FORBES ASIA NEXT FRONTIERS FORUM - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Executive Officer of AJ Capital
Abhinav is Chief Executive Officer of AJ Capital, a global multi-strategy investment firm domiciled in Singapore which oversees a portfolio spanning corporate credit, commodities, FX, listed equity, private equity and venture capital. He is also the Chairman of Vivant and Symbo Insurance.
Prior to founding AJ Capital, Abhinav was a member of the investment team at Valiant Capital in San Francisco, a global Long-Short Hedge Fund. Abhinav has also held multiple roles at Deutsche Bank's Global Markets division in New York and London.
Abhinav holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor's degree in Molecular & Cell Biology from The University of California Berkeley. Abhinav is also a member of the Dean's Global Leaders Group at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Executive Vice - Chairman
As CEO of New World Development Company Limited (HKEx:0017), Adrian oversees the group's ecosystem of property development, infrastructure, health, education, retail, and hospitality projects. Guided by his vision for "Creating Shared Value", he has reinvented the 50-year old family business to embed sustainability, innovation, creativity, and culture in how it serves local communities and empowers the next generation.
At 29 years old, Adrian founded the K11 brand, which intertwines art and commerce through shopping malls, offices and hospitality catering to Millennial and Gen Z consumers. The brand includes K11 art malls; K11 ATELIER office buildings; K11 ARTUS luxury residences; K11 Art Foundation, a non-profit organisation that fosters cross-cultural art education; and K11 Kulture Academy, a cultural education platform. In 2019, Adrian launched Victoria Dockside, a US$ 2.6 billion cultural district that includes cultural-retail flagship K11 MUSEA, K11 ATELIER offices, K11 ARTUS luxury residence, and Rosewood Hotel's first Hong Kong property. By 2024, K11 will have 35 projects in 9 cities across Greater China. He also provides early-stage funding to technology start-ups and platforms that appeal to younger generation consumers.
A graduate of Harvard University, he is the youngest person in Hong Kong to receive the Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters in 2017 by the French Government, was listed by Fortune as a "40 Under 40" global business star and a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum in 2012.
Job Titles:
- Admin
- CEO
- Chairman
- Founder
- Founder, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship
Chatri Sityodtong is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship (ONE), Asia's largest global sports media property in history with a broadcast to 2.7 billion potential viewers across 150+ countries around the world. ONE is a celebration of Asia's greatest cultural treasures, martial arts and esports. Through the magic of storytelling and the power of media, ONE is on a mission to unleash real-life superheroes, celebrate values, ignite dreams, inspire nations, and change the world.
Sityodtong is a self-made entrepreneur and lifelong martial artist from Thailand. He is also the star of the Asian edition of The Apprentice, the award-winning, global reality TV series. His rags-to-riches life story has inspired millions around the world on BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, and other major media. He was also named "Asia's King of Martial Arts" by the Financial Times, and Asia's 2nd Most Powerful Person in Sports by FOX Sports.
Inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame in 2019, Sityodtong has over 35+ years of martial arts experience. He is a certified senior Muay Thai instructor under the legendary Kru Yodtong Senanan. He also holds a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Master Renzo Gracie.
Chatri Sityodtong holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Tufts University.
Danny Yong - Chief Investment Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Investment Officer
- Founding Partner
Danny Yong is the Chief Investment Officer and a founding partner of Dymon Asia Capital, and has over 24 years of experience trading FX, fixed income, and index futures in Asia. Before Dymon, he was a founding partner and CIO of Abax Global Capital, a hedge fund based in Hong Kong. Previously a Managing Director at Citadel Investment Asia, he established and ran the Asia Macro trading business from 2005 to 2007. Prior to Citadel, he was Head of Trading for South East Asian FX and Derivatives at Goldman Sachs, where he spent almost six years in its Hong Kong and Tokyo offices. Danny started his trading career at JP Morgan in 1997 as a FX currency and interest rate derivatives trader.
