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SINGAPORE VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY ASSOCIATION
2011/12 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
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Chairman Eugene Wong (CFA, MBA) EUGENE WONG is the Founder and Managing Director of the Sirius Group. He is currently the Chairman of Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (“SVCA”). Eugene sits on the boards of several public-listed companies, including Ajisen China Holdings Limited listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Q & M Dental Group listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX-ST), Japan Foods Holdings and Jason Marine Group both listed on Catalist board of SGX-ST. Sirius Venture Consulting Pte Ltd (together with its associated companies, known as “Sirius Group”) is a venture consultancy and investment holding firm, focused on small and medium sized companies in Singapore and overseas. The Sirius Group has invested in a number of Singapore-based listed and non-listed firms, as well as overseas enterprises. The Group manages two funds. The Sirius SME Growth Partners I Fund is a S$20 million investment fund targeting Singapore based small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) at the growth and expansion stage. The Group also manages a S$10 million Sirius Angel Fund that invests in high- growth, innovative and early-stage companies, in collaboration with SPRING Singapore under its Business Angels Scheme. Eugene is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore (“NUS”) teaching entrepreneurial finance and private equity. He authored the book "Entrepreneurial Finance - Start up to IPO". Eugene graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (First-Class Honours) from NUS and an MBA from Imperial College London. He also attended an Executive Programme for Growing Companies at Stanford Business School; the Entrepreneurs' Organization-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“EO/MIT”) Entrepreneurial Masters Programme; the Price Babson Symposium for Entrepreneurship Educators (“SEE”); as well as the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management Program (“OPM”). Eugene is a Chartered Financial Analyst and sits on the Accounting Standards Council appointed by Singapore’s Minister of Finance. He is also a member of the Institute of Directors in UK and Singapore. Eugene is a Certified Master Coach as well as Certified Management Consultant.
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Vice Chairman Raj Rajkumar Raj Rajkumar is a Director of Symphony Asia Holdings Pte. Ltd., the advisor to Symphony International Holdings Limited, a listed strategic investment company focused on long-term direct-investments in the Asia Pacific region. Raj is presently the Vice Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and he also serves as a director on the boards of some of Symphony’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining the Symphony team in 1999, Raj was based in Hong Kong as an executive in GE's Corporate Initiatives Group. Before that, Raj spent nearly five years advising Fortune 500 companies, primarily in the healthcare, telecommunications, and financial services sectors, while working as a management consultant with Symmetrix Inc., based in Boston. He started his career in 1985 as a design engineer with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in Japan, before moving to the United States in 1988 to set up Mitsubishi’s first overseas semiconductor design and fabrication centre. Raj has a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kerala, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Honorary Secretary Pierre Hennes Pierre is Managing Partner of Extream Ventures, a Singapore-based early-stage VC firm launched in 2009, funded in part by the Singapore Government’s National Research Foundation. In addition to his role at Extream Ventures, he is a Partner of Upstream Ventures, a leading VC firm founded in 2003. Pierre has significant experience in Venture Capital and has been active in new venture creation across Asia since 2003. He is a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors and currently serves on the board of several portfolio companies. Prior to Asia, he worked as an IT consultant to the financial services industry with Accenture in New York City and a B2B e-commerce startup in Europe. He is a frequent guest speaker and guest judge at industry events and universities including INSEAD, SMU, NUS and NTU. Pierre actively engages in mentorship, networking and community-related activities in Singapore and the region through his involvement in SVCA, BANSEA, TiE, the NRF TRD Grant and other organizations. Pierre earned a B.A. with Honors in International Relations from Boston University, and an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. He also studied at the Hochschule St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland as part of NYU’s International Management Program. He speaks seven languages and is a Committee Member of the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator Singapore, Singapore’s oldest standing Church.
