company.
He was formerly a Vice President in GIC Special Investments (GIC SI), the private equity arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (“GIC”). During his seven and a half year tenure at GIC SI, he gained diverse private equity experience from working out of the company’s Singapore, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Beijing offices. He has both funds and direct investment experience and has worked on transactions in the U.S., Thailand, Indonesia, China and Australia.
Mr Ng has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University and a Master of Science in Engineering, Economic System and Operations Research from Stanford University.
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Sebastiaan C. van den Berg
Principal
HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Limited
Sebastiaan van den Berg joined HarbourVest's Hong Kong-based subsidiary in 2005. He focuses on partnership investments in Asia Pacific and emerging markets.
Sebastiaan serves on the advisory boards of several international private equity partnerships, including funds managed by Brait Capital Partners, Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners (CHAMP), CVC Capital Partners Asia Pacific, MKS Consulting, Unison Capital Partners, and Unitas Capital. His previous experience includes positions with H&Q Asia Pacific, AlpInvest Partners N.V. in Amsterdam, Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. in Hong Kong, and Goldman Sachs International in London. Sebastiaan received a Doctorandus degree in International Financial Economics from the Universiteit van Amsterdam in 1995 and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1996.
HarbourVest Partners, LLC is an independent global alternative investment firm and an SEC-registered investment advisor. HarbourVest provides investment programs for institutional investors to invest in venture capital, buyout, mezzanine debt, and distressed debt. In over 28 years of investing in private equity, the team has made commitments of more than $20 billion to new partnerships, completed $6.2 billion in secondary purchases, and invested $3.8 billion directly in operating companies. HarbourVest and its subsidiaries have 235 employees, including 82 investment professionals deployed in Boston, London, and Hong Kong. The firm’s clients consist of 300 institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, foundations, and financial institutions throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan.
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Peng Zhao
Department Head, China Structuring
Partners Group
Mr. Zhao is Department Head of China Structuring at Partners Group, responsible for fund product design and local business partnership. Before joining Partners Group, Mr. Zhao worked as an attorney in the Chicago office of the global law firm DLA Piper, practicing real estate private equity law and handling certain China related businesses. Before moving to US, he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China for several years. Mr. Zhao graduated from Peking University of China, and also earned a MBA degree from Kellogg School of Management and a Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University Law School. He is qualified to practice law in Illinois US.