A Mauritius native, educated in the U.S., Eric is an avid explorer with a multicultural upbringing that taught him to speak seven languages. Before co-founding Klook in 2014, Eric worked in finance at a global investment bank in Hong Kong, traveling extensively worldwide.
As Chief Operating Officer of Klook, Eric spearheads the company's global expansion in the supply portfolio. He is instrumental in establishing partnerships with key travel players such as Universal Studios, Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTR), Japan National Tourism Organization, Hong Kong Tourism Board, and many more. Eric's leadership contributed significantly to Klook's diverse product offerings and the company's popularity across the globe.
Eric was featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 List and China's Yicai (CBN) Brilliant 20 List, recognizing his entrepreneurial spirit and game-changing attitude. Eric has been invited to speak in various world-class tech and travel conferences including TechCrunch, RISE, WIT (Web In Travel), Phocuswright, Arival and ITB.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners
- Managing Principal and Chairman / Gaw Capital Partners
Goodwin is the Founder and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners, a uniquely positioned real estate private equity fund management company that focuses on markets in Greater China and other high barrier to entry markets globally. Gaw Capital has raised five commingled funds targeting the Greater China and APAC regions since 2005. The firm also manages value-add/opportunistic funds in Vietnam and the US, a Pan-Asia hospitality fund, a European hospitality fund and provides services for separate account direct investments globally. Gaw Capital Partners has raised equity in excess of USD$14.2 billion as of 2019 Q4 and currently commands assets of over USD$24.8 billion under management encompassing residential developments, retails centers, hotels, commercial and logistic properties.
Goodwin has over 20 years of real estate investment and management experience in the United States and Asia. He founded Downtown Properties in 1996 and serves as Managing Principal. He's especially interested in re-positioning distressed heritage properties. These include the renovation of the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and conversion of over 456,000 square feet of empty historical buildings into hip residential lofts in downtown Los Angeles including the acclaimed Douglas Building. He also served as Vice Chairman of Pioneer Global Group.
Goodwin received a BS in Civil Engineering from the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, a BS in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a MS in Construction Management from Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive and Founding Partner / Baring Private Equity Asia
- Chief Executive and Founding Partner of Baring Private Equity Asia
Jean Eric Salata is the Chief Executive and Founding Partner of Baring Private Equity Asia (or "BPEA"). Mr. Salata oversees all investment and divestment decisions made at the Firm, as well as its strategic direction. Mr. Salata has been responsible for the investment activity of the Firm since 1997 when he started the regional Asian private equity investment program for UK-based Baring Private Equity Partners Ltd. Mr. Salata later led the management buyout of this program in 2000 to establish BPEA as an independent firm.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner / GGV Capital
- Managing Partner With Global Venture Capital Firm GGV Capital
Jenny Lee is a managing partner with global venture capital firm GGV Capital and is best known for her focus on startup innovation in areas such as EduTech, FinTech, Robotics, and AI. Since 2005 she has been instrumental in helping 10 early stage companies go public on NYSE, Nasdaq, ChiNext, HKSE and SSTAR exchanges, and numerous portfolio companies exit via M&A. Jenny has been a member of the Forbes Global 100 VC Midas list since 2012 and was the first woman to break the top 10 in 2015. She has been recognized by The New York Times/CB Insights, Vanity Fair, Fast Company, Forbes Asia and Singapore's Business Times among the most successful and influential global investors throughout the decade. She started her career as a jet engineer at Singapore Aerospace and is a graduate of Cornell University and Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
Job Titles:
- Co - CEO of Gojek
- Cofounder and Co - CEO
Kevin is the Co-CEO of Gojek, leading the company's product and technology vision in efforts to enrich the lives of millions daily. Aside from being the driving force behind the product department and data organisation within Gojek, Kevin also leads the company's marketing and organisational development functions.