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Honorary Treasurer Tan Kim Seng Mr. Tan is a Managing Director and co-founder of 3V SourceOne Capital, a regional VC firm with presence in Singapore, China and USA. He is currently the Honorary Treasurer of the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and has previously served as the Chairman of Industry Development Committee. He has been involved in venture capital investments in Greater China, USA and ASEAN since 1994. He was previously an Executive Director and Principal Fund Manager of UOB Venture Management responsible for fund management activities and setting up of joint-venture VC funds in China. Mr. Tan started his engineering career with Texas Instruments Singapore and subsequently joined Northern Telecom as a section head responsible for new product introduction. He successfully ventured into banking industry in 1990 as an Assistant Vice President with the commercial banking sector of United Overseas Bank Group. He was the Chairman of Retail Electronic Banking Committee of the Association of Banks in Singapore and Operation Committee Member of NETS Singapore in 1991/1992. He is a member of the final approving panel for Technology Enterprise Commercialisation Scheme (TECS), Spring Singapore. He is a Board Member of Hwa Chong Institution, a Singapore's premier independent school founded in 1919. Mr Tan also serves as a member of the Board of Trustee of Hwa Chong International School and the former Deputy Treasurer of the Hwa Chong Alumni Association. Mr Tan holds a M.Sc. (Industrial Eng.) and a B.Eng. (EE) (Hons) degree from the National University of Singapore. He is an alumnus of the US Venture Capital Institute.
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Committee Member Dr Jeffrey Chi Professional Profile Community Contributions
Education & Professional Qualifications
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Committee Member Michel Birnbaum Michel Birnbaum is a Partner at iGlobe Partners and brings to iGlobe over 25 years of operational and advisory experience to technology companies on a global basis, with his background in Investment Banking, Venture Capital/Private Equity and industry. He has managed close to 30 IPOs, follow-on debt/equity financings as well as M&A and Private Placement transactions. He has held Board position for a number of IT companies as well as served as advisor to senior management. From 2006 to 2008 as Managing Director of International Investment Banking at Landsbanki Kepler (National Bank of Iceland), Michel was responsible for the TMT and Renewable Energy Group. He led the first European buyout of a solar energy company, Azur Space Solar Power. He has served as a C-level advisor to Cleantech companies on strategy, product development, business and financial planning matters. Between late 2003 to early 2006, he was associated with Keystone Financial Partners / Bryan Garnier (London / Paris) as Senior Advisor of Investment Banking. Prior to that, he was founder/managing partner of Dakota Partners, a VC/advisory firm focused on applications of next generation materials and an expert in the European Commissions’ Research Framework programs. In July 2000, he was named CEO/Board Director of e-capital investments plc, an investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange and responsible for direct investments in semiconductor applications, advanced materials and processes and wireless technology. He led the strategic restructuring of the group and its subsequent successful merger. Michel was Executive SVP of the European Capital Markets at Hambrecht & Quist from 1996-1997 and became the Managing Director of Technology Investment Banking and Exchange Relations. He managed 23 technology IPOs as lead or Co-Manager on both the European markets and NASDAQ. Between 1987 to 1995, Michel worked for Fleet/Nash Weiss in the United States initially as a Senior Technology Trader and later as Manager. He began his career as a Project Engineer at Massachusetts-based GE Military Engine Group where he was responsible for the Apache/Blackhawk helicopters engine evaluation and qualification programs. Michel holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, attended General Electric’s Advanced Engineering program. He earned his MBA from London Business School (Merit Honours).
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Committee Member Genevieve Heng Ms. Genevieve Heng is the Managing Director of Chepstow Capital Advisors Pte Ltd. She has 20 years of Asian business and financial experience, of which, 12 years were with CLSA Capital Partners mid-market Asian private equity business, where she was the Managing Director responsible for investments and divestments of portfolio companies in South East Asia and India. Genevieve received an MBA from the London Business School and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Computer and Information Sciences from the National University of Singapore. She is a CFA charter holder and a CAIA designee. Genevieve is also a CAIA Singapore Chapter Executive.
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Committee Member Kelvin Poa Mr. Kelvin Poa is an Associate Principal at Baker & McKenzie. Wong & Leow. He specialises in Corporate and Commercial work, with a particular emphasis on cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions, Venture Capital & Private Equity, Competition Law and Employment Law.
Kelvin has won many prizes and awards, amongst which are: the Law Society of Singapore Book Prize, the Law Faculty Shook Lin & Bok Prize, the Law Faculty Montrose Memorial Prize for Top Student in Jurisprudence and was on the National University of Singapore (Law Faculty) Dean’s List during all four years of his study. He is a member of the Law Society of Singapore, the Law Society of England and Wales and the Singapore Academy of Law. Kelvin graduated from the National University of Singapore (L.L.B., Second Class Hons, Upper Division, 1999) and completed his Postgraduate Practical Law course (1999). He also spent seven weeks in May 1997 at Worcester College (Oxford University, United Kingdom) taking a course on British Political History, with particular reference to British Foreign Policy. In 2005, Kelvin was seconded to Baker & McKenzie LLP in London for a year. He is qualified to practice in Singapore, England and Wales.
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Committee Member Suvir Varma Suvir Varma is a Partner in Bain & Company’s Singapore office and heads the firm’s Asia Pacific Private Equity Practice. He has lived in Singapore since 1996. Suvir works with leading global and regional PE firms and SWFs to help them realize value across the investment value chain―from sector scans and commercial due diligence to portfolio company value enhancement. He has almost 20 years of relevant experience in investment banking and consulting. Over the last several years, he has focused exclusively on advising private equity and government-linked investors on a diverse array of due diligence reviews, sector scans and portfolio company optimization projects. He brings deep expertise across a number of industries including government, financial services, oil and gas, industrial, consumer products and airlines. As a co-opted committee member of SVCA over the last year, Mr. Varma has helped SVCA to conduct/present research on the PE/VC industry in SE Asia and delivered a joint-event lunch with SVCA last June (plans to do the same again in 2011). He is also active with other local PE initiatives including the APEI (led by Dr. Teh Kok Peng of GIC) and speaking regularly about the PE industry in Singapore and overseas. Suvir holds an MBA from The Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago (Hons) and a BSc in Business Administration from Babson College (Summa cum Laude, Babson Award Recipient).
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Committee Member Prof. Claudia Zeisberger Claudia Zeisberger is an INSEAD Affiliate Professor of Decision Sciences and Program Director of the Center for Decision Making and Risk Analysis (CDMRA), one of INSEAD’s centers of excellence. At INSEAD, she teaches in the MBA and EMBA programme as well as in multiple Executive Education programmes both in Singapore & in Fontainebleau. (Private Equity; Corporate Turnarounds; Hedge Funds & Risk Management). She has been nominated repeatedly for the Best Teaching Award in her PE elective and received in 2009 the “Dean’s Commendation for Excellence in MBA Teaching”. Throughout her 16 years in Asia, she has worked with clients in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan & Dubai in the areas of Integrated Risk Management, Structured Products, Private Wealth Management & Portfolio Construction. Claudia has lived and worked in more than ten countries and continues to teach throughout Asia. She is a founding committee member of the Financial Women’s Association (FWA) in Singapore. Research interest:
Teaching (MBA, EMBA & Executive Education):
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Committee Member Mahim Chellappa Mahim Chellappa is Principal of Tembusu Partners. Mahim is a senior team member of Tembusu Partners Pte. Ltd., a Pan Asia private equity fund management firm with over S$300 million AUM. Mahim helps source, evaluate, structure, monitor and manage growth equity investments, primarily focusing on South East Asia and India. Before joining Tembusu Partners in January 2010, he was Director at Jefferies Singapore, where he advised South East Asia clients on M&A and capital raising transactions, including private equity, mezzanine investments, and high yield bonds. His clients included Bakrie Sumatera Plantations, Bakrie Telecom, and many other companies focused on the Natural Resources, Energy, Real Estate, Industrials, Biotech, Technology, Shipping, and Clean Tech sectors within the region. Formerly Director at Credit Suisse First Boston and Vice President at Salomon Smith Barney (Citigroup) in New York, Mahim has advised over 100 global clients across many industries. His product expertise includes private equity, leveraged finance, M&A (both sell-side and buy-side) and financial derivatives. Prior to receiving his MBA in Finance from Cornell University, he worked for the Federal Reserve Board’s International Finance Division in Washington, DC, and NERA Economic Consulting. Prior to receiving his BA in Economics cum laude from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, he was awarded an internship on Capitol Hill.
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