Since co-founding Gojek, Kevin has held significant leadership roles across product and functional teams within the organisation. He has used his background in Business Intelligence to pioneer the use of data for decision-making across the Gojek business. He has also assembled deep technology expertise across the data, engineering and product teams, with a focus on enhancing the platform's overall user experience.
Prior to his role at Gojek, Kevin spent two years at Zalora Indonesia as the Head of Business Intelligence. Earlier in his career, he worked in Business Development at Indonesian investment firm Merah Putih Inc. and also served as an Investment Banking Analyst at Salem Partners LLC.
Kevin's commitment to continuously innovate led him to be accredited by the 2016 "Forbes 30 under 30 Asia" list for consumer technology, standing amongst young innovators that are propelling change and disrupting industries. Kevin obtained his Bachelor of Corporate Finance, Entrepreneurship and International Relations from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO / RB Capital Group
- Member of Young President
Founded in 2006 by Kishin RK, RB Capital is Singapore's most dynamic, privately held real estate group with over USD $5billion in assets. RB Capital is focused on the acquisition and development of hospitality, commercial, and healthcare properties across Asia Pacific. Its portfolio in Singapore includes the RB Capital Building Raffles Place, EFG Bank Building along North Bridge Road and Cuppage Terrace. In Kuala Lumpur, RB Capital owns the HSBC Building in Bukit Bintang.
Kishin launched RB Capital Hotels in 2010, which holds a bold presence in the hospitality sector following the opening of Holiday Inn Express Clarke Quay, Park Hotel Farrer Park and Intercontinental Singapore Robertson Quay in the last 36 months. Today, RB Capital Hotels is one of Singapore's largest hotel owners with over 1200 keys.
Kishin is a member of Young President's Organization (YPO) and sits on the Board of Singapore River One and Raffles Place Alliance which are private - public partnerships, charged with rejuvenating strategic locations across Singapore. He also sits on the board of Weybourne Holdings as a non-executive director, the holding company of Dyson and Citibank's APAC Advisory board.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder of Asia Partners
- Managing Partner and Cofounder / Asia Partners
Nicholas Nash is a co-founder of Asia Partners, a leading growth equity firm in Southeast Asia. He was previously the Group President of Sea Ltd. from 2014 - 2018. He led Sea's IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: SE), the largest ever IPO of a Southeast Asian internet company. Before that, he worked at General Atlantic for a decade and began his career with McKinsey & Company.
Mr. Nash was a member of the World Economic Forum's ASEAN Regional Strategy Group from 2017-2018 and a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations from 2013-2018. He is a Kauffman Fellow and a member of Singapore chapter of YPO. He is on the boards of Ashoka University, Room to Read Singapore, and Endeavor Indonesia.
Mr. Nash received his MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar, and his undergraduate degree from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- President Director / Blue Bird Group Holding
Noni Purnomo holds an Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Newcastle, an MBA major in Finance & Marketing from the University of San Francisco and a Doctorate degree from The University of Newcastle, Australia. She is a Business Woman, Philanthropist, and mother of 3 daughters. She was listed in "Power Women in Asia" by Forbes in 2015.
Noni is the President Director of PT Blue Bird Tbk and founder Blue Bird Peduli, which focused on Education and recently launched the ‘Women Empowerment Project' to empower the wives of Blue Bird Group drivers.
Noni has been actively supporting several start-up companies through her own investment company and through ANGIN Women Funds, which she was a co-founder. She is also actively involved in several mentorship programs and recently awarded as "Mentor of the Year" by Endeavor Indonesia. Noni serves as a board member of the Australia Indonesia Institute, the Chairperson of Intelligent Transport System -Indonesia Chapter, Indonesian Transport Society Board of Presidium, Board of Advisor of IPMI, Coca Cola Amatil Indonesia and an advisor to Antler Asia. A Young Presidents Organization Member since 2003. Noni is also appointed as the University of Indonesia Board of Trustee member for the period of 2019-2024.
Job Titles:
- Senior Editor - Special Projects
Rana joined the Forbes' Hong Kong office as a Senior Digital Editor in October 2015 to kickstart Forbes' successful Under 30 franchise in the APAC region. She has since edited all five editions of the 30 Under 30 Asia list and directed the programming for Forbes Under 30 Asia Summits. Rana is also the editor of the 2019 Forbes Asia's Power Businesswomen list. Apart from building Asia's network of successful entrepreneurs through these annual lists, Rana has been recently promoted to be a key member of Forbes Asia operations, handling special projects that seek to expand the brand's footprint in the region.
Born and bred in Beirut, Lebanon - Rana's eclectic journey has taken her from Dubai to Singapore and now Hong Kong where she's worked at global newsrooms taking on various editorial roles, last of which is APAC Group Editor in Chief for the Paris-based Reworld Media where she launched two lifestyle and fashion websites (Marie France Asia and BE Asia) setting their editorial strategy and growing their audience from day one. Before that, she ran an editorial fashion blog which focused on emerging Asian designers and grew a large following in Singapore and beyond.
Be it tech or fashion - Rana is always inspired by the creativity, energy and talent of those who dare to take a risk and follow their passion - something she personally thrives on.
Fascinated by Asia and its diverse culture, Rana loves to travel around the region and she's equally fond of Asimov's sci-fi novels and her skyhigh heels.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Dean for Executive Programs and the Norman R. Bobins Professor
Job Titles:
- Group Head, Institutional Banking / DBS Group
Prior to joining DBS, Su Shan was Morgan Stanley's Head of Private Wealth Management for Southeast Asia. She has also worked at Citibank and prior to that in ING Barings in London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
In October 2014, Su Shan became the first Singaporean to be recognised as the world's "Best Leader in Private Banking" by PWM and The Banker, leading wealth publications by the Financial Times Group. She has also served as a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore. In 2018, she was nominated by Forbes Magazine as a top 25 emergent Asian Woman Business leader.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Partners
- Cofounder and CEO / Gateway Partners
- Non - Executive Director of Dangote Cement PLC
V Shankar ("Shankar") is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in the dynamic growth markets of Africa, Middle East and Asia.
Shankar is non-executive director of Dangote Cement PLC, Nigeria, Gateway Real Estate Africa, Mauritius and the Fund for Export Development in Africa, Egypt.
Shankar previously served as CEO - Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas and a member of the global board of Standard Chartered Plc and prior to that as CEO - BA Asia and Head of Investment Banking for Asia Pacific at Bank of America. His past appointments in a non-executive capacity on various institutions and committees include the boards of the Inland Revenue Authority Singapore; Enterprise Singapore; Majid Al Futtaim Holdings; Economic Strategies Committee and National Integration Council constituted by the government of Singapore; Asia Society, New York; Sub-Saharan Advisory Board of the Exim Bank USA; Singapore Indian Development Association; Global Business Coalition for Education; Vice Chair of Future of Banking Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum; and, financial centre task force appointed by the Treasurer of the State of California.
Mr. Shankar was awarded the Public Service Medal by the government of Singapore in 2014.
With 29 years in Asia, Wayne was previously head of policy and regulatory affairs at the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association in Hong Kong. From 1999 to 2008, he was Southeast Asia business and finance correspondent for The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune. In 2008, Wayne helped launch a newspaper in Abu Dhabi, The National, where he chronicled Dubai's financial meltdown as economics columnist. He returned to Hong Kong in 2011 to join Thomson Reuters' commentary service Breakingviews as Asia strategist. He was then Reuters' editor for Asian economics and markets before joining the Wall Street Journal as Asia Economics Correspondent and then Barron's Asia as a columnist. He has written columns for the Asian Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg on everything from financial markets to aviation and technology. Since arriving in Asia in 1990, he has covered Japan's financial collapse, the global economic crisis and China's slowdown.